Letter to the Editor
Spend wisely
Published Monday, March 24, 2008
March 16, 2008
To the editor:
Spend your state and federal “rebates” wisely.
Last week I got a notice from the Internal Revenue Service that up to $600 may be coming my way soon as an “economic stimulus payment” from Congress. And if State Senate Bill 217 passes, each Alaskan with a residential power hookup will get $750 a year from the “power cost reduction program.”
With the ever rising cost of energy, it seems prudent for homeowners to increase energy efficiency. Last year, the Cost of Energy Task Force of the Interior Issues Council identified better efficiency as the top priority in a long-term strategy to reduce reliance on fossil fuel, whether for transportation, home heating or electricity production.
Golden Valley Electric Association listed “Energy Crisis in the Interior” as a front page headline in its March 2008 issue of the Ruralite, noting the strong influence of fuel oil price in rising costs of electricity production.
I can understand why a $750 handout would be appreciated, but SB 217 merely enables a bad habit when applied toward the high cost of heating oil. What about the likely rise in energy costs next year? Can we count on another fiscal surplus in 2009 from which to give out even more (given the expected rise in fuel oil cost), especially if we have a colder winter that requires higher consumption of oil?
The Legislature should modify SB 217 to require at least part of the $750 be used to offset the cost of reducing energy consumption so future benefits can be realized. At the top of the list should be professional energy audits like Home Sense (through GVEA). This three- to four-hour visit to your home identifies the various factors of energy consumption (insulation, windows, heating systems, electric load of larger appliances) and calculates the payback time for upgrades or replacements given current energy prices. Qualifying expenses could include maintenance, such as tune-ups of furnaces or boilers. And applying your $600 back from the IRS toward energy efficiency will help support local building supply stores and develop a suite of energy retrofit contractors in our local economy.
Comments
To be quite honost, I'm spending my $600 on alcohol. Maybe it'll help me forget that gas will be around $4 a gallon this summer.. Thank God I'm one of the few people in this city without a truck/suv.
I'll be spending at least a portion of my 'rebates' on political causes that help to oust the politicians who helped the producers and refiners to pave the way to their instant wealth at the average consumer's expense. :^>)
My wife and I spent the summer of 2005, 2006, and last summer changing all our windows to high effeciency models, replaced all our doors, re-insulated the crawl space under the house and around all the window and door jams. A few fresh coats of paint helped seal the house and make it look great after all the window work. Then we cleaned out the 20 year old furnace ducts - no sense changing furnace - oil burning technology hasn't changed much. Our home used to burn an average 300+ gallons PER MONTH of fuel Sept to March. Last winter we burned just 410 gallons Sept to March. This winter, just 360 gallons Sept to March.
We have two teenage kids, a cat, and my wife is a life at home mom - so the fuel savings are not from turning the thermostate down to freezing during the day.
Many of the homes in my neighborhood are similar construction. I see the fuel trucks arrive each month - dropping off 300+ gallons at each home. I have no idea how my neighbors are making ends meet.
This is the first home I have ever owned - never changed windows or doors before - and I have no experience owning a home. Was kinda nervous kicking out the first window - but - after the first one the rest become pretty easy. Thanks to great folks at Home Depot and Lowe's..... I got er done. Yeah, it wasn't fun. Yes, I hated doing it. Yes, I really would have prefeed to be in Valdez fishing...... but my family does not want to move from Alaska because we can't afford to stay warm.
Put your money into home improvement. For each dollar we have invested - we've alread gotten $5 or $6 back.
Like I already said, I promise I'll spend mine on the house.
Thanks Glacierwolf for the encouraging story. I plan to replace my doors and windows this summer as well as check on the insulation in my attic. I hope I can get the kind of return that you did!
The biggest energy consumers in the average home are hot water heater, dryer, and stove. Of these three - only hot water heaters have better technology BUT you can't make use of a whole home on demand hot water system without a MAJOR electrical upgrade. Although you can add a 1500watt 'point of service' heater (I installed one last month) so you don't have the waste water waiting for the hot water to arrive. Dishwashers save both money and energy - adding a POS 1500 watt heater next to one will save you more $$.
Your old TV probably drew 350 to 450 watts. A big screen DLP only draws 125 watts......these tv's are much deeper than the plasma that draw 500+ watts and the LCD's that draw 300 to 500 watts. DLP's use a replacable bulb. I've had a DLP 3 years - very nice - but it took me three days to finally figure out which 32" LCD was the most effecient when looking for a second tv for the bedroom. Plasma and LCD's can generate allot of waste heat and be very ineffecient - they are only energy star rated when in standby..... something to confuse the buyer. This is being changed this month.
Anythng in your home that gets warm when you are not using it - called a Vampire - will save you $$ by unplugging it. Your new GCI cable box gets real hot - it can be turned off during the day - and is smart enough to reset it's own time.
I have several solar panels now - have a huge battery bank and am building up the system, but - you don't want to invest in this just yet. Your money is best spent upgrading your refridgerator, appliances, tv, etc to more effecient devices. Once you've accomplished this - then maybe look into solar. Right now solar is kinda labor intensive - you need to dink with it allot - it's not plug and play just yet........ unless you are willing to drop $10,000 or more on it.
If you have questions about electrical effeciency and how we made our house better - you can email me northpolegallery@yahoo.com
GW
I burn very little fuel, in comparison to most other home-owners, Glacier Wolf. A leaky vapor barrier will cost the home-owner a lot of money, even with a decent insulation schedule.
My main floor walls are R-35. My daylight-basement walls are an R45+ (though with uninsulated slab for cheap Summer cooling), and my roof is an R-60. We had to put in a make-up air vent to allow various appliances such as the dryer and the range hood to breathe, because the vapor barrier was pretty tight. We also used an HRV to compensate for the 'tightness' of the home's heat envelope.
There's a couple of changes that I can still implement, and hope to, sometime soon.
One prospect is a greenhouse on the south side of the house, with an adjustable valve/heat-pump system; this time of year, when it's -5 or -10 fairly often in the morning, the sun's still warm enough to allow the capture of lots of btu's, and the pump and valve system permits for almost-free heat. Close it in the Summer time, and have other vents for the heat to escape, so that your veggies don't cook before you want them to. A double-walled, corrugated lexan panel is now available for greenhouses, too, that is more or less insulated in the same sort of way that a double or triple pane window is, but with baffles built relatively close together for support.
Sheet-rock work is messy and costs a fair bit now, but opening up exterior walls from the inside, and using relatively high R-value foil-back foam insulation and firring running perpendicular to the existing exterior studs (for a double-wall effect), replacing the vapor barrier, and sealing it very well, will add phenomenal amounts of energy savings as well.
Again, we use about 1/4 to 1/5 the energy to heat our home (2500 sq. ft.) as most folks that I know.
Imagine the energy reserves that this country would have if folks had built their homes well YEARS ago, whether to keep AC cooling or heat inside, the results are more or less the same.
But when oil was .50 cents a gallon, few looked ahead to see where 'this ship' was headed. They're darned sure looking now, though.
Good for you, GW! If I may ask, what was roughly the cost of your improvements per square foot of house? I know every house is different, but I'm just wondering about a ballpark dollar amount to expect to pay to make the house I live in more energy efficient.
Thanks.
I plan on using my rebate to buy tires for my jacked-up gas-guzzling V-8 monster truck so that I can go out and have some fun on the trails this summer - hereby conserving the electricity I would use sitting around playing the PS3 all day long. And while I'm out and about I will grab a Supersized Quarter Pounder Value Meal so I don't need to use my stove or microwave at home. (and of course to help fatten me up to make me more recognizable as a true "Fairbanksian" should I ever go to Seattle)
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