We asked three experts to give us tips on how we can save on our energy bill. Their responses to OurHouse questions are practical and sound.
Host: Tish Leizens, Publisher and Editor
Brian Oram
Owner, B.F. Environmental Consultants
A geologist by training, Oram is also the chairperson of the Pocono Northeast Resource Conservation & Development Council, host of the Northeast PA Energy and Environmental Solutions Expo.
Richard Evans
Chairman/CEO, Community Greenhouse Foundation
At the helm of the nonprofit foundation, Evans spearheads efforts to promote and facilitate greener communities through awareness, education and partnering.
Hector V. Munoz Baras
Principal of V.Baras Architects
He is a proponent of building energy-efficient and green custom homes and commercial projects and chairman of the New York Solar Energy Society Conference.
OurHouse: What are the first steps we should do to save energy in our homes?
Brian Oram: An attempt should be made to understand your families’ energy usage and needs. There are free online assessment tools, such as the Do-It-Yourself Home Energy Audits and Energy Star Home Energy Yardstick (energystar.gov).
Richard Evans: When auditing your home, keep a checklist of areas you have inspected and problems you found. Locate Air leaks, check to see if you have insulation in your attic and check your HVAC system and find out when it was last serviced and how old the unit is.
Hector Baras: A good starting point is to have a “blower door test,” coupled with infrared photography. Sounds complicated, but it’s not. This will cost a few hundred dollars depending on the size of the house, but it will immediately pinpoint exactly where you have heat loss in the building envelope. With this objective information you can now remediate the sources of your heat losses.
OH: What is an energy audit?
BO: A certified and trained professional auditor can determine the energy efficiency of your home and suggest remedial measures that can be done with the use of a cost benefit analysis approach. The auditor should be certified by a reliable company or organization such as the Building Performance Institute and Residential Energy Services Network.
RE: You should get a home energy audit. There are incentives if you make the upgrades recommended to make your home energy efficient but you will need the audit to document the upgrades and savings.
OH: Give us simple tips to conserve energy?
BO: Turn off and unplug computers, DVD players, lights, and chargers when not being used. Consider the use of energy star appliances and use of area heaters for heating occupied rooms. Have heating and cooling systems inspected and make sure to change the filters. Seal and weatherstrip windows and insulate wrap hot water heaters and piping.
RE: Change all your light bulbs to compact-fluorescent light bulbs. It will save about $30 over its lifetime and pay for itself in about six months. It uses 75 percent less energy and lasts about 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb.
HB: Learn about vampires—energy vampires that is! Energy vampires or energy phantoms are the myriad of electrical appliances, TVs, stereos, coffeemakers that are on constant standby even though they are “off”. You can tell they are vampires because they usually have some sort of light on all the time. The simplest way to control these vampires is to connect these appliances to a power strip, which you can turn completely off.
Also, replace your regular light switches with motion sensor switches. This will prevent having lights left on when no one is in the room.
OH: What are the applicable renewable-energy solutions to residents of northeast Pennsylvania?
BO: Their options include geothermal, solar, wind, biomass heating systems and biofuels, but the most effective and cost-effective option is to use energy wisely.
RE: The State has many programs directly geared to assist homeowners and residents to incorporate renewable energy solutions, including wind and solar. Tax credits and grant programs are available.
OH: What types of financial incentives are available for consumers?
RE: There are many different incentive packages out there on both the state and federal level. The best way to check out what is available in your state is to go on the DSIRE (Database of State Incentives for Renewable & Efficiency). dsireusa.org
The Northeast Pennsylvania Energy and Environmental Solutions Expo, to be held at the Luzerne County Fairgrounds in Dallas, Pa. on June 13 to 14, is forum for people to learn about conservation and renewable energy solutions. To learn more about the Expo, visit pnesolutions.org or call 570-282-8732 ext. 4.
The New York Solar Energy Society Conference, to be held at the YMCA Camp in Huguenot, N.Y., on June 13, seeks to educate the community about sustainable- and renewable-energy alternatives. To learn more about the conference, call 845-856-5708 or visit nyses.org.
