Does my thermostat go to eleven?

WE’RE MELTING!!!! Seriously, though… The heat’s seeping into our homes like butter into toast and our cooling costs are on our mind.  Can we do better?

Dapper dad Jeff Tippett asked:

The ever-lovely Jennifer Wig (who just started her own business – check it out) echoed:

Nobody wants to spin their wheels, especially when they’re on their way out the door for work) so I’m going to give it to you straight…

Every degree you turn up your thermostat this summer is going to save you money.

Bust A Myth…

I’ve heard it said that you’re not really going to save anything because you’re going to need to use more energy to cool off your house upon your arrival than you would have if you just let it stay at your desired temperature.  If you like to keep your house at 60 degrees, this may hold a bit of water.  However, you may save more because you’re not fighting the outside temperatures with consistently running AC.

If you use a window unit, go ahead and turn it off if you’re going to be out of the room it conditions for a few hours or more.  It’ll take less energy to cool the room again than it will to leave it running when you don’t need it.

For whole-home cooling, you’re going to need to wait a bit for your system to get it back to your preferred temperature with making manual changes. Quite frankly, I’m not sure why you’re not using a programmable thermostat, but we’ll get there in a minute.  For now, let’s focus on the money…

Bad Bill Rising?

As a general rule, you can expect to save 4% to 8% for every degree you raise your thermostat.  This figure is based on average use patterns for an entire month.  So what happens if you only set it back eight hours a day?

Research estimates that you’ll save about 1% to 3% for every degree you turn it up if you only do so for about eight hours.  If your monthly bill is $100, you’re looking at about $5 to $15 extra in your pocket if you set it back 5 degrees.  While this isn’t a ton of money for a month’s worth of work, there are things you can do to minimize your effort while increasing your savings.

First, get a programmable thermostat.  You can get a decent one now for $30 to $50.  Using our previous estimates, you can be assured the investment will pay for itself in less than a year. (don’t forget you’re going to save a TON on heating costs, too)  ENERGY STAR estimates you can save up to $160 for every year these are in use.

These are not difficult to install.  I swapped both of ours out by myself using only the included instructions and have had no issues with them whatsoever.  The only tricky part is making sure it’s properly gauging your indoor temperature and adjusting the baseline accordingly.  Again, you can do this yourself. Just read the instructions.

Next, you need to program it.  Be realistic about what will make you comfortable and try to kick it up 2 degrees above that to see if you can tell the difference.  We did that in our house and found the difference between 72 degrees and 74 degrees is hardly noticeable.

When we’re not home, I program our thermostat for 83 degrees.  Some will say you can go higher, but I don’t want to freak out my appliances and electronics.  If Gibby’s at home, I don’t go higher than 78 degrees.  I know, I could do better, but really, I’m cool with my bills.  The only thing I’d do differently would be to purchase an ecobee wi-fi thermostat so I could control my thermostat on my iPhone… Someday, someday…

Remember, though, that the point of a programmable thermostat is to let it do the work so you don’t have to.  Do your best to let it do its job and don’t mess with it.  You’ll be saving money before you know it…

Extra Credit…

Ready to take some additional steps?  Here are some quick tips for improved air-conditioning efficiency this summer:

  • Fun with filters. Swap out your filters according to your system’s needs.  Don’t use a three-month filter if you don’t need one – you’ll make your system work harder than it should.  If you’re using one-month filters, be sure you replace them every month. Put stickers on your calendar if you need a visual reminder.
  • Shut it up. Close the air vents in unoccupied rooms. You can either flip the vent switch or buy a vent magnet.  There’s no sense in cooling a room that doesn’t need to be cooled.
  • Be unclear. I’ve installed solar film on my skylights and found a HUGE difference.  (full disclosure: they look like crap with wrinkles and tears, but they work nonetheless) Insulated curtains are going to help, too, but only if you remember to close them.
  • Respect the fan. If you’re in the room, turn the fan on.  When you leave, turn it off.  Remember that fans cool people, not rooms.
  • Give your house some cushion for the pushin’. The amount of insulation you have in your walls is going to determine how your home will respond to outdoor temperatures.  If you can afford to increase your insulation, it’s a worthwhile investment.  Don’t forget: if your pink insulation has black spots, your house is leaking like a frat boy at a sports pub.

I wish you luck and encourage you to contact me if you have any questions along the way!

A few quick notes before I go:

  • Next week I’ll be back with some information on tankless water heaters.  Hit me up if you have thoughts you’d like me to include or address.
  • I’m going to move “Ask Renewabelle” to Thursdays from now on — not only is that a better day for me, but it seems like the response is better when I post later in the week.
  • If you have any questions you’d like me to answer in a future post, tweet @Renewabelle or get in touch with me one of a few other ways over here.
  • If you have any follow up questions or notes you’d like to add, I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.  I hope this information proves useful and that it finds you well.

RB

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Are CFLs really worth it?

Yo! Thanks for coming back for this week’s “Ask Renewabelle.”  As you hopefully read last week, we discussed the cost benefits associated with unplugging your electronics last week and I immediately received a follow up question from Johnny B. Truant that I had to address right away.  He asked…

I knew I was going to write about it, but then Phil Buckley echoed Johnny’s question with a comment on last week’s post…

Since there are a few myths to bust here, I’m going to go after this one piece at a time…

Livin’ La Vida Verde

When CFLs first came out, many promoted a lifespan of seven years.  Anyone who has used one for a while can probably look back to one that didn’t come even close to that.  The reason is understandable…

If you read the packaging, it probably said it would last 10,000 hours.  To come up with the seven-year claim, they’re estimating you’ll use the bulb about 1,429 hours per year or approximately 27 hours per week.  I’m going to guess you left yours on a lot more than that, which means the bulb isn’t going to last as long.

If you have a CFL that only lasted a year, you got a faulty bulb.  I’d bring it back to wherever you bought it and request an exchange.  I’d also call the manufacturer to let them know.

It’s All About The Benjamins, Baby

Now that we know these really are going to last a while, will they pay off?  In a word, YES.  In a few words, HELL FREAKIN’ YES.  Here’s the science:

  • Let’s figure you’re going to have your CFL turned on for eight hours a day (or night), five days a week.  That’s 40 hours a week (as if you didn’t know this), or 2,080 hours per year.
  • We’re going to take that 2,080 hours and assume you’re using a 23-Watt CFL instead of a 60-Watt incandescent bulb with a 1,000 hour life.
  • If the lifespan of the bulb is 10,000 hours (about 4.8 years using our numbers), you can figure you’ll save 370 kWh over the life of the bulb or approximately 77 kWh per year.  (if you want to convert your own Watts to kilowatt hours, go here for the math)
  • Assuming you pay an average kWh rate (check your bill to run your own return) of $0.10 per kWh, you can expect to save around $37 over the life of each bulb or $7 and change per year.
  • If the average CFL costs $3 each—versus the average incandescent, which costs $0.60 each—your simple payback is 0.2 years.
  • This number is even better if you factor in the $1.20+ you’re going to spend every year on that replacement incandescent bulb, the gas money spent going to the store, your time spent swapping bulbs, etc.  Hassle factor is heavily weighted in my house.
  • The number is even better than that if you’re swapping out an outdoor flood or another indoor bulb with a wattage closer to 100 or more.  I picked 60 Watts for our example because it’s about as low as anyone goes with their wattage.
  • Now, go count the number of incandescent bulbs you have, multiply that by $7 and you tell me if you’re going to save any money by swapping them out with CFLs…

So now you say, sure… I’ll save money, but I heard CFLs are dangerous…

Those Lights Are POISON?

Let’s talk about the mercury issue.  Did you know there is more mercury in your average battery than in a CFL? Yeah.

People freak out about the mercury and use it as an excuse to avoid buying CFLs, but those same people probably have dental fillings containing more of the stuff IN THEIR MOUTH than they’ll find in a bulb.

Check out this article from Popular Mechanics to get the low-down on mercury.

I’ve had CFLs burst on my head.  No, that’s not why I’m freaky – I was like this well before CFLs hit the market.  Wanna know what I did?  I cursed, grabbed a broom, swept up the glass, put it all into a plastic bag from the grocery store and took a shower with my eyes closed.  Easy peasy.

That being said, you need to pay attention to how you dispose of them.  Check out this page from the US Environmental Protection Agency to learn more about proper disposal procedures.  I personally bring mine to Home Depot, which keeps a cute container right by the front door just for CFLs.

I wish you luck and encourage you to contact me if you have any questions along the way!

A few quick notes before I go:

  • Next week I’ll be back with some information on thermostats and set-backs.  Hit me up if you have thoughts you’d like me to include or address.
  • If you have any questions you’d like me to answer in a future post, tweet @Renewabelle or get in touch with me one of a few other ways over here.
  • If you have any follow up questions or notes you’d like to add, I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.  I hope this information proves useful and that it finds you well.

RB

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Do I really need to unplug it?

Hooray for summer! My family took a road trip last week to Dutch Wonderland and Hershey Park, hence the missing update.  However, I’m back now and ready to tackle your most perplexing energy questions.  And yes, I know I’m posting this on a Thursday.  I’m late sometimes… (that’s what she said – doh!)

This week, I’m taking on a query from the ever-awesome Johnny B. Truant. He asked…

I love this question because it acknowledges that electronics draw power even when they’re turned off or in stand-by mode.  If they’re plugged in, they’re probably sucking energy, hence the term “Vampire Power.”

They Vant To Suck Your Money

A cursory search around the web will show you that this is a very real issue and, while manufacturers of power-saving equipment would have you believe it’s a major contributor to higher bills, my experience has shown that an average consumer will only spend about 5% more if they leave everything plugged in all the time.  That averages out to about $50 extra per year for everything.

Obviously no one wants to throw away that kind of money, but I ask you to remember that’s just an average and expects you to have a few computers, a whole bunch of inefficient equipment and no power-saving measures whatsoever.  I would estimate unplugging a standard cable box every time it’s not in use would save you about $5 per year.

That said, many advances have reduced the amount of energy they’re pulling.  ENERGY STAR appliances and electronics were designed to draw far less power in standby mode than non-qualified items.  Check this out to learn more about how to buy products with low standby power draws.

Some will say that the increased focus on standby mode power use at the manufacturing level is helping the situation.  I disagree.  We have more crap that requires power than ever before, so our increasing volume offsets the reduction for those few items.  Fortunately, there are a number things you can do to stay in control of your power draw without climbing behind an entertainment center or desk…

Bring Out Your Slayer Stakes

Most computers have a sleep setting. Use it. If you want to go one step farther, flip the big switch in the back (if you have one) instead of the “soft” button on the front, which is more of a standby switch than a power button. Learn more about computer management at Climate Savers.

There are also a few different manufacturers offering smart power strips that eliminate the excess power draws experienced in your home or office.  One that I’ve received a lot of great feedback on is the Smart Strip Power Strip, which can save up to 73% of the wasted energy on a computer system if you set it to go to sleep after an hour and keep it plugged into the strip.

If you’d like to take it to the next level, you can reduce vampire power up to 85% with the Power Smart Tower featuring iGo Green® Technology.

You can find out just how much juice your electronics are pulling with a Kill-A-Watt device.  These things are great for predicting energy bills and also deciding which of your items need your attention the most.  Plus, they’re fun in a geeky sort of way.

The Advice You Weren’t Expecting…

Ultimately, you’re better off focusing on more pressing matters.  The amount of time you’re going to spend mitigating energy vampires could have a better bang if you gave your hour to something else…

  • Do you already turn off the lights when you leave a room? Really? (don’t lie… you’re only doing so to yourself here)
  • Speaking of lights, have you replaced all your incandescent bulbs with CFLs or LEDs?
  • Do you already have setbacks scheduled on a programmable thermostat? Do you leave it, or do you mess with it according to your outfit, level of activity, etc?
  • Do you use a ceiling fan to keep you cool instead of kicking up the AC? Do you reverse it in the winter to bring the heat down to you?
  • Do you wash your clothes in cold water? Dry your clothes on a line when possible?
  • Have you replaced outdated refrigerators, washers, and so on with energy efficient models that, by nature, use less than their predecessors?

If you’ve done all of this and still want to go after your vampires, I’d suggest checking out the Berkeley National Labs site on Standby Power.  I wish you luck and encourage you to contact me if you have any questions along the way!

A few quick notes before I go:

  • Next week I’ll be back on the regular Wednesday schedule.  Hit me up if you have thoughts you’d like me to include or address.
  • If you have any questions you’d like me to answer in a future post, tweet @Renewabelle or get in touch with me one of a few other ways over here.
  • If you have any follow up questions or notes you’d like to add, I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.  I hope this information proves useful and that it finds you well.

RB

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Can we trade our way to salvation?

Carrying on with my new Wednesday tradition, I’m transforming your energy questions into answers. Let no one tell you that I’m short on tricks.

This week, I’m tackling a query from Vic Roberts. Here we go…

This topic is a freaking mine field.  For every company that sells carbon credits or offsets, there’s a person who thinks they’re bogus.  There’s also a person who thinks they’re the best way to save the planet.  Since I’m the type of girl who’d prefer the hard fight first, I’d like to explain why some think carbon trading is the greatest invention since invisible underwear.

Put It On Our Tab…

First, the concept of carbon credits is relatively new and was created to decrease greenhouse gas emissions, particularly in the industrial market sector.  As I noted last week, industrial users consume more power than any other sector.  The international carbon trade was established to stimulate environmentally preferable activities (such as renewable power generation or forest farming) with funds paid in exchange for a virtual reduction in on-site emissions.

On the surface, it’s easy to get frustrated watching these major industrial users buy their way out of the pollution they cause instead of focusing on improvements at the source.  It seems as though they’re slapping Band-Aids on bullet holes, but that’s not always the case…

What you may not see is that some are also working to increase efficiency and reduce on-site emissions, too.  They just can’t move fast enough.

Transformations take time and money—two things most businesses don’t have enough of to begin with.  By assigning caps or quotas, countries and markets are  able to assign a monetary value for each metric ton of carbon dioxide, which in turn financially motivates more individuals to become operators who sell credits.

Countries that have ratified the Kyoto Treaty follow different guidelines than those who have not (like the United States), though they’re all based on the same general idea.  Around the world, there are five exchanges trading carbon allowances: the Chicago Climate Exchange, European Climate Exchange, Nord Pool, PowerNext and the European Energy Exchange.  Other markets are in development or in early stages of trading, and carbon is being touted by some as the commodity of the future. I disagree.

Can You Say “Pollution Palliation” Three Times Fast?

I certainly see the value in the promotion of renewables via financial incentives (there’s no carrot like money to move a market) and I really like to read about developing countries generating more revenue, but I fear that there are too many industries that will see this as the easy way out.  Consider this…

I tell you that you can lose all the weight you want if you take some magical pills that I’m selling, and the more you take the more you’ll lose, regardless of what you eat.  If, however, you do not take my pills but still want to lose weight, you’re going to need to reduce your caloric intake, increase your physical activity and find the time to make it all happen.

If you had the money to buy the pills, would you choose the hard way? I wouldn’t. I’d eat 45 White Castle burgers in a row and plop my ass in front of the TV for the rest of the week. Losing weight is hard. Swallowing is easy. (heh) And easy is…well…easy.

Change and challenge are BFFs.  Many people are not against change unless it involves them directly.  This is clearly the case with the so-called “Carbon Cowboys” who would prefer to buy carbon credits rather than change the way they do business, and with industrial users, that’s exactly what you’re asking them to do.

The Shape Of Things To Come…

While I certainly don’t have any issues with market mechanisms that increase the number of environmentally preferable operations, I do take issue with policies that allow energy hogs and polluters to ignore their on-site energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.  Furthermore, spending their money on carbon credits limits the amount of capital they will have on hand for efficiency upgrades.

To get back to Vic’s question, we (meaning “we” as individuals) manage the undermining effects of this new trading scheme by doing what we’re supposed to be doing in the first place: reducing our energy use, consuming less stuff and minimizing the impact our activities have on the planet.

Once you’ve done all that, if you’re rolling in dough and guilt, you can exchange your money for a carbon credit.  Just make sure you research the company taking your money, because ultimately it’s the brokers who are getting the most out of these trading schemes and not all of them care about the planet as much as they do the profit.  If you’d like to learn more about legit carbon trading, I think the Environmental Defense Fund has some great information to get you started.

I had hoped to tie in a few more questions, but this really needed its own post and I’m out of time.

A few quick notes before I go:

  • Next Wednesday (or within a few days thereof — it’s summertime), I’m going to answer a question from Johnny B. Truant on whether we really need to unplug everything to be energy efficient. Hit me up if you have thoughts you’d like me to include or address.
  • If you have any questions you’d like me to answer in a future post, tweet @Renewabelle or get in touch with me one of a few other ways over here.
  • If you have any follow up questions or notes you’d like to add, I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.  I hope this information proves useful and that it finds you well.

RB

Filed Under: Energy prattle Tagged With: , ,

What’s taking so long?

It’s recently come to my attention that many of you have questions related to energy that go unanswered.  I’d like to change that.  Starting today and continuing until I can’t do it any more, I’m going to answer your most perplexing energy questions every Wednesday.  To kick it off, I have some questions that came in Tuesday via Twitter…

First, I received an excellent question from Anson Burtch:

This question gets hotter the closer you are to Capitol Hill.  Of course, the answer is going to be different depending upon who you ask.  My particular specialty involves the development and management of market transformation programs, and my opinions should be regarded as such.

That said, we’ve all known for a long time that our resources are limited and that there are better ways to obtain the energy we crave.  I use the word “crave” intentionally, as we don’t really need as much as we use.  Opportunities for efficiency are everywhere, yet many still choose the old way of doing things.

I’d like to point out here that we’ve been mining coal here since the mid 1700s and drilling oil since the mid 1800s.  Most of the American energy infrastructure was built to depend primarily on these two resources.

The latest research shows that roughly a third of our energy is used by the industrial sector for things like manufacturing, agriculture, mining, and construction.  The transportation sector uses the second largest amount of energy.  The remainder is consumed by homes and businesses.

Most of our total energy use is spent making stuff, feeding ourselves and creating more energy.  Our nation is but a collection of energy user archetypes, each with his or her own reasons for not doing what it takes to make a clean energy future our reality today.

Consider how hard it is to walk down a grocery aisle without seeing at least one item that touts its own eco-friendliness.  There are a lot of things to evaluate when making purchases, and for many, the key items of note are the ingredients.   Since we’re talking about energy here, I’m going to ask that we instead think about how these items actually came to be.

For the amount of energy used to develop a crappy plastic egg-poaching gadget (which, by the way, includes a recycling symbol associated with a type of plastic no one recycles but people think it’s okay because it has a symbol), you could light a living room for the evening. Think about that… Now think about what you’ve purchased in the last week.

While you’re pondering, I’d like to tie in another question to this conversation that I received from the delightfully irreverent Jay Dolan:

The US government is offering more incentives than ever before to get people to use less energy and support the adoption of renewables.  They can’t seem to throw enough money at it, but they’re certainly trying.  Money is the only way the Feds can come up with to motivate the market to move – though regulations are passed all the time to push out inefficient and ineffective technologies.

See, this is bigger than the government covering an entire southwestern state with solar panels.  They can’t force this on us any faster than we let them.

We must not forget that solar panel manufacturing requires energy, too. The same goes for all those elements that make up the clean energy systems that Anson addressed.  We must also remember that, while technology continues to improve efficiency in said production lines, large-scale renewable energy systems are very costly investments.  When compared to conventional means of obtaining energy, the returns are lengthy and too few are willing to give away investment funds for good will.  That’s why the government is buying down the cost with as many incentives as it can afford…

If you tell me you want to make some kind of energy improvement in your home or business, 95% of the time I can find an incentive of some sort to buy down the cost.  We can make this more affordable.  The thing is, you actually have to make the improvement.

For many people, the only believable future is one that doesn’t include coal or crude oil.  With this thought, Martin Whitmore (the awesomely talented artist responsible for my header) is going to make me take this one step farther…

Scientists and engineers tell us it is possible to power our nation completely with renewable resources.  If we want renewable resources to power our nation, we need to remember that money makes the decisions these days.  True, the government and utilities are offering more incentives to lower the initial costs, but no investors are stepping up to take this on right now.

The reason, as Marty astutely noted, is because we consume too much energy to make it a worthwhile investment.  We need to cut back.

Really, this is the critical key…

We are responsible for our own energy use, whether this comes from actually flipping a power switch to consuming copious quantities of items that take energy to produce.  We are the only ones who can make this change happen faster, and we do this by making energy-smart decisions in every aspect of our lives…

I know.  It’s frustrating that this urgent issue isn’t moving quickly enough.  Believe me… every week I learn of a business owner or a municipality who knows what they can do to reduce their electric and gas use but won’t make the changes because they don’t have the money.  Really, though, I think they need a paradigm shift more than anything…

We are the reason this is taking so long.  How we actually fix it is going to be another post, since I’m definitely out of time. A few quick notes before I go:

  • Next Wednesday, I’m going to tackle questions from Marty on cold fusion and Vic Roberts on the implications of carbon credit programs. Hit me up if you have thoughts you’d like me to include or address.
  • If you have any questions you’d like me to answer in a future post, tweet @Renewabelle or get in touch with me one of a few other ways over here.
  • If you have any follow up questions or notes you’d like to add, I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

Thanks for taking the time to read this.  I hope this information proves useful and that it finds you well.

RB

Filed Under: Energy prattle Tagged With: , ,
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