Or What We Did to Get Ready for Our Solar Electric System Our House

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Or What We Did to Get Ready for Our Solar Electric System Our House Energy Conservation for Everybody or What we did to get ready for our Solar Electric system Our House • Two bedroom, One bathroom, Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen, Finished Attic, Unfinished basement, Enclosed Front Porch • Built in 1940 • Remodeled and Insulated since Energy Use • Typical Energy Bill for Single Family Home is approximately $1900 per year • How much energy do I use? • Reading the Utility Bill NIPSCO Bill Electric Use • Electric Use is measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh) • Typical residential use is around 900 kWh/ month • Compute daily electric load based on electric bill Annual Energy Bill Other” represents an array of household products, including stoves, ovens, microwaves, and small appliances like coffee makers and dehumidifiers. http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=products.pr_pie Sources of Energy • Coal • Oil • Natural gas • Calculate Environmental Impact of Electricity Emissions in our Region • Typical residence using 900 kWh per month would produce, in one year • 58 pounds of nitrogen oxide • 159 pounds of sulfur dioxide • 23,150 pounds of carbon dioxide CO2 Emission Rates Our Goal: Reduce Electrical Use Avg. KwH per Month 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Steps to Take • Monitor Energy Consumption • Replace Incandescent Bulbs with Compact Fluorescent Bulbs • Choose ENERGY STAR products • Heat and cool more efficiently • Improve Insulation and Seal air leaks • Tell others Monitoring • Watt Meter • Calculating amount of energy an appliance uses Example • Window fan: (200 Watts X 4 hours/day X 120 days/year) / 1000 Watts per kWh = 96 kWh 96 kWh X 10 cents/kWh = $9.60/year Typical Wattages • Refrigerator: 725 watts • Television (36"): 133 watts • Vacuum Cleaner: 1000-1440 watts • Hair Dryer: 1200-1875 watts • Electric Clothes Dryer: 5000 watts Lighting • Compact Fluorescents • Available in a variety of styles and range of colors • Use 75% less energy • Generate 70-90 percent less heat • Lasts 10 times longer • LED's ENERGY STAR recommendations • Replace highest used fixtures with compact fluorescent bulbs • Kitchen ceiling light • Living room lights • Bathroom vanity lights • Outdoor porch lights • If every American home changed out just five high-use light fixtures or bulbs with ENERGY STAR fixtures or bulbs • Each family would save about $60 every year in energy costs • And prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions from more than 8 million cars Appliances and Electronics • Refrigerator • Washing Machine and Clothes Dryer • Entertainment System • Computers • Miscellaneous Refrigerator • Conventional (Freezer on Top): 55-100 kWh/month • Energy Star (Freezer on Top): 37 kWh/month • Sun Frost: 15 kWh/month Refrigerator Tips • Position refrigerator away from heat source • Leave space between wall or cabinets and the refrigerator to allow air to circulate around condenser coils • Keep coils clean • Make sure door seals are airtight • Keep refrigerator between 35-38 degrees F and freezer at 0 degrees F. • Minimize amount of time refrigerator doors are open Washer and Dryer • Clothes Washer: 350-500 watts • Clothes Dryer: 1800-5000 watts • ENERGY STAR/ Top loading/Front loading • Dryer/Clothes lines Washer and Dryer Tips • Wash full loads • Wash in cold water • Air dry clothes • Set water heater to 120 degrees F. Entertainment System • Television • Powered Antenna • Laserdisc/VCR/ DVD players • Amplifiers • Turntable • Cassette Player Computers • Personal desktop computer CPU awake/asleep: 120/30 watts • Personal desktop computer Monitor awake/ asleep: 150/30 watts • Laptop: 50 watts Our Computers • eMac: 80 watts when on, 2-3 watts when asleep • MacMini with 15" Flat Screen: 35-55 watts when on, 0 watts when asleep • Airport Base Station: 3 watts • Printer: • Servers: Heating and Cooling • Water Heater • Furnace • Air Conditioner • Fans • Dehumidifier Types of Heating Systems • Forced air • Radiant Heat • Geothermal Typical Wattages • Electric Water Heater (40 gallon): 4500-5500 watts • Furnace Fan: 750 watts Heating Tips • Use ceiling fans • Put on a sweater - that's what they're for • Use rugs on bare floors • Don't heat unused rooms • Turn down (off) the heat overnight • Clean the filters furnace • Seal air leaks • Use insulated window treatments • Insulate attic What we've done • Use Gas stove in living room/ dining room • Use ceiling fan to circulate the heat • Keep temperature low in house during the day • Turn furnace off at night • Wear more clothes in the house • Sleep under down comforters • Acclimate ourselves to cooler comfort range Cooling the House • Air Conditioners • Fans (ceiling, floor, window, attic, whole house) • Dehumidifiers Typical Wattages • Central Air Conditioner: 3500 watts • Medium sized Window Air Conditioner: 900 watts • Ceiling Fan: 65-175 watts • Window Fan: 55-250 watts • Furnace Fan: 750 watts • Whole House Fan: 240-750 watts • Dehumidifier: 785 watts Cooling Tips • Use timers on AC units • Raise the temperature - use less AC • Don't cool unused rooms • Replace old AC with newer, more efficient model • Clean the filters on the AC unit • Use Fans • Insulate Attic and Install Attic Fan • Install a light colored metal roof • Plant Shade Trees • Use Drapes and Blinds to Block sunlight • Have overhanging Eaves • Use solar screens • Replace windows • Reduce heat from lighting • Reduce heat from cooking What we've done • Replaced window air conditioner in upstairs with a solar attic fan • Use ceiling fan to cool living room/dining room • Use window fans as needed • Use window fans (on timer) at night to cool upstairs • Acclimate ourselves to warmer comfort range House design - Eaves • properly sized eaves shade windows in the summer and let sun enter windows in the winter House design - Front Porch • Our enclosed front porch, even though it is unheated and not insulated, does provide an air barrier between the outside and the inside, helping out the insulation Miscellaneous Appliances • Microwave Oven: 750-1100 watts • Clock Radio: 10 watts • Coffee maker: 900-1200 watts • Dishwasher: 1200-2400 watts • Toaster: 800-1400 watts • Toaster Oven: 1225 watts Phantom Loads A phantom load is the power consumed by a device when it is switched off • TV: 6-7 watts • VCR: 1-2 watts • DVD: 6 watts • Turntable: 1-2 watts Solution: Plug devices with phantom loads into a switchable power strip Installing Solar Solar Results - the first year Grid Electric Use (Jan 2005 - March 2007) 400 Net Grid Electric Use 300 K i l o w 200 a t t H 100 o u r s 0 -100 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR Month • Solar electric system went into production in early March 2006 • From April through July it was producing more electricity than we could use, generating a net credit with NIPSCO • In August and September it just met our needs • From October 2006 through March 2007, solar electric did not meet our need, and during these months we were buying some grid electricity from NIPSCO • From January 2007 through March 2007 Total Energy Use Compared to Solar Production - 2007 we tracked how much 300 Solar Production electricity our solar Total Energy Use panels were producing K i l 200 and how much o w a electricity we needed t t in our house H o u 100 r s • Over this time period, even though the winter 0 Jan Feb Mar Apr days are quite cloudy Month and dark, our solar system produced 56% of our total electrical needs • From March 2005 through February 2006 we purchased 3,375 kWh of electricity from NIPSCO • From March 2006 through February 2007 we purchased just 350 kWh of electricity from NIPSCO • Over the course of the year, approximately 90% of our electricity was from solar! Dreams, Hopes, Plans • Better Windows • Window Quilts • Skylights • More panels • Solar hot water • Other heating options References • http://revelle.net/lakeside/lakeside.new/understanding.html • http://www.epa.gov/ • http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/difference.htm • http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/powerprofiler.htm • http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/ • http://www.energystar.gov/ • http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/howmuch.html.
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