Cut your bills with home monitoring

Watching my mate's football-mad son doing mental artithmetic on the Nintendo DS' Brain Training Game during a World Cup match the other day reminded me of something: no matter how boring a task is, it becomes interesting if it's presented like a computer game. Which is why I reckon More Associates and its working prototype of an energy monitor (left) are on to something.

It works using a display to tell you how much electricity individual bulbs and appliances have been using on any given day. So, instead of leaving on a lamp for a month to see how much money it adds to your electricity bill, you can just tap the screen and pull up reports - like a computer game - to find out which gadgets or devices are the energy hogs in your home. More has even developed an internet version which you could, say, publish on your blog. Where do I sign?

It's not on sale yet, but if you want to get a taster of the concept, swot up at the Design Council's new Home Monitoring section: it includes monitors like More's, simpler utility bills and a budget-style 'Energy Tracker'. According to the Council, people with such monitors typically use 15 per cent less energy. It also has a useful repository of links to wind turbine outfits, the Energy Saving Trust and more.

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[Yehuda Draiman, Energy Analyst]

Cut Your Energy Bills fast - today

Do you know where your energy dollars go each month?

Most people do not. It is like shopping in a store where prices are not marked.

You know it is expensive to heat your home in winter and cool in the summer. But you might not realize that you may be spending as much on energy for hot water, appliances and lights each year.

Because these energy costs are year-round, small changes in these areas add up to big savings.

You realize it when you see the bill in mail after the fact.

It may not seem like using a different kind of light bulb (CFL/LED) or tightening up your windows will really make a difference. But with at least these 10 easy ways to save energy, you can cut your energy bills - fast! – Today.

1. Set back your thermostat. If you lower the temperature ten degrees for at least eight hours a day, you can save ten percent on your energy bills – without sacrificing your comfort.
2. Do a home energy audit. These surveys analyze how and where you use energy, helping you pinpoint easy ways to cut back on electricity and natural gas consumption throughout your home.
3. Upgrade your attic insulation. Upgrading attic insulation from three inches to 12 inches can cut your heating bills by 20 percent – and air conditioning bills by 10 percent. (install attic fan)
4. Weatherize doors and windows. A few inexpensive tubes of caulk and rolls of weather-stripping can help reduce heating bills by 20 percent and cooling bills by 10 percent.
5. Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs. Or LED. They last ten times longer than ordinary bulbs, and they use 75 percent less energy. You’ll save $40 over the life of just one bulb!
6. Check your furnace filter. Failing to clean or replace a filter can make your furnace and central air conditioner run harder, quickly reducing its operating efficiency and life span. (insulate the ducts and install a humidifier)
7. Install a water-saving showerhead. A family of four can cut their water-heating costs by $250 a year just by switching to an energy-saving showerhead. (aerators for faucets and reduce toilet tank water capacity)
8. Use smaller kitchen appliances. Microwaves, toaster ovens and slow cookers can use 75 percent less energy than a large electric oven, and they won’t heat up your kitchen on hot summer days. (more efficient appliances)
9. Get rid of that old refrigerator or freezer. It could be adding more than $100 to your electric bill every year. A new high-efficiency refrigerator uses less electricity than a light bulb! (get the rebates to subsidize your costs)
10. Give your appliances a vacation too. Before you leave on a trip, turn off and unplug everything you can, lower your thermostat to 50 degrees, and set your water heater to the lowest setting.
Check with you local Utilities as to what rebates you are entitled for in your geographical area, also check governmental tax credits available for you.
Take control of your energy bills
Every day, you make decisions that have a big impact on your electricity and natural gas costs – often without even realizing it.
Compiled by: Yehuda Draiman, Energy analyst – Dec. 25, 2007

[Yehuda Draiman, Energy Analyst]

PAY AS YOU SAVE Energy conservation financing program

The program will allow participants to purchase and install energy efficient products
And equipment (or “measures”), with no up-front cost. These measures can include modifications to lighting, heating, cooling, other energy efficient electric, gas and non-electric equipment and systems. Major measures promoted: lighting, weatherization, water saving devices and clock thermostats in both electric and non-electrically heated homes and businesses. We should also accept a variety of measures (provided they pass the Program qualification. This can apply to any conservation method, renewable energy systems (solar, photovoltaic, geothermal, wind), electric, gas and water.
Primary goals should be lighting retrofits, motor retrofit, HVAC efficiency, insulation and attic fans, windows, energy efficient appliances, water conservation equipment and techniques, utilization of gray water, landscaping for energy conservation.
HOW DO WE PROPOSE TO FINANCE THE COSTS: There is no up-front cost to the participants? Instead, the utility pays all initial costs associated with the purchase and installation of approved measures. (We must keep the costs competitive and reasonable)
Then, an Energy Finance Charge (EFC) is calculated and added to the ember’s/customers monthly utility bill until all costs are repaid.
A fund will be set up and the payments will reimburse the fund monthly.
Calculating the Term: Financing charge amounts itemized on the monthly utility bill should be based on two thirds of the estimated savings that will come from the measures installed.
This way, the monthly charge should be designed to be less than the savings realized on each bill once the new measures are installed and implemented.
If customers wish to pay off their Financing charges balances quicker (which in some cases they do), up to one hundred percent (100%) of the savings can be used to form the basis of their monthly Finance charge amount.
Payments Linked to Meter (not customer): The payments are always linked to the service location, not to the customer. So if an Energy Financing Charge (EFC) participant moves or sells, the new owner continues making the payments for the duration of the payment term, unless the previous owner/tenant chooses to pay off the obligation before selling or moving.
Also, the payments include a small percentage risk mitigation adder (5%) to protect the utility from bad debt risks associated with some portion of participants’ failure to pay.
To protect the utilities and their broader membership/customer base against other potential risks, three key requirements are included in the EFC program for those that choose to participate:
• Maintenance: All measures must be maintained in place and in good working order during the entire repayment period – the utility will help arrange for repairs, but any associated costs will be added to the EFC on the utility bill, or will extend the payment term to ensure recovery of these additional charges.
• Disconnection: All payments must be made on time – EFC charges are treated like other charges on the utility bill that are subject to service disconnection for non-payment.
• Disclosure: If the home or business is sold or rented, disclosure of the remaining monthly EFC payment amounts must be made to the potential purchaser or tenant (since they will be taking over the remaining payment obligation), unless the current owner chooses to pay the balance off before the sale or rental.
This proposed program – managed efficiently, will advance and expedite our reduction in the use of energy and resources in an expedited manner and reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources.
It will also promote an economic boom in the geographical areas where such program is implemented.
Compiled by: Yehuda Draiman, Energy analyst – 1/1/2008

[Yehuda Draiman]

What is a Zero Energy Home?
Imagine a home that is not only energy efficient, but also produces its own power. Just like a typical home, a Zero Energy Home (ZEH) is connected to, and uses energy from, the local electric utility. But unlike typical homes, at times the ZEH makes enough power to send some back to the utility company. Annually, a ZEH produces enough energy to offset the amount purchased from the utility provider, resulting in net-zero annual energy bills.
A ZEH combines state-of-the-art, energy-efficient construction techniques and equipment with renewable energy systems to return as much energy as it takes on an annual basis. When renewable resources cannot provide the entire home's power (at night or on a cloudy winter day) the homeowner purchases energy from the utility provider. When renewable resources produce more than the house is using (during sunny days when no one is home) power is sent back into the utility grid. In some cases, the utility provider will operate the home's electric meter in reverse, essentially providing the homeowner with full retail value for their energy.

Why Build a Zero Energy Home?
One of the major issues we are faced with today is global warming, which is negatively affecting the environment and weather patterns worldwide. Global warming is a direct result of harmful gas which is being emitted into the earth's atmosphere. Zero Energy Homes do not consume energy, and therefore do not produce pollution or emissions which help to reduce global warming.

Is a Zero Energy Home Realistic?
Once just a concept, Zero Energy Homes are now a reality throughout Canada and the United States. The opportunities to construct ZEH’s are growing as solar and other renewable energy technologies become more affordable. Never having to pay energy bills is a very attractive concept, however, only if achieving this high level of performance does not greatly increase building costs.

Building a ZEH
By following the two simple steps below, a ZEH can be built without adding considerable costs.
1. Design the house to minimize energy consumption. By combining the several modern techniques highlighted below energy consumption can be reduced by approximately 70-80%.
Use a renewable source of energy to supply the remaining 20-30% of energy which regularly built home would consume. Either solar panels or wind mills can be used for that.

Techniques to Reduce Energy Consumption
A. Design and Orientation. Carefully consider the design and orientation of the house. Points to consider for the design:
i. Consider a bulky rectangular or square shape, with minimal wall surface area and very few corners.
ii. Place several large windows facing south and very few facing north (for southern states do the opposite).
iii. Minimize the number of external doors.
iv. Ensure that at least half of the roof faces true south for solar collectors.
v. Consider building a single-storey house.
vi. Consider building a duplex with two or more apartments in one body.
B. Airtight Construction. The house must be airtight. Ensure that all windows and doors meet the required air-leakage standards and the vapor barrier (where needed) overlaps by 500mm at the seams and is and sealed everywhere. (install ERV)
C. Concrete Thermal Mass. Build exterior walls and floors with concrete. Concrete walls and floors accumulate and release large sources of heat when outside temperatures are low and remain cool when outside temperatures are high.
D. High R-value Insulation. For a zero energy home, use insulation with a higher R-value than what is used for regular home construction. Do not use fiberglass insulation for walls, it will settle over time and walls will have air gaps.
Techniques B, C and D can easily be achieved by using Insulating Concrete Forms (ICFs) for the exterior construction. Attic fan. (wool insulation for sound)
E. Windows and Doors. Use triple glazed windows and well insulated or double external doors. Use limited number of skylights (high quality double glazed only). The passive gain of incoming solar heat through the windows will cover close to 40% of the heat losses if all guidelines are followed. Optimized south facing glazing with none or minimal window openings to the north is a requisite. Most windows should be fixed as these have a higher performance than the opening type. As with all components making up a ZEH, the total performance of the house must be considered. A large house with many doors will have much larger heart-losses and this must be compensated by significant improvement of all components. In many well designed houses of moderate size, the standard door is sufficient. Window shades or owning - trees.
F. Avoid cold bridges. Install insulation with efficient R value all around the house without any penetrations. Run ducting in heating/conditioning space only.
G. Energy Efficient Appliances. Use the most energy efficient models of appliances available and low energy lamps (for example modern high frequency fluorescents or LED).
H. Radiant Floor Heating. Use Radiant floor heating which offers many advantages over traditional heating systems. The most important advantage is the improved comfort level, especially when combined with a concrete floor. Radiant heating allows a room to be heated evenly by increasing the room's average surface temperature. Another key benefit of radiant heat is energy efficiency. You will save money on energy bills with radiant heating due to comfort at lower air temperatures, room by room zoning, and lower water temperatures. Other advantages include no visible components, noise reduction, and dependability.
I. Earth Temperature and Thermal mass. Install geothermal pump or/and ECO-AIR Thermo Ground – Air Exchanger or similar system.
i. Tankless Water Heaters. Use instant electrical tankless water heaters.
ii. Watersdaver. Install watersaver appliances, toilet tanks, aerators, etc.
iii. Roof Garden. Consider installing a roof garden, for additional insulation etc.