Energy Efficiency

Efficiency Measures around the Home


Renewable energy and energy efficiency go hand-in-hand. The least expensive energy is the energy that you don't use. This is true both when it comes to paying your utility bills and when it comes to purchasing a solar energy system. A lower energy demand, whether it is electrical or thermal (heating) can be supplied with a smaller solar energy system, which will cost less money to purchase.
Energy efficiency doesn't mean that we go without modern conveniences, it simply means that we use energy wisely. Nearly everyone can reduce the amount of energy they use while still enjoying their technology and creature comforts.

Lighting


Lighting accounts for about 20% of the electricity usage in a typical home. Possibly the easiest thing most homeowners can do to reduce their energy usage (and save money in the process) is replace their incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps. Compact fluorescent lamps use roughly 1/4 as much electricity as incandescents to produce the same amount of light. They also produce 1/10 as much heat as an incandescent bulb, which makes it easier to keep your home cool in the summer. The "mini-twist" models that are available now can fit into nearly any standard light fixture. An example of a compact fluorescent lamp. There are also compact fluorescent lamps available that fit candelabra fixtures.
Although compact fluorescent lamps cost more than incandescents bulbs, they last as much as 10 times longer. Over their lifetime, you are likely to save $30 in electricity costs compared to incandescent bulbs. When you add in the expense you avoid by not having to replace an incandescent bulb 10 times, the savings are even greater. More information about compact fluorescent lamps can be found at the Energy Star compact fluorescent light bulb web site. The Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy office has published a comparison of compact fluorescent lamps with incandescent bulbs. There is also a good article on compact fluorescent lamps in Wikipedia.
Lowe's and Home Depot both have broad selections of compact fluorescent lamps. They can also be found at many other hardware stores and even grocery stores.

Phantom Loads


"Phantom loads" are electrical loads that are caused by electrical appliances even though they are not being used. For example, anything that can be turned on by a remote control is drawing some amount of power all of the time so it can sense the remote signal. Another example is "instant-on" televisions, which constantly consume electricity to keep the display electronics warm so the picture comes up immediately when it the television is turned on. Printers and laptop computers that have a power converter built into their power cord are constantly using a small amount of electricity when they are plugged in because the power converter consumes some even when the printer is off or the laptop battery is fully charged. All of these loads are relatively small, but many homes have a dozen or more of them. In total, they can add up to 50-100 watts of continual electrical use, which is the same as having a 50-100 watt light bulb running 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. According to the Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy office, 75% of the electricity used to power home electronics is consumed while they are actually turned off due to their phantom loads.
The most immediate way to remove a phantom load is to simply unplug the offending device when it is not actually in use. A more convenient method is to plug the devices into switchable power strips and mount the power strip where it can be easily accessed. For example, a computer, monitor, printer, and speakers can all be plugged into a switchable power strip and turned off when they aren't being used. The same can be done with the television, DVD player, and stereo in an entertainment center. As an added bonus, switching these electronics off in this way protects them from voltage fluctuations that occasionally happen on the grid due to equipment failures or lightning strikes.
Starfire Energy can help you find phantom loads by using a power meter. We can also sell you a power meter (see our Solar Equipment page) so you can find the phantom loads yourself. The power meter can also let you measure how much electricity an appliance such as a refrigerator is using so you can decide whether you should purchase a more energy efficient model. The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy office has web pages about the energy use of home appliances in general and home electronics in particular.

Air Leaks


The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy office estimates that people can save up to 10% on their home heating costs by sealing air leaks on their house. Their web site about home air leaks provides a wealth of information on the subject if you follow its links. The best way to find and fix air leaks in your home is to have a "blower door test" done. During a blower door test, a fan unit is sealed into one of your home's doors to slightly depressurize the house. This causes air to flow in through any leaks. The rate of air leakage can then be measured, and if it is too large then the leaks can be found and fixed. Specific leaks are found by using a small smoke source to see the drafts.
Owners of homes with forced air heating also need to check their heating ducts to ensure that they are properly sealed. Leaky heating ducts waste heat by putting it in the wrong places, such as attics or crawl spaces. The seams of ducts should be sealed with mastic (a thick paint-like material that is painted onto the seams) rather than duct tape. Duct tape, despite its name, will dry out and peel away from the ducts over time.

Insulation


According to the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy office, most homes built before 1980 do not have enough insulation. Their insulation web site and its links discuss the various types of insulation that are available and how much insulation homes should have. It is recommended that homes in Colorado have their attics insulated to R 49 and their walls insulated to at least R 18. According to cellulose insulation manufacturer Greenfiber, a layer of loose-fill cellulose insulation 15" thick (13.5" thick after settling) can provide R 49 insulation in an attic.
Homes that were built without insulation in their walls can have insulation added to them by either blowing in a loose fill insulation or pouring in an expanding foam insulation. Loose-fill cellulose can be blown into wall cavities by drilling a 1"-2" hole between each pair of studs, inserting a hose into the wall bay, and blowing in the insulation. If the exterior siding of the home is easily removable, the holes are drilled from the outside. In this approach, a portion of the siding is removed, the holes are drilled, the insulation is added, the holes are plugged, and the siding is replaced, leaving no visible sign of the procedure. If the exterior siding can't be removed, then the holes are drilled from inside the house. In this case, the holes in the sheet rock need to be patched and painted or covered with a decorative strip of wallpaper if they are along the top of the wall. Expanding foam products are installed in a similar way, but smaller holes can be used.

Windows


Windows are great- they give us views, fresh air, and warming sunshine in the winter. Unfortunately, they also account for 10% - 25% of a home's annual heating bill, according to the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy office. Their window consumer guide and window energy savers web sites and associated links provide a lot of information about how to improve the efficiency of your existing windows and what to look for if you purchase new windows.
The easiest and lowest cost improvements to existing windows are caulking and weatherstripping. It is helpful to do this in conjunction with a blower door test (see the Air Leakage section) so you don't spend time caulking and weatherstripping windows that already have a good seal. The insulating value of existing windows can also be improved by using heavy drapes or insulating shades that seal well to the wall around the window.

Heating


A new furnace is generally the last thing that should be done when trying to reduce the cost of heating a home. All of the air leakage, insulation, and window improvements should be done first because they reduce the heating requirement, which reduces the size of furnace that is required to heat the home. When it comes to furnaces, bigger is not necessarily better. A furnace that is too large for a house will operate with inefficient short cycles as compared to one that is the proper size. Smaller furnaces also cost less than larger ones. Once all of the energy efficiency measures have been completed, a furnace installer should perform a heat loss assessment on the house and use those results to determine the proper size furnace for it. They should not simply install a furnace that is the same size as the one that is being replaced. Extensive information about home heating options can be found at the Energy Efficiencey and Renewable Energy office's web site about home heating.
Solar thermal systems can be used to help heat a home. They operate best in conjunction with in-floor radiant heating systems, but they can also be used with forced air heating systems. Depending on the specifics of the home, they can be designed to offset up to 1/2 of the heating fuel consumption each year. More information about solar thermal heating systems can be found at the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy office's active solar heating web site. Contact us at 303-363-7848, we're happy to help you start using clean electricity!