News: Plug-and-Play Portable Solar?

CNN posted a story a few weeks back about a start up company looking to make major changes to how people view solar power.

Today, most consumer-accessible solar consists of two options:

1. Large arrays of panels generally mounted on the roof.
2. Small purpose-built solar panels, such as for landscape lighting, charging electronics, fountain pumps, etc.

Solar arrays are costly and have a steep barrier to entry for consumers.  Despite rebates from electric companies and some state and local governments, many solar arrays end up costing well over $5000 out of pocket.  While many arrays can result in a return on investment (usually after 5 - 10 years), $5000 or more is difficult for most people to come up with.  We'll look further at the economics of solar panels in an upcoming solar series.

Small purpose-built systems may also make economic sense in some cases, but don't expect to see a major impact to your bills.

The start-up company, Clarian Power of Seattle, WA, looks to find a middle ground by reducing that costly 'barrier to enter' the solar market, and allowing consumers to add capacity to their solar systems as modularly, over time, as they see fit.

Five Ways to Automate Power Savings - Part I

There is nothing better in than being able to spend a little effort once (and just once) and then be able to reap the rewards for years to come.

Actually, most of the projects and projects I've talked about fit that definition - some effort once, benefits for years. But today I'm going to look at five simple ways in which you can not only automate energy savings, but also automate your home - and save money in the process. Better yet, these five solutions also may also improve your life in other ways - providing security or improving the simplicity of your day.

We'll kick things off by covering the first two ways in which you can automate power savings. See Part II for the remaining three ways to save.

Television Sets and Power Usage - How to Pick a New TV and Optimize It

Television sets are perhaps the largest discretionary power consumers in many households. With most households having multiple TVs, and sometimes multiple TVs on simultaneously, it is not uncommon to be consuming 400, 500, or even 600 watts! In fact, some large plasma TVs with default settings, operated 6.75 hours per day (average for US households), may cost you $155 or more in electricity in a year (and much more in high electrical costs areas).

One key factor that I constantly harp on is that when we purchase new appliances - ANY appliance, we should consider power consumption costs. After all, if you plan to keep an appliance for 10 years, making a decision that could save you $100 a year makes a ton of sense...or cents in this case ($1000 worth).

But what TVs are best? And are there any sacrifices or trade-offs for choosing a power-sipping model?

How To Kill the Vampire (Power, That Is)

One of the key factors in saving energy, and thus saving money, is understanding how you are consuming energy. It sounds basic, but numerous studies have shown that providing energy usage feedback to households results in significant reductions in use.

And you've probably heard how people that drive cars with miles-per-gallon (MPG) feedback meters actually improve their driving efficiency. Whether cars or houses, these studies have all shown anywhere from 5% to 18% reduction in use when direct feedback monitors are used.

And consider this:
According to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the average US household has forty or more devices constantly drawing power.


It's a simple concept to measure power usage, and for household use there are a number of solutions ranging from simple plug-in devices to whole house meters that are placed in your electrical box.

Today we're going to talk about one of the simplest to use meters available - one that is highly proven with a strong market reputation. It's the Kill A Watt EZ .  This solution will not only allow you to understand just how much power your TV, air purifier, or computer uses, but will help you identify dreaded vampire power users.

Halloween in September? Decor choices that pay for themselves.

Every year I am astonished to see Christmas decor going on sale in early September at the 'big box stores'.  This year, though, it served as a reminder to post a bit about how we can all save some energy this Halloween.

Halloween has become the second largest holiday in the USA in terms of merchandising and decor.  Every year I see more and more elaborate decorations, ranging from giant inflatables in front yards, to motion sensing skeletons, to plain old lighting.

If you're considering lighting, be aware that you can CFL bulbs in the color orange.  I often place colored lights in my outdoor fixtures for a few weeks around the holidays, and this is a way to save a bit of money as compared to traditional incandescents.

Low Tech, High Results - Sealing and Insulating Electrical Outlets

There is one simple upgrade that almost every house will benefit from.  You’ll have greater comfort, less drafts, and see energy savings in summer and winter.

What is this simple, low tech upgrade?  It is electrical outlet insulation pads (aka wall-plate insulation, or foam gaskets).

Decora Leviton Style Outlet

When electricians install power outlets or light switches, they cut a hole in your drywall and leave an area that has no or minimal insulation (see photo at left).  This presents an easy path for outside air to enter your home (aka ‘air infiltration’).

In fact, this gap presents such an easy entry point that in many houses you can literally feel the draft on cool and windy days.  To demonstrate this point, my new construction house in the Arizona desert (not exactly a location known for cold) was actually quite drafty in the winter until I added my wall-plate insulators.

The solution for this is quite simple – purchase a few packages of foam wall-plate and switch-plate insulators (sometimes called ‘foam gaskets’), and install them.

The biggest ‘trick’ to installing these is actually purchasing the correct type/shape in the first place.  the gaskets/insulators are designed to create a tight fit, and made to fit the exact size of the protrusion in the outlet.

Electrical sockets are generally the same in most construction (with some exceptions - especially GFCI outlets).  However, switch plates vary drastically depending on the age of your home.  Recent construction uses ‘decorator’ or ‘decora leviton’ style switches, which are large, flat, rectangular shaped rocker switches or outlets.  The photo above is a Decora style outlet, which is one of those "exceptions" I just mentioned.

Older construction uses much smaller switches that protrude from the wall a half inch or so.   You can either purchase the Gasket Covers by themselves, or part of a kit that includes door sweeps at Amazon.  Note that the kit linked to the left is for the older style outlets and switches.  The best source for Decora Leviton style gasket covers seems to be outletsealers.com.

Foam Gasket Placed On Outlet

You can also purchase small packets of insulators from your local hardware store or from a number of online sources.  However, your best bet is online sources, where you can purchase bulk quantities at a discount. 

As an example, you should be able to find 50 foam gaskets for around $18 or less online, but you'd probably pay double that at the home improvement store.   Further, you’ll be more likely to find specialized gaskets to fit those multi-gang switch plates that cover multiple switches. 

It’s difficult to estimate payback on this improvement because air infiltration alone is not enough to calculate energy consumed.   You would need to know how much air infiltration is occurring, the average temperature deviation from your preferred temperature for that air, and then factor how efficient your heating and air conditioning system is in dealing with that air.  So for this one you’ll have to take my word on the value. 

Foam Outlet Gasket Installation

Installation could not be much simpler.  If you’re like me, if you try to estimate the number of outlets and switches you have on outside facing walls, you will definitely underestimate the quantities.   Your best bet is to survey each room and keep a tally.

All it takes is removing the wall plate, inserting the foam (see photo), and then screwing the wall plate back on.  Best practice would be to turn off the breaker prior to performing any action with the wall plate.

Payback Calculator

Have you ever wondered if that new gadget or new light bulb is worth the cost? Today we are announcing the Power Payback Calculator to allow you to quickly determine how long it will take to recover money spent on a new product or upgrade to save power.

To put this into context, the simple example is changing a light bulb. Today you may have a 40 watt incandescent light bulb in your closet, and you are considering a pricey $15 LED light bulb that only uses 2.5 watts. You figure that the closet light is on for 30 minutes a day – how long will it take for the energy savings to offset the $15 spent?

In my case (12.5 cents per KwH), it would take around 17.5 years for that LED light bulb to pay off – probably not the best financial decision. Now, if you had been replacing a 60 watt bulb that ran for 2 hours per day, you’d be looking at a payback in under 3 years. And if your power cost is very high, such as in Hawaii or New York City, your payback may be under 2 years.

I like to use this tool for those exact scenarios. It helps you determine if a project makes sense for you, and it also helps give you an idea of how long a product may need to last before it pays for itself. 4.5 years for an LED bulb should be likely, for example. I’ve also used this for determining if a Smart Strip makes sense in a particular application.