If you have a nicely landscaped backyard with a pond, you probably have a small underwater pump to keep the water filtered that may or may not have a timer. I had a homeowner ask how much energy his pond pump was using without a timer so I hooked my energy monitor to find out. Two hours later we got the results.
I have been a Phoenix energy auditor for over two years and can remember one of the first things I did when I started was to create a list of all small and large appliances and their average energy usage. SRP and APS have an extensive list of their own for common appliances and there are several resources online and in text. I also bought a Kill-a-watt energy monitor to find out exactly how much that coffee machine takes to run. It turns out to be not much- but over the years I have monitored the energy consumption of a variety of appliances and gadgets I will share in these posts. If you have a nicely landscaped backyard with a pond, you probably have a small underwater pump to keep the water filtered that may or may not have a timer. I had a homeowner ask how much energy his pond pump was using without a timer so I hooked my energy monitor to find out. Two hours later we got the results. Obviously the pond pump was small and only cost him $0.12 a day to run 24/7 however there were other factors that motivated him to put the pump on a timer. The first being that in 1 year he had already replaced the pump two times because of failure. With a timer, the pump will run less and extend the lifetime. The second reason being was that his energy usage never broke more than $150 per month all year round. Since his consumption was so low (he already had a tight, efficient home) his low hanging fruit was not so low anymore and he had to dig a little deeper to find those energy saving opportunities. I think making the trip to the store to buy a new pump would be motivation enough for me to put it on a timer.
0 Comments
APS has come out with great rebate programs and solidified their commitment to 1) energy retrofits upgrades like duct sealing and insulation, 2) renewable energy products like solar panels for electricity and hot water and finally for 3) switching out old appliances. Each of these rebate programs are separate entities that sometimes get confused since they are always changing. For example, APS solar rebate program has seen better days when solar electricity rebates used to be at $3.00 per watt. Every couple of months for the last 2 years APS has dropped their solar rebates until the current amount of $1.45 per watt. Now the best and most affordable way to get solar is through a solar lease program that significantly buys down the costs of solar panels.
APS Home Energy Audit Rebates Now the hot program is APS’s and SRP’s Home Performance With Energy Star. This is a national Energy Star program to make homes more healthy, comfortable and efficient. APS and SRP adopted the program to ensure a whole-home approach to reducing energy bills while keeping homeowners safe and with better indoor air quality. APS requires a $99 energy audit be performed on a home to diagnose the causes of high energy bills, uncomfortable rooms or excessive dust. Once the audit is complete a report will be generated using building modeling software that gives cost savings for each upgrade. The APS rebates will help pay up to $1,000 (or more if you have two or more AC units) off the costs of the energy retrofit. The rebates for the Home Performance With Energy Star program are broken down below. Duct sealing 75% off up to $250 per unit. For most homeowners, 20% of their heating and cooling bill is wasted from duct leakage. Air sealing 75% off up to $250. Air sealing work can be complex as your auditor must determine Insulation75% off up to $250 Shade screens $1 per sq ft up to $250 APS has a great visual summary of their rebate program here. http://www.aps.com/main/rebates/residential.html?source=pgrj http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=hpwes_profiles.showSplash APS rebates for pool pumps $200 for variable speed pool pump. Each pump has to be calibrated to your pool to ensure that it is not over turning your pool. This upgrade will reduce your bills $200 - $350 per year. APS also provides a $75 rebate for pool timers. APS Rebates for AC units Air conditioning systems have become more efficient from federal standards and better technologies. Surprisingly, APS does not overlap its duct sealing rebates with its air conditioning rebates. With every unit we install, we include a whole home duct seal to maximize the high efficiency AC unit with a properly sealed duct system, otherwise it’s like using an umbrella with holes in it. APS will help you pay for a higher efficiency AC unit depending on the efficiency ratings. In the AC efficiency world there is a SEER rating, the seasonal energy efficiency ratio, EER rating, the energy efficiency ratio, and HPSF or . In Phoenix, the EER is a more important number to pay attention to because of how hot it gets here. The EER ratio gives a better idea of how an AC will perform under very hot conditions (100 degrees) were the SEER rating gives an idea of performance under milder conditions (89 degrees). SRP recognizes and awards a higher rebate with higher EERs in their AC rebate program, but APS does not. APS also has a quality installation standard similar to the post test done for the home energy audits that has to be met when installing heat pumps and furnaces in the Phoenix area also. Only APS qualified AC companies can apply for their rebate for you, but not all of them will perform a duct testing and sealing upgrade. These rebates and companies are separate from the solar rebates and the home energy audit rebates. All the APS approved AC companies are required to do a sizing calculation called the Manual J calculation. You should ask to see the results from your own home to ensure this was done. The AC rebate program also includes a check of the refrigerant charge to make sure that the unit is properly charged to manufacture specifications and a check of the air flow. Below is a list of the AC rebates available from APS. SEER 13 with EER 10.8 receives $175 APS rebate SEER 14 – 16 with EER 10.8 receives $425 APS rebate SEER 17 with EER of 10.8 receives $525 APS rebate All units must be installed by and APS approved AC contractor. All contractors must perform a Manual J calculation to properly size the unit (you should verify this since it is not something a typical contractor will do). All contractors should properly charge the unit and check airflow. For more information on APS AC rebates, check out their link here. http://www.aps.com/main/green/choice/choice_3.html APS Solar Rebates APS solar rebates are divided into solar electricity rebates and solar hot water rebates. Solar electricity for my home was my dream growing up and has proven to be an attractive idea to thousands of homeowners across the Phoenix valley. APS perhaps did not realize how attractive solar electricity would be since they have lowered their rebate amount dramatically since its inception. As of May 2011, APS solar electricity rebate is at $1.45 per watt. You can view their current budget and remaining monies available at the link below. http://www.aps.com/main/green/choice/solar/funding.html APS Solar Hot Water Rebates After City and County applications have been approved, APS does random inspections of the installation. The solar hot water system must be SRCC rated and have proof onsite. The first 5 feet of your hot and cold water piping should be insulated to at least R-2.6. The panels must be un-shaded during the day for the entire year. The APS solar water heater rebates are currently at $0.50 per kWh of estimated first year savings (based on the OG-300 ratings), up to 505 off the system’s cost. The OG-300 rating system is based on the manufacturer’s rating by the Solar Rating and Certification Corporation. Also important to consider for solar hot water systems is the federal tax credit of 30% off the cost and Arizona state tax credit of $1,000, which makes solar hot water much more attractive. Typical solar hot water rating systems are around 2,890 kWh per year. An example rebate table is shown below. Solar Hot Water Cost $5,400 APS Solar Rebate $1,445 Arizona Tax Credit $1,000 Federal Tax Credit $1,620 Net Cost $1,335 Annual Savings $425 Simple Payback 3 years APS Appliance and Tree Shading Rebate APS also provides a $30 rebate to replace your old refrigerator and they will even come and pick it up for free. Also, a understated home comfort and energy saving rebate APS offers is to plant external shading along your home to block direct sunlight. The requirements of this rebate are that you attend a free tree shade workshop and can legally and physically plant shading trees along your home. Visit the link below for more information. http://www.aps.com/main/green/choice/choice_126.html Crawling around in attics for APS and SRP's home energy audit program has given me a pretty good idea where I can expect to find hidden “inefficiency jewels”. I feel like a kid at Christmas discovering open wall chases, uninsulated soffit drops, misaligned insulation and unconnected ductwork. It’s like finishing a marathon, reaching the river at the Grand Canyon or reaching the Seven Falls in Tucson… well, add a little sweat, being in a 140 degree box and a chiropractor and welcome to my world of home energy audits. Once I do find these things I often say to myself, “what were these contractors thinking!?” Now a home performing as a system is a relatively new concept as are the APS and SRP rebates available for helping homeowners reduce their bills and make their homes more comfortable but some of the insulating contractors, framers and developers just left their common sense at home. When insulating a home, wouldn't you want all the interior walls insulated? Or why would insulation be installed with the paper facing inside on some kneewalls and have it facing the other way of kneewalls right next to it? I would like to share some horror stories through pictures of common and not-so-common defects in homes. I think all good energy auditors in Phoenix will have photos and stories similar to mine, so cheers! Part of the enthusiasm in finding these inefficiencies is the potential to save money on energy bills and dramatically increase the homeowner’s comfort. Another good thing about these construction defects is that APS and SRP offer $1,000 in rebates to fix these deficiencies.
A good number of the APS and SRP home energy audits I do are for eco-conscience snowbirds. These residents typically reside in the Phoenix, Surprise and Scottsdale areas during the winter and go back north for the summer months. Even though homeowners are only here for part of the year, many are still motivated to have the upgrades done because of comfort and air quality problems. Other homeowners will have efficiency upgrades like duct sealing, air sealing and insulation work done because of the APS and SRP rebate program and to drive down energy costs. During the homeowner interview, I am always interested to find out what each homeowner does to “summarize” their home. For Phoenix’s permanent residents, the summer is a time many will take vacation for more temperate climates. Either way presents opportunities listed below to save energy and money while away.
Tips for “Summerizing” Your Home While on Vacation - Turn the water heater off completely at the breaker or shut the gas line off. At the least, set the dial to vacation mode to minimize stand by losses. - Turn the thermostat up to 90 degrees. This will keep your home cool enough to not damage the structure or your belongings. - Fill gallons of water and place several throughout the house to add moisture over time. - Unplug energy vampire’s aka electronic devices. TV’s will use more energy in stand by mode than when turned on. Prevent wasteful spending by simply unplugging your electronics while away. - Keep window shades closed and sun screens on the exterior windows to minimize heat gain during the daytime. For more tips on “summarizing” your home while away, visit here. This spring I was surprised to hear a friend tell me she was glad her spring allergies are back, because that means the winter is over. Although nobody likes the itchy eyes, sneezing and running noses that some unfortunate people suffer through every year, your allergies can be prevented while in the comfort of your own home. That is an important distinction that some people never notice and are suffering unnecessarily.
Cleaning furniture and flooring and keeping windows and doors closed are things everyone should be doing to reduce dust and pollen inside but there may be hidden causes that may be the main culprit in circulating unwanted pollen. These culprits have most likely been present since the home was built and are also causing you to overpay your utility bill. They are air and duct leakage and how the framing, drywall and insulation were installed aka the thermal boundary and they may be residing in your home. The Problem: Our Homes Small and large holes from any penetrations and duct connections in the house are not only a major source of energy loss but also can have negative health and air quality affects. Every other week your home may get a good cleaning from dust build-up and the regular activities; now imagine how much more you would have to clean if a 12-inch by 12-inch hole was made directly to the attic and was just left there. Put a large fan above the hole pushing your attic air into your home, and you’ll get a clear picture of the negative effects of duct and air leakage on an average home in the US. Duct leakage explained Duct leakage is common to every home and it is so important because the air handler is putting the distribution system under a lot of pressure, so a hole the size of a penny becomes a hole the size of a basketball under pressure. On the return side where you change your filter, a negative pressure is sucking in dirty attic air post filter and distributing that throughout the house. Want to stop indoor allergies; don’t clean your ductwork until you seal your ductwork first. Do unwanted critters frequent your home? Try sealing all the holes in the house from wires and plumbing vents to recessed lights. Insulation performance explained All attics are dusty but if the insulation is not in contact with the drywall, you can bet your attic will be excessively dusty and that dust will find a way into your home through air and duct leakage. Insulation is like a blanket, it needs to be touching your body to keep you warm. If the insulation is not in contact with the drywall (attic floor or kneewalls) as is sometimes the case because of electrical wires walking studs, recessed lighting or changes in the ceiling height that insulation is not working. The gap between the drywall and the insulation allows air to pass through the insulation, depositing dust and dirt on the insulation. That’s why you may see a cloud of dust form if you just touch your insulation. If the insulation was installed directly over an electrical penetration, leaky recessed lights or any gaps between the drywall- that insulation will be darkened with dust deposits. All the dust in the attic is more likely to enter the home and worsen allergen reactions. Both the APS Home Energy Audit program and SRP Home Energy Audit program will assess and measure the condition of a home’s ductwork, air leakage and insulation performance among other tests. A cost savings analysis is given to each homeowner upon completing the home energy audit but the main benefit that some homeowners will feel is the cleaner indoor air quality, reduced dust and allergens and a more comfortable home. Learn more energy saving tips here and visit our friends at Everyday Health to learn many more tips on stopping home allergens here. With triple digit temperatures last week, we have successfully made the jump right past spring into summer here in the Valley of the Sun. Here a week of 110 degree weather is considered normal and hot water during the summer is not a choice, it’s the only choice. Hot water heating can be the second or third biggest energy user in the home, right behind the air conditioner and saving on water heating can knock off up to 20% of your total utility bill. Using the power of the sun to supply your hot water needs is an efficient method of heating water, but there are more cost effective technologies outlined below that will keep more green in your pocketbook. A tankless water heater is preferable to solar water heaters for gas-fired tanks. To prevent cold water sandwiches, tankless water heaters now feature a 20-gallon reserve tank and still heater the water only when needed. Tankless heaters use a sealed combustion venting type that prevents carbon monoxide from backdrafting into the home or garage. A hybrid water heater is ideal for Phoenix residents and preferable to solar water heaters if you have an existing electric water heater. The hybrid water heater uses a heat pump, which sits on top of a traditional electric water heater to heat the water. The heat pump works just like your refrigerator or AC condenser, but in reverse. That is it takes the ambient heat out of the surrounding air and uses that to heat the water and expels a small amount of cool air (perfect for a garage application). Your refrigerator will extract the surrounding cold air and circulate it to provide chilled food while giving off a small amount of heat on the bottom of the unit. Hybrid water heaters are more than 50% efficient compared to solar water heaters for half the cost. Solar water heaters may be good for a large family who like to take long showers (most of the energy used to heater water goes to showers). An 80 gallon tank or two 50 gallon tanks will be installed with solar water heaters, so there will never be a shortage of hot water but can be overkill for most homes. Some homeowners are even switching from gas water heaters to electric because they are putting solar panels to generate their own electricity. The thought is that a big enough solar array will cover the energy needed to heat the water. Solar hot water proponents will argue that homeowners should have both – a solar water heater and a smaller solar electric system because the efficiency of the solar water heaters (1.2 efficiency factor) is greater than the efficiency of a conventional electric (0.89 efficiency factor) or gas tank. I definitely agree that efficiency steps should be done to stretch that solar electricity dollar, but the cost of a solar water heater makes other water heating options such as a tankless water heater or hybrid water heater a smarter choice (which are all more efficient than using solar electricity). Bottom line if you are considering solar hot water: - Homeowners with gas water heaters and families with children should go with a tankless water heater with a 20 gallon reserve - Homeowners with electric water heaters should go with a hybrid water heater - Homeowners should consider solar hot water if they are planning on living in the same house for more than 13 years The Valley of the Sun doesn’t get any better for solar energy production if you are thinking about installing solar panels on your home. In fact, southern Arizona is the best location for solar in the nation. APS, SRP and TEP still provide rebates for solar electricity and producing your own energy to spin your meter backwards is an attractive idea to many homeowners and businesses. But how many solar panels do you need to do so?
Part of the equation is limited to the amount of panels you can fit on your roof, house orientation and external shading and aesthetics. A good southern exposure is ideal for solar power, however solar panels can be west-facing or on a west-facing slope and angled towards the south. Some homeowners want to completely zero out their energy bills for the whole year. Other homeowners go with smaller systems to zero out just their winter energy bills and a lower summer bill. To calculate the size of photovoltaic’s you will need to accomplish either goal you are going to need your electricity bills for the past 12 months. Once you have that, add all the kWh you used each month for the entire year and divide that by 1.7. The number you get will be the total system size needed to take your annual usage down to zero (if you divide that number by 1,000, you get kW). So let’s say after I added all the kWh’s used for the year and came up with 23,480 kWh/year (a large home). Take 23,480 / 1.7 = 13,812 watts. So I would need 13.8 kW’s of solar panels to completely zero out my energy bills. Now I can go with half of that number (7 kW system) to reduce my bills by approximately half also. The 1.7 factor is an estimate for only a particular type and efficiency of panel, but it will give you a good idea for starters. If you are a visual person, feel free to contact me and I can send you a spreadsheet where you can enter in your monthly kWh usage, and a nice graph will visually show you what you are spending now on energy bills, and what they would like with a 5 or 10 kW solar electricity system. For more information visit www.dsireusa.org to find current APS/SRP or TEP rebates and federal tax incentives for going solar. Visit APS’s website here, SRP’s website here and TEP’s website here for more tips and information. Michael Blue Jay also has a great website and solar calculator here. You can also see what we have to say on what you should do before you get solar here. For certain homes, coupling solar with efficiency upgrades will stretch your dollar spent 30-40% compared to solar alone. The average costs for electricity from APS or SRP is around $0.12 per kWh. Imagine paying $450 per kWh for electricity. That’s what most of today’s electric vehicle (EV) owners are paying for a battery to power their cars. To put this into perspective, the Chevy Volt will cost owners 2 cents per mile to drive compared to the 12 cents per mile on gasoline at a price of $3.60 a gallon. Or a trip from Phoenix to Tucson would run a measly $1.98 on electricity or almost 6 times that at $11.88 on gas.
Shocking as the $450 per kWh may be, a decrease to $300 per kWh is considered the tipping point to mass market uptake. An article published by webtech company, GigaOm, sites that leasing the battery is one solution to bring down the battery costs. If you have thought about installing solar panels for your home, you’ve probably heard about solar leasing programs or PPA’s for larger solar applications, some groups are applying this concept to the electric car market. It will be interesting to watch if and how automakers and startup companies adopt the electric vehicle lease; and also how the EV infrastructure is built-up to meet demand. Many homeowners have an old furnace system or gas water heater and want to know if it is cost-effective to switch to an electric heat pump or conventional or hybrid water heater. By comparing the efficiencies, initial cost and lifetime of the unit you can make an informed decision as to which one is right for you. Estimated annual energy usage will vary depending on lifestyle but this table gives a good starting point. Take a look at the annual cost table to get an idea payback and cost-effectiveness for your switch. Don’t forget the “kicker” factors that also must be considered – such as if you already have gas appliances. If so, you are already paying around $30 just for having a gas line so you will not be “penalized” for adding a new line (plus $1,000 to have a new gas line tied to your home from Southwest Gas). This would be a factor if a homeowner had all electric appliances and wanted to switch to a gas tankless water heater.
Both APS and SRP offer $99 energy audits through the Home Performance With Energy Star program. The audit includes a blower door test which depressurizes the home to test for air and duct leakage. A blower door works by removing all the air inside and replacing it through air leaks occurring around cracks and holes in the ductwork, electrical and plumbing penetrations, and windows and doors. Pressure diagnostics will also reveal where the leaks are occurring and help define the all important thermal boundary of your home. Sealing up holes in your home is the typically the most cost effective recommendation and the first step to a more comfortable and energy efficient home.
APS and SRP Energy Audits also include: - HVAC inspection - Attic inspection of insulation and ductwork - Blower door test - Building model of your home - Prioritized cost-effective solutions and report Giveaways include: - 10 free CFLs - 2 free low flow faucet aerators - 1 free low flow showerhead - 1 free low flow kitchen sink aerator Rebates are available upon 6-8 weeks of completion of install and include the following. - Home energy audit - Discounted to $99 - Duct sealing - 75% off net costs up to $250 rebate per HVAC system from APS / $175 for SRP - Air sealing - $250 rebate from APS - R-38 insulation - 75% off net costs up to $250 rebate from APS - Shade screens - $1 per sq ft rebate up to $250 from APS / $0.50 per sq ft up to $250 for SRP - High efficiency AC units and furnaces - $175 to $525 rebate from APS For more information take our online Energy Efficiency Tool, conduct your own Energy Audit and visit APS and SRP Home Performance With Energy Star website. |
AZ Solar PowerFrom the front lines of your attic - an auditors view of how to save energy and money at home See How Much Solar Can Save YouArchives
June 2018
|