This is going to be the year that you take action to reduce your energy bill.
Changes keep improving the function and ease of using on line energy audit materials. The US Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy site has everything you need to get started. Try their YOUR HOME site for a great beginning for 2009 that will help you see where you can cut energy bills at your house.
Be sure to click on every link on the left side to get the most useful information about saving energy at your house. The amount of free cost saving information is astounding. Even if you aren’t interested in one of the links today, click it anyway. You will be surprised at what you learn. Then you can pass the information on to someone you know that might need help.
Here is what you are looking for. Go ahead click them all.
Apartments
Appliances & Electronics
Designing & remodeling
Electricity
Energy Audits
Insulation & Air Sealing
Landscaping
Lighting & Daylighting
Space Heating & Cooling
Water Heating
Windows, Doors & Skylights
We can all be part of the solution whether you are concerned about the environment, the economy, climate change, energy independence or cutting your home expense budget, its all related and you can make a difference and see results.
© 2009 Mark R. Daily
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Step One to Energy Addiction Recovery
Know the difference between “Energy Efficiency” and “Energy Conservation” and you will have taken the first step to energy addiction recovery. Plus, you may find joy and happiness.
Last year, energy efficiency guru Amory Lovins wrote this in an email to me and I assume, to many others.
“Fear of specific and avoidable dangers has evolutionary value. Nobody has ancestors who weren’t mindful of saber-toothed tigers. But pervasive dread, currently in fashion and sometimes purposely promoted, is numbing and de-motivating. When I give a talk, sometimes a questioner details the many bad things happening in the world and asks how dare I propose solutions: isn’t resistance futile? The only response I’ve found is to ask, as gently as I can, “Does feeling that way make you more effective?”To be sure, mood does matter. The last three decades of the twentieth century reportedly saw 46,000 new psychological papers on despair and grief, but only 400 on joy and happiness. If psychologists want to help people find joy and happiness, they’re looking in the wrong places. Empathy, humor, and reversing both inner and outer poverty are all vital. But the most solid foundation we know for feeling better about the future is to improve it—tangibly, durably, reproducibly, and scaleably.
This year you can feel better about the world and yourself by learning more about energy efficiency and energy conservation. When you do this the future improves.
There is a lot of hype centered on the terms “energy conservation” and “energy efficiency” and most consumers seem clueless when it comes to knowing the difference and asking the right questions at the right time.
In over twenty years of dealing with electric utility consumers I believe that only about one in nine knows what they are saying when they ask, “which one is more efficient”? They don’t really care which one is more efficient. What they really care about is which one is cheaper.
So the difficult questions become, cheaper for whom and efficient in which way?
The answer for “which one is more efficient" is easy. It’s the solution that uses less energy to produce the same amount of work. This work could be light, heat, refrigeration, air conditioning etc.
The answer for “which one is less expensive” is never easy.
Everyone knows that a cheaper purchase price is often a dead give away for a product that will actually be more expensive over the product’s life of operation. The simple life cycle comparison of a fifty cent incandescent light bulb compared to its more “efficient” product, the three dollar compact fluorescent bulb, can be replicated with even higher costs savings when comparing refrigerators, pumps, water heaters, furnaces, windows, insulation and houses just to name a few.
Each fuel and each appliance has variables that are hard to compare. Certain fuels cost more up front like solar photovoltaic energy. Certain fuels and products traditionally avoid external costs and come in looking cheaper until you factor in the costs for healthcare, environmental degradation, and tax payer subsidies, like coal and nuclear power. The challenge is to define and quantify those external costs. This is hard to do and the producers of these energy products don’t really want you to figure out or factor in, those external costs. Just like the tobacco industry doesn’t want you to factor in the costs of treating lung diseases with the cost of a pack of cigarettes.
Here are the variables that go into the answer for the question, “which one is cheaper?”
What is the cost and efficiency to get the product (useful energy) to your house?
What is the true life cycle cost including operating costs and purchase price of the appliances that use the energy?
What are the operating habits and skills of the people using the appliance?
What is the quality of the building envelope or location in which the appliance is used?
In its simplest definition, energy conservation means those actions that cause you to use less energy. This could be as simple as keeping the thermostat lower and wearing a sweater on a cold day or as silly as trying to read in the dark. Sure you are saving energy and reducing your bill, but you have to suffer to do it. Americans don’t like to suffer. Consequently, most energy conservation programs do little to actually reduce energy use.
Energy Efficiency on the other hand means getting your beer just as cold or our home just as warm with efficient systems or products that use less energy. Like the compact fluorescent light bulb that produces the same light output for less than half the energy use of an incandescent bulb, or the better insulated house that uses less energy to heat the same square footage.
I am not a big fan of Wikipedia because it’s too easy for facts and sources to be questionable. Yet, I often start there for an overview of a topic and then check facts with other websites I consider more reputable or scientific. Their energy efficiency section seems factual and actually helpful. I recommend that you visit and read it all. It will give you some ideas about the possibilities for energy efficient products that can maintain your lifestyle without suffering more than a little higher purchase price. In most cases the life cycle cost of an energy efficient product or system will be cheaper than the “cheaper” product to purchase.
By understanding your options and understanding the language used to talk about energy and energy issues, you can take a big step to your own energy independence, cut your utility bills in the process and find joy and happiness. Wow, this is going to be a great year.
Last year, energy efficiency guru Amory Lovins wrote this in an email to me and I assume, to many others.
“Fear of specific and avoidable dangers has evolutionary value. Nobody has ancestors who weren’t mindful of saber-toothed tigers. But pervasive dread, currently in fashion and sometimes purposely promoted, is numbing and de-motivating. When I give a talk, sometimes a questioner details the many bad things happening in the world and asks how dare I propose solutions: isn’t resistance futile? The only response I’ve found is to ask, as gently as I can, “Does feeling that way make you more effective?”To be sure, mood does matter. The last three decades of the twentieth century reportedly saw 46,000 new psychological papers on despair and grief, but only 400 on joy and happiness. If psychologists want to help people find joy and happiness, they’re looking in the wrong places. Empathy, humor, and reversing both inner and outer poverty are all vital. But the most solid foundation we know for feeling better about the future is to improve it—tangibly, durably, reproducibly, and scaleably.
This year you can feel better about the world and yourself by learning more about energy efficiency and energy conservation. When you do this the future improves.
There is a lot of hype centered on the terms “energy conservation” and “energy efficiency” and most consumers seem clueless when it comes to knowing the difference and asking the right questions at the right time.
In over twenty years of dealing with electric utility consumers I believe that only about one in nine knows what they are saying when they ask, “which one is more efficient”? They don’t really care which one is more efficient. What they really care about is which one is cheaper.
So the difficult questions become, cheaper for whom and efficient in which way?
The answer for “which one is more efficient" is easy. It’s the solution that uses less energy to produce the same amount of work. This work could be light, heat, refrigeration, air conditioning etc.
The answer for “which one is less expensive” is never easy.
Everyone knows that a cheaper purchase price is often a dead give away for a product that will actually be more expensive over the product’s life of operation. The simple life cycle comparison of a fifty cent incandescent light bulb compared to its more “efficient” product, the three dollar compact fluorescent bulb, can be replicated with even higher costs savings when comparing refrigerators, pumps, water heaters, furnaces, windows, insulation and houses just to name a few.
Each fuel and each appliance has variables that are hard to compare. Certain fuels cost more up front like solar photovoltaic energy. Certain fuels and products traditionally avoid external costs and come in looking cheaper until you factor in the costs for healthcare, environmental degradation, and tax payer subsidies, like coal and nuclear power. The challenge is to define and quantify those external costs. This is hard to do and the producers of these energy products don’t really want you to figure out or factor in, those external costs. Just like the tobacco industry doesn’t want you to factor in the costs of treating lung diseases with the cost of a pack of cigarettes.
Here are the variables that go into the answer for the question, “which one is cheaper?”
What is the cost and efficiency to get the product (useful energy) to your house?
What is the true life cycle cost including operating costs and purchase price of the appliances that use the energy?
What are the operating habits and skills of the people using the appliance?
What is the quality of the building envelope or location in which the appliance is used?
In its simplest definition, energy conservation means those actions that cause you to use less energy. This could be as simple as keeping the thermostat lower and wearing a sweater on a cold day or as silly as trying to read in the dark. Sure you are saving energy and reducing your bill, but you have to suffer to do it. Americans don’t like to suffer. Consequently, most energy conservation programs do little to actually reduce energy use.
Energy Efficiency on the other hand means getting your beer just as cold or our home just as warm with efficient systems or products that use less energy. Like the compact fluorescent light bulb that produces the same light output for less than half the energy use of an incandescent bulb, or the better insulated house that uses less energy to heat the same square footage.
I am not a big fan of Wikipedia because it’s too easy for facts and sources to be questionable. Yet, I often start there for an overview of a topic and then check facts with other websites I consider more reputable or scientific. Their energy efficiency section seems factual and actually helpful. I recommend that you visit and read it all. It will give you some ideas about the possibilities for energy efficient products that can maintain your lifestyle without suffering more than a little higher purchase price. In most cases the life cycle cost of an energy efficient product or system will be cheaper than the “cheaper” product to purchase.
By understanding your options and understanding the language used to talk about energy and energy issues, you can take a big step to your own energy independence, cut your utility bills in the process and find joy and happiness. Wow, this is going to be a great year.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Hey, don’t be sticking your big sausage in my daughter’s face, buddy
I walked into a grocery store in Bozeman Montana with my daughter several years ago and came face to face with a large man wearing a large cowboy hat. He was standing behind a large table filled with large plates of sausage. Yep, you guessed it – large sausage.
He poked a smoky looking link in my daughter’s face and said, ‘try some of the best sausage in the west”. My daughter responded in an icy monotone, “no thanks, I’m a vegetarian”. The large man tipped his large hat politely and said, “I heard there was a vegetarian in Montana, I’m really glad to meet you ma’am”.
While beef’s for dinner in Montana, coal is still king. I have no idea if, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer is a vegetarian, but I know for sure he likes coal. It’s fine to like coal. I like coal. Without it many of us in the USA would be paying lots more for our electricity today. Over fifty percent of our electricity comes from coal. If you live in the Midwest or West it’s more like sixty percent. Yet, the cost of electricity may not accurately reflect the true cost to the planet as we all now know from listening to the climate change debate.
Yet, as any smoker knows, old habits are hard to break and Governor Schweitzer doesn’t seem to understand the addiction. In a recent Christian Science Monitor article (12/29/08) the Governor said. " ..unless you are willing to live naked in a tree and eat nuts for the next thirty years, coal's going to be part of the portfolio”.
So much for Al Gore’s Repower America with “100% clean electricity within 10 years”.
The wide gap between the Governor’s assertion and Al’s cheerful optimism can’t help but make you feel like turning on the TV to another mind numbing program. What’s the point any way, either Brian or Al is crazy. They both could be crazy, it’s a sure bet that one of them can’t be sane.
Meanwhile thousands, yes thousands of people are living fully clothed in nice homes, eating beef and sausage off the grid. A quick scan of off the grid systems finds thousands of single family homes across the USA with normal people, fully clothed and well feed that have jsut decided to delare thier own energy independance.
Find a Solar professional to get started and we’ll make Governor’s, Ex-senators and electric distribution companies irrelevant.
I know you have heard it from me before, but I am going to keep saying it for the rest of my life; or until the opposing sides in the climate change and energy generation debates stop calling each other names; and get down to the business of agreeing on facts, plans and actions that we can all get behind. If this is the moral equivalent of war as some argue, we have at least got to agree on which enemy we are fighting and stop shooting each other.
We must learn to play nicely in the sand box and quit calling each other names. I think every policy-maker, every politician and every business executive in the world should read, understand and pledge to follow Adam Kahane’s steps for Changing the World by Changing How We Talk and Listen. If we don’t stop downloading, we will continue to waste valuable time and resources shooting at each other and dying from friendly fire. It doesn’t matter what you wear or what you eat, you have got to see the wasteful stupidity in continuing that way.
© 2009 Mark R. Daily
He poked a smoky looking link in my daughter’s face and said, ‘try some of the best sausage in the west”. My daughter responded in an icy monotone, “no thanks, I’m a vegetarian”. The large man tipped his large hat politely and said, “I heard there was a vegetarian in Montana, I’m really glad to meet you ma’am”.
While beef’s for dinner in Montana, coal is still king. I have no idea if, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer is a vegetarian, but I know for sure he likes coal. It’s fine to like coal. I like coal. Without it many of us in the USA would be paying lots more for our electricity today. Over fifty percent of our electricity comes from coal. If you live in the Midwest or West it’s more like sixty percent. Yet, the cost of electricity may not accurately reflect the true cost to the planet as we all now know from listening to the climate change debate.
Yet, as any smoker knows, old habits are hard to break and Governor Schweitzer doesn’t seem to understand the addiction. In a recent Christian Science Monitor article (12/29/08) the Governor said. " ..unless you are willing to live naked in a tree and eat nuts for the next thirty years, coal's going to be part of the portfolio”.
So much for Al Gore’s Repower America with “100% clean electricity within 10 years”.
The wide gap between the Governor’s assertion and Al’s cheerful optimism can’t help but make you feel like turning on the TV to another mind numbing program. What’s the point any way, either Brian or Al is crazy. They both could be crazy, it’s a sure bet that one of them can’t be sane.
Meanwhile thousands, yes thousands of people are living fully clothed in nice homes, eating beef and sausage off the grid. A quick scan of off the grid systems finds thousands of single family homes across the USA with normal people, fully clothed and well feed that have jsut decided to delare thier own energy independance.
Find a Solar professional to get started and we’ll make Governor’s, Ex-senators and electric distribution companies irrelevant.
I know you have heard it from me before, but I am going to keep saying it for the rest of my life; or until the opposing sides in the climate change and energy generation debates stop calling each other names; and get down to the business of agreeing on facts, plans and actions that we can all get behind. If this is the moral equivalent of war as some argue, we have at least got to agree on which enemy we are fighting and stop shooting each other.
We must learn to play nicely in the sand box and quit calling each other names. I think every policy-maker, every politician and every business executive in the world should read, understand and pledge to follow Adam Kahane’s steps for Changing the World by Changing How We Talk and Listen. If we don’t stop downloading, we will continue to waste valuable time and resources shooting at each other and dying from friendly fire. It doesn’t matter what you wear or what you eat, you have got to see the wasteful stupidity in continuing that way.
© 2009 Mark R. Daily
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Slow Economic Times Mean Time to Re-Tool Alternate Energy and Energy Conservation Policies and Regulations
Falling energy demand could soften the incentive to implement energy conservation programs and initiatives across the USA. As fossil fuel prices fall, renewable energy advocates expect declining support for expensive renewable energy projects. Yet, this could be just the right time to develop the national energy policy needed to guide us when demand roars back after economic recovery.
The Energy Information Administration of the Department of Energy says, “Total electricity consumption during 2008 is projected to be flat at about 2007 levels, as slight growth in the commercial and industrial sectors is balanced by decline in the residential sector, primarily as a result of milder summer temperatures (U.S. Total Electricity Consumption). Total electricity consumption is expected to decline in 2009 due to the slow growth in new housing construction and reduced demand in the industrial sector.”
Declining prices always mean declining excitement and support for alternate energy programs. We’ve been through this before. Yet despite the slow-down in demand, prices for residential electricity do not appear to be falling. Again according to the Official Energy Statistics from the US Government, “Spot prices for power generation fuels continue to decline from their peak summer levels. Residential electricity prices are expected to rise by 6 percent this year and by 5 percent in 2009 (U.S. Residential Electricity Prices). Still these price increases pale compared to the national average of 10 percent residential rate increases between 2005 and 2006.
This lull is just the right time for policy makers, utilities and consumers to take action; adopt a national energy policy and put into place uniform local energy and distributed generation policies. If we do it now, these regulations will be in place when we all get too busy putting out our own brush fires when the economy gets back into full swing.
Cutting the Red Tape Out features ideas for better uniformity of regulations and permitting for distributed generation equipment. Now is the time to contact your federal, states and local elected representatives to tell them what you want in the way of distributed renewable energy systems. This also the time to tell them to review their regulations pertaining to building, energy efficiency, and alternate energy systems. It won’t matter how great your utility incentives are for wind and solar power if local building codes impose unreasonable and outdated requirements. Or, worse yet, if they have no regulations pertaining to wind towers , photovoltaic systems on roofs etc., advocates for these systems will end up triggering moratoriums on these “new” developments that could take years to unravel.
If you want to save the world and promote alternate energy development, you cannot wait until you’re in the building permit office filling out construction permit forms to find out what the requirements are in your area. If you do, you deserve to spend lots of time, twice as much money and three times the patience getting your project completed.
In May 2000 all of the world's science academies created the Inter-Academy Council to mobilize the best scientists and engineers worldwide to provide high quality advice to international bodies - such as the United Nations and the World Bank - as well as to other institutions. They recognize that barriers to adopting new technologies are not always financial. In their report Barriers to realizing cost-effective energy savings they describe institutional and personal barriers to adopting energy efficient systems including alternate energy systems.
Now is the time to make that call and tell your elected representatives where you stand on renewable energy. It also the time to do your home work and find out what the regulations and policies are in your area to make sure that state and local governments and local utilities are ready to do alternate energy business.
© 2009 Mark R. Daily
The Energy Information Administration of the Department of Energy says, “Total electricity consumption during 2008 is projected to be flat at about 2007 levels, as slight growth in the commercial and industrial sectors is balanced by decline in the residential sector, primarily as a result of milder summer temperatures (U.S. Total Electricity Consumption). Total electricity consumption is expected to decline in 2009 due to the slow growth in new housing construction and reduced demand in the industrial sector.”
Declining prices always mean declining excitement and support for alternate energy programs. We’ve been through this before. Yet despite the slow-down in demand, prices for residential electricity do not appear to be falling. Again according to the Official Energy Statistics from the US Government, “Spot prices for power generation fuels continue to decline from their peak summer levels. Residential electricity prices are expected to rise by 6 percent this year and by 5 percent in 2009 (U.S. Residential Electricity Prices). Still these price increases pale compared to the national average of 10 percent residential rate increases between 2005 and 2006.
This lull is just the right time for policy makers, utilities and consumers to take action; adopt a national energy policy and put into place uniform local energy and distributed generation policies. If we do it now, these regulations will be in place when we all get too busy putting out our own brush fires when the economy gets back into full swing.
Cutting the Red Tape Out features ideas for better uniformity of regulations and permitting for distributed generation equipment. Now is the time to contact your federal, states and local elected representatives to tell them what you want in the way of distributed renewable energy systems. This also the time to tell them to review their regulations pertaining to building, energy efficiency, and alternate energy systems. It won’t matter how great your utility incentives are for wind and solar power if local building codes impose unreasonable and outdated requirements. Or, worse yet, if they have no regulations pertaining to wind towers , photovoltaic systems on roofs etc., advocates for these systems will end up triggering moratoriums on these “new” developments that could take years to unravel.
If you want to save the world and promote alternate energy development, you cannot wait until you’re in the building permit office filling out construction permit forms to find out what the requirements are in your area. If you do, you deserve to spend lots of time, twice as much money and three times the patience getting your project completed.
In May 2000 all of the world's science academies created the Inter-Academy Council to mobilize the best scientists and engineers worldwide to provide high quality advice to international bodies - such as the United Nations and the World Bank - as well as to other institutions. They recognize that barriers to adopting new technologies are not always financial. In their report Barriers to realizing cost-effective energy savings they describe institutional and personal barriers to adopting energy efficient systems including alternate energy systems.
Now is the time to make that call and tell your elected representatives where you stand on renewable energy. It also the time to do your home work and find out what the regulations and policies are in your area to make sure that state and local governments and local utilities are ready to do alternate energy business.
© 2009 Mark R. Daily
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Electric Energy Independence is already underway – One house and one business at a time.
Forget the US Government and Obama’s rhetoric. Remember, every presidential candidate has campaigned on Energy Independence for the last thirty years. Forget your local utility. They’ve been doing business the same way for over 60 years.
Several Blogs ago I predicted the demise of the electric distribution industry as we know it. In Death of the Electric Industry I predicted the end of distribution utilities. In Death of the Electric Industry Part II, I explained how I think this is going to happen.
As little bits and pieces come to me that support my prediction, I tend to get a smug little grin on my face. My predictions had to do with residential customers jumping the grid tied ship like rats on a sinking vessel. But, Solar buzz recently announced a small commercial project that leads the way in proving that even industry can make use of solar energy in a mediocre solar climate like Connecticut. Tri-Town Precision Plastics plans to go solar and expects their investment to pay for itself in six years and deliver all of their electric energy needs all year long.
To plan your escape from the grid you only need two things, know-how and cash. Check out these websites to get the know-how. By acting on this information you can trim your energy appetite and get your house ready for energy independence without the expense of a solar system. Then after you’ve saved a bundle off your utility bill (said bundle being prudently stashed in a secure savings account) you are ready to use available incentives in your area to match your cash and build the system. Find my energy saving tips here.
Useful information is all about “Trust”. If you don’t trust the source of the information you are not going to follow their recommendations. Find sources of Know-How that you trust. Here are some that look pretty good to me.
The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) sponsors efficiency tips at getenergyactive.org. Organized in 1933, EEI is the association of U.S. shareholder or investor-owned electric companies. Their members serve 95 percent of the end use customers in the investor-owned part of the industry, and represent approximately 70 percent of the U.S. electric power industry. So you might be justified in being suspicious of their motives. However, all utilities, especially investor-owned utilities are falling all over themselves these days to prove to regulators that their rate increase requests are justified. One way that they do this is to show State Regulatory Commissions that they take energy conservation seriously.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has locked horns with utilities across the nation over air quality issues. These guys are not friends of the electric utility industry. They are supposed to be friends of the environment. ENERGY AND YOU is their site for all kinds of good information on energy conservation.
The benefits of visiting the above two sites are that they aren’t trying to sell any specific products.
Commercial sites might make you leery, but I think Real Goods has a good reputation for getting systems on the ground that work. Be sure to visit their Get Started and Economics & Financing links.
The American Solar Energy Society (ASES) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the use of solar energy, energy efficiency, and other sustainable technologies in the U.S. Sure they are selling solar equipment and trying to employ solar installation contractors, but these guys can’t last if they lie. Their Solar calculator will take your Monthly kWh and calculate the size of the system you need based on your climate.
Now you are ready to match your utility savings with incentives that can help reduce your out of pocket expenses. This data base at the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency can help you stretch your funds to meet your energy independence goals.
Maybe I’ll be reading about your off grid solar system and smiling one of these days. Don’t get mad at your utility, leave them
© 2008 Mark R. Daily
Several Blogs ago I predicted the demise of the electric distribution industry as we know it. In Death of the Electric Industry I predicted the end of distribution utilities. In Death of the Electric Industry Part II, I explained how I think this is going to happen.
As little bits and pieces come to me that support my prediction, I tend to get a smug little grin on my face. My predictions had to do with residential customers jumping the grid tied ship like rats on a sinking vessel. But, Solar buzz recently announced a small commercial project that leads the way in proving that even industry can make use of solar energy in a mediocre solar climate like Connecticut. Tri-Town Precision Plastics plans to go solar and expects their investment to pay for itself in six years and deliver all of their electric energy needs all year long.
To plan your escape from the grid you only need two things, know-how and cash. Check out these websites to get the know-how. By acting on this information you can trim your energy appetite and get your house ready for energy independence without the expense of a solar system. Then after you’ve saved a bundle off your utility bill (said bundle being prudently stashed in a secure savings account) you are ready to use available incentives in your area to match your cash and build the system. Find my energy saving tips here.
Useful information is all about “Trust”. If you don’t trust the source of the information you are not going to follow their recommendations. Find sources of Know-How that you trust. Here are some that look pretty good to me.
The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) sponsors efficiency tips at getenergyactive.org. Organized in 1933, EEI is the association of U.S. shareholder or investor-owned electric companies. Their members serve 95 percent of the end use customers in the investor-owned part of the industry, and represent approximately 70 percent of the U.S. electric power industry. So you might be justified in being suspicious of their motives. However, all utilities, especially investor-owned utilities are falling all over themselves these days to prove to regulators that their rate increase requests are justified. One way that they do this is to show State Regulatory Commissions that they take energy conservation seriously.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has locked horns with utilities across the nation over air quality issues. These guys are not friends of the electric utility industry. They are supposed to be friends of the environment. ENERGY AND YOU is their site for all kinds of good information on energy conservation.
The benefits of visiting the above two sites are that they aren’t trying to sell any specific products.
Commercial sites might make you leery, but I think Real Goods has a good reputation for getting systems on the ground that work. Be sure to visit their Get Started and Economics & Financing links.
The American Solar Energy Society (ASES) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the use of solar energy, energy efficiency, and other sustainable technologies in the U.S. Sure they are selling solar equipment and trying to employ solar installation contractors, but these guys can’t last if they lie. Their Solar calculator will take your Monthly kWh and calculate the size of the system you need based on your climate.
Now you are ready to match your utility savings with incentives that can help reduce your out of pocket expenses. This data base at the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency can help you stretch your funds to meet your energy independence goals.
Maybe I’ll be reading about your off grid solar system and smiling one of these days. Don’t get mad at your utility, leave them
© 2008 Mark R. Daily
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Steps to Cut Your Utility Bill
Why spend any more money than necessary on your utility bills? Most people continue doing it because they just can’t get motivated to do anything about energy efficiency or energy conservation. They don’t know where to start or which steps to take to save the most off their utility bills. Many people want to “go solar” or be “off the grid” without really knowing what those terms mean.
We all like the idea of energy independence. The recent election reminds me that there has not been a presidential candidate since before Jim Carter that hasn’t promised “energy independence”. Yet, our dependence on energy grows everyday and only a handful of homes provide “off-grid” energy and 21st century western world comforts at the same time.
Where do you start? Whether you plan to “go solar” or just cut your utility bill, the steps are the same.
Step one; find out what energy you use and why you use it. This is harder than it sounds but not as hard as you might think. By using a combination of your own utility bill’s energy use history, a $40.00 appliance meter and the gas or electric meter on your property, you will be able to figure it out.
The EPA’s Power Profiler can get you started with some basic information. They claim “Power Profiler will:
- Determine your power grid region based on your ZIP code and electric utility
- Compare the fuel mix and air emissions rates of the electricity in your region to the national average
- Determine the air emissions impacts of electricity use in your home or business
“Power Profiler is very easy to use and takes about 5 minutes. To start, all you need is your ZIP code.”
Its true and it seems fairly accurate, although you may not be able to pick the exact power company supplying your home. Still it’s a fun exercise and it’s educational. By clicking on the My Emmisions you will see how your house contributes to the issue of global climate change. You‘ll get the most detailed answer if you can fill in your monthly kWh use from your monthly electric bill. That’s another good reason to keep track of your personal energy impact by reading your bill and writing down the monthly kWh. You can get this data from your local utility too. If you do this, ask for the monthly data for the last three years so you can average out weird weather or unusually visitor impacts – like your brother-in-law leaving the refrigerator door open the whole week he was house sitting.
While you are at this site you should click the other two options as well, “Be More Energy Efficient” and “ Buy Green Power”. These links get you to information that can save you money and help you learn how and why you use energy.
The main step in the “How and Why I use Energy” investigation is to do an “Energy Audit”. Some people don’t get this, but you have to do this. I once worked on a video production that filmed one of my energy audits for a consenting customer and the videographer wrote “Energy Odd It” on the cover. I wish a different term had been coined for this, like “List of Energy Using Crap in your House”, because “Energy Audit” sounds so….. mathematical. Sixth grade math is all you need for this.
If you can’t do sixth grade math try the U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Consumers Guide to Home Energy Audits. For some reason they do not include appliance energy use as part of their “Home Energy Audit” so you will have to go to their separate Appliance and Home Electronics section. Do your Audit on a room by room search. This will point to rooms that you will want to focus on to get the most energy savings.
Once you have your List of Energy Using Crap in Your House (LOEUCIYH), assign an energy use unit to it like kWh or CCF for the month. This is the only way to motivate a reduction in your energy use which is the only way you are going to actually save money off your utility bill.
By adding up all of the monthly Energy Use numbers in each room from your LOEUCIYH , you will see patterns of use that you might be able to change. No you are ready to compare your Energy Audit, I mean LOEUCIYH results with your unit price per kWh or CCF to get actual dollars spend on your energy. You really should come within about 5% of your actual bill- don’t forget to subtract tax and minimum monthly charges.
Saving money off your utility and saving the planet are important actions we should all take. Hey, if it was easy, we would have already done it, right? Now you know where to start, so what are you waiting for? You could be saving money.
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has". - Margaret Mead
© 2008 Mark R. Daily
We all like the idea of energy independence. The recent election reminds me that there has not been a presidential candidate since before Jim Carter that hasn’t promised “energy independence”. Yet, our dependence on energy grows everyday and only a handful of homes provide “off-grid” energy and 21st century western world comforts at the same time.
Where do you start? Whether you plan to “go solar” or just cut your utility bill, the steps are the same.
Step one; find out what energy you use and why you use it. This is harder than it sounds but not as hard as you might think. By using a combination of your own utility bill’s energy use history, a $40.00 appliance meter and the gas or electric meter on your property, you will be able to figure it out.
The EPA’s Power Profiler can get you started with some basic information. They claim “Power Profiler will:
- Determine your power grid region based on your ZIP code and electric utility
- Compare the fuel mix and air emissions rates of the electricity in your region to the national average
- Determine the air emissions impacts of electricity use in your home or business
“Power Profiler is very easy to use and takes about 5 minutes. To start, all you need is your ZIP code.”
Its true and it seems fairly accurate, although you may not be able to pick the exact power company supplying your home. Still it’s a fun exercise and it’s educational. By clicking on the My Emmisions you will see how your house contributes to the issue of global climate change. You‘ll get the most detailed answer if you can fill in your monthly kWh use from your monthly electric bill. That’s another good reason to keep track of your personal energy impact by reading your bill and writing down the monthly kWh. You can get this data from your local utility too. If you do this, ask for the monthly data for the last three years so you can average out weird weather or unusually visitor impacts – like your brother-in-law leaving the refrigerator door open the whole week he was house sitting.
While you are at this site you should click the other two options as well, “Be More Energy Efficient” and “ Buy Green Power”. These links get you to information that can save you money and help you learn how and why you use energy.
The main step in the “How and Why I use Energy” investigation is to do an “Energy Audit”. Some people don’t get this, but you have to do this. I once worked on a video production that filmed one of my energy audits for a consenting customer and the videographer wrote “Energy Odd It” on the cover. I wish a different term had been coined for this, like “List of Energy Using Crap in your House”, because “Energy Audit” sounds so….. mathematical. Sixth grade math is all you need for this.
If you can’t do sixth grade math try the U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Consumers Guide to Home Energy Audits. For some reason they do not include appliance energy use as part of their “Home Energy Audit” so you will have to go to their separate Appliance and Home Electronics section. Do your Audit on a room by room search. This will point to rooms that you will want to focus on to get the most energy savings.
Once you have your List of Energy Using Crap in Your House (LOEUCIYH), assign an energy use unit to it like kWh or CCF for the month. This is the only way to motivate a reduction in your energy use which is the only way you are going to actually save money off your utility bill.
By adding up all of the monthly Energy Use numbers in each room from your LOEUCIYH , you will see patterns of use that you might be able to change. No you are ready to compare your Energy Audit, I mean LOEUCIYH results with your unit price per kWh or CCF to get actual dollars spend on your energy. You really should come within about 5% of your actual bill- don’t forget to subtract tax and minimum monthly charges.
Saving money off your utility and saving the planet are important actions we should all take. Hey, if it was easy, we would have already done it, right? Now you know where to start, so what are you waiting for? You could be saving money.
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has". - Margaret Mead
© 2008 Mark R. Daily
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Utility Bill Paying 101
Nationwide there is a certain frustration about paying utility bills. So much so that people jokingly refer to the experience as paying “futility bills”. These jokers probably view their electric and gas bill as something someone does to them rather than something that they do to themselves, but in all cases it is true that if you do not have a meter you will not have a bill. It’s easy right? Just call those bastards up today and say, come and get this thing out of my yard- or off my house or whatever; then, no bill. Some frustrated bill payers have actually done this and gone “off the grid” with generators or alternate energy systems that include wind and solar. Being your own power company sounds cool, but if it was that easy, more people would do it.
The first thing that you need to know about utility bill paying, is that you are going to be paying one for the rest of your life – one way or another. You may be off the grid and get all your energy from wind and photovoltaic power, but unless you paid cash for that system, you are making loan payments that amount to a “utility bill”. Once you pay off the loan there may be minimal maintenance expenses, but it won’t be zero. And, if you have batteries, in seven to ten years they’ll need to be replaced – so there will always be some type of “utility bill” in time, effort or cash to keep your lights on and beer cold. Even if you get a rental deal where the landlord pays the utilities, a portion of your rent payment covers the utilities. The only way out of paying for utilities is to not have a meter and to not use any electricity or gas of any kind, period.
Why do I make a point of saying “not have a meter and not use any electricity or gas”? Aren’t they the same thing? No. Electric and gas meter costs are coming down, but they are not free. No utility is going to give you a free meter. You will be paying for your meter through a minimum monthly fee on your bill or the meter expense will be built into your energy use fee.
Your Load - In utility language, your house or business is a “load”. This means that your building needs electricity or gas and depending on a long list of variables you either need a little electricity or gas or a lot of electricity or gas. So you are either a little load or a big load or something in between – but in all cases, if you need electricity or gas, you are a load. You will sometimes hear the term “demand”. This is a synonym for “load” because you – or at least your building is “demanding” electricity or gas. This is the source of the term “demand side management” or DSM. If your utility has DSM programs, they are trying to manage the demand, usually downward, to reduce the supply that they have to come up with.
Residential electricity is billed by the kilowatt hour (kWh). The “W” in the abbreviation is capitalized in reference to James Watt. One kilowatt hour is the energy used by a 1,000 watt load in one hour. For example, if you turn on ten 100 watt bulbs for an hour, you use 1 kWh of electricity.
Propane gas is generally billed by the gallon. Natural gas is generally billed by the Therm, or 100 cubic feet (CCF).
It seems elementary, but utilities are businesses. They have to make money to cover their expenses just like any other business. If they are an investor owned utility, they must be concerned about share holder profits. If they are a municipal utility they must be concerned about the needs of the citizens in their city and if they are cooperative utilities, they must meet the expectations of their members. All utilities cover most of the expense of getting the power to you by charging a rate per unit (kWh or CCF). The more you use the more you pay.
All utilities buy wholesale energy, electricity or gas and “distribute” it to customers like you; hence the term “distribution utility”. All utilities have wholesale power expenses and distribution expenses. In most cases the wholesale expense is fifty to eighty percent of the retail rate. All utilities have fixed expenses and variable expenses. Fixed expenses are those expenses that occur whether or not there is a load or demand; like the cost of insurance, depreciation, equipment, billing and administration. There are literally billions of dollars of power poles, wires, pipelines, transformers and meters sitting there across the nation ready to spring into action when you flip the switch or turn the knob. Those expenses don’t go way just because you don’t need electricity or gas this month. Variable expenses are those expenses that change with the load or demand placed on the utility’s supply. The more you use the more your utility has to buy.
Your Bill - In addition to the unit of energy billed, there is usually a minimum monthly charge. Some utilities call this charge an availability of service fee. This fee generally tries to recover the fixed operating expenses mentioned above. If you don’t have a minimum monthly charge on your bill, those fixed charges are rolled into your unit rate. There are pros and cons beyond the scope of this week’s blog for both ways of billing. The more your bill is based on a per unit rate the more control you have over the size of your bill.
Every utility bill payer should know the price per unit (kWh or CCF) and the minimum monthly charge that they are paying. You don’t buy gas for your car without looking at the price per gallon so don’t buy electricity or heating fuel without knowing the price. The number of kWh or CCF used during your billing period will be on your bill. Really, it is there so keep looking. The price per unit is not always on your bill. We are back to that pesky sixth grade math.
You can calculate your rates by simply dividing your total bill by the total units that you used during that billing period. See Table 5.6.A. Average Retail Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector, by State, August 2008 and 2007(Cents per kilowatthour) on the Energy Information Administration website to find local average kWh rates.
Natural gas bills may have a confusing list of other charges that make it hard to find a per unit cost. And, while most residential bills come in units of hundred cubic feet increments (CCF or Therms), statistics a generally listed in thousand cubic feet (MCF). The Energy Information Administration statistics on the average price for natural gas make it harder to compare with your bill.
Every utility payer should also know the billing period for your bill. If you are billed one month for thirty days of use and the next month for 20 days of use, the size of your bill will be different even if you use the same kWh of electricity or the same CCF of gas every day.
The main thing to realize about your utility bill is that it is all under your control. You can elect to never use any electricity or gas or you can pick and choose the appliances and equipment that you buy which directly affects the size of your utility bill.
Deposits – Unlike the gas station, when you buy natural gas or electricity, you don’t pay until after you use it. This means that by the time you pay your first utility bill after moving, the utility has given you at least a month and a half worth of their expensive product without getting paid. And, if you drop dead after seeing your first bill they are out a lot of money. So, most utilities will either check your credit history or require a deposit.
How to complain about your bill - Before you call, look at the meter reading dates. Maybe your son or daughter invited the whole high school football or volley team to spend the weekend during this time and you just forgot about it. Maybe you had the flu and cranked the thermostat to fight the chills.
Stay calm; screaming, or profanity will not serve you well when dealing with utility employees. They have heard it all. They have already heard whatever question, complaint, excuse or threat you are about to tell them, so just chill. Make sure you have your bill in front of you so you can give them your account number. This also helps you stay focused on your complaint and way from inappropriate comments about their relatives or anatomy.
If you think your bill is too high, ask them to help you determine if this is an actual or estimated bill. There should be a code on your bill that will tell you this, but sometimes it’s hard to find.
Next, ask for help verifying the number of billing days. I once thought I had a big bill only to find that last month’s bill was for 22 days and this month’s bill was for 33 days. Sometimes holidays or personnel scheduling screws up the meter reading schedule.
Other things you can ask about include the weather. Some utilities keep track of the weather during billing periods as a service to their customers. Colder or hotter weather usually mean higher utility bills.
If you still can’t come up with a reason that your bill is higher than expected you can ask to have your meter tested, but be careful what you ask for. Meter testing is performed on a meter test board in the meter shop. This means that you are getting a new or refurbished meter if you ask for a test. Most meters are simple mechanical devices. And, like your car, they don’t speed up when they are having trouble. Most utilities have a testing and replacement schedule set by state law. Once in a while you can catch them with a meter that has been in the field too long, but if you do, chances are your bill is going to be higher, not lower after the change. All meter exchanges have to be carefully documented so don’t assume that there is any monkey business going on. Deliberate discrepancies are easy to catch and most utility employees like their jobs.
If none of your questions or requests result in a lower bill, it’s time to tour your house. Obvious problems like leaky hot water faucets, well pumps that never turn off due to line leaks, broken thermostats, stuck valves and things that were left “on” when you thought they were “off”, often trigger more energy use. My favorite discovery during an energy audit for an angry customer was the space heater, plugged into a tool shed with the door left open in January. It’s less embarrassing to take that tour by yourself.
Phantom loads have gotten a lot of press lately and can increase your electric bill by several dollars a month. Phantom loads get their name from the fact that the energy used doesn’t give you anything immediately tangible, like light or toast. These loads result from those remote control devices that are always on. You should have a handle on this problem after you get that appliance meter mentioned in last week’s blog.
Thank you for completing Utility Bill Paying 101. If there is ever anything about your utility bill that you don’t understand, let me know. I’d be glad to help, for free. No I won’t pay your bill for you. Nice try. I will do my best to take the confusion out of what it is you are paying as well as help you wade through a bill interpretation. Just email me. ( mrdaily@markricharddaily.com)
If it’s something you have to do every month for the rest of your life, you might as well get good at it. Understanding what you get from your gas and electric utility gives you one less thing to worry about and makes it less like paying for gas and electric futilities.
© Mark Daily, 2008
The first thing that you need to know about utility bill paying, is that you are going to be paying one for the rest of your life – one way or another. You may be off the grid and get all your energy from wind and photovoltaic power, but unless you paid cash for that system, you are making loan payments that amount to a “utility bill”. Once you pay off the loan there may be minimal maintenance expenses, but it won’t be zero. And, if you have batteries, in seven to ten years they’ll need to be replaced – so there will always be some type of “utility bill” in time, effort or cash to keep your lights on and beer cold. Even if you get a rental deal where the landlord pays the utilities, a portion of your rent payment covers the utilities. The only way out of paying for utilities is to not have a meter and to not use any electricity or gas of any kind, period.
Why do I make a point of saying “not have a meter and not use any electricity or gas”? Aren’t they the same thing? No. Electric and gas meter costs are coming down, but they are not free. No utility is going to give you a free meter. You will be paying for your meter through a minimum monthly fee on your bill or the meter expense will be built into your energy use fee.
Your Load - In utility language, your house or business is a “load”. This means that your building needs electricity or gas and depending on a long list of variables you either need a little electricity or gas or a lot of electricity or gas. So you are either a little load or a big load or something in between – but in all cases, if you need electricity or gas, you are a load. You will sometimes hear the term “demand”. This is a synonym for “load” because you – or at least your building is “demanding” electricity or gas. This is the source of the term “demand side management” or DSM. If your utility has DSM programs, they are trying to manage the demand, usually downward, to reduce the supply that they have to come up with.
Residential electricity is billed by the kilowatt hour (kWh). The “W” in the abbreviation is capitalized in reference to James Watt. One kilowatt hour is the energy used by a 1,000 watt load in one hour. For example, if you turn on ten 100 watt bulbs for an hour, you use 1 kWh of electricity.
Propane gas is generally billed by the gallon. Natural gas is generally billed by the Therm, or 100 cubic feet (CCF).
It seems elementary, but utilities are businesses. They have to make money to cover their expenses just like any other business. If they are an investor owned utility, they must be concerned about share holder profits. If they are a municipal utility they must be concerned about the needs of the citizens in their city and if they are cooperative utilities, they must meet the expectations of their members. All utilities cover most of the expense of getting the power to you by charging a rate per unit (kWh or CCF). The more you use the more you pay.
All utilities buy wholesale energy, electricity or gas and “distribute” it to customers like you; hence the term “distribution utility”. All utilities have wholesale power expenses and distribution expenses. In most cases the wholesale expense is fifty to eighty percent of the retail rate. All utilities have fixed expenses and variable expenses. Fixed expenses are those expenses that occur whether or not there is a load or demand; like the cost of insurance, depreciation, equipment, billing and administration. There are literally billions of dollars of power poles, wires, pipelines, transformers and meters sitting there across the nation ready to spring into action when you flip the switch or turn the knob. Those expenses don’t go way just because you don’t need electricity or gas this month. Variable expenses are those expenses that change with the load or demand placed on the utility’s supply. The more you use the more your utility has to buy.
Your Bill - In addition to the unit of energy billed, there is usually a minimum monthly charge. Some utilities call this charge an availability of service fee. This fee generally tries to recover the fixed operating expenses mentioned above. If you don’t have a minimum monthly charge on your bill, those fixed charges are rolled into your unit rate. There are pros and cons beyond the scope of this week’s blog for both ways of billing. The more your bill is based on a per unit rate the more control you have over the size of your bill.
Every utility bill payer should know the price per unit (kWh or CCF) and the minimum monthly charge that they are paying. You don’t buy gas for your car without looking at the price per gallon so don’t buy electricity or heating fuel without knowing the price. The number of kWh or CCF used during your billing period will be on your bill. Really, it is there so keep looking. The price per unit is not always on your bill. We are back to that pesky sixth grade math.
You can calculate your rates by simply dividing your total bill by the total units that you used during that billing period. See Table 5.6.A. Average Retail Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector, by State, August 2008 and 2007(Cents per kilowatthour) on the Energy Information Administration website to find local average kWh rates.
Natural gas bills may have a confusing list of other charges that make it hard to find a per unit cost. And, while most residential bills come in units of hundred cubic feet increments (CCF or Therms), statistics a generally listed in thousand cubic feet (MCF). The Energy Information Administration statistics on the average price for natural gas make it harder to compare with your bill.
Every utility payer should also know the billing period for your bill. If you are billed one month for thirty days of use and the next month for 20 days of use, the size of your bill will be different even if you use the same kWh of electricity or the same CCF of gas every day.
The main thing to realize about your utility bill is that it is all under your control. You can elect to never use any electricity or gas or you can pick and choose the appliances and equipment that you buy which directly affects the size of your utility bill.
Deposits – Unlike the gas station, when you buy natural gas or electricity, you don’t pay until after you use it. This means that by the time you pay your first utility bill after moving, the utility has given you at least a month and a half worth of their expensive product without getting paid. And, if you drop dead after seeing your first bill they are out a lot of money. So, most utilities will either check your credit history or require a deposit.
How to complain about your bill - Before you call, look at the meter reading dates. Maybe your son or daughter invited the whole high school football or volley team to spend the weekend during this time and you just forgot about it. Maybe you had the flu and cranked the thermostat to fight the chills.
Stay calm; screaming, or profanity will not serve you well when dealing with utility employees. They have heard it all. They have already heard whatever question, complaint, excuse or threat you are about to tell them, so just chill. Make sure you have your bill in front of you so you can give them your account number. This also helps you stay focused on your complaint and way from inappropriate comments about their relatives or anatomy.
If you think your bill is too high, ask them to help you determine if this is an actual or estimated bill. There should be a code on your bill that will tell you this, but sometimes it’s hard to find.
Next, ask for help verifying the number of billing days. I once thought I had a big bill only to find that last month’s bill was for 22 days and this month’s bill was for 33 days. Sometimes holidays or personnel scheduling screws up the meter reading schedule.
Other things you can ask about include the weather. Some utilities keep track of the weather during billing periods as a service to their customers. Colder or hotter weather usually mean higher utility bills.
If you still can’t come up with a reason that your bill is higher than expected you can ask to have your meter tested, but be careful what you ask for. Meter testing is performed on a meter test board in the meter shop. This means that you are getting a new or refurbished meter if you ask for a test. Most meters are simple mechanical devices. And, like your car, they don’t speed up when they are having trouble. Most utilities have a testing and replacement schedule set by state law. Once in a while you can catch them with a meter that has been in the field too long, but if you do, chances are your bill is going to be higher, not lower after the change. All meter exchanges have to be carefully documented so don’t assume that there is any monkey business going on. Deliberate discrepancies are easy to catch and most utility employees like their jobs.
If none of your questions or requests result in a lower bill, it’s time to tour your house. Obvious problems like leaky hot water faucets, well pumps that never turn off due to line leaks, broken thermostats, stuck valves and things that were left “on” when you thought they were “off”, often trigger more energy use. My favorite discovery during an energy audit for an angry customer was the space heater, plugged into a tool shed with the door left open in January. It’s less embarrassing to take that tour by yourself.
Phantom loads have gotten a lot of press lately and can increase your electric bill by several dollars a month. Phantom loads get their name from the fact that the energy used doesn’t give you anything immediately tangible, like light or toast. These loads result from those remote control devices that are always on. You should have a handle on this problem after you get that appliance meter mentioned in last week’s blog.
Thank you for completing Utility Bill Paying 101. If there is ever anything about your utility bill that you don’t understand, let me know. I’d be glad to help, for free. No I won’t pay your bill for you. Nice try. I will do my best to take the confusion out of what it is you are paying as well as help you wade through a bill interpretation. Just email me. ( mrdaily@markricharddaily.com)
If it’s something you have to do every month for the rest of your life, you might as well get good at it. Understanding what you get from your gas and electric utility gives you one less thing to worry about and makes it less like paying for gas and electric futilities.
© Mark Daily, 2008
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