2007 Home Energy Efficiency

A great big thank you to everyone who attended the Home Energy Efficiency workshop and an especially big thanks to Martha Norbeck and Larry Larson for their wonderful expertise. We hope the experience helped you take one more step to becoming a lean, green, energy-saving machine. With the right tools and education, it becomes easier to shrink our carbon footprints, save money, and live more comfortably, all by making a few improvements to our homes and lifestyles. Now it is time for you to share this knowledge with your neighbors at the Community Futures Conference on July 28th. We will discuss strategies transform Fairfield into a stronger, cleaner community. Check on the "Community Futures Conference" link on the side bar.

RESOURCES TO SAVE ENERGY (AND MONEY!)

Powerpoint Presentation Attach:EnergyPresentation.ppt

These are the slides about home energy use, phantom loads, the Osage, IA example, and other resources that we used during Tuesday's presentation.

Energy Worksheet Attach:HomeEnergyUsage.xls

Plug some numbers into this worksheet to figure out how much energy you use in your house. You'll be amazed by how fast it all adds up and by how much energy a dryer or hair dryer guzzles! This is a good resources for a quick, cheap estimate.

Energy Efficiency Rehab Advisor http://www.rehabadvisor.pathnet.org/index.asp

The US Department of Energy has put together a wonderful website that walks homeowners through the possible home improvements, the cost, and the pay back in savings. It includes a calculator based on home-size, region, scope of the project, and other factors. This is a great place to start your research.

Enery Efficient Appliances: Selection and Mantanience Guidelines for Major Home Appliances http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/info/documents/pdfs/26468.pdf

Yet another US Department of Energy Publication. This gives great advice on how to choose and mantain large appliances such as dishwashers and refrigerators. It also details how much energy we waste through phantom loads, the energy that an appliance uses when it is off; for example, unused televisions cost the US over $750 million in energy each year.

Second Nature http://www.alliantenergy.com/docs/groups/public/documents/pub/p011515.hcsp and http://www.alliantenergy.com/docs/groups/public/documents/pub/p012053.pdf

Alliant Energy offers the "Second Nature" program, allowing consumers to buy 25%, 50%, or 100% of their energy from renewable sources. The cost of participation is negligible--between $5 and $20 each month. The low cost can deliver a big impact; Alliant estimates that if just one percent of Alliant Energy households join Second Nature, up to 73 million kilowatt hours of non-renewable energy could be replaced with renewable energy each year.

Free green money! http://www.alliantenergy.com/docs/groups/public/documents/pub/p014526.hcsp

Alliant offers rebates on many home improvement projects and energy efficient appliances. Although they do not cover the total cost, they certainly make it easier to be green. Take a look at the "Iowa Incentive Programs" on the Alliant website (address listed above).

Because the process can seem a little complicated, Briggs Shore and Hart Ford-Hodges are working to condense all the information, numbers, and forms into a user-friendly set of instructions. Check it out! If you have any suggestions, e-mail us at: biggreensummer@hotmail.com