Cutting Costs
By: Mike Tidwell; Source: AARP Bulletin Date Posted: 2005-12-15 08:44:00-05:00
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There's never been a better time to protect your pocketbook—and the planet—by reducing your energy use at home. And thankfully it's never been easier to do.
I should know. I've already made big energy changes in my three-bedroom, 1,600-square-foot bungalow in the small Maryland town of Takoma Park on the edge of Washington, D.C. Those changes save me hundreds of dollars every year.
In 2001, motivated by global warming and the Sept. 11 attacks, my wife and I set aside $7,500 to achieve a big goal: dramatically reduce our fossil fuel use at home without sacrificing our lifestyle. Since then we've cut our electricity use a whopping 52 percent and virtually eliminated natural gas use. Here's how we did it.
Corn-Fed Heat
Home heating accounts for about a third of energy use in a typical U.S. household. Yet even in the face of soaring prices for oil and natural gas, my heating bill won't rise a penny this winter.
That's because I heat my home with corn kernels. That's right—I have an ultra-convenient corn-burning stove controlled by a manual dial. It takes up the space of a TV console in our living room. I load up to a day and a half's worth of corn in the side hopper, and the stove self-loads the fuel with a low-energy electric auger. Then we simply enjoy the radiant heat.
Agriculture advocates say farmers can grow enough corn to meet the energy needs of millions of citizens. Our corn is easy to buy because we joined 35 other families to set up a community-run corn granary, a 25-foot-tall, corrugated-steel silo that stands amid our town's houses and high-rise apartments. And burning corn contributes almost nothing to global warming if the corn is planted without tilling the soil (an increasingly common farm practice) and raised using organic fertilizer. So corn fuel is good for farmers, good for consumers and good for the climate.
Learn more about stoves at magnumfireplace.com. Cost: $2,400.
Better Bulbs
Lighting accounts for up to 10 percent of the electricity for a typical household, so I don't understand why anyone still uses conventional incandescent bulbs. They produce as much heat as light, and they jack up an electric bill. Compact fluorescent bulbs use 66 percent less electricity, last 10 times longer and can be found on sale for as little as $3 per bulb. We switched out all 20 of our old bulbs and watched our electric bill fall. Cost: $60.
No More Wastrels
The big boys of home appliances, such as refrigerators and air conditioners, account for a hefty share of energy use. We replaced our 10-year-old fridge with a super-efficient Sears Kenmore that cost 25 percent more than the standard model but uses the electricity equivalent of a 50-watt light bulb. By sipping electricity, this baby saves us about $100 per year. If your appliances are more than 10 years old, consider switching to newer, more efficient models using the government's Energy Star rating system as a guide. Cost: $750.
Here Comes the Sun
Incorporating solar energy was our biggest challenge. To make a used solar hot-water system and a 1.5-kilowatt solar electricity system affordable, we did lots of homework online by visiting Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy (dsireusa.org) and at the library to find every available state and federal grant and tax credit. We also did much of the rooftop installation ourselves. Together the systems bring our conventional energy use way down. For general solar information, visit homepower.com. Cost: $4,396 (after $11,104 in government aid).
Yes, Dr. Pavlov
The cleanest kilowatt-hour of electricity is the one that's never used. We turn off lights in unoccupied rooms, use ceiling fans instead of the AC, and on nice days dry our clothes outdoors. Cost: $0.
Bottom Line
In five years we cut our annual electricity consumption from 3,760 kilowatt-hours to around 1,800 kilowatt-hours and our natural gas use to almost zero. We're on track to recoup our investment in less than 10 years. Then it's all money in our pocket. Total cost: $7,606. Annual savings: $800.
Mike Tidwell is director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network.
Additional Related Links
AARP.org's Report on Energy Costs
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