I’ve been studying and pursuing solar energy advantages for more than a year now.

I am happy, no, thrilled with the obvious pursuit of renewable energy sources by federal and local governments as well as everyday citizens.

But I want information I can act on.

For the past year, August 2008 to August 2009, we have taken every actionable idea our home budget allowed.

This action steps centered on energy conservation measures. Indeed, energy conservation is the place to start.

The good news is that we reduced our home energy bill by 22.7 percent, a savings of almost $500 over the course of the year by practicing energy conservation measures only.

Really, if each of us practiced energy conservation only, a huge difference would be evident on our collective carbon footprint!

With all the conservation measures in place, the next steps are energy efficiency measures. These are the measures that cost a little bit of money—energy efficient windows, more home insulation, energy efficient heating/cooling systems, energy efficient appliances.

However, right now, I have no funds to take action on these efficiency items.

Sigh.

What’s a person on a tight budget to do?

Our Solar Energy Quest

Our quest to incorporate solar energy into our home progresses, however slowly. Sometimes improvements seems as slow as molasses in January. But we know the necessary preparation for integrating renewable energy options begins with energy conservation measures.

We are in the 11th month of our energy conservation journey. Since last August we have been searching, learning, and implementing all energy conservation measures feasible for our particular circumstances.

Averaging our energy use for the first ten (10) months of the process, conservation measures (rather than efficiency measures) produced a 26 percent decrease in our home energy use. That’s a 26 percent decrease in our energy bill as well!

As I write this post, well into month 11 of our test year, our South Texas heat climbs to around 104 degrees daily. Our thermostat setting stays between 83 and 85 degrees in the day and 80 degrees at night. The air conditioning still runs a lot.

I’m beginning to worry about my percentages.

We hope to end the 12-month experiment with at least a 25 percent energy decrease. We will see. All results will be published here on the blog in hopes that our learning will help others.

next phase, year two (2), of our quest involves energy efficiency (rather than conservation). The research is begun.

Stay tuned! And as always, we would love to hear your energy conservation success stories. Share your comments and/or blog links in the comment section below.

Summer Energy Efficient Windows – Part 5

There’s a huge learning curve to energy efficient window expertise.

Not that one requires “expertise” in window manufacturing to purchase the best windows. However, you do need a certain knowledge base in order to get the right window for your particular needs.

You can’t just go to a window store and pick a pretty window any more than you go to the shoe store, and simply pick out a pretty shoe.

Windows, like shoes, must be matched to the wearer.

The search for the best energy efficient window is still on.

“Condensation resistance” is another feature to look for while you are reading those window labels.

Condensation resistance measures a window’s ability to resist condensation or water buildup; the higher the number between 0 and 100, the better. Higher numbers indicate a product’s ability to resist condensation.

Note: Rating a window for condensation resistance is optional; window manufacturers can choose not to include this rating in on their labels.

Summer Energy Efficient Windows – Part 4

Did you know that air can pass through windows? Solar energy can heat up our Texas air to egg frying temperatures during the summer months. And that hot air can come into our homes!

No window keeps all air out. Air seeps through around window joints and assembly. Really, that’s a pretty good thing; we all need to breathe.

But some windows let less air inside than others.

Windows have an “air leakage” rating. This value measures cubic feet of air passing through one square foot of window area per minute.

The lower this value, the less air passes through the assembly, the better it is for your electric bill. Look for a rating of .3 or less.

Window selection is more complicated that I first thought!

More next time.

Summer Energy Efficient Windows – Part3

In the final months or my energy conservation mode, I’m beginning to gear up for the next step – Energy Efficiency. My study now revolves around windows for summer energy efficiency.

Today’s window performance rating element is visible transmittance (VT).

Visible transmittance tells you the amount of light a window allows though. Efficient windows are energy savers and will reduce my energy bill, but I still need the daylight shining into my house to keep my inside plants alive and to keep my sanity!

The visible transmittance (VT) is measured on a scale of 0 to 1. Usual values are between 0.3 and 0.8.

The higher the visible transmittance (VT) rating on the window, the more light passes inside. So for the greatest amount of daylight and to enjoy the view from your windows, the visible transmittance (VT) rating the better.

But there is a trade-off. You see, lower the VT number, the better a window insulates. To get maximum daylight transmitted inside, I lose insulating capacity.

Hmmm…I’ll have to think about this more. Perhaps some of my windows need more insulting that others.

Our grandmothers naturally lived in sync with the seasons and took advantage of solar energy long before anyone referred to sunshine as solar energy. Solar energy dried laundry for centuries. It still can.

Today I gently washed a cherished crocheted bedspread and laid it flat on the grass in the sunshine to dry. It is one of those rare days in our part of south Texas when the air is cool, clear, and fairly dry.

Another perk sun drying offers is the bleaching without harsh chemicals. Did you know that? Sunshine is an excellent whitener. So our slightly yellowed, crocheted cotton heirloom bedspread is clean and white again. (I took the picture after shade covered the lawn.)

Truth is, I have waited for the right day to wash this bedspread. With our clothes washing and drying technologies, we wash and dry clothes any day of the year, any time of the day or night. We have no need to pay attention to the seasons as our grandparents once did.

But no modern industrial wonders could work as well as the sunshine did for me today.

So how about starting a new energy conservation habit this summer? At least once per week, use the sun to dry your clothes rather than your clothes dryer.

Weather Stripping Repaired

A couple weeks ago I posted  about our worn out weather stripping around our front door. http://simplehomesolarenergy.com/home-energy-use/weather-stripping-wears-out/ .

On closer investigation, we found that our front door had a flat jamb, the vertical piece of the doors frame. Attaching more weather stripping was awkward having nothing to attach more weather stripping to.

So my handy husband went to our local home improvement store and purchased strips of primed molding, which fit just inside the doorframe. The door shut against the molding, creating a better seal.

installing molding

Then we attached strips of weather stripping to the molding. These made an even better seal that keeps our conditioned air inside and summer heat from seeping in.

Do yourself a favor and check to see if you have air leaks around your windows and doors. Summer is coming!

Still striving toward that net ZEH home….

Energy Conservation Works

Going solar. Sometimes it seems the going is slower than I’d like. But occasionally I get motivation to keep going. Ours is defiantly a “Tortoise and Hare” story.

The most recent encouragement to keep our hare in the race was the arrival of our electric bill.

For eight months now, we’ve had our home on an energy diet of sorts, trying to reduce the amount of electric energy our home uses. The less energy we require the less we will need to spend on a solar energy system.

Our current electric energy bill…drum roll please… is 45 percent less than the same month last year!

Yes, that means a 45 percent reduction in kilowatt-hours used. And I am ecstatic.

I feel myself becoming an energy miser.

Not all months have shown this great a decrease in energy use. But each month, compared with the same month last year, has shown a decrease.
The interesting thing is, we have only been practicing energy conservation, not energy efficiency.

Energy conservation practices do not require huge outlays of money. Think of conservation as small conscious habits and choices, which, made daily, add up to huge savings over time.

After we get the conservation habits down, we begin implementing efficiency measures, which require some larger monetary investments.

After efficiency measures reduce our energy consumption even further, we will have a more accurate idea of how many solar panels we need.

I’ll keep you all posted on our progress.

We’d love to hear how your home energy story is unfolding, so leave us a comment. Thanks!

Free Weather

Today in south Texas, we enjoy what my family calls “free weather.”

Free weather happens when the outdoor temperatures are such that we need neither heat, nor air conditioning, nor clothes dryer. Open windows allow cool breezes to circulate through the house and clothes dry quickly when hung out on the clothesline.

Free weather means our kilowatt-hour usage is at a minimum. We still use some power of course, to run the refrigerator, lights, water heater, and phantom loads.

Many folk enjoy this kind of “free weather” for a long stretch during the summer months. We get “free weather” a few weeks each spring and fall.

Now, if I had grid-connected solar panels installed on my roof today, they would be generating electricity and sending it into the grid, making my electric meter run backwards!

Well, I hope to have those solar panels this time next year. Until then, I’ll content myself with the “free weather” while it’s here.

Municipal Solar Financing

If you have been watching and eye on solar energy, you have heard about the 30 percent tax incentives provided for solar purchases via a recent economic bailout packages.

Although I consider myself a fairly intelligent, literate person, I confess I cannot always follow the labyrinthine paths of government money.

I suspect this is purposeful. One cannot question what one does not understand.

Here’s another twist in solar funding: Municipal Solar Financing

What’s that, you say? Municipal Solar Financing?

Dan Hahn gives as simple and uncomplicated a definition as I’ve found. Thanks, Dan.

Frankly, the more I read the more inclined I am to think each of us should be creating our own stimulus package. The less entangled you are in governmental mazes, the freer you are.

I’m creating my own energy stimulus package via personal home energy conservation and efficiency. I’m thinking this will reduce the cost of my home solar system long before the government will.

You’re invited to begin the Home Energy Conservation Challenge.