Just When Will You Need To Buy A New Air Conditioner? Furnace? Hot Water Heater?

Freddie Mac used to publish a booklet called A Consumer's Home Inspection Kit, which doesn't seem to be available on their website anymore, but I found a copy elsewhere. I think the concept of a consumer home inspection is very attractive and, furthermore, of immediate interest to any energy watcher.

I should mention that I think that the whole home inspection industry is a crock. I had a home inspection on each of the four houses I have purchased over the years, and in each case the home inspector failed to discover critical flaws. Why was I paying an expert $200-$400? To inspect the house and discover those critical flaws. And what recourse did I have? None. (Home inspectors always require that you sign a contract releasing them from all liability before they start work.)

But inspecting your own house? Great idea! You just need to know what to look for, and the Freddie Mac brochure is a great place to start.

What if you aren't buying house right now? Well, you can still benefit. At the back of the brochure is a table Schedule of Normal Life which lists the normal lifespan for your household appliances:

Appliance	Average Lifespan (Years)
Air Conditioners	8-15
Clothes Dryers	8-12
Clothes Washers	8-12
Dishwashers	5-12
Disposals	5-12
Furnaces	8-12
Heat Pumps	8-12
Hot Water Heaters, Gas	8-12
Hot Water Heaters, Electric	10-15
Refrigerators	15-20
Stoves	15-20

So just how long have you had your air conditioner? Furnace? Hot water heater? If your appliances are nearing the end of their lifespan, you should start planning ahead. You can generally find a better deal if you shop in the off season and you should have the luxury of doing so if you start shopping before the appliance finally gives up the ghost. Energy Star appliances may cost a few dollars more but will save you big money over their expected lifespan — and, depending on just how old and inefficient your existing appliances are, you may save even more by replacing them before they wear out.

Just a thought.

Getting Rid of the Wobble in Your Ceiling Fans

Lots of folks have trouble with their ceiling fans — they tend to develop an annoying wobble after a few years without maintenance — and turn down the speed on the fan until it doesn't wobble so much anymore. Of course, the whole point of the fan is to keep in the air moving, right?

So it can be very important to know how to get rid of the wobble in your ceiling fans. Rather than re-invent the wheel, I'll just point you to the basic how-to online, with one imporant addition:

Before you try to balance your ceiling fan by adding weights to the fan blades, always check to make sure that the fan blades themselves are securely attached the fan by carefully tightening the screws that hold them on.

I spent a very frustrating afternoon last year trying to balance a ceiling fan that just wouldn't balance. Eventually I noticed that some of the fan blades drooped every so slightly and could be wiggled up-and-down — because the screws holding them onto the fan had come loose. Whenever you make the switchover from blowing upward (in winter) to blowing downward (in summer), it's a good idea to bring a screwdriver along just to make sure everything will stay attached no matter how fast the fan is spinning.

Adjusting Our Ceiling Fans

Although it got down near freezing last week, spring is officially here in Atlanta. The sun has been out for the past four days, the day-time highs have been in the 80s, and my middle girl has a painful sunburn. (Bonus tip: Always remember to put on sunscreen the first time you go outside after spending the winter indoors!) Depending on your location, you will turn off your furnace at some point between winter and spring — we turned ours off this weekend. With the temperature in the 80s, it's amazing just how fast the house warms up, isn't it?

So this weekend we also switched our ceiling fans from winter mode, blowing gently upward, to summer mode, blowing not-so-gently downward.

Ahhh ...

Pressure-Wash Your House To Discover Drafts

Pressure-washing doors and windows can be an excellent way to discover drafts around your windows and doors. I should provide some backstory here: Springtime in Atlanta, Georgia can be absolutely beautiful. There are flowering trees — cherry, peach, pear, plum, and dogwood — simply everywhere. This, of course, causes its own problems. Allergy experts consider any pollen count in excess of 120 to be extremely high. (A pollen count measures the number of pollen particles detected in a cubic meter of air over a 24-hour period.) Here in Atlanta, we see pollen counts in excess of 3,000 on a daily basis during the months of March and April. Do you remember how Reagan once claimed that trees cause pollution? Well, here in Atlanta, they do — particulate pollution.

Each individual pollen grain is microscropic in size, but when you have a few billion floating through through the air around your house, they leave a thick yellow dusting over everything. Add some April showers and this turns into a sticky yellow scum that the rains won't wash away. Once the flowers are off the trees, generally around mid-April, we all take a deep breath — without sneezing, for the first time in a while — and start the cleanup.

Our deck is usually reddish-brown but was mostly yellow yesterday when I started pressure-washing it. An hour later, the deck was once again the correct color. Once the deck furniture was pollen-free, I then washed off the window sills and door jambs along the back of the house, put away all of the gear, and walked back inside — where I promptly stepped into a puddle inside the back door.

So here's the tip: Get the hose or a pressure-washing rig and spray down your windows and doors. Any gap in the weatherstripping around your windows and doors that will let water in will also let air out as well. I have now added two doors and one window to my list of home energy saving projects.

Paint Your House White To Reduce Thermal Gain

Most of us homeowners have to paint our houses every five years or so. The next time this unwelcome chore comes up, consider carefully what color you choose this time.

The most common house paint color is white — and if you choose a darker color, you could be costing yourself money. The darker your house is, the more energy it absorbs from the sun — and the more money you spend to cool your house each summer.

If it's good enough for the White House ...

News Flash: EPA Plans To Protect Environment

Way back in April 2007, the Supreme Court ruled in Massachusetts v. EPA, 549 U.S. 497 that carbon dioxide is an pollutant covered by the Clean Air Act and, as such, subject to regulation by the EPA. The Supreme Court specifically asked the EPA to determine whether greenhouse gases may "be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare." I was not privy to the discussions that followed at the EPA, but the public record shows that the EPA did nothing in response to the Supreme Court's request in 2007. Or 2008.

Fast forward two years, introduce a new Presidential administration, and replace the EPA Administrator (Lisa Jackson) — and suddenly the EPA has somehow found the courage to propose that greenhouse gases are bad for the environment:

The Administrator is proposing to find that the current and projected concentrations of the mix of six key greenhouse gases—carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)—in the atmosphere threaten the public health and welfare of current and future generations. This is referred to as the endangerment finding.

What does this mean? Well, right now — nothing. There will be a 60-day public comment period, after which the EPA may decide to start regulating greenhouse gases.

Or not.

With Americans climbing onto the green bandwagon in droves, we may all hope that the EPA will finally start doing one of its main jobs — protecting the environment.

The Spirit of Christmas — On Earth Day

One of the few sermons I remember from my youth had to do with the Spirit of Christmas. The church was lit only by candles, the pews were draped with real pine garland, and we were singing our favorite hymns very, very badly. Christmas Eve mass was always the most popular service of the year and the church was standing-room-only. As usual, our priest began by welcoming all of the people he hadn't seen since the previous Easter — nervous laughter — and then he talked about the magic of the Spirit of Christmas, encouraging us to carry it with us throughout the year.

It is certainly easy to get swept up in the excitement surrounding a holiday — and much, much harder to keep that magic alive from day to day. Having just finished a top-to-bottom re-design of Energy Watcher, I was very excited just now to see that the number of people visiting the website doubled in the past seven days. At first I thought that you really liked the new design — and then I remembered that yesterday was Earth Day.

Since I seem to spend a lot of time here preaching to my congregation, please let me start by welcoming the newcomers and continue by encouraging all of you to carry the Spirit of Earth Day with you throughout the year. The words to our new favorite Earth Day hymn should start with:

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Hmm ... what rhymes with "recycle"?

Two Years of Energy Watcher: Earth Day 2009

I have a friend, a good friend, who is a Republican. He voted for McCain, he doesn't "believe" in global warming or peak oil, and he considers Obama's attempts to kick-start our economy the height of foolishness. He sneers at Earth Day and Earth Hour and similar events, too.

Obviously, there are some areas where we don't see eye-to-eye.

He's a great guy, regardless, and a great example of how even Republicans love to save money. He installed a geothermal HVAC system in his house, his attic is insulated to R-38, and he says that the home energy saving tips here on Energy Watcher have saved him, and I quote, "a ton of money". (His new house is half-again as big as ours and he spends two-thirds of what we do on our utility bills. Seeing the direction energy costs were heading, he planned ahead and invested in a geothermal system when he built the house. He says the system should pay for itself in ten years or so.)

We started Energy Watcher two years ago with the goal of learning, and teaching, how we can all save energy in the home. In the past two years, America has gone from a head-in-the-sand approach to environmental and energy policy to an activist approach that just might work — and certainly can't make things worse. (The EPA now considers protecting the environment a priority! Wow!) In addition to the billions that the federal government is funneling into energy research and conservation, the American people have woken up and noticed that we have some serious environmental issues to be addressed. Somehow, green has become hip — even my kids are wearing T-shirts with environmental logos on them. (Here's the amazing thing: the kids paid for those T-shirts themselves!)

Every business is now trying to figure out a way to position their products to be "green", every talk show now has "green" segments, every newspaper has dedicated a "green" section, and on the web the number of "green" websites has simply exploded. We even have a new cable channel, Planet Green, dedicated to "green" living. Why the change? In addition to the hip-factor, these companies have figured out a few simple, common-sense facts:

• There are more people on this planet every day.


• Americans make up 5% of the population of planet but use 25% of the energy.


• Everyone wants to enjoy the same standard of living that Americans do.


• Since the supply of energy is relatively fixed, and demand for energy is climbing, the cost for energy is climbing, too. (Demand is down right now due to our difficult economic times. This will change.)


• With energy costs climbing, profits are down.


• Reducing energy usage reduces costs and increases profits.


• Saving energy is good for business!

It doesn't matter if you "believe" in global warming or peak oil or any of the other crises looming on horizon — you can still save serious money on your utility bills by saving energy at home. If the doomsayers are right, you may just help save our civilization — and our planet — and if the Republicans are right, you have some more dollars in your pocket.

There really isn't a down-side here, regardless of how you voted last year.

Always Focus on Real Energy Saving Opportunities

Don't waste your time worrying about a one-watt nightlight when you can feel the wind whistling through the windows.

Why worry about a nightlight that costs you about 80 cents a year when you could be spending dollars a day to heat or cool the outdoors?

Are You Doing Your Part?

Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York City and billionaire owner of Bloomberg L.P., proposed adding windmills to New York landmarks last year and recently unveiled a $40 million plan to improve energy efficiency at the Empire State Building.

He also admitted last week that that the only real effort he makes to save energy at his six private homes is by using compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. Bloomberg, who considers himself an environmentalist, was asked about his personal energy usage at a news conference where he was unveiling the first building-mounted wind turbines in New York City.

Embarrased, Bloomberg explained, "I'm sure we use a lot of energy, but we're trying to make it as little as possible. Are we going to make a big difference? No," he said. "But if I do my part, it's easier for me to ask that question of you."

How about you — are you doing your part?

Changes In The Wind At Energy Watcher

In response to suggestions from various quarters, Energy Watcher has recently been getting a bit of a facelift. So far, we have:

• Created a new logo


• Reduced the size of the logo so more content shows at the top of the screen


• Lightened up the colors


• Increased the size of the text


• Improved navigation


• Used more of the screen to the left and the right

So — do you like it? Hate it? Is there anything you would like to see changed? Please let us know in the comments!

Invest in Tankless Water Heaters For Hot Water Savings

Tankless or on demand water heaters cost more than the equivalent electric- or gas-fired hot water heater, but save between 10% and 50% on your hot water heating bill. Making this investment only makes sense if you plan to spend at least several more years in your home — or if you are building a new home and want to plan ahead.

The U.S. Department of Energy says it best:

For homes that use 41 gallons or less of hot water daily, on demand water heaters can be 24%–34% more energy efficient than conventional storage tank water heaters. They can be 8%–14% more energy efficient for homes that use a lot of hot water—around 86 gallons per day. You can achieve even greater energy savings of 27%–50% if you install a demand water heater at each hot water outlet.

 

Looking Up Heating Degree Days

I found a great online service from BizEE Software, Degree Days, that quickly and easily helps you look up the heating degree days (HDD) and cooling degree days (CDD) for your particular location. The data available from the Weather Service is a little more general than what Degree Days gives you — there's only a few government weather stations in each state but Degree Days taps into the weather station network run by Weather Underground.


This is important information — this lets you compare apples to apples when you are tracking your home energy usage. Only by tracking degree days at your location can you understand just what the weather was like over the time covered by your utility bill. As Degree Days explains:

Degree days are essentially a simplified representation of outside air-temperature data. They are widely used in the energy industry for calculations relating to the effect of outside air temperature on building energy consumption.

"Heating degree days", or "HDD", are a measure of how much (in degrees), and for how long (in days), outside air temperature was lower than a specific "base temperature" (or "balance point"). They are used for calculations relating to the energy consumption required to heat buildings.

"Cooling degree days", or "CDD", are a measure of how much (in degrees), and for how long (in days), outside air temperature was higher than a specific base temperature. They are used for calculations relating to the energy consumption required to cool buildings.

A typical base temperature in the U.S. is 65°F — this is what we use here at Energy Watcher.

How Not To Save Energy

It's a lovely day, the sky is blue, there's a gentle breeze and just enough clouds to cool things off:

Are You More Interested In Saving Money Or Saving the Planet?

Anyone who reads Energy Watcher for any length of time knows that we think that investing in home energy savings is a good idea. The question remains, however — why should we save energy at home?

To save money.
To protect the environment.
To protect the quality of life for future generations.

A recent survey by the Shelton Group in Knoxville, TN shows that Americans are willing to buy energy-efficient products and services if we see some benefits right away. The survey shows that, when it comes to investing in home energy savings, 71% are interested in saving money; 53% are interested in saving the environment; and 49% are interested in future generations.


About a third of the people who responded to the survey also said that when they did make investments in home energy svaings, they did not see the results they were looking for. The survey's author says this could be due to the "Snackwells Effect":

A lot of us buy a box of Snackwells and think, "They’re low fat, so I can eat all of them." Then we wonder why we haven’t lost weight. Buying an energy-efficient product can create the same type of effect. We’ll say, "I just got a high-efficiency air conditioner, I can lower the temp and make my home even cooler in the summer." Then we get frustrated that our new air conditioner isn’t reducing our utility bills. That’s why it’s important that utilities and energy-efficient product manufacturers make sure consumers understand what they’re getting and promote behavior change alongside product purchases. A high-efficiency heater doesn’t mean we can turn our home into sauna in the winter.

It is also important, before you make large-scale investments in home energy savings, to understand what your current energy usage is, so that you can better understand how, or even whether, your energy-saving investments are paying off.

March 2009 Utility Bill

March this year was about 10% warmer than March last year, with 312 heating degree days (HDD) this year versus 332 HDD last year. There were even 12 cooling degree days (CDD) this March, although of course we did not turn on the A/C.

So why was our utility bill $35 cheaper this year? We changed the furnace filters. Dollar for dollar, changing the furnace filters is starting to look like the most cost-effective thing you can do for home energy savings.

There are some other things going on:

• I work from home, as I've mentioned before, and my company has had me burning the midnight oil lately. This helps to explain why our electricity usage is up 6% over February. This is not a matter for concern — the difference is about $5.


• We joined the gym, so many more showers are being taken, which helps to explain why our water usage is up 12%. This isn't a matter for concern either — the difference is about $2.

The price of electricity has gone up, year-over-year, while the prices of natural gas and water have gone down significantly.

March 2009 Data

Electricity, in kWh	Cost / Unit	Gas, in Therms	Cost / Unit	Water, in CCF	Cost / Unit
845	$.095	117	$1.19	9	$1.76

Use High-Tech To Control Lighting Costs

Only install lights that are as bright as you need them to be. This sounds like obvious advice, but how often have you visited a friend or neighbor who had 100-watt incandescent lightbulbs in their hallway?

Once your lighting has been adjusted, use dimmers, light sensors, motion sensors, and infrared sensors to further control how these lights are used. Use some common sense when choosing your technology:

• Dimmers make sense when you want the maximum amount of flexibility and you are also willing to adjust them manually to fit the situation.


• Light sensors make sense for security lights — when the sun goes down, the lights turn on, and when the sun comes up, the lights turn off.


• Motion sensors are very useful in a small, frequently-visited rooms like closets and pantries. You don't tend to linger in these places, so once you leave, the lights will go out. (Our house originally had them in the bathrooms — not a good idea for middle-of-the-night visits!)


• Infrared sensors only really make sense in playrooms and other places where you only want the lights on when people is present — and you want the lights off whenever they leave.

Billions For Home Energy Savings

Last week, $2.6 billion in energy efficiency funding was released as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, aka "the stimulus". The Department of Energy, which administers this money, has released a map that lets us look up how much each state in the country will be getting. If you click on that link and then click on your state, an Excel spreadsheet will open that shows how much the state, and each city and county within the state, will be getting for energy conservation.

Georgia, for example, will be getting $67 million, of which $21 million will be going to the state and $5 million will be going to Atlanta. Cities must have a population of at least 35,000 to receive energy efficiency funding — I suppose that's why my little town isn't getting any funding. This program is known as the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program, and you can click on that link to find out more about it. The program was actually made into law in 2007 but apparently we needed a new administration, or an economic meltdown, to get the law funded. States are expecting to receive additional stimulus money to fund state energy offices and a weatherization program for low-income families.

How will this money be used? The Atlanta Journal-Constitution asked this question last week and concluded, "The funding dwarfs its recipients".

One state energy office, a part of the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority, has three employees, a boss who has other responsibilities, and a $1.4 million annual budget. It will be responsible for handling $82.5 million in stimulus money.

Another GEFA office spent $8 million last year funding weatherization projects. It will have $125 million to spend this year.

I wonder if Energy Watcher could qualify for a grant? We are working hard on energy conversation, after all ...

Cut Hot Water Bills 40% With a Heat Exchanger

Everyone loves a hot shower, especially when it's cold out. (I know I do!) This is a luxury most kings through history could only have wished for.

Hot showers are relaxing — and they are also a massive waste of energy. Think about it: after heating up the water using natural gas or oil or electricity, we move it through (generally uninsulated) pipes to the bathroom where we stand under it for a couple of seconds. All of that heat — all of that energy — is then flushed down the drain.

The EcoDrain is a simple heat exchanger that captures this wasted energy and uses it to warm up incoming cold water. Since the cold water is warmer, you can change the mix on your shower to use less hot water, saving up to 40% on your water heating bill.

Now that's home energy savings!

Here's a graphic from the manufacturer that explains how it works.


The good news? This seems to be an effective, efficient, and innovative way to seriously reduce your hot water usage. The bad news? Installing one is only cost-effective if you are building a new house or renovating a bathroom.

Reminder: Spring-Clean Your Air Conditioner — 2009

It's officially spring, so it's time once again to change your furnace filters!

It's also time to give your air conditioner a spring cleaning. With the cost of electricity trending higher year after year, it only makes sense to make sure that your A/C is operating at peak efficiency. You can always call the HVAC guys to come in and do it for you, or you can follow these handy instructions.

By the way, if you didn't get your HVAC systems tuned up last fall, you really should consider it. Would you let your car go a whole year without a tune-up?