Conservation Pros, Asheville and all of Western North Carolina

Survey Probes Americans’ Incorrect Opinions on Energy Efficiency

Quick – what’s the most effective for you to save energy? If you’re like many Americans, you’d say turn out the lights or turn up the AC’s thermostat. And, like many Americans, you’d miss the mark.

What you can do

Massachusetts man decides efficiency is better investment than solar

 By Patrick Cassidy

SOUTH DENNIS — Michael Slattery’s home looks perfect for solar panels.

"I’ve got this huge roof," he said during a recent interview at his Cape-style home on Asack Drive. "South is right there."

An engineer by trade, he decided to bypass an expensive photovoltaic system and attacked the many small ways his family could reduce its energy use. Three years later they are saving more than $900 annually on electricity and natural gas bills.The home’s south-facing shingles get plenty of sun, but after Slattery took a renewable energy class his perspective changed on whether solar was the right move.

Slattery is among a growing number of homeowners and businesspeople who are taking advantage of incentives, courses and other opportunities in energy efficiency.

Cape Cod Community College has seen enrollment quadruple in its renewable energy and energy conservation classes in the past six years, said college spokesman Michael Gross.

Seventeen students participated in one such class offered by the college in 2004. This year 71 students took six different classes and in many cases are taking more than one class in the field.

Slattery learned to start with an energy audit to learn the best ways to save on energy bills at his house. After the audit, offered by the Cape Light Compact, the family first replaced traditional light bulbs with more energy efficient compact fluorescent light or CLF bulbs.

The audits, bulbs and other incentives are paid for through a charge on all ratepayer bills.

Slattery analyzed how much he would save by using a CFL bulb. By replacing three bulbs in an exterior candelabra-style light fixture with one CFL he is saving $26 a year. With the $42 cost of the new lamp and bulb his return on his investment was a little over a year and a half, he said.

He also discovered that heat was escaping his home through a poorly insulated crawl space. By sealing up the area, having an extra 10 inches of insulation blown into the attic and sealing small areas around electrical wiring in the home’s walls, Slattery cut off the flow of heat, and his money, going through the roof.

The cost: $2,000. But after rebates from the Compact and Mass Save, an organization sponsored by utilities and the state that provides incentives, training and other information on ways to reduce energy use, the total out—of—pocket expense was $500, he said.

By installing programmable thermostats and upgrading to Energy Star air conditioners, dehumidifiers and dishwasher, Slattery reduced his bills even further, he said.

Other measures cost even less. Slattery used plastic and insulation in a sun room to cover large skylights and other windows. He hid the plastic on the sky lights with colorful tapestries. He also bought smart power strips that automatically turn off plugs when a primary device is powered down.

Nothing has really changed for the family, said his daughter, Jaci, who wore a tie-dyed T-shirt a bit more colorful than her father’s tapestries.

"Honestly my dad just does all the work," she said.

And, while his wife — a math teacher — questioned Slattery’s actions at times, when she saw charts tracking their savings she was impressed, he said.

"It sunk in really quickly," he said.

Now he is sharing his experience with family members and friends. Several have already had energy audits done, he said.

His advice: Make a plan and take it one step at a time. "I think a lot of people are intimidated to get started," he said.

Through the host of rebates and the resulting reduction in demand, careful utility customers are becoming a small but growing part of the energy supply, Compact energy efficiency program manager Kevin Galligan said. By reducing demand for electricity the amount of total energy available can serve more customers.

It also means that investments in new transmission infrastructure can be deferred, Galligan said.

The Compact plans to issue a request for proposals soon for the second phase of a successful pilot program that will give homeowners even more control over their energy use by monitoring it via computer, he said.

A slew of other grants are available for energy retrofits and upgrades, including for agricultural projects, he said.

There is also a large queue of commercial and industrial projects seeking advice on energy improvements, he said.

"We may be an early indicator of economic recovery," Galligan said of the interest in energy efficiency projects.

Is Minnesota Power shooting itself in the foot?

Historically, advances in household energy efficiency have come from colder climates.  No surprise, since homeowners in snowy, frigid places spend way more on heating than their more southerly counterparts.  I mean, what we call affectionately the "blower door", is more appropriately called the "Minneapolis Blower Door" (Retrotec fans, don’t come after me, we still say Kleenex, too!)

Consider this…  Minnesota Power has put together a website that does nothing more than educate their own customers about how to buy less of what they’re selling!

This ain’t no Greenwashing, folks.  This is where residential energy efficiency comes from.  (In the US, that is.  In North America, we owe much of what we know to Canada. Those Loons!)

What on Earth would possess a utility to encourage people to reduce their own bottom line?  How about good stewardship of the resources we’ve been "loaned"?  

Man, I tell ya, that’s just crazy talk.

Even if you’re not in Minnesota, you can still benefit from this site. Pay particular attention to the "Pyramid of Conservation".  Very cool. http://www.mnpower.com/powerofone/one_home/index.htm

Is Home Star DEAD? Quite possibly.

In what’s being described as a "punt" in the national press, the Spill Bill has been pulled from the floor of the Senate.  And, with it, Home Star.

From Politico.com:

Senate Democrats on Tuesday punted their oil spill response bill to next month, but the extra time doesn’t guarantee the measure will pass — far from it.

The delay virtually ensures that strategists from both parties will use the congressional recess to hone their plans, talking points and poison-pill amendments for any floor debate, all with an eye toward the midterm elections.

Majority Leader Harry Reid’s decision to pull the plug on offshore drilling is the latest blow to Democratic efforts to move energy legislation, beginning with the deaths of a sweeping climate change bill and then a scaled-down renewable energy bill.

It initially appeared that the slender offshore drilling package was a must-pass bill with political momentum, but it became evident over the past week that the Nevada Democrat lacked the votes within his own caucus to force the issue as the Republicans held firm against it…

Read the full story here…