Thursday, April 29, 2010

Savings as of 4-29-2010

Here is a little pic from a spreadsheet showing my actual calculated solar panel savings so far.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Energy Enhancement Rundown

Here is a review of all the energy enhancements I have applied to my home.

1.  Home was originally built with Low-E windows and R-49 attic loose-fill insulation. I inspected the insulation after I moved in and it was "shallow" in some areas and so I had them come out and spruce it up.  I gave the installer a $20 bill to get a "little extra" here and there.
2.  I have always only used CFL bulbs and/or LED bulbs since move-in day in April 2004.
3.  I installed ceiling fans in the living room and master bedroom, and I use them when I'm in those rooms.
4.  I tinted some internal windows myself, and had a company install Hüper Optik tint on some of the other windows.
5.  I paid $1600 for radiant barrier foil sheets to be installed in the attic.  This slows the progress of heat build-up in the attic and allows the two solar-panel-powered attic vent fans to eliminate much of that heat before it gets into the livable portions of the house.
6.  I paid $800 for two solar-panel-powered attic vent fans.
7.  I painted the inside of my garage door with ceramic-infused paint to block heat.  It gets late-day western sun.  I also applied insulated heat-reflective foil to the inside of the garage door.
8.  I paid $3700 for an "Energy Management Computer" which controls how much On-Peak air conditioning is allowed to run.  This saves about 15% on energy bills by allowing me to pre-cool the house during Off-Peak hours and then running the A/C very sparingly during On-Peak hours.
9.  I bought an AirTap "heat pump water heater" from a company named AirGenerate.  It mounts on top of your regular water heater and uses a compressor to extract heat from the surrounding air to heat a copper tube inserted into the top of the regular water heater.  As a part of that installation, I replaced my regular electric water heater with a Marathon electric water heater, which is better insulated and far more efficient than a regular water heater.  I added a timer to the AirTap and only run it during Off-Peak hours.  This setup cost me $2100.  The heating elements on the Marathon are not even turned on.
10.  As a part of the home purchase, I had faux-wood blinds installed on every window in the home, as well as dark sun screens on the outside of the windows.
11.  All the appliances I bought with the house are Energy Star rated, including the front-loading Whirpool washer and dryer set.  I dry my clothes on the "extra low" setting, and always wash with cold water, using "Cold Water Tide" as my soap.
12.  I bought a Spin-X spin dryer back when I had a regular washer.  It spins clothes at 3500 rpm and removes a lot of water from clothes between the washer and putting them into the regular dryer.  I also have a drying rack in the garage I use for many of the clothes, and that reduces their drying time even more.  The washer is large enough that I only have 3 loads per week.
13.  I immediately installed a programmable Hunter thermostat, which allows me full control over when and how the home is heated or cooled.  This reduces wasted cooling or heating time.
14.  Solar panels on the roof through Solar City.  This will allow me to generate somewhere around 85% of my electricity from the sun.

So.  That's what I've done.  Why don't I have a net zero usage home?  Good question.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Referral Bonus Cha-Ching !!

Signed up a co-worker for the same solar lease I got.  On the day they connect his system to the utility, they will send me a $400 check, of which $100 goes to him.  We (he and I) are working on getting two more co-workers signed up, and I am working on getting my employer to look into it also - a $1000 referral bonus.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Last 31 Days of Usage

My Last 31 days......:) :)

Early Report on the EZ-3 Plan

Well, after the first 5 days on the EZ-3 plan, it looks good.  I'm sitting at -6 for On Peak kwh and at -43 for Off Peak kwh.  I think this plan is going to be better for me.
Today I had Advanced Home Systems come by and "reprogram" my Energy Management Computer to work properly in the 3-6 PM time frame.  This will become important very soon when I turn on the A/C unit.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Made a Major Change To Electric Bill

Switched over to the "EZ-3 Plan" for my electric bill.  This gives me only 3 hours per day ( 3-6 PM) with "On Peak" charges (the most expensive hours ).  Since we usually get home around 4:30-5:30, this puts us home for a very short time during highest cost times.
On the plan I switched FROM, the On Peak hours were 5-9 AM and 5-9 PM for On Peak, and the rest Off Peak for November thru April.  The On Peak hours the rest of the year were 1-8 PM.
So now I have only 3 hours On Peak versus 8 or 7 hours.  And instead of being home in the afternoons mostly on the On Peak hours, we have at most 1.5 hours of On Peak when we are home in the afternoons.
I can't switch back for 12 months, so here's hoping this WILL actually save me a little money.  We shall see.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Bad news for SolarCity referrals

SRP has "capped" residential solar incentives at 5 kw systems.  This puts a lot of larger homes ( > 1,500 sq ft ) out of contention because you need at least a system that size to make a good dent into a high electric bill.
This really blows for referrals.  Not many homes I would refer are small enough to make use of a 5 kw system.

BOO !!!  BOO !!!!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Record-high production

Have now consecutive days of "record high" production numbers.
A 27.46 followed by a 27.91.
Wondering when I might see my first 30.  How about summer, with almost 2 more hours of sun?  Can I hit 35?


Tuesday, April 6, 2010

April billing period looking, um, SCHWEEEET !!!

Looking great for this period.  On schedule to have a calculated bill of -$25.00 thus far, through the 5th.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

March Production ROCKED !!!

March the panels produced:

716.91 kwh

leaving me with an SRP bill of $19.35.

At this rate, for a year I'll make 7,662 kwh, which would provide me with 88% of my needs, based on the prior 12 months.