From the utility companies: a good tip and some bad news

Posted by Matt

Does anyone ever read their utility bill inserts or email newsletters? I've been surprised at how much helpful information they can contain. Here are the latest items worth sharing:

"Send Your Water Heater on Vacation" - This is a great little article that I found reminding everyone to turn off their water heaters if they are going to be away from home for more than 24-hours. I try to always do this, but learn from my experience and do something to ensure that you turn the heater back on right when you get home. It takes about an hour for the water to warm up. The article recommends leaving yourself a note, but I also set a reminder on my cell phone as a backup. Murphy's Law almost guarantees that if you forget to turn the heater back on, the first time you notice it will be when you need a shower (as my wife experienced...Sorry!) Update your vacation checklist!

Now for the bad news.

You thought gas prices were getting bad? Well, wait until you get your winter heating bill (assuming you use gas for heat). I recently received an email from the gas company (similar to information they posted here) that warned of a potentially huge jump in rates at the beginning of November. The initial projection was an increase of between 35 and 40 percent, although they now are hoping it will be slightly lower. Given that our gas bill is usually a significant portion of our expenses in the winter anyway, even a 20% increase would be significant.

After our high costs last winter, we are already considering a few options to reduce our gas usage. I have the highest hopes for switching to space heating in our bedrooms at night instead of having to heat the whole house just when it gets coldest.

Whatever you do, start planning now. If you're on a tight budget (i.e., you don't have a lot of extra cash available for heating bills), start looking for extra things to trim out so that you can keep your family warm this winter.

The search for the frugal bulb, continued

Posted by Matt

Readers who saw my previous post about money-saving light bulbs may remember that I didn't have much luck with the LED bulb I ordered or the CFL bulbs that we received during our energy audit. I was planning on waiting out the next generation of LEDs in the hope that prices would come down and that the light quality would be closer to our incandescents.

Scratch that. New plan.

I just read about an entirely new lighting technology that is soon to be released by a company called Vu1 (read "view one"). They claim that it has all of the advantages of other types of energy efficient bulbs without the drawbacks.

Here is a table from their website that compares their ESL technology against the competition:

The table shows them (like all other new bulb technologies) to be less affordable than regular incandescents, but I think that is misleading given the longer lifespan of the new bulbs and the energy savings they will achieve. One thing that is missing from the table, but that I know some people will be happy about, is that the ESL bulbs will look a lot more like regular light bulbs. No weird squiggly shapes like with the CFLs.

If the bulbs truly live up to all of these claims, I'll eventually upgrade the whole house with them as the incandescents burn out, of course. Unfortunately, the bulbs aren't scheduled to be commercially available until the first quarter of 2009, so I guess my new plan, much like the old one, mostly involves waiting.

Related links:

http://seattle.outstandingcity.com/general/a-new-way-to-get-lit/

http://dvice.com/archives/2008/08/esl_the_newest.php

Home power monitoring

Posted by Matt

I read a great article the other day that made me glad that I chose an LCD when my wife bought me a new TV for my birthday last year. From the article:

The LCD is clearly the winner in energy efficiency. The CRT uses 60 percent more energy than the LCD, and the plasma uses 319 percent more than an LCD!

That got me thinking about energy usage (again; see here and here) throughout my house. I've already read a lot about other people (especially personal finance bloggers) using a device called the "Kill-A-Watt" to track and thereby reduce their energy usage, and have been considering purchasing one.

You plug individual devices into this gadget, then plug it into the wall and read the energy usage from the display. It's an easy way to find out where you are spending the most for electricity. But not everyone is willing to run around the whole house pulling plugs. (Sounds like a fun project to me, actually).

However, I'm glad I waited. I just received a newsletter from my electric company alerting me to a promotion for WHOLE HOUSE monitors. From their article:

Studies show that households that use real-time feedback monitors use less energy and save money. That’s why Energy Trust of Oregon is conducting a 2008 study of how home energy monitors affect residential energy consumption. Qualified households can purchase a Blue Line PowerCost Monitorfor just $29.99, an 80% discount from the $149.99 retail price.

A discount on something that will help me save money? Of course I signed up right away. The Blueline power monitor is in the mail, so stay tuned for upcoming posts about how I'm going to drive my wife crazy by becoming the energy police around our house. The portion pictured above goes on a wall inside the house (like a thermostat), so it should be fairly easy to turn lights and appliances on and off to do some testing and we can also just watch how our usage varies throughout the day.

I also forwarded the information to another local blogger (J.D. from GetRichSlowly; also an Oregonian and hopefully eligible for the promotion) in the hopes of getting perspective from another household.

Energy vampires....biting your wallet?

Posted by Matt

Has everyone heard of the principle of diminishing returns? I'm discovering that personal finance improvements are yet another area where it applies. When people are first starting out financially, they can do a lot of smart things (set a budget, start retirement accounts) that will have a BIG impact on their financial well-being. Over time, however, the returns they get for the time they invest tend to diminish.

Accordingly, today's post is about one of the little things you can do. Because every little bit helps, right? Check out this quick-reference page I found about "energy vampires": http://awesome.goodmagazine.com/transparency/008/trans008vampireenergy.html

It shows you how much money various household electronics devices will cost you for one year in their "standby" modes. The worst item on the list is the plasma TV at $159.76/year (!!) in active standby, which made me glad that I bought an LCD screen ($2.51/year in passive standby). When I used to use my Playstation 2, it always bothered me that the off switch on the front of the box didn't really turn the device off; it only put it in standby mode. The REAL off switch is on the back, but I guess it's worth the $25/year to reach back there. One of our DVD players has a similarly annoying habit. The off switch on the remote only puts the device in standby.

One good suggestion I've read is to plug everything in the entertainment system into a surge protectorthat has its own off switch. That way, you can just hit that one switch to shut everything down at once. I've always wanted to do this, but haven't because the power supply (and huge pile of wires plugged into it) is hidden under our TV stand. Maybe the next time we have an electrician out, I'll ask them to wire the outlet to a wall switch. I could do the same in our home office, if I wasn't so worried about inadvertently losing data.

Does anyone out there use Windows power management features like hibernate or standby? I gave up on them because it was usually faster to reboot than to "wake the machine up". I don't shut my laptop down, either, because I have to pull it out of its stand to get past the BIOS security my company uses. So, I usually go to bed feeling guilty about the energy I'm wasting.

Like I said, some of this stuff is hard. I know that some people struggle with just shutting off the lights they're not using, and here I am asking them to think about the various standby modes of every electronic device they own.

But hey, being a frugalizer just takes a little extra effort sometimes.

UPDATE: Had a great suggestion in one of our reader comments about saving money and energy with "smart strips". Check them out!

Weatherization incentives

Posted by Matt

I just wanted to post a quick follow-up on my weatherization project and let everyone know that it all worked out. I received the incentive check today for the full amount promised: $1150!

Thanks Energy Trust!

Energy audit and weatherization followup

Posted by Matt

Does anyone remember my post about energy audits? I can't believe that it has been three months already, but I finally have enough information to report out on the results of our audit and what we did about them. I anticipate this will be a long post, but I'm going to spell out the details of:

• how we went about getting the audit done


• what energy-saving measures we decided to implement


• how we got INCENTIVE CHECKS from the government


• and how much energy we are saving so far

...so I hope that the long read will be worthwhile.

Step 1: Set up the energy audit

The best place to start is probably your local gas and/or electric company. We contacted a local non-profit called Energy Trust and scheduled with them.

Step 2: The audit itself

On the morning of our scheduled audit day, I was surprised to see several huge electric utility trucks (with bucket cranes) pull up outside our house. It turned out that they were NOT part of the audit, but were just coincidentally there to work on some power lines. Whew. Our auditor showed up on time in her own car. She worked independently and it only took a few hours for her to go through the whole house. In addition to energy auditing, she also did some tests on our water system because Energy Trust has a partnership with our local water company. Before I tell you the results, I just want to point out again that there was NO charge for any of this.

The water audit:

• We received several new (free) sink faucet aerators to save water.
• The auditor found a leaky toilet tank flapper (using dye pellets) in our hall bathroom and replaced it.

The energy audit:

• The rooms that we reported the coldest were (surprise) the ones that had the least insulation above them in the attic.
• The crawlspace was completely uninsulated except for under the addition.
• At least one exterior wall at the front of the house lacked insulation.
• Some of the older heating ducts were not sealed at the joints and were not insulated. I learned that as much as 25 percent of the heat from a forced-air heating system may be lost through leaks in the ducts.
• Our laundry room is especially cold and we discovered that it is completely uninsulated, open to the crawlspace (via the washer pipe runs), and open to the outside via an open dryer vent.
• Our hall bathroom was being vented to the attic instead of the roof (which can lead to rotting wood from the moisture).
• We could save money by installing CFL bulbs and received 6 for free. They start off very dim unfortunately, but then get brighter the hotter they get. The bulbs in enclosed cans in the ceiling got especially bright, but we learned they would probably burn out more quickly as a result. The bad news is that we will have to take them to a local recycling center for recycling because of the enclosed mercury. I also asked about LED lights, and was told they are still a bit too expensive to be worthwhile. (Read my "In Search of the Frugal Bulb" post for my report on that.)

Step 3: Determine which recommendations to implement

Insulate crawlspace - This was the biggest no-brainer. It has one of the highest payback rates and we could expect a good gain considering that we didn't have any insulation under the floor. Also, most of our uninsulated plumbing was installed close enough to the flooring that it would be covered by the insulation, too.

The only bad part of this was that one of previous owners had left almost three hundred glass bottles of water in the crawlspace (don't ask me why) and we had to spend several hours hauling them out before the contractors would work down there.

Insulate attic - The areas of the attic above the additions were already fully insulated, but we had some other areas with only a little bit of insulation and some areas with none at all. We decided to bring it all up to an even level. Two separate contractors both told us that that they would have to route the bathroom vent to the roof to meet code requirements, so we threw that in also.

Air and Duct sealing - there are expensive tests that can be done that involve hooking a blower fan up to the house and the duct system to determine how much of your heated or cooled air they are allowing to escape, but we elected against having these done. The maximum rebates would not pay for the test itself and the insulation contractors were going to do all the patching work anyway (seal the penetrations in the floor and ceiling and seal the duct joints with mastic and tape).

The process of insulating the walls involves cutting a hole in the interior drywall between every pair of studs and blowing insulation in, so we elected NOT to have that done until we are ready to repaint.

I also thought we should invest in some heavy drapes, which the auditor said would reduce heat loss from our large windows, but my wife felt that the house would be too dark and depressing.

I did a few other easy jobs myself. I put some weatherstripping ($3) on the bottom of the door between the laundry and family rooms, which blocked the cold draft coming through. I also replaced the external dryer vent with one that has a valve to keep cold air from coming in that way ($8).

Step 4: Locate a contractor and have the work done

This was pretty easy. Energy Trust provided a "trusted ally" list, so we had a few come out to the house. Their estimates were close, so we picked the one that could get the work done the most quickly: All Weatherization. They had two teams come in (one in the attic, one under the house) and got the whole job done in a day. The total cost was just over $2500.

My only complaints were that their compressor kept tripping a breaker on the circuit that our router was plugged into and that their was a terrible smell after they left. I think it was from the mastic they used to seal the ducts. I'd recommend having this work done in the spring or fall, if possible, so that you can leave the doors and windows open.

Step 5: Submit incentive requests

Energy Trust offers several rebates and all we had to do was fill out and fax in a single form (Form 300A) along with a copy of our contractor's invoice within 120 days of installation. I spoke with an Energy Trust rep yesterday who gave me the breakdown of what we will actually receive.

• Duct insulation: $100 (50% of installation cost up to $100)
• Attic insulation: $375 ($.25 per square foot)
• Crawlspace insulation: $675 ($.45 per square foot)

Grand total: $1150 or about 45% of the total cost!

The check should arrive in mid-February, which works out to about 6 weeks from submission time and included a brief delay in getting our contractor to confirm that he had been (promptly) paid.

Note: We didn't apply for the duct sealing rebate because it required the expensive testing I mentioned above, but if you're interested, the incentive is $1 per CubicFeetMinute reduction (max $400).

Step 6: File for tax credits

Not surprisingly, figuring out the tax rules was one of the more complicated parts of the process. After several phones calls and visits to the IRS website, I determined that we could receive a federal tax credit for 10% of cost of materials ($140 for us) by submitting IRS Form 5695. I've added that in to the pile for our accountant to deal with.

There is an Oregon state tax credit (25 percent of the eligible cost, up to $250) available for duct sealing, also. The process is to submit an Oregon Department of Energy application form (provided by the contractor) and we then get a certificate that shows our credit amount. We claim that and just retain the certificate for audit documentation. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that the contractor had to be certified by the Oregon Department of Energy, so we won't claim this on our return.

Step 7: Monitor ongoing savings

Of course we are hoping that this project will pay off in the long run, so we're keeping an eye on the bills. I called the gas company and was able to convince them to at least tell me that the previous owners' highest bill in 2007 was $247.18 (184 gas units) in January. We just received the January 2008 bill and it was $184.27 for 129 gas units. We used almost 30% less gas than previous owners, so I hope that at least some of that was because of the insulation and not just because they ran the gas fireplace constantly or kept the thermostat at 72.

I'll have to check the electric bill in the summer also, to see how much we save on AC.

Step 8: Enjoy a cozier home

We were really hoping to make a big difference in this area, but unfortunately we still have a few cold rooms. We've since discovered that our relatively new furnace is undersized for size of the house. My only guess is that it was installed just prior to the remodel that added several hundred square feet, but I haven't confirmed that yet. We're still working on this one, so if you want to read a REALLY happy ending, let me refer you to Clark Howard's write-up of his weatherization project.

The final test is for me to ask myself "Am I glad I went through this process?" I would say yes, with the caveat that anyone else considering it should be willing to put in a fair bit of effort and really run the numbers to determine which weatherization measures make the most sense for their individual situation.

Hopefully this post will help you through the process.

Energy budget leveling

Posted by Matt

Paul wrote a post about budgets previously, but I just wanted to share one more bit of information that can make the budgeting process easier.

From Paul's post:

After a while I discovered that many of my utilities varied, but only a little each month (like my phone bill). Once I realized this I included the average amount as an expense in my budget and if my bill was less than the average one month I'd add the extra into my surplus and if it was more I'd subtract it.

Great idea, Paul. But our readers might point out that one category of utilities varies by more than just a little. If you're thinking "yeah, energy bills", then I feel your pain. The monthly gas bill in our last home went from the $20/month range in the summer to the $200/month range in the winter. That's an order of magnitude change! Having a nice cash reserve in savings keeps us from having to worry in months when our spending goes up, but if you need more stable expenses, check with your utility companies to see what kind of billing programs they offer.

Our electricity provider provides a couple of different options for paying an average payment each month, as does the local gas company. Check them out!

In search of the frugal bulb

Posted by Matt

Here is yet another post inspired by the recent energy audit. One of the bonuses that came with our audit was a set of free compact fluorescent bulbs. We received three of the spiral bulbs to put in the pendant lights over our kitchen island and three enclosed floodlights in our foyer.

I was initially excited when I read we would be getting these with the energy audit. CFL's use less than the quarter of the power required by an equivalent incandescent (reducing electric bills) and they can last ten times as long (reducing replacement costs). From the CFL Wikipedia article linked above:

"A household that invested $90 in changing 30 fixtures to CFLs would save $440 to $1,500 over the five-year life of the bulbs, depending on your cost of electricity. Look at your utility bill and imagine a 12 percent discount to estimate the savings."

BUT....then I found out that the CFL's do have a few significant drawbacks:

• The CFL bulbs are dim when initially lit and get brighter as they heat up. They probably reach maximum brightness after only a few minutes, but this does make them a poor choice for the foyer. We typically flick those lights on when guests arrive or when we are on the way out the door, so we often only see them as dim. Also, [from Wikipedia] "The life of a CFL lamp is significantly shorter if it is only turned on for a few minutes at a time: In the case of a 5-minute on/off cycle the lifespan of a CFL can be up to 85% shorter, reducing its lifespan to the level of an incandescent lamp. The US Energy Star program says to leave them on at least 15 minutes at a time to eliminate this problem." So much for the foyer bulbs.
• The CFL's contain mercury, so they can't be thrown in the garbage. Our energy auditor instructed us to take them to a local recycling center. Also, if they break, you have to be very careful with the cleanup (use damp paper towels instead of a vacuum and seal everything used in plastic, THEN take to the recycling center).
• The light quality is just not quite right. We figured having the CFL's in the kitchen would allow us to maximize our energy savings as those are the lights we most frequently use, but their high usage level also means we want the best light quality possible.
• Cost wasn't an issue for the initial set, but they are slightly more expensive than regular incandescent light bulbs. This was the least of our concerns as their longer service life reduces their effective cost.

So, I haven't exactly been won over by the CFL's yet, but I'm in no hurry to remove them either, so I am saving some money there. If nothing else, hey, free light bulbs.

Just before we had the new CFL's installed, I read an article about LED bulbs. These sounded even more promising than the CFL's! They are solid-state (meaning MUCH less fragile), turn on instantly to full brightness without flicker or hum, produce no heat, use 1/3 the electricity of CFL's and last 5-10 times as long. AND, no mercury. I found the bulb recommended by the magazine online and read the manufacturer's claim that this bulb would save me $450 over its lifetime. Good thing, too, because the price was $99 "on sale".

Everything I'm reading about LED's indicates that they are the future of lighting (plus, it looked so COOL), so I decided to put up the money to see for myself. I ordered a bulb.

Now, before I give you the results of my experiment, I must admit that the manufacturer does not intend this particular bulb as a replacement of the standard incandescent bulb used in most home applications. It produces a directed white light, which I could have tested better with a desk lamp (if I had one). When I received it, I put it in one of the kitchen pendants to compare with the overhead incandescents and the CFL's in the other pendants. In comparison, the light was very cold and bluish. Just for fun, I also tried it in a lamp and the pictures show the difference (incandescent on the left):

If you haven't guessed by now, we did end up sending this bulb back. However, I did so very reluctantly. I'm so impressed with the light bulbs efficiency, and durability is always a big plus for me, but I'd like to find a bulb with light quality that is better suited to our applications, and also wait for the prices to come down before committing to upgrading the whole house.

One final point that I want to make on behalf of both the CFL's and LED's is that they will be especially important as enabling technologies. Right now, there are a lot of alternative energy options available (e.g., solar, wind, etc.) that are still maturing to the point where they can handle all of our modern energy needs. Reducing our energy requirements by using these new types of bulbs has the potential to make alternative energy sources feasible much sooner.

The future is bright!