Happy Monday!

Solar Energy Expansion

Solar energy is becoming an increasingly popular solution for US homes and industry. While other sectors have suffered in this economy, solar is continuing to grow and expand its market. And since the technology is becoming more sophisticated, this expansion is not surprising. For some information about how much it is expanding, here is a some info from onlinetes.com:

Solar system prices are becoming far more competitively priced as the consumer and business demand for solar power soars. It’s safe to say the solar industry is just heating up in the United States.

Today, the solar industry is one of the few bright spots in the U.S. economy. Last year, the industry grew an astounding 69%, making it one of the fastest growing sectors in the nation as noted by the Solar Energy Industries Association. In the last two years, the number of Americans working in the solar industry has doubled to more than 100,000 employed.  

Solar energy has become cost-competitive with grid-supplied electricity, helping to positively impact our domestic energy supply and the U.S. economy as a whole. Additionally, hundreds of thousands of new jobs are being created across the country. Chapel Hill’s own Strata Solar LLC is doing its part locally by creating jobs for over 60 construction and installation workers and engineers through a variety of state-wide, utility-scale solar projects just this year. Strata has installed 10MW of solar energy systems across the state this year, and forecasts an astounding 30 megawatts and an even stronger hire rate in 2012.

 “Americans are beginning to adopt renewable energy in their own personal savings and are seeing the value it creates for our economy,” says Markus Wilhelm, CEO, Strata Solar. “The solar industry will no doubt continue to progress and remain significant to the growth of our country going forward.”

For the full article, click here.

Energy Efficient Windows

One of the most important ways to make your home more energy efficient is to upgrade your windows. Energy Star rated windows will make sure that the warm, heated air will stay inside this winter instead of leaking to the outside. There are some additional benefits to Energy Star windows though, here are a few more from EnergyStar.gov:

Get Comfortable

Comfort. It’s the essential quality of home. ENERGY STAR qualified windows, doors, and skylights do more than just lower energy bills — they deliver comfort that other products just can’t match.

PROTECTION FROM WINTER CHILLS

On cold winter nights, do you avoid seats near the window? The cold, inside surface of an inefficient window pulls heat away from your body, so you can feel chilly in a sweater with the thermostat at 70 degrees. With ENERGY STAR qualified windows, the interior glass stays warmer, so you can enjoy your window seat even when the temperature outside dips well below freezing.

SHIELDING FROM SUMMER HEAT

Do some of your rooms feel like a sauna in the summer? A standard double-pane window allows approximately 75 percent of the sun’s heat into your home.1 With ENERGY STAR qualified windows you can stay cool all summer long. Most ENERGY STAR qualified windows reduce the “heat gain” into your home more than typical windows do, without reducing the visible light. You get the light you need without the uncomfortable heat.

1 Source: Residential Windows. Carmody, Selkowitz, Arasteh, and Heschong. 2007.

Protect Your Valuables

Drapes, wood floors, a favorite photograph: all these things can fade or discolor after repeated exposure to direct sunlight. Whether their value is monetary or sentimental, you want to protect your belongings from fading and discoloring.

ENERGY STAR qualified windows have coatings that keep out the summer heat and act like sunscreen for your house, protecting your valuables from harmful, fading ultraviolet light without noticeably reducing visible light. These special coatings reduce fading by up to 75 percent.1

1 Source: Residential Windows. Carmody, Selkowitz, Arasteh, and Heschong. 2007.

For more information, visit the Energy Star website.

How Forced Air Heating Works

You have probably heard the term forced air heating before, but do you really know how it works? Forced air heating is a very popular heating method that is used throughout the country. Here is an explanation from a Houston heating contractor of how it works:

The truth is that a forced air heating system is simply a heating system that distributes heat throughout your house using air to carry it. In this type of system, heated air travels through a system of ducts and is expelled through vents into the different rooms and areas of your home in order to maintain a particular temperature. That temperature, of course, is whatever you set your thermostat to, and when the desired temperature is reached, the heat will shut off until the temperature drops down again.

Many forced air heating systems are remarkably energy efficient and can effectively keep you home comfortable all winter long. Additionally, they are generally made to be incorporated with central air conditioning systems for year round temperature control. Heat pumps are especially convenient in this way, as they’re able to both heat and cool your home depending on the season and your home comfort needs.

For more information, check out the full article.  

Heating Cost by Fuel Type

Have you ever wondered exactly how much it would cost to use another heating source? For instance, would it be worth the initial expense to change for oil to gas? Or maybe it would be better to switch to a pellet stove? In order to answer these questions, an article on InspectAPedia has developed a table that compares the average cost of various fuel types:

Table 1 - January 2009 Comparison of Current Energy Costs per BTU for Heating Oil, Natural Gas, Firewood, Pellet Stove Fuel, Propane, Coal
Heating Fuel	Heat Content in BTUs	Unit Cost	Cost / 1000 BTUs	Notes on Formulas & Fuels
Home Heating Oil	140,000 BTUs/Gal HC = 140	$2.00/gal UC = 2.00	1.42 cents	Price varies by time, season, economy, locale
Natural Gas	1029 BTUs/Cu. Ft. HC = 1.029	$7.00/1000 Cu. ft. UC = 0.7	0.68 cents	Price varies by time, season, economy, locale.
Firewood	150,000 BTUs/Cu. ft. HC = 150	$75/face cord UC = 6.46/Cu. ft.	4.30 cents	BTUs vary by wood type, condition, design of wood heater. A face cord is 4' x 8' x 16" of wood tightly stacked = 42.6 cu. ft. About $50./face cord in Dec 2008 in MN A full cord 4' x 4' x 8' = 128 Cu. ft. about $150. in Dec 2008 in MN, more in NYC
Electricity	3413 BTUs / KWH HC = 3.413	$0.11/KWH UC = 0.11	3.22 cents	1 KWH = 3413 BTUs. Cost/1000 BTUs = $0.11 / 3.413 = .032258
Propane				in process
Pellet Stove Fuel	8200 BTUs/pound HC = 8.2	$225 / Ton	1.4 cents	$225. per ton of pellet fuel, 70% efficient. 50 40-pound bags per ton, or 60 40-pound bags per skid. One bag of pellet fuel burns for 24 hours in a typical pellet stove. $225 / 2000 (pounds per ton) = 11.25 cents / pound. .1125 / 8.2 = .0137
Coal				In process Assuming xx-sized coal for use in coal stoves used as interior heat source, not coal fired furnaces or boilers which use pea coal.
Formulas Used [1]	HC	UC	(UC / HC) * 100	Unit Cost (UC)__ x 100 = Heat Cost per 1000 BTUs Heat Content (HC) See notes above for specific fuels.

For the full article and methodology, visit the website.

Space Heater Safety

Space heaters are a good way to supplement your main home heating system, but they can be dangerous if not utilized properly. The main thing to remember about space heaters is to only use them occasionally and to keep them away from anything flammable. WOLX had some other good suggestions:

"You have the weather coming in, and most people haven't thought about their heating devices, whatever it may be. The space heaters, or the regular heating in the house, or the fireplaces. And they haven't done the maintenance that we suggest that they do," Harrison County Fire Marshal Pat Sullivan said.

Though that maintenance may seem tedious to some, it could very well save your life.

"Those kinds of things can cause fires. If the wires are frayed on your space heaters, if you put the space heaters too close to other things it could burn, such as clothing or wood. Those things, those common sense things. Just get everything away from your space heater," Sullivan said.

Making sure all the elements in the device are working is also a good idea. If you've had a space heater for several years, it might be a good idea to replace it. Still, it's not all about space heaters.

"Using extension cords for the space heaters, using extension cords anywhere in the house is not recommended. Short term, for a few minutes, use it and then unplug it. But to leave it on all the time and use it for your heating devices, that's dangerous," Sullivan said.

Naturally, you'll want to be comfortable and warm in the frigid temperatures. Just remember that safety is of the utmost importance.

For the full article and some more safety tips, click here.

 

Are You Switching to Wood?

Many Americans are turning to wood to heat their homes because of rising gas and oil fuel cost. However, many older wood stoves and fireplaces emit a lot of pollution into the air, as well as heating your home inefficiently. If you are choosing the burn wood, it is best to look into a newer wood or pellet stove that is EPA ceritified. An article in the Tuscon Citizen talks about this new trend:

“The access to cheap wood made a difference,” says Walton, a carpenter who lives on heavily forested land in Keene, N.H., where he chops his own fallen or dead trees.

“It saves us a bundle,” he says, adding his wood stove can manage all winter with just two cords because he added insulation and good windows to his tidy, 1,300-square-foot home.

As energy prices rise, and winter approaches, more Americans are turning to wood to heat their homes, some hurrying to cash in on tax credits for efficient stoves that expire next month.

This upswing is prompting federal officials, concerned about the health and environmental impact of burning wood, to update 23-year-old certification criteria for stoves and set the first requirements for outdoor wood boilers, which heat water that’s piped into homes.

“We are not in the business of telling people how to heat their homes,” says Alison Davis of the Environmental Protection Agency, which plans to propose the new rules next year. But if they want to burn wood, Davis urges them to buy an EPA-certified stove and operate it properly so no smoke gets inside the house.

She says boilers are “significantly more polluting” than wood or pellet stoves because they have short stacks and use 10 times as much wood. Even so, she says those meeting the EPA’s 2007 voluntary standards are 90% cleaner than older ones. “The technology has improved for wood stoves,” Davis says, as has the research on the dangers of wood burning.

Wood heating’s upswing

The number of U.S. households heating with wood rose 34% nationwide from 1.8 million in 2000 to 2.4 million in 2010 — faster than any other heating fuel, according to Census data.

“We’re seeing a rise mainly in states with high oil and gas prices,” most notably in Michigan and Connecticut, says John Ackerly of the Alliance for Green Heat, a nonprofit group that promotes wood stoves.

“It’s a combination of rising energy prices and the economic downturn,” he says, adding low- and middle-income households are much more likely than others to use wood for primary heating. In rural areas, he says many cut their own wood and in the suburbs, they get it free when trees fall.

He expects wood will become more popular this winter, citing the projected rise in household heating costs. Compared to last winter, heating will cost 3% more with natural gas and 8% more with oil this year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Retailers are gearing up. U.S. shipments of pellet stoves, considered the most efficient way to burn wood, jumped 59% in the second quarter of this year, compared to the same time last year, and pellet fireplace inserts rose 72%, according to Leslie Wheeler of the the Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association, an industry group.

“We’re expecting those numbers to continue to increase,” Wheeler says, because of high fuel prices. She says the tax credits expiring this year — up to $300 for EPA-certified stoves — are not as generous as in 2009 and 2010 when they covered 30% of the cost, up to $1,500. She says many cost $3,000 to $4,000 with installation.

For more info, you can read the full article here.

Stephen King Heating Things Up

While many of us are a fan of Stephen King's writing, we don't know much about him. But with him donating $700,000 to help heat low-income home's in Maine, people are now seeing his charitable side. Here is an article from the LA Times about his donation:

With federal budget cuts taking a bite out of a charitable fund that helps lower-income Maine residents heat their homes, author Stephen King announced plans Wednesday to help bridge the gap. His Stephen and Tabitha King Charitable Foundation will match up to $70,000 donated to Maine's heating oil fund, with hopes that they can raise $140,000 total.

King no longer lives year-round in Bangor, Maine, but he returns there and owns three local radio stations that will spread the word about the effort, the Bangor Daily News reports. “We’ll match up to $70,000 of the amount raised,” King said. “This economy is terrible and Tabitha and I both worry so much about Bangor because it truly is a working-class town and we are always looking for ways to help, and right now this is a great need.”

King added, “And on top of it the price of fuel continues to rise. The cost goes up, the need goes up and the assistance goes down. That’s the bottom line. That’s what is happening.”

To read the full article, click here.

Furnace Filters

When you think about home maintenance, many people forget changing their furnace filters. While it is a simple chore, it is easy to overlook. However, changing your furnace filter on a regular basis will improve your home's indoor air quality and help your furnace work more efficiently. To learn more about when to change your furnace filter, check out this article from Carney Plumbing, Heating & Cooling:

Just like the filter in your air conditioner, replacing your furnace filter is the key to a healthy and comfortable Willow Grove home. By keeping a good filter replacement schedule, you will reduce wear and tear to the furnace and keep your home warm, while keeping your family healthy and controlling energy costs all winter.

But when does your furnace filter need to be changed? Well, each system is different, but there are some general guidelines and recommendations to follow that can help you keep it all straight and stay on top of your furnace filter situation.

Conventional Wisdom

The long-standing rule of thumb on furnace filters is to change them every month. This is good practice if you are using older fiberglass filters, but for newer, more efficient filters, you should do it a little differently. These should be inspected and cleaned at least once a month, but you may need to replace them that frequently also.

Sometimes it is a little more complicated than these general guidelines, so it pays to be aware of some factors and conditions in your home that may affect how frequently you need to change your filter.

Things to Consider

As mentioned above, the first thing to consider is the efficiency of the filter. Because new filters are so efficient, when they get dirty or clogged with dust and debris, they actually restrict airflow, making your furnace bog down and work harder. So, it is important to stay on top of a monthly inspection and cleaning schedule with these filters.

Also take into account air quality and sources of allergens both inside and outside your home. If you live in an area with a lot of pollutants in the air, you’ll want to replace your filters often to keep those out of your home. If you own a lot of pets, the dander and hair will wind up in your furnace filter and you may have to replace it more often.

To learn more, visit their plumbing and heating blog.

Cut Your Heating Bill

Heating your house can get expensive, so many people look for ways to lower their heating bills. Upgrading your heating system is a good investment; many of today's equipment is much more energy efficient than systems even bought as recently as ten years ago. You can also make sure that you have good insulation, energy efficient windows, and no leaks in your house. If you have done all that and still think your heating bills are too high, an energy audit would be a good choice. A professional could assess your house and give you some new suggestions. In Atlanta, the state require that Georgia power help's homes become more energy efficient:

ATLANTA -- State regulators require Georgia Power to help its customers improve energy efficiency, so if you make an appointment, they'll send an expert to your home or business to do a lot of the dirty work for you.

Efficiency Expert Rodney Welch says a few quick fixes can cut your bill in half, starting in the attic. "You want to make sure you have at least 10 to 12 inches of attic insulation," he said.

Welch said a programmable thermostat prevents you from heating an empty house. He said for optimum efficiency it should be set at 68 degrees in the winter. "Any temperature above 68 will increase the bill anywhere from three to five percent per degree," he said.

On a recent audit of a Craftsman style bungalow in Atlanta, Welch found a lot of ways the homeowner was saving energy but also a few ways she was wasting it. 

The fireplace damper was open, allowing cold air in, and the stripping was starting to peel away from the front door. Outside, the HVAC unit had some tree branches starting to creep around it.

To learn more suggestions, check out the full article: http://www.11alive.com/news/article/211968/3/Cut-your-heating-bill-by-up-to-60-percent-

Replacing Oil for Geothermal

If you are thinking about upgrading your heating system, geothermal is a good way to go. You will not need to spend money during the year for oil or gas to heat your home, and those savings can really build up over time. Here is an example of one family who decided that upgrading to geothermal was the right choice for their home:

“We knew we had to replace our old oil heat system, and we were looking around for options,” said Hanson, a retired Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific Railway clerk. “At first this seemed too expensive. But, when you throw in the rebates and tax incentives, and the fact we’ll never have to buy oil or gas again, it really makes sense for us.”

Hanson has a bit of a green side as well, and he’s happy to stop burning fossil fuel to heat his home.

The U.S. Department of Energy says 40 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions in the nation come from burning gas, coal and oil to heat and cool homes and buildings. Heat-pump systems already in place are cutting more than 3 million tons of carbon dioxide each year, the equivalent of taking 650,000 cars and trucks off the road.

If the term geothermal conjures images of bubbling hot springs in Iceland, that’s only half right. In the Northland, geothermal heat in the ground actually comes from the sun and is stored below the surface in the ground or water.

Hanson’s system uses water from an old well on his lot that’s at a nearly constant 45 degrees as the source of heat energy. While the science is hard to explain, the heat pump transfers energy from that 45-degree water and converts it into 130-degree hot air to heat the house. In the summer, the same system can create cold air to cool the home.

The basement unit is about the same size as a traditional furnace.

In Hanson’s open loop system, after the well water is run over coils of antifreeze, the water, about four gallons per minute while it’s operating, is discharged back into the ground to percolate through a gravel field. Closed loop systems use a finite amount of fluid running through large coil systems buried to absorb warmth in the ground. Closed loop systems, buried about 8 feet under the surface, generally require a footprint about twice the size as the main floor of the building, so a larger lot is required.

“This (open loop) type of system was more attractive for us because we didn’t have to tear up the entire yard,” Hanson said.

Hanson’s system, including work to expand his well’s capacity and install a new electric service board in his home, will cost about $20,000. But rebates from Minnesota Power and the state of Minnesota, along with a 30 percent credit for the system off his federal income taxes, will bring the price way down.

And Hanson will never need to write another check for gas or oil again.

“The payback is generally about five years compared to a heating oil system or propane, maybe a little more, eight years, for a natural gas system,” said Jeff Aili, estimator and project manager for Summit Mechanical Systems of Duluth that installed Hanson’s system. “Think of it as an investment, and the rate of return is about 20 percent per year. How’s your IRA compare to that?”

For Hanson, the new system will eliminate last year’s $1,700 fuel oil bill and trim heating costs to about $550 for this winter, all for electricity. Heat pumps generally use more electricity than traditional systems, although the water-heating savings often help make up that difference. 

Moreover, Hanson’s system will provide cheap central air conditioning in the summer. By a quirk of physical science, many systems actually use less energy in the summer if they are producing cold air for air conditioning, Aili said.

For the full article, visit the Duluth News Tribune.

Save Money on Your Heating

With the big storm that hit many in the Northeast, most have had to turn on their heat a little early. And with oil and gas pricing rising, that can be a little expensive. Here are some tips from Smart Money on how you can cut down on those expensive utility bills:

For consumers looking to cut costs this winter and beyond, experts recommend looking into financial assistance from the government while it lasts. Federal tax credits worth up to $500 for energy efficiency home improvements, in place most years since '05, may expire at the end of the year, says Ronnie Kweller, a spokeswoman for the Alliance to Save Energy. Eligible projects include new insulation (10% of the cost, up to $500), biomass stoves ($300) and energy-efficient windows (10% of the cost, up to $200) -- so long as the items meet federal guidelines.

A handful of states also have rebate cash lingering from the "cash for clunker" appliance program of 2010 and more recent initiatives, according to the Department of Energy. Oregon, for example, still offers 70% of the cost for a qualifying gas furnace, up to $2,000. Ohio reimburses 100% of the price for an Energy-Star-qualified gas, oil or propane furnace. The government estimates the more efficient products could cut your energy bill by as much as 15%, to boot.

It's not too late to shop around for deals on fuel, either, says Gamson. Providers' rates largely depend on when they purchase their fuel supply, so calling around or joining cooperative buying groups that locked in prices months ago could yield a better price.

Consumers can also cut their energy costs by making smaller home improvements , says Dayle Zatlin, a spokeswoman for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. A home energy audit, available for free in many states, can help pinpoint problems -- including too-thin insulation and drafty areas. Spending as little as $30 for some caulk and sealing kits can cut your energy bill by up to 20%, a savings of as much as $1,000 a year. Actually programming your programmable thermostat so that the house is 10- to 15-degree cooler while you're out at work and asleep can save you up to another 15%, Zatlin says.

For the full article, click here.