Crosslands Nature Conservancy

ENERGY CONSERVATION COMMITTEE MINUTES of MEETING 9 February 2010

The meeting was CALLED TO ORDER by Dick Voldstad at 3:05 p.m. in the Brooke Worth Room. Committee members present were Allen Bacon, Elaine Frost, Tom Kopach, Paul Kronick, Dick Leonard, Andy Palmer, Paulding Phelps, Jack Schultz, and Bob Wright. Dick Voldstad asked everyone to welcome Dick Leonard, a new member he’d appointed to replace Ted Brinton who resigned in December.

Note: A revised committee roster (dated 9 February 2010) is attached to these minutes.

The MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING (12 January 2010) were approved as issued.

Dick Voldstad reviewed the ASSIGNMENTS FOR VISITING NEW RESIDENTS that were not fully completed as of the last meeting. One apartment still needs CFL bulbs and three have not yet been visited.

Dick explained that our monthly ELECTRICAL DEMAND CHARGE is based on the maximum average kW we receive during any 30-minute period on any weekday in the month. The demand charge ($14 per maximum kW) is added to the kWh usage charge ($0.08 per kWh) to establish the total electric bill. Tom Kopach said we could think of this as a rental car being charged for both its highest speed and its total miles.

The greatest electrical demand at Crosslands occurs between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m. in the heating season and between 4:00 and 8:00 p.m. in the cooling season. Tom circulated a demand profile chart to illustrate this. Tom said our wintertime profile is beginning to flatten because of the committee’s reminders to residents that they should avoid using their washers and dryers between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m.

The summertime peak will be flattened and lowered by the proposed new solar power plant. This will make us an attractive customer to future electrical suppliers because it will lower their peak demand, which always occurs in the summer. The summertime peak is enough of a problem that our current supplier (PECO) pays us to run our emergency generator on the five hottest days of the year to relieve them of our electrical load. Next year, if the new solar plant is approved and operational, we should be able to negotiate a more-favorable electrical contract because of the lower summer load. The new contract will be with a new supplier because PECO wants to get out of the generating business and become only a distributor of electricity.

Jack Schultz wondered if we should tell residents it’s alright to use their washer/dryers between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m. on weekends and in the summer. The consensus was that this isn’t important enough to risk the confusion it might create.

Tom said Kendal-Crosslands is considering DEMAND-LIMITING CONTROLS that will slow or shut down some of the large machinery (air handlers, chillers, refrigerators, cooling towers) at the Community Center when demand is high. Individual-apartment controls that turn off the heating, air conditioning, and water heaters for short periods of high demand are also being considered.

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Paulding Phelps said he thought INDIVIDUAL-APARTMENT METERING that showed residents how much energy they’re using would motivate them to conserve energy. Paulding cited Jack’s e-mail information (8 February 2010) that indicated a possible 3.3 year payback from investing in individual-apartment metering. Jack said his estimate was based on “billing” residents for their electricity, not just “informing” them. Paulding said he thought the committee had previously decided against billing residents for their electricity. Dick Leonard said he thought there would marketing problems with billing. Tom said he preferred the informational approach. Bob Wright said he favored education over billing. Paul Kronick said he knew of a study that showed the most effective energy-conservation motivation is billing. Paulding said a California study showed that giving users comparative information versus the neighborhood average was an effective motivation. Dick Voldstad said there wouldn’t really be any financial payback from Jack’s proposal because Crosslands would pay for the meters while the residents would get the savings. Tom said he’d contact Comverge regarding the feasibility of providing both informational and demand-limiting controls for apartments. Andy Palmer suggested real-time community feedback on TV 9.

Dick Voldstad asked Paulding to report on the SUSTAINABILITY PROJECT GROUP telephone conference at the Lucretia Mott Center on January 28. Dick noted that not everyone had been invited to the conference, an oversight he said he’d correct in the future. Paulding explained that the SPG consists of representatives from all of the Kendal Communities who meet every other month by telephone to discuss their sustainability activities. At the January meeting, reports were received from Hanover, Lexington, Lathrop, Oberlin, Ithaca, and KCC.

Educating staff on energy conservation, using CFL bulbs, recycling, ride sharing, shale-gas drilling, and outdoor clothes drying were among the topics discussed. Oberlin said 60% of their energy usage is in their health center where federal/state regulations make it difficult to adjust lighting and temperature levels. Lexington said they’ve disbanded their sustainability committee because the responsibility for sustainability rests with the entire community. Tom Kopach reported on our proposed solar power plants and demand-limiting controls. Paulding reported that some Crosslands residents are drying clothes on their patios and hope to expand on this favorable experience.

The executive director of each Kendal-Crosslands community is going to be asked to report on which of the SPG’s thirteen sustainability initiatives his community has undertaken. Tom and Paulding think Kendal-Crosslands is already working on most of them.

Note: The thirteen initiatives were discussed at our committee meeting on 8 September 2009. The “Sustainability Benchmarks for Kendal Affiliates” we discussed suggested that each affiliate incorporate at least ten of the initiatives by the end of 2012 and all thirteen by the end of 2013.

Paulding told us about the PhillyCarShare program in which a rental car is placed at a convenient location chosen by a group of subscribers. The car can be used by any member of the group at a cost of about $5 per hour and $0.25 per mile. A three-month contract guaranteeing at least $400 per month of rental payments is required. PhillyCarShare already has a contract at one retirement community, Cathedral Village in Philadelphia, and is willing to work with us. A group of about 25 to 50 subscribers is suggested. Paulding said he’d get more information for our next meeting. Page 2 of 3 9 February 2010

Tom circulated some PLUG-IN VEHICLE charging information from Coulomb Technologies that described their ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations. Owners of electric cars can charge their vehicles at these stations by establishing an account with Coulomb Technologies and paying access and electrical usage fees. Tom said Kendal-Crosslands may do something like this when it’s appropriate to purchase electric vehicles for staff use. We now have thirty vehicles that consume 70,000 gallons of gasoline per year. Natural gas is not an economic alternative to gasoline. Grant funds may become available to help finance fleets of electric cars. Tom would like to have resident help with writing the grant proposals. Grant opportunities often arise on short notice, with short response times, making it difficult for Staff to meet the required deadlines.

Dick asked what the ENERGY CONSERVATION BUDGET should be for 2010-2011. Our budget was $350 this year and we’ve spent $19 to date. Andy suggested purchasing energy- conservation books and videos for the Library. Jack suggested paying honoraria to speakers – about $150 per program. Bob said Kendal might contribute to speaker payments. Dick said he’d ask for $350 again next year.

Paulding said the Nature Conservancy might provide several time slots for Energy Conservation speakers in 2010-2011. This year they’re giving us a slot in March at which Tom Kopach will speak about energy. Jack said he thought we should have a Program Chair to obtain speakers, schedule time slots, and publicize events. Paulding suggested that Jack be appointed to this position. Jack said he thought it would be a good assignment for our Vice Chair. The committee agreed that Del Tweedie should be asked to develop next year’s program.

Dick Voldstad reported that the creation of a CROSSLANDS WEBSITE will be announced at a community meeting on March 8. Paulding suggested that one person be assigned to provide Energy Conservation information for the website. Dick said he was working on that.

Bob Wright reported that Kendal’s electrical demand charges were down by 4.2% in the last quarter of 2009 compared with 2008. Electrical usage was down 3.2%. The total savings in the fourth quarter of 2008 were $7,190. Bob’s information was published in the February issue of the Kendal Reporter. In his Reporter article, Bob suggested that residents turn their hot water heaters off when they’re going to be away for more than two days, and remember to turn them on again when they get home. Dick Leonard said he’d look into putting a reminder to that effect on the Residents Absence Form that Crosslands residents fill out when they’re going to be away. Jack said he thought the EnTel system automatically turns the heater off when we’re away for two hours, and automatically turns it on again as soon as we come back.

Dick Voldstad ADJOURNED the meeting at 4:47 p.m. The next meeting will be on March 9.

Jack Schultz, Secretary