What You Can do to Promote Energy Efficiency
[ WRITE LETTERS | YOUR HOME | YOUR CAR | AT WORK | SEND YOUR SUGGESTIONS ]
Write Letters
Write to the Los Angeles City Council and ask them to adopt the L.A. DWP Cash for Conservation program for this summer, similar to California's 20/20 Rebate program.
- California needs 4000 - 5000 megawatts of additional peak capacity this summer. The only way to achieve that is through conservation and efficiency.
- The L.A. DWP has additional electrical capacity that it can sell to the State.
- The "Cash for Conservation" program would pay back $4.00 to customers for every 50kwh that they save.
- Encourage residents to install insulation, roof turbines, attic fans, and reflective roofing paint this summer to reduce their cooling costs by 10-20%. Buy more efficient refrigerators and air conditioners and get cash rebates.
- The L.A. City Council should enact this program because it will help both the City and the State.
Write to your Congressmen, Senators, and President Bush and ask that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) do its job in setting "just and reasonable" wholesale rates.
- The cost of transporting 1000 BTUs of natural gas through pipelines from Texas to California has risen from 28 cents in 1999 to over $8.00 in 2001. (Mr. S. David Freeman, KFWB Energy Conference, June 2, 2001)
- Even though the distance is farther, natural gas is being sold to New York for $4 while California is paying $11.
- The costs for operating and maintaining the pipelines has stayed the same.
- El Paso Natural Gas was allowed to ship natural gas through their subsidiary and thus avoid federal regulation.
- FERC since 1939 has been charged with setting "just and reasonable" interstate, wholesale energy rates. The commissioners should exercise their responsibilities and do their job.
City and County Governments
- Replace bulbs that waste energy. Efficient fluorescent bulbs will
pay for themselves in simply reducing the labor costs in changing
burned out bulbs.
- Co-generation in buildings. If generators (micro-turbines and fuel cells) are located in buildings, waste heat can be used for water and space heating.
- Roofs: white paint, insulation, roof turbines, attic fans.
- Building codes, especially for Condos, should be updated to include better windows, more insulation, thicker gauge wire, attic ventilation, etc.
- Include a full-year graph on the monthly utility bill statements so that consumers can more easily track their energy use and costs.
State Government
- Educate the public on energy issues. Don't just tell people to turn off their lights when they leave. Inform them that air conditioners use the bulk of residential energy and simply installing roof turbines can reduce their usage by 10%.
- Work with hardware and home improvement stores to promote energy efficiency.
- Promote upgrading equipment and appliances in homes and businesses.
- California is too dependent on centralized natural gas as an energy source. The State should construct 10 to 15 percent surplus electrical capacity (after efficiency programs are in place) from renewable source power plants. That would represent about 4000 to 8000 mw. Wholesale prices have increased from $40/mw to $1000/mw. A typical renewable plant might generate electricity at $60 to $80/mw. California will pay about $60 billion for energy in 2001, up from about $7 billion in 1999. For $40 billion (based on GreenLA.com prices) California could install 4000 mw of solar photovoltaic panels on residences, and enjoy that 4000 mw capacity for the next 20 years, without the risk of inflationary fuel prices. Therefore when California needed reserve power capacity, especially in summer months, the price would be at most $40 to $80/mw from State owned power plants.
- Establish a demonstration hydrogen fuel cell building-car project car fleet at a university or other large institution that could support a fleet of cars.
National Government
- Make sure the Federal Energy Regulator Commission (FERC) does their job and don't let wholesale natural gas rates climb from 28 cents in 1999 to over $8.00 in 2001.(Mr. S. David Freeman, KFWB Energy Conference, June 2, 2001)
- bring back mandatory auto fleet fuel efficiency targets
- Restore and increase funding for renewable energy, including fuel cells
- The Federal government is the largest energy user. Install energy efficiency measures in all buildings and cars.
- Set yearly objectives to work towards the renewable, low polluting, "hydrogen economy".
Newspapers, Television, and other Media
- cover energy efficiency as distinguished from conservation. Conservation is a change in behavior. Efficiency is a permanent improvement in energy use.
- Cover the economic issues and costs involved in increasing supply vs. improving efficiency.
- Correct remarks that the hydrogen economy is far off and requires the creation of a vast infrastructure. Refer to the Rocky Mountain Institutes's A Strategy for the Hydrogen Transition and Amory Lovins's Hydrogen Primer
Hardware and Home Improvement Stores
- Include energy efficient information with products.
- Offer "summer cooling package" with insulation, roof turbines, attic and whole house fans, white roofing paint.
- Offer more energy related periodicals such as Home Energy and Home Power
- Include home energy audit information at stores. Much of this information can be provided by local utilities.
Appliance and Lighting Companies
- Fulling support compact fluorescent lighting technology. Offer a full range of lighting fixtures that accept compact fluorescent bulbs.
- Offer more energy efficient lighting products including timers, LEDs, and sensor systems.
- Offer books, pamphlets and educational information on improving home energy and lighting efficiency
TAKE ACTION AT HOME
- The California 20/20 Rebate Program offers online advise on energy efficiency. Just fill in the your situation.
- Sierra Club Take Action
- Energy Information from RMI
- Great book for home improvement, Homemade Money: How to Save Energy and Dollars in Your Home
- What you can do to reduce energy consumption and costs at home from RMI.
- What you can do to reduce household greenhouse gas and emissions from RMI.
- Home Energy Audits
- L.A. DWP's Home energy programs and efficiency projects
- Cash for Conservation program
- Home Energy Advisor
ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND YOUR CAR
Your Car (from Wall Street Journal Report and AAA)
- Inflate tires, Poorly inflated tires can reduce your mileage by 6%
- Lower speed by 1 mph, increases fuel efficiency by 2%. Slowing from 75 mph to 65 mph will increase efficiency by 20%.
- Use cruise control to smooth out the acceleration and deceleration.
- Don't use car rack if a trailer is possible. Cargo stored on top of the car increases drag much more then a small trailer.
- When you buy new tires, ask for the most fuel efficient and friction free. The standard tires on new cars offer more efficiency and lower friction properties. If all used cars used efficient tires when they replaced tires, that would save 5.4 billion barrels of oil over the next 50 years, or about 70 percent more oil than can be economically recovered from the Arctic Refuge over the same time period.
- Use proper fuel. If premium is required, use it. If regular is listed, don't use premium. It won't improve your mileage.
- Check air filter at least twice a year.
- Combine trips. Take a bus. Ride a bike.
From Environmental Defense, July 2001 and E/The Environmental Magazine
- There are 210 million cars in th U.S.
- Americans are using mass transit more then any time in the last 40 years. Yet combined with bicycles and walking that accounts for only 3% of American transportation usage.
- Between 1970 and 1999 passenger car miles traveled increased 71% and truck and SUV mileage increased 225%.
- Transportation accounts for 25% of all energy consumed in North America.
- Every 200 pounds of unnecessary weight carried in a car reduces fuel economy by one mile per gallon.
- 80 per cent of tires are under inflated, wasting fuel. If we all inflated tires properly we could save two million gallons of gas a day.
- Switch for low-rolling-resistance tires like the Michelin Energy.
- At speeds above 40 mph air conditioning is more efficient then opening the windows. At lower speeds A.C. can reduce fuel economy by 20 per cent.
- Unnecessary speedups and slowdowns can reduce fuel economy by two miles per gallon.
- Get regular tune ups. A new oxygen sensor can improve gas mileage by as much as 15 per cent.
For more information...
Tailpipe Tally is the a web site that compares the environmental and economic cost of different vehicles.
What you can do to reduce transportation greenhouse emissions from RMI.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY at WORK
- Do an energy audit and establish a baseline of your heating, cooling, lighting and other energy usage.
- Investigate the opportunities in in generating power onsite and co-generation. The waste energy produced by a turbine or fuel cell can be used for water heating, space heating, and other uses.
- Start a recycling program and buy recycled products.
For more information...
General Suggestion from RMI | Energy Links | Other Educational Links