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
Showing posts with label electricity rates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label electricity rates. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
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
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Energy Conservation Makes Me Panic
When I hear the phrase “energy conservation” my eyes glaze over; my pulse quickens and my stomach starts doing flip flops. When I hear that phrase, I know I am in for hours of boring lectures that might cover everything from how to drive my car to how to compost my vegetable waste. So, instead of talking about energy conservation, which can cover an infinite number of ways for me to feel bad about my behavior, I want to focus on saving money in two areas that mean something to me -my home electric bill and my home heating bill. I almost always feel better when I spend less money
I am not trying to dis the fine people working on the other parts of energy conservation, but to me, that phrase is too big. Its like have to wade through someone’s entire DNA genome description when all I want to know is, “what color is her hair?” A simple photo or a quick peak would do, right?
So, how do I get that photo or quick peak? Don’t Goggle “energy conservation”. You’ll spend hours looking at stuff that is really interesting but covers too much ground. You have to find a way to focus.
Adding the word “Home” to your goggle search helps focus the field of possibilities. Here is what I found from the first six choices searching for "Home Energy Conservation".
The first choice is powered by Chevron and it got really confusing for me. It went right into MPG and stuff that has nothing to do with my electric or heating bill.
The second choice must have happened because I’m in Indiana. It’s more about donating money than it is about saving money.
The third choice from the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association gets me a little closer to what I want but it’s more about how to build an energy efficient home and I am stuck with the one I have for now – so again, not real helpful.
Finally with the fourth, fifth and sixth choices, I got what I wanted.
Home Energy Saver claims it’s the “first web-based do-it-yourself energy audit tool”. Type in your zip code and start learning what it takes to save utility expenses right away. I liked it and there were lots of other links to get more information on remodeling ideas, “no/low cost” conservation actions and more.
The Home Energy Saver site above is run by the U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, which sponsors the fifth choice in the Goggle search, the EERE: Energy Savers Home Page. The side bar on the left takes you to details about your house that can help you get a handle on actions you can take to cut your utility bills.
The sixth choice takes you to HOME ENERGY MAGAZINE ONLINE. At first glance it looks like one more request for a subscription, but dig deeper. If you click on the Magazine link at the bottom of the masthead, you get into articles about specific topics utility saving steps. I clicked on the November/December 2008 Thermostat Setbacks- Do they really work and found coverage of a detailed study from Canada that answered every question I ever had about setback thermostats.
I think it’s great that so much attention is landing on the idea of reducing my carbon footprint. But, if ‘m going to make foot prints anywhere, I need some traveling cash. I get my travel money by reducing my utility bill payment footprint. And, I help save the world at the save time.
© 2008 Mark R. Daily
I am not trying to dis the fine people working on the other parts of energy conservation, but to me, that phrase is too big. Its like have to wade through someone’s entire DNA genome description when all I want to know is, “what color is her hair?” A simple photo or a quick peak would do, right?
So, how do I get that photo or quick peak? Don’t Goggle “energy conservation”. You’ll spend hours looking at stuff that is really interesting but covers too much ground. You have to find a way to focus.
Adding the word “Home” to your goggle search helps focus the field of possibilities. Here is what I found from the first six choices searching for "Home Energy Conservation".
The first choice is powered by Chevron and it got really confusing for me. It went right into MPG and stuff that has nothing to do with my electric or heating bill.
The second choice must have happened because I’m in Indiana. It’s more about donating money than it is about saving money.
The third choice from the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association gets me a little closer to what I want but it’s more about how to build an energy efficient home and I am stuck with the one I have for now – so again, not real helpful.
Finally with the fourth, fifth and sixth choices, I got what I wanted.
Home Energy Saver claims it’s the “first web-based do-it-yourself energy audit tool”. Type in your zip code and start learning what it takes to save utility expenses right away. I liked it and there were lots of other links to get more information on remodeling ideas, “no/low cost” conservation actions and more.
The Home Energy Saver site above is run by the U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, which sponsors the fifth choice in the Goggle search, the EERE: Energy Savers Home Page. The side bar on the left takes you to details about your house that can help you get a handle on actions you can take to cut your utility bills.
The sixth choice takes you to HOME ENERGY MAGAZINE ONLINE. At first glance it looks like one more request for a subscription, but dig deeper. If you click on the Magazine link at the bottom of the masthead, you get into articles about specific topics utility saving steps. I clicked on the November/December 2008 Thermostat Setbacks- Do they really work and found coverage of a detailed study from Canada that answered every question I ever had about setback thermostats.
I think it’s great that so much attention is landing on the idea of reducing my carbon footprint. But, if ‘m going to make foot prints anywhere, I need some traveling cash. I get my travel money by reducing my utility bill payment footprint. And, I help save the world at the save time.
© 2008 Mark R. Daily
Monday, October 20, 2008
Consumerism and Energy Conservation
I had quite a surprise this morning. Actually it was more like an epiphany, really.
For over fifteen years I have struggled with energy conservation in the electric utility industry. I’m a trained energy auditor and was a certified Home Energy Rating System technician. I visited with electric customers to answer the question, “Why is my energy bill so damned high and what can I do about it?”
I did detailed inventories and spit out detailed reports showing the source of the culprits contributing to high energy bills. I offered suggestions for how these customers could save money. Most of the time, I got a polite thank you. Sometimes I got a reference to another customer wanting to know, “Why is my energy bill so damned high and what can I do about it?” But, only a few cases out of hundreds brought any action on the customer’s part. One customer really loves me. He saved over three hundred dollars on propane the first month after he actually performed the measures I recommended, but, that was the exception.
Generally, customers just kept on doing what they had done before, yelling at family members to “turn off those lights” and “close the damned door – what were you – born in a barn”, and; they kept sending their money to the utility companies.
My epiphany was the result of reading a recent report by a group called ECOALIGN. Their mission is to” .. align corporate and consumer behavior with the future of energy and environment via innovative marketing and communications strategies”.
The report titled Project Energy Code, told me exactly why I couldn’t get any traction with most customers to implement the energy conservation measures I recommended. Maybe this explains why you haven’t taken action either.
The “problem” is a combination of three issues, visibility, ambivalence, and trust, as explained in the report prepared by Pippa Chenevix Trench. Here is my take on what they are getting at.
Visibility- Many of us won’t implement energy saving actions because even if we do, no one will know. Appraisers won’t increase the home’s value. Neighbors won’t make encouraging comments and no one will really be able to tell that we’re going green and saving the planet. It’s hard to brag about something you didn’t use –like energy.
Ambivalence- My dictionary defines Ambivalence as the “existence of mutually conflicting feelings or thoughts such as love or hate about some person (maybe energy auditors), object (like set back thermostats) or idea (like energy conservation). Some people might be thinking, “what’s the use, the planets going down the tubes anyway, why bother”. Or maybe they’re faced with the conflicting choice of paying for a great vacation versus installing more attic insulation. If you read the report you might conclude that the problem could even be deeper and more subtle than that. It could be anthropological.
Trust – This one really got me. Although I had a good working relationship with many customers, I was working for the utility. This fact alone made people wonder why I was recommending actions that would cut the profits from my employer. I talked about how we cared about energy conservation as well as the need to reduce the company’s cost to buy power. The report referenced a piece of research from Arizona that showed that when customers got energy saving ideas from a government agency, 17% of the recipients took energy saving actions. While 0% of recipients that got the same advice from a utility took any action. I guess I should be glad I got as many positive results as I did.
Yet, to save the planet, really save customers money and reduce the growing demand for electricity, we are all going to have to get a lot more successful at selling energy conservation.
I hope you will take the time to read the report yourself. It’s free. I didn’t even have to register or give away any personal information. Reading this report showed me that customer choices are complicated and go way beyond the typical environmentalist accusations that we are all just thoughtless consumers. EcoAlign concludes that our “consumption [is] not out of mindless greed but in response to a complex web of culture and belonging” influences. Wow, if I’d only known.
The Project Energy Code concludes with the call to arms for more research into human behavior as it applies to energy conservation. They say, “there are three areas for future research that stems from the hypotheses described in this essay”:
1. Understanding better how energy consumption and environmental issues are “bundled” within the broader context of people’s day to day lives.
2. Understanding the ways in which information surrounding energy use and decisions over consumer practices flows within and between households and social networks.
3. Identifying ways in which energy efficient behavior can be made more visible and the impacts of different media in communicating this information.
I’ll be thinking a lot about this report and its importance to saving money and the planet at the same time. In the mean time, I hope someone gets working on those three additional areas of research. If the experts are right, energy conservation is still the best bang for the buck and “negawatts” are still worth bragging about to your neighbors.
© 2008 Mark R. Daily
For over fifteen years I have struggled with energy conservation in the electric utility industry. I’m a trained energy auditor and was a certified Home Energy Rating System technician. I visited with electric customers to answer the question, “Why is my energy bill so damned high and what can I do about it?”
I did detailed inventories and spit out detailed reports showing the source of the culprits contributing to high energy bills. I offered suggestions for how these customers could save money. Most of the time, I got a polite thank you. Sometimes I got a reference to another customer wanting to know, “Why is my energy bill so damned high and what can I do about it?” But, only a few cases out of hundreds brought any action on the customer’s part. One customer really loves me. He saved over three hundred dollars on propane the first month after he actually performed the measures I recommended, but, that was the exception.
Generally, customers just kept on doing what they had done before, yelling at family members to “turn off those lights” and “close the damned door – what were you – born in a barn”, and; they kept sending their money to the utility companies.
My epiphany was the result of reading a recent report by a group called ECOALIGN. Their mission is to” .. align corporate and consumer behavior with the future of energy and environment via innovative marketing and communications strategies”.
The report titled Project Energy Code, told me exactly why I couldn’t get any traction with most customers to implement the energy conservation measures I recommended. Maybe this explains why you haven’t taken action either.
The “problem” is a combination of three issues, visibility, ambivalence, and trust, as explained in the report prepared by Pippa Chenevix Trench. Here is my take on what they are getting at.
Visibility- Many of us won’t implement energy saving actions because even if we do, no one will know. Appraisers won’t increase the home’s value. Neighbors won’t make encouraging comments and no one will really be able to tell that we’re going green and saving the planet. It’s hard to brag about something you didn’t use –like energy.
Ambivalence- My dictionary defines Ambivalence as the “existence of mutually conflicting feelings or thoughts such as love or hate about some person (maybe energy auditors), object (like set back thermostats) or idea (like energy conservation). Some people might be thinking, “what’s the use, the planets going down the tubes anyway, why bother”. Or maybe they’re faced with the conflicting choice of paying for a great vacation versus installing more attic insulation. If you read the report you might conclude that the problem could even be deeper and more subtle than that. It could be anthropological.
Trust – This one really got me. Although I had a good working relationship with many customers, I was working for the utility. This fact alone made people wonder why I was recommending actions that would cut the profits from my employer. I talked about how we cared about energy conservation as well as the need to reduce the company’s cost to buy power. The report referenced a piece of research from Arizona that showed that when customers got energy saving ideas from a government agency, 17% of the recipients took energy saving actions. While 0% of recipients that got the same advice from a utility took any action. I guess I should be glad I got as many positive results as I did.
Yet, to save the planet, really save customers money and reduce the growing demand for electricity, we are all going to have to get a lot more successful at selling energy conservation.
I hope you will take the time to read the report yourself. It’s free. I didn’t even have to register or give away any personal information. Reading this report showed me that customer choices are complicated and go way beyond the typical environmentalist accusations that we are all just thoughtless consumers. EcoAlign concludes that our “consumption [is] not out of mindless greed but in response to a complex web of culture and belonging” influences. Wow, if I’d only known.
The Project Energy Code concludes with the call to arms for more research into human behavior as it applies to energy conservation. They say, “there are three areas for future research that stems from the hypotheses described in this essay”:
1. Understanding better how energy consumption and environmental issues are “bundled” within the broader context of people’s day to day lives.
2. Understanding the ways in which information surrounding energy use and decisions over consumer practices flows within and between households and social networks.
3. Identifying ways in which energy efficient behavior can be made more visible and the impacts of different media in communicating this information.
I’ll be thinking a lot about this report and its importance to saving money and the planet at the same time. In the mean time, I hope someone gets working on those three additional areas of research. If the experts are right, energy conservation is still the best bang for the buck and “negawatts” are still worth bragging about to your neighbors.
© 2008 Mark R. Daily
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Solve the Electricity Generation Crisis with Smarts
“A group won't be smart if its members imitate one another, slavishly follow fads, or wait for someone to tell them what to do. When a group is being intelligent, whether it's made up of ants or attorneys, it relies on its members to do their own part. For those of us who sometimes wonder if it's really worth recycling that extra bottle to lighten our impact on the planet, the bottom line is that our actions matter, even if we don't see how.” – Swarm Theory by Pete Miller, National Geographic.
Swam Theory may be one method to solve the growing crisis for electricity generation in the USA. The concept demonstrates two key features that could bring meaningful results to the challenge of meeting our energy needs.
First, experts and cynics a like seem to agree that our energy needs will be best met by a combination of energy conservation, renewable energy growth and cultivation of existing energy generation systems like coal and nuclear power. This means that we all have a role to play in reducing our energy demands and a role to play in encouraging energy generation diversity. In short your actions at home to conserve energy and your actions in the political arena to encourage wise decision making are very important.
Second, we all must participate in the discussion in order to make the most out of our “smart swarm” of ideas and actions.
How do you get Smart?
Can you live without electricity? Of course you could, but your life would change dramatically for the worse. You would spend more of your time doing mundane chores and less time doing things that make your life what it is today. So, if you can’t live without it, shouldn’t you know something about it? Yet, I frequently get blank stares from smart people when I ask, “how much electricity does your house or business use and what is your cost per kWh”? I use between 300 and 602 kWh per month, lowest in the summer and highest in the winter – in case you wonder if I’ve done my homework. Yes, I know. I could do better, but the national average according to U.S. Energy Information Administration is 888 kWh per month. (thanks Power - Save for setting me straight on this). Oh and I pay $0.13 per kilowatt hour. If you live in Hawaii you pay about $0.22. The nation average in June 2008 was about $0.12 per kWh and rising.
Once you know your energy appetite, find out why you eat what you eat. Everyone is reading grocery product labels these days. Consumers want to know if the product they are buying might come from a tainted batch of garlic from China or the neighborhood organic farm. They want to know if what they are buying is mostly sugar or substance. So it should be with your energy bill. Find out how much energy each appliance eats at your house. Its different for everyone so don’t use your mother-in-laws numbers, get your own. Buy a Kill-A-Watt meter or ask for one for a holiday gift. Start tracking down what you require for energy at your house. Don’t just take the utility companies month meter reading total.
Get smart. Get active. Don’t wait for someone to tell you what to do. Do your own part. It’s not that hard. No one knows your house better than you do.
© Mark Daily, 2008
Swam Theory may be one method to solve the growing crisis for electricity generation in the USA. The concept demonstrates two key features that could bring meaningful results to the challenge of meeting our energy needs.
First, experts and cynics a like seem to agree that our energy needs will be best met by a combination of energy conservation, renewable energy growth and cultivation of existing energy generation systems like coal and nuclear power. This means that we all have a role to play in reducing our energy demands and a role to play in encouraging energy generation diversity. In short your actions at home to conserve energy and your actions in the political arena to encourage wise decision making are very important.
Second, we all must participate in the discussion in order to make the most out of our “smart swarm” of ideas and actions.
How do you get Smart?
Can you live without electricity? Of course you could, but your life would change dramatically for the worse. You would spend more of your time doing mundane chores and less time doing things that make your life what it is today. So, if you can’t live without it, shouldn’t you know something about it? Yet, I frequently get blank stares from smart people when I ask, “how much electricity does your house or business use and what is your cost per kWh”? I use between 300 and 602 kWh per month, lowest in the summer and highest in the winter – in case you wonder if I’ve done my homework. Yes, I know. I could do better, but the national average according to U.S. Energy Information Administration is 888 kWh per month. (thanks Power - Save for setting me straight on this). Oh and I pay $0.13 per kilowatt hour. If you live in Hawaii you pay about $0.22. The nation average in June 2008 was about $0.12 per kWh and rising.
Once you know your energy appetite, find out why you eat what you eat. Everyone is reading grocery product labels these days. Consumers want to know if the product they are buying might come from a tainted batch of garlic from China or the neighborhood organic farm. They want to know if what they are buying is mostly sugar or substance. So it should be with your energy bill. Find out how much energy each appliance eats at your house. Its different for everyone so don’t use your mother-in-laws numbers, get your own. Buy a Kill-A-Watt meter or ask for one for a holiday gift. Start tracking down what you require for energy at your house. Don’t just take the utility companies month meter reading total.
Get smart. Get active. Don’t wait for someone to tell you what to do. Do your own part. It’s not that hard. No one knows your house better than you do.
© Mark Daily, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
Fight High Utility Bills - IT’S WINTER- AGAIN - ARE YOU READY?
Yep, you know. You should have been thinking about this in August. Who wants to think about winter when you could be basking in the August sun on some nice back country trail, or well placed street furniture? Even in the coldest parts of the nation, it won’t get below zero for another thirty days. You still have plenty of time to winterize your house or business. However, for those of you freaking out about the cool October evenings, you’ll find the following check lists an easy way to button-up the cabin before winter gets serious.
Four Things to Remember Winter
1. Heating degree days per year make a difference in the actions you need to take to prepare for winter. A heating degree is any day that the average daily temperature is below 65 degrees. Anchorage, Alaska has an average of 10,130 heating degree days. Boston, Massachusetts has 5,630 heating degree days. The same house, with the same appliances and equipment, the same number of people and pets – doing the same activities, will have an Anchorage heating bill almost twice as high as a Boston family with the same utility rates. Find your heating degree days here.
2. Moisture Problems occur in dry as well as moist climates if you don’t pay attention to gaps in insulation. When warm moist house air meets cold surfaces, the moisture drops out of the air and condenses on that cold surface. This can cause mold and mildew to form. It reduces the insulation ability of many insulation materials. It can also rot wood.
3. Winter energy bills are higher in the winter even if you’re not there. Studies show more winter energy use in vacant homes because no one is cooking, living, caring for pets, turning on lights or doing things that provide “free” secondary heat.
4. Even in winter, sunshine is your friend. Use it wisely, and get free heat. Many people cancel out the benefits of free sunshine by leaving window coverings closed on sunny days.
The Big Four Energy Bill Sources
Target these four areas to save money off your utility bill. Sure turning off the lights is a good idea, because it’s easy, but even if you grope around in the dark all winter long, you won’t save as much on lighting fixes as you will by insulating heating ducts and sealing cold air cracks.
1) Space Heating Systems (60 to 75 percent of the average home energy load);
2) Domestic water heating (25 to 30 percent of the average home energy load);
3) Kitchen and home Appliances (10 to 15 percent of the average home energy load);
4) Lighting (5 to 7 percent of the average home energy load);
Space Heating Check List- Nine steps to lower energy bills
1) Inspect insulation. Repair crawl space insulation that may have fallen down. Replace attic insulation that may have been moved for summer construction projects. Compare your insulation levels to recommended standards for your climate and consider adding insulation if your home doesn’t meet those standards. Insulate heating ducts or hydronic fluid pipes.
2) Plug the crawl space vents that you opened last spring. Fiberglass batt insulation, lightly stuffed in a small trash bag makes a good vent plug that will fit between the floor joists of your crawl space.
3) Check heat tape and replace if there is any sign of damage. UL listed heat tape should be used and installed strictly according to the manufacturer’s directions. Non- UL listed heat tape should not be used at all. Heat tape is much less expensive to use for freeze protection than a space heater. Each foot of heat tape is usually rated at 3 watts per foot. So, for the operating costs of a 1,000 watt space heater you can run 333 feet of heat tape.
4) Clean dust and dirt from all types of heaters, supply vents and air registers. Also be sure to clean return air vents and baseboard heater fins for both gas and electric baseboard heaters. Replace or clean furnace air filters before starting your furnace for the season and do it again every two months during the heating season.
5) Clear the area around heaters and all forced air duct vents. Combustible material within four inches of electric baseboard heaters is a fire hazard. The more clearance you give your heaters and vents the better the air will circulate and the quicker your rooms will warm up, lowering your heating costs.
6) Close and latch windows. Unlatched windows allow windy days to pull heat from your house. Infiltration from building envelope openings can account for as much as 40% of your heating expense.
7) Clean south facing windows and remove screens. This step improves solar gain by as much as 10%. Why pay for heat when you can get it from the sun for free?
8) Install storm windows and repair any broken glass. Add plastic or glass storm windows to any single pane glass. Doing this cuts your heat loss from windows in half.
9) Check the weather-stripping around exterior doors and windows. Repair damage and fill gaps with additional material.
Domestic Water Heating Check List - Six Steps to longer water heater life and lower energy bills
1) Flush sediments from your water heater at least once a year.
2) Check both thermostat settings if you have an electric water heater. I recommend settings of 120 degrees for both thermostats. Always set both thermostats at the same setting.
3) Add an insulating blanket to your water heater unless your water heater has foam insulation or has factory warnings against adding insulation. Shoot for a total R-Value of R-16 or better. Electric water heaters can be insulated on top for additional heat retention. If your water heater lives in the garage, keep that big garage door closed as much as possible.
4) Check hot water pipes in the crawl space or other un-heated areas. Insulate the first three feet of both the cold and hot water pipes that connect to the tank itself. I’ve insulated all of my hot water pipes. Doing that gets hot water to my shower faster, saving water and water heating expense.
5) Adding a timer to your electric water heater can cut unwanted stand by loses when you are away at work or sleeping. This can cut your water heating costs by one third. You’ll probably have to hire an electrician to do this.
6) Check to see that your shower heads and sink fixtures are low flow fixtures rated at 2-3 gallons per minute (gpm).
Appliance Check List - Four Steps to Controlling Unruly Appliances and saving dollars
1) Specialty Appliances like water bed heaters, electric blankets, Jacuzzi’s, steam showers, and engine block heaters can often use more energy than typical home appliances like refrigerators and washing machines. Make a mental note of the wattage of all of your appliances and get a feel for how long they are on. Watts divided by 1000 equals kilowatts (KW); KW times the “time on” equals kilo-Watt hours which are the units you get billed for. Kilo-Watt Hours times your current electric rate equals the amount that you will pay on your bill for that appliance.
2) Keep all appliances clean. Clean around refrigerator and freezer compressors and backs. Clean appliances use less energy.
3) Appliance timers are especially good for reducing energy use on engine block heaters, stock tank heaters, hot tubs and other specialty appliances that don’t really need to be on 24 hours a day.
4) Food freezes at refrigerator temperatures below 30 degrees. There is no need to keep your freezer colder than that unless you are doing cryogenic experiments. Refrigerator compartments only need to be in the 40 degree range to keep most foods fresh. The setting knobs on all refrigerators and freezers are worthless. Use a thermometer to check out your temperature settings.
Lighting Check List- Five Steps to a Brighter and less expensive winter
1. Cleaning lighting fixtures, reflectors and bulbs gets more light output per unit of energy used.
2. Consider replacing incandescent light bulbs that are on for more than four hours per day with compact fluorescent bulbs.
3. Consider replacing exterior incandescent bulbs with halogen bulbs. They work well at cold temperatures and cut energy use.
4. Replace incandescent holiday lights with LED holiday lights.
5. Remember to turn lights off when you leave the room or get timers and motion detectors to do it for you.
Do you have other ideas that have saved you money on your utility bill? If you have and you can prove it, I’d like to hear about your experience.
© Mark Richard Daily, 2008
Four Things to Remember Winter
1. Heating degree days per year make a difference in the actions you need to take to prepare for winter. A heating degree is any day that the average daily temperature is below 65 degrees. Anchorage, Alaska has an average of 10,130 heating degree days. Boston, Massachusetts has 5,630 heating degree days. The same house, with the same appliances and equipment, the same number of people and pets – doing the same activities, will have an Anchorage heating bill almost twice as high as a Boston family with the same utility rates. Find your heating degree days here.
2. Moisture Problems occur in dry as well as moist climates if you don’t pay attention to gaps in insulation. When warm moist house air meets cold surfaces, the moisture drops out of the air and condenses on that cold surface. This can cause mold and mildew to form. It reduces the insulation ability of many insulation materials. It can also rot wood.
3. Winter energy bills are higher in the winter even if you’re not there. Studies show more winter energy use in vacant homes because no one is cooking, living, caring for pets, turning on lights or doing things that provide “free” secondary heat.
4. Even in winter, sunshine is your friend. Use it wisely, and get free heat. Many people cancel out the benefits of free sunshine by leaving window coverings closed on sunny days.
The Big Four Energy Bill Sources
Target these four areas to save money off your utility bill. Sure turning off the lights is a good idea, because it’s easy, but even if you grope around in the dark all winter long, you won’t save as much on lighting fixes as you will by insulating heating ducts and sealing cold air cracks.
1) Space Heating Systems (60 to 75 percent of the average home energy load);
2) Domestic water heating (25 to 30 percent of the average home energy load);
3) Kitchen and home Appliances (10 to 15 percent of the average home energy load);
4) Lighting (5 to 7 percent of the average home energy load);
Space Heating Check List- Nine steps to lower energy bills
1) Inspect insulation. Repair crawl space insulation that may have fallen down. Replace attic insulation that may have been moved for summer construction projects. Compare your insulation levels to recommended standards for your climate and consider adding insulation if your home doesn’t meet those standards. Insulate heating ducts or hydronic fluid pipes.
2) Plug the crawl space vents that you opened last spring. Fiberglass batt insulation, lightly stuffed in a small trash bag makes a good vent plug that will fit between the floor joists of your crawl space.
3) Check heat tape and replace if there is any sign of damage. UL listed heat tape should be used and installed strictly according to the manufacturer’s directions. Non- UL listed heat tape should not be used at all. Heat tape is much less expensive to use for freeze protection than a space heater. Each foot of heat tape is usually rated at 3 watts per foot. So, for the operating costs of a 1,000 watt space heater you can run 333 feet of heat tape.
4) Clean dust and dirt from all types of heaters, supply vents and air registers. Also be sure to clean return air vents and baseboard heater fins for both gas and electric baseboard heaters. Replace or clean furnace air filters before starting your furnace for the season and do it again every two months during the heating season.
5) Clear the area around heaters and all forced air duct vents. Combustible material within four inches of electric baseboard heaters is a fire hazard. The more clearance you give your heaters and vents the better the air will circulate and the quicker your rooms will warm up, lowering your heating costs.
6) Close and latch windows. Unlatched windows allow windy days to pull heat from your house. Infiltration from building envelope openings can account for as much as 40% of your heating expense.
7) Clean south facing windows and remove screens. This step improves solar gain by as much as 10%. Why pay for heat when you can get it from the sun for free?
8) Install storm windows and repair any broken glass. Add plastic or glass storm windows to any single pane glass. Doing this cuts your heat loss from windows in half.
9) Check the weather-stripping around exterior doors and windows. Repair damage and fill gaps with additional material.
Domestic Water Heating Check List - Six Steps to longer water heater life and lower energy bills
1) Flush sediments from your water heater at least once a year.
2) Check both thermostat settings if you have an electric water heater. I recommend settings of 120 degrees for both thermostats. Always set both thermostats at the same setting.
3) Add an insulating blanket to your water heater unless your water heater has foam insulation or has factory warnings against adding insulation. Shoot for a total R-Value of R-16 or better. Electric water heaters can be insulated on top for additional heat retention. If your water heater lives in the garage, keep that big garage door closed as much as possible.
4) Check hot water pipes in the crawl space or other un-heated areas. Insulate the first three feet of both the cold and hot water pipes that connect to the tank itself. I’ve insulated all of my hot water pipes. Doing that gets hot water to my shower faster, saving water and water heating expense.
5) Adding a timer to your electric water heater can cut unwanted stand by loses when you are away at work or sleeping. This can cut your water heating costs by one third. You’ll probably have to hire an electrician to do this.
6) Check to see that your shower heads and sink fixtures are low flow fixtures rated at 2-3 gallons per minute (gpm).
Appliance Check List - Four Steps to Controlling Unruly Appliances and saving dollars
1) Specialty Appliances like water bed heaters, electric blankets, Jacuzzi’s, steam showers, and engine block heaters can often use more energy than typical home appliances like refrigerators and washing machines. Make a mental note of the wattage of all of your appliances and get a feel for how long they are on. Watts divided by 1000 equals kilowatts (KW); KW times the “time on” equals kilo-Watt hours which are the units you get billed for. Kilo-Watt Hours times your current electric rate equals the amount that you will pay on your bill for that appliance.
2) Keep all appliances clean. Clean around refrigerator and freezer compressors and backs. Clean appliances use less energy.
3) Appliance timers are especially good for reducing energy use on engine block heaters, stock tank heaters, hot tubs and other specialty appliances that don’t really need to be on 24 hours a day.
4) Food freezes at refrigerator temperatures below 30 degrees. There is no need to keep your freezer colder than that unless you are doing cryogenic experiments. Refrigerator compartments only need to be in the 40 degree range to keep most foods fresh. The setting knobs on all refrigerators and freezers are worthless. Use a thermometer to check out your temperature settings.
Lighting Check List- Five Steps to a Brighter and less expensive winter
1. Cleaning lighting fixtures, reflectors and bulbs gets more light output per unit of energy used.
2. Consider replacing incandescent light bulbs that are on for more than four hours per day with compact fluorescent bulbs.
3. Consider replacing exterior incandescent bulbs with halogen bulbs. They work well at cold temperatures and cut energy use.
4. Replace incandescent holiday lights with LED holiday lights.
5. Remember to turn lights off when you leave the room or get timers and motion detectors to do it for you.
Do you have other ideas that have saved you money on your utility bill? If you have and you can prove it, I’d like to hear about your experience.
© Mark Richard Daily, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
SHOP FOR ENERGY EFFICIENT APPLIANCES
Shopping for appliances isn’t fun. I usually don’t shop for an appliance until the one I have breaks down. Then, it’s a mad dash to the store to find a quick replacement. When a season’s worth of frozen vegetables is melting in your busted freezer, energy conservation is the last thing on your mind.
Unfortunately a hasty decision in the appliance selection process can cost you extra cash over the next fifteen years, the average life of most home appliances. “When you buy an appliance, you commit to paying both the first cost and the operating cost for as long as you own it. And over the life of an appliance, the energy cost to run it can be many times greater than the first cost. So it pays to buy an energy-efficient appliance,” says the introduction to the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy’s Consumer Guide.
A refrigerator or freezer that costs an extra $200 but saves you $100 per year in energy bills, will not be $200 more expensive than the cheaper model. Actually in fifteen years it will have been $1,300 less expensive due to the higher operating costs of the cheaper model. So, if you really want to save money on appliances don’t compare price, compare efficiency ratings instead.
When shopping for appliances there are two stickers that help you compare. One is the Yellow Energy Guide. The other is the Energy Star Label.
The Yellow Energy Guide label shows a comparison of the highest and lowest energy consumption or efficiency estimates of similar appliance models, based on test procedures established by the US Department of Energy. This information lets you compare the features, size and energy usage of different models. From “uses least energy” to “uses most energy,” a scale shows how a model stacks up against the competition. Since 1980, the Federal Trade Commission has required the Energy Guide labels on refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, clothes washers, room air conditioners, water heaters, furnaces, boilers, central air conditioners, heat pumps and pool heaters. Labels are not yet required on clothes dryers, portable space heaters, kitchen ranges, microwave ovens, lights or on-demand tank-less water heaters.
Energy Star labels are not on all appliances, but you should always look for this sticker to get the most efficient appliance possible. To earn the ENERGY STAR, these appliances must meet strict energy efficiency criteria set by the US Environmental Protection Agency or the US Department of Energy. They use less energy and reduce your contribution to green house gas emissions from power plants.
More than 70% of American households recognize the Energy Star label. DOE estimates that $16 billion dollars was saved by consumers on 2007 utility bills.
According to the DOE Energy Star website here is what you can expect in savings by purchasing the following Energy Star appliances.
-Qualified refrigerators are at least 15% more efficient than the minimum federal efficiency standard.
-Qualified TVs consume 3 watts or less when switched off, compared to a standard TV, which consumes almost 6 watts on average.
-Office equipment that qualifies automatically enters a low-power "sleep" mode after a period of inactivity.
-Qualified light bulbs (compact florescent or CFL) use two-thirds less energy than a standard incandescent bulb and must meet additional operating and reliability guidelines.
-Qualified furnaces offer a rating of 90% AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency) or greater, which is about 15% more efficient than the minimum federal efficiency standard.
So buying Energy Star appliances ensures that you are buying the most efficient models possible. You also save money by getting appliances with the “least energy used” per model category. Shop now, but don’t buy until you really need a new appliance. After all, these standards may change again and manufacturers are always coming up with more energy efficient models. That shouldn’t keep you being prepared by shopping ahead of time.
© Mark Daily, 2008
Unfortunately a hasty decision in the appliance selection process can cost you extra cash over the next fifteen years, the average life of most home appliances. “When you buy an appliance, you commit to paying both the first cost and the operating cost for as long as you own it. And over the life of an appliance, the energy cost to run it can be many times greater than the first cost. So it pays to buy an energy-efficient appliance,” says the introduction to the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy’s Consumer Guide.
A refrigerator or freezer that costs an extra $200 but saves you $100 per year in energy bills, will not be $200 more expensive than the cheaper model. Actually in fifteen years it will have been $1,300 less expensive due to the higher operating costs of the cheaper model. So, if you really want to save money on appliances don’t compare price, compare efficiency ratings instead.
When shopping for appliances there are two stickers that help you compare. One is the Yellow Energy Guide. The other is the Energy Star Label.
The Yellow Energy Guide label shows a comparison of the highest and lowest energy consumption or efficiency estimates of similar appliance models, based on test procedures established by the US Department of Energy. This information lets you compare the features, size and energy usage of different models. From “uses least energy” to “uses most energy,” a scale shows how a model stacks up against the competition. Since 1980, the Federal Trade Commission has required the Energy Guide labels on refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, clothes washers, room air conditioners, water heaters, furnaces, boilers, central air conditioners, heat pumps and pool heaters. Labels are not yet required on clothes dryers, portable space heaters, kitchen ranges, microwave ovens, lights or on-demand tank-less water heaters.
Energy Star labels are not on all appliances, but you should always look for this sticker to get the most efficient appliance possible. To earn the ENERGY STAR, these appliances must meet strict energy efficiency criteria set by the US Environmental Protection Agency or the US Department of Energy. They use less energy and reduce your contribution to green house gas emissions from power plants.
More than 70% of American households recognize the Energy Star label. DOE estimates that $16 billion dollars was saved by consumers on 2007 utility bills.
According to the DOE Energy Star website here is what you can expect in savings by purchasing the following Energy Star appliances.
-Qualified refrigerators are at least 15% more efficient than the minimum federal efficiency standard.
-Qualified TVs consume 3 watts or less when switched off, compared to a standard TV, which consumes almost 6 watts on average.
-Office equipment that qualifies automatically enters a low-power "sleep" mode after a period of inactivity.
-Qualified light bulbs (compact florescent or CFL) use two-thirds less energy than a standard incandescent bulb and must meet additional operating and reliability guidelines.
-Qualified furnaces offer a rating of 90% AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency) or greater, which is about 15% more efficient than the minimum federal efficiency standard.
So buying Energy Star appliances ensures that you are buying the most efficient models possible. You also save money by getting appliances with the “least energy used” per model category. Shop now, but don’t buy until you really need a new appliance. After all, these standards may change again and manufacturers are always coming up with more energy efficient models. That shouldn’t keep you being prepared by shopping ahead of time.
© Mark Daily, 2008
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Why Electric Utility Executives Hate Net-Metering
Net- Metering is a specific utility term used to describe the way utilities may allow small home generators to feed electricity back onto their electric distribution wire grids.
The DSIRE database, (Data base of State Incentives for Renewable & Efficiency) lists each state’s renewable programs. They define net- metering like this:
“Net Metering Rules For those consumers who have their own electricity generating units, net metering allows for the flow of electricity both to and from the customer through a single, bi-directional meter. With net metering, during times when the customer's generation exceeds his or her use, electricity from the customer to the utility offsets electricity consumed at another time. In effect, the customer is using the excess generation to offset electricity that would have been purchased at the retail rate. Under most state rules, residential, commercial, and industrial customers are eligible for net metering, but some states restrict eligibility to particular customer classes.”
This is a widely accepted definition but gets confused by some utility programs that don’t really offer net-metering. Instead they offer wholesale or avoided cost metering. This often requires two meters installed at the customer’s expense. One meter records the kWh flowing into their house from the utility grid and the other meter records the flow of electricity from the home’s power generation sources like a PV array or small wind turbine. The market drives the cost of electricity just like it does other commodities and the price we all pay on our electric bill reflects market value as well as actual costs for delivery. In the case of small alternate energy generators, utilities typically pay a wholesale rate for any energy that they buy directly.
One myth that is often used to oppose net-metering is the myth that meters go forward more accurately than they go backwards. Eletromechanical meters have no physical reason to run any differently more or less accurately no matter which way the current is going. Yet, this is the reason that many utilities require two meters. Two meters doubles your minimum monthly service charge and throws an un-necessary obstacle into the net-metering road.
Utilities that offer true net-metering, allow one meter that goes both directions. With this arrangement, consumer’s gain by having any energy that they generate going back to cancel the incoming kWh hours.
Once the meter hits zero on the register the price changes. Now you are making a net contribution to the grid instead of just canceling out your utility company generated power. So, the price you make on each kWh goes down to the wholesale rate which is typically 40 to 60 percent less than the retail rate. So, if you are going to run payback numbers for your project, you need to find out the average retail rate per kWh when you calculate the financial benefits of installing your own net-metering equipment.
Safety has always been very important to electric utilities and rightfully so. You can’t make any mistakes handling 14,000 volts of electricity without serious – usually fatal consequences. So, may utilities require a long list of lock out safety requirements and a hefty insurance liability policy from homeowners interested in installing net metering equipment.
Some utilities require a physical lock out device accessible to utility personnel; all day every day so that they can isolate your system from the grid while they are working on distribution circuits effected by your system.
I heard a good talk several years ago by a knowledgeable engineer about the potential danger from net-metering facilities. He seemed to think that the likely hood of a 12 or 24 volt 1.5 to 3.0KW net-metering system back feeding enough voltage to injury a line worker was a remote possibility and said it really was not scientifically supportable. Yet many utilities still persist in adding this substantial obstacle to net- metering installations from home owners.
Today, there are several alternate energy system inverters that take care of most of the legitimate interconnection and safety issues raised by utility regulations.
The main problem with net metering relates to the way you get billed for electricity. In most locations there are two parts to your bill. One part is a kWh charge that is supposed to cover all of the costs of getting each kWh to your house from the generation facility. The other part of your bill has a fixed minimum monthly charge or availability of service fee that is supposed to cover those expenses that a distribution utility incurs whether you use any electricity or not. If you leave town and throw your main breaker to the off position, you will not use any kWh. But, your meter is still sitting there ready for action and the wires coming to your house are still in the air or under the ground waiting for something to do and the utility company still needs to send a meter reader or use software to read your meter remotely just in case you use some juice that month. These fixed costs, like property taxes, accounting expenses and administrative expenses continue whether you use electricity or not. Also these expenses are often so high that utilities bundle a portion of the fixed expense into your kWh charge. So, if you are a net-metering customer whose meter hits zero or generates a lot of your own power that displaces the utility grid power , you are cutting into their revenue, without making a meaningful contribution to cutting the costs for buying power during the night and on cloudy days.
What may change utility attitudes toward net-metering is the growing need for additional generation resources and the clamor over fossil fuel generation. Utility executives maybe looking for net-metering resources to fill in peak daytime loads when the sun is shining, thus taking some of the pressure off financing new fossil fuel resources.
Do you have a question about how your electricity gets to your house? Ask me. I'll try to find out? GOt any other questions about electric energy generation? Ask me. I'll get some answers.
The DSIRE database, (Data base of State Incentives for Renewable & Efficiency) lists each state’s renewable programs. They define net- metering like this:
“Net Metering Rules For those consumers who have their own electricity generating units, net metering allows for the flow of electricity both to and from the customer through a single, bi-directional meter. With net metering, during times when the customer's generation exceeds his or her use, electricity from the customer to the utility offsets electricity consumed at another time. In effect, the customer is using the excess generation to offset electricity that would have been purchased at the retail rate. Under most state rules, residential, commercial, and industrial customers are eligible for net metering, but some states restrict eligibility to particular customer classes.”
This is a widely accepted definition but gets confused by some utility programs that don’t really offer net-metering. Instead they offer wholesale or avoided cost metering. This often requires two meters installed at the customer’s expense. One meter records the kWh flowing into their house from the utility grid and the other meter records the flow of electricity from the home’s power generation sources like a PV array or small wind turbine. The market drives the cost of electricity just like it does other commodities and the price we all pay on our electric bill reflects market value as well as actual costs for delivery. In the case of small alternate energy generators, utilities typically pay a wholesale rate for any energy that they buy directly.
One myth that is often used to oppose net-metering is the myth that meters go forward more accurately than they go backwards. Eletromechanical meters have no physical reason to run any differently more or less accurately no matter which way the current is going. Yet, this is the reason that many utilities require two meters. Two meters doubles your minimum monthly service charge and throws an un-necessary obstacle into the net-metering road.
Utilities that offer true net-metering, allow one meter that goes both directions. With this arrangement, consumer’s gain by having any energy that they generate going back to cancel the incoming kWh hours.
Once the meter hits zero on the register the price changes. Now you are making a net contribution to the grid instead of just canceling out your utility company generated power. So, the price you make on each kWh goes down to the wholesale rate which is typically 40 to 60 percent less than the retail rate. So, if you are going to run payback numbers for your project, you need to find out the average retail rate per kWh when you calculate the financial benefits of installing your own net-metering equipment.
Safety has always been very important to electric utilities and rightfully so. You can’t make any mistakes handling 14,000 volts of electricity without serious – usually fatal consequences. So, may utilities require a long list of lock out safety requirements and a hefty insurance liability policy from homeowners interested in installing net metering equipment.
Some utilities require a physical lock out device accessible to utility personnel; all day every day so that they can isolate your system from the grid while they are working on distribution circuits effected by your system.
I heard a good talk several years ago by a knowledgeable engineer about the potential danger from net-metering facilities. He seemed to think that the likely hood of a 12 or 24 volt 1.5 to 3.0KW net-metering system back feeding enough voltage to injury a line worker was a remote possibility and said it really was not scientifically supportable. Yet many utilities still persist in adding this substantial obstacle to net- metering installations from home owners.
Today, there are several alternate energy system inverters that take care of most of the legitimate interconnection and safety issues raised by utility regulations.
The main problem with net metering relates to the way you get billed for electricity. In most locations there are two parts to your bill. One part is a kWh charge that is supposed to cover all of the costs of getting each kWh to your house from the generation facility. The other part of your bill has a fixed minimum monthly charge or availability of service fee that is supposed to cover those expenses that a distribution utility incurs whether you use any electricity or not. If you leave town and throw your main breaker to the off position, you will not use any kWh. But, your meter is still sitting there ready for action and the wires coming to your house are still in the air or under the ground waiting for something to do and the utility company still needs to send a meter reader or use software to read your meter remotely just in case you use some juice that month. These fixed costs, like property taxes, accounting expenses and administrative expenses continue whether you use electricity or not. Also these expenses are often so high that utilities bundle a portion of the fixed expense into your kWh charge. So, if you are a net-metering customer whose meter hits zero or generates a lot of your own power that displaces the utility grid power , you are cutting into their revenue, without making a meaningful contribution to cutting the costs for buying power during the night and on cloudy days.
What may change utility attitudes toward net-metering is the growing need for additional generation resources and the clamor over fossil fuel generation. Utility executives maybe looking for net-metering resources to fill in peak daytime loads when the sun is shining, thus taking some of the pressure off financing new fossil fuel resources.
Do you have a question about how your electricity gets to your house? Ask me. I'll try to find out? GOt any other questions about electric energy generation? Ask me. I'll get some answers.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Air Permit Denial Threatens to Cost Consumers
Like the old Chinese curse, " may you live in interesting times", recent events could be on track for a perfect storm for electric utility generation, with electricity consumers caught in the middle and footing the bill as usual.
The convergence of recent US Supreme Court decisions, pending State and Federal government climate change legislation and citizen discussions about global warming put consumers at risk for a deluge of electric rate increases. Add a cold winter, or higher transportation and maintenance costs and the writing is on the wall. For those consumers that believe that current electricity rates are too low and do not reflect the external costs of air pollution created during electricity generation, the recent decision to deny power plant air quality permits in Kansas is a good decision. For those consumers struggling on fixed incomes or tight budgets, the decision may mean electric rates will continue to climb. That could be bad for everyone.
The Background
Tri-State G&T proposed the joint construction of the largest coal-fired power plant in the United States, to be built at the cost of $3.6 billion. The power plant with its two 700-megawatt generators was to be built and financed by several utilities including, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Sunflower Electric Association, Golden Spread Electric Cooperative, Inc, and Midwest Energy.All four companies are member owned, non-profit cooperative corporations. The first three companies are wholesale power suppliers. Sunflower, organized in 1957, serves six rural electric distribution cooperatives in 34 western Kansas counties. Tri-State, started in 1952, is owned by and serves 44 electric cooperatives across portions of Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico and Wyoming. Golden Spread Electric Cooperative was founded in 1984 and serves 16 distribution cooperatives in Oklahoma and Texas. Midwest Energy serves customers in central and western Kansas.
The new power plants are planned as an expansion to existing power generation facilities owned by Sunflower on their 10,000-acre, 360-megawatt Holcomb Station site. This is located approximately four miles south of Holcomb, Kansas.
The original plan was for Golden Spread, Sunflower, Tri-State and other investors to jointly own the first new 700-megawatt unit. Construction of the first unit was planned to begin in 2007 and be operational in 2012. Golden Spread planed to own 400 megawatts of the unit’s output for supply to its member systems. Sunflower expected to provide up to 150 megawatts to its member systems, and Midwest Energy was in for 75 megawatts. Tri-State planned to own the second 700-megawatt unit, to supply power to its member systems. This unit was projected to be online in 2013, but recent proposals before the denial show Tri-State postponing construction and tying the construction schedule to future load growth.
The Denial
According to an October 18, 2007 Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), press release concern over carbon dioxide production was the key factor in permit denial. Bolstered by the recent US Supreme Court decision (Massachusetts v. EPA), KHDE Secretary Roderick L. Bremby, stated, "I believe it would be irresponsible to ignore emerging information about the contribution of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to climate change and the potential harm to our environment and health if we do nothing".
Massachusetts v. EPA defined carbon dioxide ( CO2) as an air quality pollutant that should be regulated by the EPA. The 66 page Supreme Court Opinion refers to specific scientific studies and reports documenting the existing and predicted negative impacts from global climate change and ties these changes directly to human activity; specifically the accelerated production of green house gases. Carbon dioxide heads the list of these green house gas emissions.
The EPA defines coal fired electricity generation as the single largest source of CO2 emissions in the USA. Coal fired electricity generation exceeds CO2 emissions from the entire transportation sector.
This permit denial is the first such denial in the nation."We are disappointed with the Secretary's arbitrary and capricious action," said Earl Watkins, Sunflower's president and chief executive officer. Those disappointed with the denial point out the neither the EPA or the State of Kansas include CO2 as a regulated air pollutant. Project partners felt that they had met all environmental and regulatory requirements with their proposal.
This action also changes Sunflower's plans to invest in and advance algae technology that would use carbon dioxide from the power plants. Attempting to address carbon emissions, the project partners completed initial testing for an innovative algae reactor that would use a portion of the carbon dioxide emissions from Holcomb Station to produce biofuels, including ethanol and biodiesel. Funds that would have been earned from the power plant expansion project were expected to be used to finance Sunflower's investment in the commercial algae reactor.
The Next Step
Tri-State's general counsel Ken Reif reported to the G&T's employees, "Naturally we are all disappointed in this action and we are in the process of evaluating our options with Sunflower and our board."
Sunflower’s President and CEO Watkins said, "Politics aside, the 1.5 million cooperative customers still need reliable, low- cost power. We will endeavor to fulfill that mission in the appropriate way, but those customers will be harmed and the economy damaged by the Secretary's decision. Sunflower expects to pursue legal and legislative remedies to this denial."
Talk about Denial
Wholesale power utilities still do not get it. They continue to promote misleading statements regarding global warming or climate change and insist that decisions are being made based on emotion and "politics" rather than science. If it wasn’t for "politics", utilities and consumers would have been paying higher generation rates for decades to account for externalities - pollution etc., caused by fossil fuel electricity generation. Some argue that as soon as electricity becomes expensive enough to be worth saving, energy conservation will finally kick in and become a serious part of demand side management, instead of the token savings that it is inmost homes today.
In any case the Kansas Department of Health and Environment took one of the first steps toward new thinking and new energy solutions. In these interesting times it will be very interesting to see the impact that this permit decision has on other coal fired power plant construction plans across the nation. It will be even be more interesting to see how utilities meet the growing national demand for electricity with limited generation resources and a growing demand for climate change action.
© 2007Mark Daily
The convergence of recent US Supreme Court decisions, pending State and Federal government climate change legislation and citizen discussions about global warming put consumers at risk for a deluge of electric rate increases. Add a cold winter, or higher transportation and maintenance costs and the writing is on the wall. For those consumers that believe that current electricity rates are too low and do not reflect the external costs of air pollution created during electricity generation, the recent decision to deny power plant air quality permits in Kansas is a good decision. For those consumers struggling on fixed incomes or tight budgets, the decision may mean electric rates will continue to climb. That could be bad for everyone.
The Background
Tri-State G&T proposed the joint construction of the largest coal-fired power plant in the United States, to be built at the cost of $3.6 billion. The power plant with its two 700-megawatt generators was to be built and financed by several utilities including, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Sunflower Electric Association, Golden Spread Electric Cooperative, Inc, and Midwest Energy.All four companies are member owned, non-profit cooperative corporations. The first three companies are wholesale power suppliers. Sunflower, organized in 1957, serves six rural electric distribution cooperatives in 34 western Kansas counties. Tri-State, started in 1952, is owned by and serves 44 electric cooperatives across portions of Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico and Wyoming. Golden Spread Electric Cooperative was founded in 1984 and serves 16 distribution cooperatives in Oklahoma and Texas. Midwest Energy serves customers in central and western Kansas.
The new power plants are planned as an expansion to existing power generation facilities owned by Sunflower on their 10,000-acre, 360-megawatt Holcomb Station site. This is located approximately four miles south of Holcomb, Kansas.
The original plan was for Golden Spread, Sunflower, Tri-State and other investors to jointly own the first new 700-megawatt unit. Construction of the first unit was planned to begin in 2007 and be operational in 2012. Golden Spread planed to own 400 megawatts of the unit’s output for supply to its member systems. Sunflower expected to provide up to 150 megawatts to its member systems, and Midwest Energy was in for 75 megawatts. Tri-State planned to own the second 700-megawatt unit, to supply power to its member systems. This unit was projected to be online in 2013, but recent proposals before the denial show Tri-State postponing construction and tying the construction schedule to future load growth.
The Denial
According to an October 18, 2007 Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), press release concern over carbon dioxide production was the key factor in permit denial. Bolstered by the recent US Supreme Court decision (Massachusetts v. EPA), KHDE Secretary Roderick L. Bremby, stated, "I believe it would be irresponsible to ignore emerging information about the contribution of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to climate change and the potential harm to our environment and health if we do nothing".
Massachusetts v. EPA defined carbon dioxide ( CO2) as an air quality pollutant that should be regulated by the EPA. The 66 page Supreme Court Opinion refers to specific scientific studies and reports documenting the existing and predicted negative impacts from global climate change and ties these changes directly to human activity; specifically the accelerated production of green house gases. Carbon dioxide heads the list of these green house gas emissions.
The EPA defines coal fired electricity generation as the single largest source of CO2 emissions in the USA. Coal fired electricity generation exceeds CO2 emissions from the entire transportation sector.
This permit denial is the first such denial in the nation."We are disappointed with the Secretary's arbitrary and capricious action," said Earl Watkins, Sunflower's president and chief executive officer. Those disappointed with the denial point out the neither the EPA or the State of Kansas include CO2 as a regulated air pollutant. Project partners felt that they had met all environmental and regulatory requirements with their proposal.
This action also changes Sunflower's plans to invest in and advance algae technology that would use carbon dioxide from the power plants. Attempting to address carbon emissions, the project partners completed initial testing for an innovative algae reactor that would use a portion of the carbon dioxide emissions from Holcomb Station to produce biofuels, including ethanol and biodiesel. Funds that would have been earned from the power plant expansion project were expected to be used to finance Sunflower's investment in the commercial algae reactor.
The Next Step
Tri-State's general counsel Ken Reif reported to the G&T's employees, "Naturally we are all disappointed in this action and we are in the process of evaluating our options with Sunflower and our board."
Sunflower’s President and CEO Watkins said, "Politics aside, the 1.5 million cooperative customers still need reliable, low- cost power. We will endeavor to fulfill that mission in the appropriate way, but those customers will be harmed and the economy damaged by the Secretary's decision. Sunflower expects to pursue legal and legislative remedies to this denial."
Talk about Denial
Wholesale power utilities still do not get it. They continue to promote misleading statements regarding global warming or climate change and insist that decisions are being made based on emotion and "politics" rather than science. If it wasn’t for "politics", utilities and consumers would have been paying higher generation rates for decades to account for externalities - pollution etc., caused by fossil fuel electricity generation. Some argue that as soon as electricity becomes expensive enough to be worth saving, energy conservation will finally kick in and become a serious part of demand side management, instead of the token savings that it is inmost homes today.
In any case the Kansas Department of Health and Environment took one of the first steps toward new thinking and new energy solutions. In these interesting times it will be very interesting to see the impact that this permit decision has on other coal fired power plant construction plans across the nation. It will be even be more interesting to see how utilities meet the growing national demand for electricity with limited generation resources and a growing demand for climate change action.
© 2007Mark Daily
Monday, July 9, 2007
Top Ten things you can do to save electricity and lower your bill this summer
1.Set your air conditioning system no lower than 80 degrees. If you aren’t comfortable at this temperature you probably need to loose weight.
2. Loose weight. By keeping your refrigerator door closed you are saving money and losing weight which could reduce your air conditioning costs (see #1).
3. Replace incandescent bulbs with compact florescent bulbs. These bulbs last ten times longer and use a quarter of the power for the same amount of light and they give off less heat so you don’t need so much air conditioning.
4. Use or install a ceiling fan and use it in the mornings or cooler times of day instead of turning on the air conditioning. Ceiling fans use a fraction of the electricity that air conditioning uses.
5. Cook outside on the grill or make more microwave meals. Electric and gas ovens and ranges not only take energy, they heat up the house, requiring more AC. Microwave cooking gives off less heat and uses about two-thirds less energy than electric stove top or oven cooking.
6. Install a programable thermostat for your air conditioning system. Program your new thermostat or find the directions to your old one and set the temperature to 80 degrees when you are in the house and 85 when you are gone. This will save you 5% off the air conditioning part of your electric bill.
7. Dry your laundry outside instead of using the dryer. You can knock off $5 to $15 dollars of ourbill just by getting you and your laundry out of the house for a little.
8. Keep the window blinds or shades down on east, west and south facing windows. These windows pick up a lot of heat from the direct sun pouring in unless your eaves or awnings are designed to keep direct sun off your windows. You will save a lot off your air conditioning bill by doing this one.
9. Put entertainment appliances, Televisions, CD players etc. on a light stick or plug bar and switch everything off when you aren’t right there watching or listening. Some electronic equipment, especially electronic equipment that uses a remote control, is always ON even when you think its off.
10. Get a little Kill-A-Watt meter that you can plug into learn the energy appetite of all your appliances and equipment. The key to reducing summer utility bills is knowledge. Find out what uses what at your house, everyone is different.
The best, cheapest and most renewable electricty around is the electricity that you don't use at all.
© Mark Daily
2. Loose weight. By keeping your refrigerator door closed you are saving money and losing weight which could reduce your air conditioning costs (see #1).
3. Replace incandescent bulbs with compact florescent bulbs. These bulbs last ten times longer and use a quarter of the power for the same amount of light and they give off less heat so you don’t need so much air conditioning.
4. Use or install a ceiling fan and use it in the mornings or cooler times of day instead of turning on the air conditioning. Ceiling fans use a fraction of the electricity that air conditioning uses.
5. Cook outside on the grill or make more microwave meals. Electric and gas ovens and ranges not only take energy, they heat up the house, requiring more AC. Microwave cooking gives off less heat and uses about two-thirds less energy than electric stove top or oven cooking.
6. Install a programable thermostat for your air conditioning system. Program your new thermostat or find the directions to your old one and set the temperature to 80 degrees when you are in the house and 85 when you are gone. This will save you 5% off the air conditioning part of your electric bill.
7. Dry your laundry outside instead of using the dryer. You can knock off $5 to $15 dollars of ourbill just by getting you and your laundry out of the house for a little.
8. Keep the window blinds or shades down on east, west and south facing windows. These windows pick up a lot of heat from the direct sun pouring in unless your eaves or awnings are designed to keep direct sun off your windows. You will save a lot off your air conditioning bill by doing this one.
9. Put entertainment appliances, Televisions, CD players etc. on a light stick or plug bar and switch everything off when you aren’t right there watching or listening. Some electronic equipment, especially electronic equipment that uses a remote control, is always ON even when you think its off.
10. Get a little Kill-A-Watt meter that you can plug into learn the energy appetite of all your appliances and equipment. The key to reducing summer utility bills is knowledge. Find out what uses what at your house, everyone is different.
The best, cheapest and most renewable electricty around is the electricity that you don't use at all.
© Mark Daily
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Electricity Power Generation Is Not Cheaper at Night
Let me say this again. Electricity Generation is NOT cheaper at night. It doesn’t matter who tells you that it is. Let me say it again. Electricity is not cheaper at night. Yet, this lie continues to be passed around as fact. As one current administration has found, the way to make a lie true, is just to keep repeating the lie over and over again. So this lie is now fact.
The March 20th, 2007 "Backstory" of the Christian Science Monitor picked up and repeated this often heard lie as though it were true. You would think that a prestigious newspaper like the Monitor would do some fact checking, but the myth that they repeated has become so prevalent that the true story I am about to relate to you may seem hard to believe. Honest it is true, I was there.
The repeated lie was blurted out in an otherwise inspiring article about electric cars and their ability to reduce harmful emissions as well as reduce owner operating costs by charging batteries at night. Correspondent Frank Kosa wrote, " Cars are usually charged at night when electricity is cheapest". His statement is only true for those customers that sign up for special rates with Southern California Edison which serves the Santa Monica California area.
Here is the true story. It happened when I used to work for an electric utility. One of my customer service representatives buzzed me on the intercom one afternoon saying she had an angry customer on the phone demanding to speak to a manager about their electric bill. Since I was the employee’s supervisor, it was my job to work with the angry customer. I took a deep breath, consulted my handy wallet size helper " How to deal with angry customers" and pushed the phone button. " I am being ripped off by you people and I want you to make an adjustment on my bill", the angry voice shouted through the phone.
Step One, left the customer speak. He continued, "I read in the paper where its cheaper to use electricity at night and exactly thirty days before the end date of this bill, I started making sure that all of my electricity was used during those hours posted in the paper for night time rates". And , the voice said with a quick gasp for air, "my bill was just the same this month as it has always been. You need to do something".
Step Two - Make sure you really understand the details. "So", I said calmly. "I can tell that you are really upset. Just let me ask you a few questions to make sure that I really understand your situation". " For over thirty days you made sure that you used electricity only between the night time hours by turning off your breakers and equipment during the day. After doing this you expected your electric bill to go down, is that correct?" "Your damned right", he jumped back.
"OK. I understand", I assured him. "When our customer service representative told me that you were on the line, I pulled up your billing record and I can see that you are right, your bill really is about the same as it was last month". "I also see that you are on our general service residential rate".
I went on to explain that our general service electric rate, like most every residential rate in the nation, charged the same amount per kilowatt hour (kWh) no matter which time of day he used electricity. I continued to explain that in order to get cheaper rates at night the customer needed to sign up for a special Time of Use or Off Peak Rate and have a special residential meter installed that could keep track of when electricity was being used at his location.
So for all of you that have been watching the clock and maddly flipping power switches on or off at appointed times please stop and make sure that your efforts will be rewarded. It is not and never has been a matter of just using the juice at night. If you are not on a time of use or off peak rate you are wasting your time. Here is how it works, more or less.
Electric Utility Transmission and Generation Companies (G&T’s) or wholesale power suppliers, gain incredible efficiencies and therefore save big bucks when they can keep their power generation plants running at a constant medium speed. If they have to ramp things down for low load periods they loose money. Like wise, when they have to ramp things up or buy spot market generation to meet higher than expected loads they also loose money.
Steady as she goes provides the optimal operating cost environment when it comes to power generation. The problem is, that is not how we use electricity. When you look at your utility’s line graph of power or kilowatt hour (kWh) sales in 24 hour increments, you will always see ups and downs. And, if you compare consecutive 24 hour periods you will see a pattern of energy use that generally repeats itself day after day all year long. There may be some changes seasonally in cold or hot climates but even those peaks and valleys have a pattern. How else do you think the G&T’s know how much coal or gas to buy and when to pour it on the fire? Utility executives call this dispatch-able power.
This is one reason that many utilities seem opposed to Renewable power generation facilities connected to their systems. They are never real sure when the wind will blow. And, they are pretty sure that the solar panels will go down with the sun, just when they need that evening peak power as you get home from work. That’s why they call these two renewable energy sources non-dispatch-able.
G&T’s usually bill their distribution companies, that’s the folks you buy your power from, two ways. They bill on the total kilowatt hours used during the billing period, called total kWh or "energy". And, they bill on the highest peak energy of Kilowatt demand for the month , called Peak KW or "demand". That peak demand almost always occurs during the same time as the daily peaks for energy use that season. So, if your utlitity can shave the size of the KW peak at that time, they save money. As an insentive to get their customers to help them shave that peak, they offer Time of Use or Off peak rates hoping that you will sign up and help them cut their power bill. If it works they can pass the savings on to you.
But, BIG BUT, you have to sign up for the rate. These are special rates and you need to sign up for two reasons. One, you will need a more sophisticated and expensive meter that can document the kWh used during the Off Peak time as well as the kWh used during the On Peak time. Sometimes this means you must pay a higher minimum monthly service charge so don’t forget to factor that into your calculations. Two, you probably need to agree to pay a penalty or higher rate for kWh used during the On peak time. If they don’t offer a real incentive to get you to use your power Off Peak, why bother?
For example in Santa Monica Southern Cal Edison has a Time of Use rate for homes where most electricity is used between 6:00 PM and 10:00 AM. Other utilities may offer two off peak times during the day depending on their daily load profile. Southern Cal Edison also offers a special rate for electric vehicles for homes where qualifying electric vehicles are charged..
Customers that have automated equipment to turn their equipment on and off have lower bills than customers that try to match the Off Peak times on their own manually. People forget or get sick or take holidays. Programmed time clocks and equipment are well worth the expense if your lifestyle can handle the restrictions of your local utility’s special rates. The best thing to do is call and talk to them about your plans ahead of time. Make sure that your hard work and money will be rewarded with real cost savings on your utility bill.
I repeat "electricity is not cheaper at night", unless your utlity has a special rate and you and your house are signed up for it.
The March 20th, 2007 "Backstory" of the Christian Science Monitor picked up and repeated this often heard lie as though it were true. You would think that a prestigious newspaper like the Monitor would do some fact checking, but the myth that they repeated has become so prevalent that the true story I am about to relate to you may seem hard to believe. Honest it is true, I was there.
The repeated lie was blurted out in an otherwise inspiring article about electric cars and their ability to reduce harmful emissions as well as reduce owner operating costs by charging batteries at night. Correspondent Frank Kosa wrote, " Cars are usually charged at night when electricity is cheapest". His statement is only true for those customers that sign up for special rates with Southern California Edison which serves the Santa Monica California area.
Here is the true story. It happened when I used to work for an electric utility. One of my customer service representatives buzzed me on the intercom one afternoon saying she had an angry customer on the phone demanding to speak to a manager about their electric bill. Since I was the employee’s supervisor, it was my job to work with the angry customer. I took a deep breath, consulted my handy wallet size helper " How to deal with angry customers" and pushed the phone button. " I am being ripped off by you people and I want you to make an adjustment on my bill", the angry voice shouted through the phone.
Step One, left the customer speak. He continued, "I read in the paper where its cheaper to use electricity at night and exactly thirty days before the end date of this bill, I started making sure that all of my electricity was used during those hours posted in the paper for night time rates". And , the voice said with a quick gasp for air, "my bill was just the same this month as it has always been. You need to do something".
Step Two - Make sure you really understand the details. "So", I said calmly. "I can tell that you are really upset. Just let me ask you a few questions to make sure that I really understand your situation". " For over thirty days you made sure that you used electricity only between the night time hours by turning off your breakers and equipment during the day. After doing this you expected your electric bill to go down, is that correct?" "Your damned right", he jumped back.
"OK. I understand", I assured him. "When our customer service representative told me that you were on the line, I pulled up your billing record and I can see that you are right, your bill really is about the same as it was last month". "I also see that you are on our general service residential rate".
I went on to explain that our general service electric rate, like most every residential rate in the nation, charged the same amount per kilowatt hour (kWh) no matter which time of day he used electricity. I continued to explain that in order to get cheaper rates at night the customer needed to sign up for a special Time of Use or Off Peak Rate and have a special residential meter installed that could keep track of when electricity was being used at his location.
So for all of you that have been watching the clock and maddly flipping power switches on or off at appointed times please stop and make sure that your efforts will be rewarded. It is not and never has been a matter of just using the juice at night. If you are not on a time of use or off peak rate you are wasting your time. Here is how it works, more or less.
Electric Utility Transmission and Generation Companies (G&T’s) or wholesale power suppliers, gain incredible efficiencies and therefore save big bucks when they can keep their power generation plants running at a constant medium speed. If they have to ramp things down for low load periods they loose money. Like wise, when they have to ramp things up or buy spot market generation to meet higher than expected loads they also loose money.
Steady as she goes provides the optimal operating cost environment when it comes to power generation. The problem is, that is not how we use electricity. When you look at your utility’s line graph of power or kilowatt hour (kWh) sales in 24 hour increments, you will always see ups and downs. And, if you compare consecutive 24 hour periods you will see a pattern of energy use that generally repeats itself day after day all year long. There may be some changes seasonally in cold or hot climates but even those peaks and valleys have a pattern. How else do you think the G&T’s know how much coal or gas to buy and when to pour it on the fire? Utility executives call this dispatch-able power.
This is one reason that many utilities seem opposed to Renewable power generation facilities connected to their systems. They are never real sure when the wind will blow. And, they are pretty sure that the solar panels will go down with the sun, just when they need that evening peak power as you get home from work. That’s why they call these two renewable energy sources non-dispatch-able.
G&T’s usually bill their distribution companies, that’s the folks you buy your power from, two ways. They bill on the total kilowatt hours used during the billing period, called total kWh or "energy". And, they bill on the highest peak energy of Kilowatt demand for the month , called Peak KW or "demand". That peak demand almost always occurs during the same time as the daily peaks for energy use that season. So, if your utlitity can shave the size of the KW peak at that time, they save money. As an insentive to get their customers to help them shave that peak, they offer Time of Use or Off peak rates hoping that you will sign up and help them cut their power bill. If it works they can pass the savings on to you.
But, BIG BUT, you have to sign up for the rate. These are special rates and you need to sign up for two reasons. One, you will need a more sophisticated and expensive meter that can document the kWh used during the Off Peak time as well as the kWh used during the On Peak time. Sometimes this means you must pay a higher minimum monthly service charge so don’t forget to factor that into your calculations. Two, you probably need to agree to pay a penalty or higher rate for kWh used during the On peak time. If they don’t offer a real incentive to get you to use your power Off Peak, why bother?
For example in Santa Monica Southern Cal Edison has a Time of Use rate for homes where most electricity is used between 6:00 PM and 10:00 AM. Other utilities may offer two off peak times during the day depending on their daily load profile. Southern Cal Edison also offers a special rate for electric vehicles for homes where qualifying electric vehicles are charged..
Customers that have automated equipment to turn their equipment on and off have lower bills than customers that try to match the Off Peak times on their own manually. People forget or get sick or take holidays. Programmed time clocks and equipment are well worth the expense if your lifestyle can handle the restrictions of your local utility’s special rates. The best thing to do is call and talk to them about your plans ahead of time. Make sure that your hard work and money will be rewarded with real cost savings on your utility bill.
I repeat "electricity is not cheaper at night", unless your utlity has a special rate and you and your house are signed up for it.
Friday, March 9, 2007
Is Your Electricity Subsidized?
While the term "subsidy" has taken on derogatory implications, the fact is that in spite of our so called free market economy, most of the things we buy, including electricity have some financial help from Uncle Sam. It may be a simple adjustment in federal taxes or tax credits available for certain industries, it may be federal funding of research and development, it maybe discounted loan programs. What ever it is, from automobiles to grapefruit, there is something that someone can call a "Subsidy". Investor owned utilities(IOU’s), municipal owned utilities (MUNI’s), and member owned utilities (COOPS) all get subsidized in some way. So, get over it.
The question you should ask is not who gets a subsidy , but rather who benefits from the subsidy and do those subsidies support industries that are good for the long term health of the nation and the World? In the case of electricity generation, they do, if you believe that price is all that matters. Our electric rates nation wide would be higher, maybe much higher, if it were not for the maze of tax incentives and benefits available to those making electricity.
Our collective sense of things is that the big guys, king coal, nuclear power and natural gas get bigger subsidies then the little guys like wind, solar, energy conservation and bio fuels. And, if you thought that, you, would be right. In a year 2000 Federal Report (Number SR/OIAF/2000-02 http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/servicerpt/subsidy1/index.html ); the numbers show that in 1999 base load generation from fossil fuels was supported 2.2 times more than energy conservation and 15.35 times more than renewable technologies.
According to the executive summary of the 2000 report, "Federal subsidies for transformation and end-use activities are estimated to be $2.2 billion in fiscal year 1999, a decline of about 10 percent in real terms from the total found for similar items in fiscal year 1992 (Table ES1 and Figure ES1).execsummary_fnotes.htmlIt is estimated that direct subsidies--the sum of direct expenditures and tax expenditures--totaled $1.8 billion in fiscal year 1999, of which direct expenditures totaled $1.4 billion. R&D subsidies accounted for the remainder, just over $0.45 billion."
The 2005 Energy Act promises to promote energy conservation and renewables, yet so far the amount of support and subsidy still weighs in heavier for coal(big emphasis on clean coal technologies) and nuclear energy than it does for conservation and renewables.
Meeting the electric energy needs of this nation will require subsidies on a more even playing field that will help fledgling industries compete against the old timers decades of federal support. Clean coal, safe nuclear generation, hydro- electric production, and renewables must all be evaluated for the contribution that they can make to meet the needs without creating long lasting environmental programs. But, this wont be cheap.
Residential electricity rates across the nation have increased faster than the Consumer Price Index for many years.
Consumer Price Index Increase - All Urban Areas
2003 -1.9%
2004 -3.3%
2005 - 3.4%
2006 - 2.5%
Four Year Annual Avg
2.8%
US Department of Labor Statistics ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/cpi/cpiai.txt
Average Retail Price of Electricity to Consumer
Year Cents/kWh Percent increase
2003 8.72 3.32%
2004 8.98 2.98%
2005 9.46 5.35%
2006 10.46 10.57%
Four Year Annual Avg.
5.55%
Source: Energy Information Administration http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epa/epat7p4.html#_ftn2
Get used to rising rates. There is no way we can move into an era of less dependence on fossil fuels without paying more at the meter.
Recent claims of victory by environmental groups over the apparent retreat of TXU investors over plans to build 11 new coal generation facilities, could be hollow chest thumping, if other generation sources don’t surface to meet the need. Sure, TXU may have over-estimated load growth, just to look like good guys when they agreed to stop plans for 8 coal plants, but some day load will exceed supply if current trends continue.
Changing the paltry contribution of renewables to the nation’s generation fuel mix will take a lot more than chasing off coal plant investors.
The question you should ask is not who gets a subsidy , but rather who benefits from the subsidy and do those subsidies support industries that are good for the long term health of the nation and the World? In the case of electricity generation, they do, if you believe that price is all that matters. Our electric rates nation wide would be higher, maybe much higher, if it were not for the maze of tax incentives and benefits available to those making electricity.
Our collective sense of things is that the big guys, king coal, nuclear power and natural gas get bigger subsidies then the little guys like wind, solar, energy conservation and bio fuels. And, if you thought that, you, would be right. In a year 2000 Federal Report (Number SR/OIAF/2000-02 http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/servicerpt/subsidy1/index.html ); the numbers show that in 1999 base load generation from fossil fuels was supported 2.2 times more than energy conservation and 15.35 times more than renewable technologies.
According to the executive summary of the 2000 report, "Federal subsidies for transformation and end-use activities are estimated to be $2.2 billion in fiscal year 1999, a decline of about 10 percent in real terms from the total found for similar items in fiscal year 1992 (Table ES1 and Figure ES1).execsummary_fnotes.htmlIt is estimated that direct subsidies--the sum of direct expenditures and tax expenditures--totaled $1.8 billion in fiscal year 1999, of which direct expenditures totaled $1.4 billion. R&D subsidies accounted for the remainder, just over $0.45 billion."
The 2005 Energy Act promises to promote energy conservation and renewables, yet so far the amount of support and subsidy still weighs in heavier for coal(big emphasis on clean coal technologies) and nuclear energy than it does for conservation and renewables.
Meeting the electric energy needs of this nation will require subsidies on a more even playing field that will help fledgling industries compete against the old timers decades of federal support. Clean coal, safe nuclear generation, hydro- electric production, and renewables must all be evaluated for the contribution that they can make to meet the needs without creating long lasting environmental programs. But, this wont be cheap.
Residential electricity rates across the nation have increased faster than the Consumer Price Index for many years.
Consumer Price Index Increase - All Urban Areas
2003 -1.9%
2004 -3.3%
2005 - 3.4%
2006 - 2.5%
Four Year Annual Avg
2.8%
US Department of Labor Statistics ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/cpi/cpiai.txt
Average Retail Price of Electricity to Consumer
Year Cents/kWh Percent increase
2003 8.72 3.32%
2004 8.98 2.98%
2005 9.46 5.35%
2006 10.46 10.57%
Four Year Annual Avg.
5.55%
Source: Energy Information Administration http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epa/epat7p4.html#_ftn2
Get used to rising rates. There is no way we can move into an era of less dependence on fossil fuels without paying more at the meter.
Recent claims of victory by environmental groups over the apparent retreat of TXU investors over plans to build 11 new coal generation facilities, could be hollow chest thumping, if other generation sources don’t surface to meet the need. Sure, TXU may have over-estimated load growth, just to look like good guys when they agreed to stop plans for 8 coal plants, but some day load will exceed supply if current trends continue.
Changing the paltry contribution of renewables to the nation’s generation fuel mix will take a lot more than chasing off coal plant investors.
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