Not just talking about being "Green". But we're doing it.

I have been pecking away at getting our house's energy cost under control. I want to get everyone up to speed. So far these are the items things that I have done.

1) I did the light bulb thing. Changed at least 95% of our light fixtures now have CFLs in them. I was at Home Depot the other day and saw that they now have LED bulbs but they were at least $30 - $50 each not quite in my budget. But that will be the next item we will be using. I will give it a few more months and they will be cheaper.
2) We replaced all the windows except the two in the basement which we will probably have them done in the Spring.
3) I replaced all the toilets with Dual Flush toilet flush controls. This serves to purposes first we cut down on water usage and second the well doesn't run as much saving power.
4) We had an energy audit done. Which once I am done with everything I will have him come back to do the inferred camera again.
5) I just went through the attic and foamed all the regular fixture boxes and exhaust fans. The recessed can lights I built foam boxes around them.
6) Installed a new attic hatch that I bought from Advanced Insulation Systems here in Traverse City. Which this alone made a huge difference.
7) I will be insulating the area above the shower which has little or no insulation.
8) I installed the new wires for the solar panels and then sealed up the chimney chase which was wide open all the way to the basement.
8) I will also be installing a new door coming in from the garage. Since the old one has a huge gap at the top.

At this point I have only spent less then $650.00 if that, to get all this done, not counting the solar panels and windows.
Here is a list of costs:
Steel Door. $100.00
Insulation (roll and foam). $38.00
Insulated attic hatch cover. $200.00
Light bulbs. $100.00
Material to make the recessed can covers. $75.00
Toilet Dual Flush. $125.00
My time and the willingness to make a better home for my family and help us save money. Priceless

So that is where I am at with this whole process. I have the solar panels in the garage ready to be mounted on the garage. Just waiting for the rack to show up. I also need to make some aluminium brackets to mount them on. Which I will be picking up the aluminium later today to do that.

So I am excited that thing are moving along. I will keep blogging about this experience as I move along with this project.

Have you had your energy audit yet?

I just dropped off a quote for a new solar energy system for a couple that uses about 700kWh a month, pretty average. This person had me quote a 3 panel system mounted on the roof, no problem. This system will generate about 72 kWh a month or 1/10 of this persons power, with perfect sunny conditions. But here is the thing the guy was surprised that it was not going to produce more power then that. I told him that this would be considered a starter system, if someone doesn't have a lot of money but wanted to start somewhere so this is what you would do. Because the system is capable of being added on to in the future. This is what I have decided to do at my home. I will be installing just 2 panels and adding on from there.

Before I decided to do this I got an energy audit from Empowerment Energy Analysts first. Well I have received my report and now I am in the process of doing some of the recommendations. This weekend I started building boxes to go over the top of the recessed can lights that are in the house and I sprayed foam on the regular light fixture boxes to block any heat from escaping through the holes. So that is where I started to try and reduce our energy costs. I am looking to reduce our energy cost even further. We currently use about 500 -600 kWh a month. I need it to be around 400 -450 kWh a month which is going to be hard because we have an electric dryer and stove. But I was informed that I need to put up a clothes line in the backyard and in the Summer we won't have to run the dryer as much. So that alone will help us cut down on energy usage.
The problem is that most people are not willing to give up their luxuries or gadgets that use electricity to achieve this .

So lets take the guy that I dropped the quote off to and use his energy usage as the example. To take the same 220watt panels to get the 700kwh that he uses, you would have to install 29 panels on the roof. Now the average cost to install a system of this size is around $45000.00 roughly. Now if he were able to reduce the amount of power that he uses down to 500 kwh a month. He would need 18 panels at 220 watts. The cost to install that would be about $25000.00 roughly. As you can see by dropping just 200 kwh a month the solar system drops in price by almost 1/2. So this is why it so important to get your energy usage under control. You end up saving thousand of dollars by doing so on a renewable system.

So the moral of the story is get an energy audit, get your power usage down to a more manageable amount and then buy renewables from me. Then you will have a win, win situation every time.

Here are three companies that I know that can help you with your energy audits. (You maybe able to get yours for free or at a reduced rate from your utility company)

Empowerment Energy Analysts (231) 218-3521
Paradigm Energy Services (231) 237-9293
Northern Auditor, LLC (231) 492-5136

Energy Audit

Back a few weeks ago I wrote a blog posting on how I was going to get a home energy audit done on our house. Well we just finished our energy audit yesterday. As soon as I receive the official report I will share it on my blog. But while we were doing the audit I produced a video to show how TJ Ewing did a home energy audit. It was quit interesting to see where the cold spots are in the house. The areas where we thought would be the problem were not there at all but in other areas of the house. If this something that you would like done for your house then you can find TJ Ewing on the web at Empowerment Energy Analysts or call (231) 218-3521. Also if you buy a renewable energy system from me, you will receive a home energy audit after the system is installed showing you how you can maximize that new investment in your home.

The Three "R's", the missing "R".

(The mess under my desk.)

The other day I was on mynorth.com and I came across a discussion board that I have been following. They were talking about how you need to reduce your power usage to make a renewable system to work really well for you and to make the cost go down.

So often I talk to people that are interested in renewable energy for their homes. The first thing they want to do with this system is add a bunch of additional electric loads. Well by doing that you have just put yourself right back where you were before you installed the system.

People want to do the right thing like recycling and reusing, but no one ever wants to do the other part of the three "R's", the reduce part. We all want the same lifestyle that we have become accustomed to with out giving up any of the luxuries. I am just as guilty of this myself. But I am trying to do my part to reduce a little at a time. It has been surprising how by doing the little things, I have found that I really don't miss some of these things or I have become accustom to the things that have changed. For example, the CFLs in the garage, which when it is cold they take a little longer than regular incandescent light bulbs. But once they warm up and get to full strength they are much brighter then the others and use less power.

Well, I am in the process of installing solar panels in the next few years here at my house. But before I do that I need to get my energy usage under control, before I install the solar panel system. So what I have been doing is trying to do all the little things first, like installing CFLs in all the light fixtures and installing Smart Strips where I can. I just installed two Smart Strips in my home one under my desk to shut down the things that I don't need on all the time, that are just sucking up energy and not doing anything. The other I installed on our TV, shutting down the Wii and DVD player that was just sitting there on standby when no one was watching them. Now when all the control devices shut down, the rest of the stuff will go off. Saving us money throughout the year.

The other thing that we did was install new windows and insulated window blinds in the house. Which made a huge difference in the gas bill.

The next thing I am having done is I am bringing in an energy auditor to take a look at the envelope of the house to see where we can trim even more energy by insulating. Which once I receive the report I will post the results here.

But as you can see I am trying to do all I can to reduce the amount of energy that we use. This way when I get ready to install the solar system I will not have to install a larger system. Which in the end it will save me money both on energy and panels.

When people buy a system from me from now whether it be solar or wind, I include a home energy audit with every purchase. I believe once you install a renewable energy system you should maximize it as much as possible. It will also help you to reduce the amount of money that you pay for energy even more. I am all about energy conservation. If we all conserve energy, the more we all win.

Offering Financing and Energy Audit.

Well as of today we can now offer financing for you next solar or wind system. We can offer financing through Domestic Bank. Interest rates as low as 6.95%.

Also when you buy a new renewable system from us, we are also now including a home energy audit of your house. We feel that if you install a new system that you should do all you can to help maximize your new system. This energy audit will help you to save even more money.

So give us a call today and lets get your new system started right away. (231) 715-1170