My new home

Energy Circle helps home owners learn how to make an energy efficient house, sells home efficiency products, and now, we’re creating a set of tools and services to help home energy efficiency professionals find customers (and home owners find them).

Now I am now working at a company with an unabashedly green mission — this is important to me. Of course this isn’t the first time I have written about Energy Circle — we have been collaborating since last Spring, and then I did some consulting last year until that was pretty much all I was doing. I am the Chief Technology Officer, and working to make a top notch website, with expanding services and capabilities, reliable, easy to find, and with a strong brand. I hope you’ll check out Energy Circle — I joined not because it was another job, but because I completely believe the mission, and know that good people are out to “do well by doing good”.

Working From Home Is Efficient

But, the company is too far away from my home to commute — so I don’t. I work from home most of the time, and I have to say, working from home is almost always a good thing. It’s very efficient.

Commuting Footprint

Obviously my commuting footprint is as small as possible (although for several years I commuted to my old job on my bike, at least when the weather didn’t suck, and I drove my Prius the short distance when it did). But there are many other benefits of working from home, and a few things I am beginning to learn.

New Technology Supports Home Offices

Back when I was in charge of software development at Ask Jeeves, we had multiple remote offices — we had tried to set up state of the art video conferencing and other systems. But in 2001 technology was expensive, and it failed in one way or other as often as it worked.

Today, we use Skype for voice, video and screen sharing, and it’s awesome (and free!). I have a MacBook (built in microphone and camera), so I can start a video chat in a matter of seconds where ever I am — it’s very reliable, and does a great job of getting past the various little hurdles that can cause you to feel isolated. We also use instant messaging, and sometimes have fun setting our status messages — a kind of virtual water cooler.

All sorts of other tools make virtual companies like ours work well. Gmail, of course, but Google Apps is getting better and better, DropBox is an awesome virtual file-server, a central secure source control server holds our source code, a central issue tracking service keeps us organized, and all sorts of other great tools and services make everything work great (except for when the power is out, or the Internet is flaky).

The company has very little actual computer hardware — this was also where we took my last company, moving everything to “cloud computing” — no more servers to look at, listen to, and chew up expensive electricity. Now we use only what we need — “slices” of computers that serve our needs, and which we can add to and extend at will as we grow.

We Hire the Best People

We can hire people who are best at their talents, regardless of where they reside.

But productivity is high, too. We don’t spend any time commuting, and I am able to focus when I need to. A co-worker Mike uses the time to tend his vegetable garden (just getting started for the coming New England springtime).

Convenient, Flexible, and Saves Money

I can crank tunes as loud as I want and no one cares.

We now qualify for the low-mileage discounts on our car insurance.

I can write off my home office as a business expense — because it is.

I can do a load of laundry, or pick stuff up at the store if I need to (theoretically, at least). I have had lunch with possible business associates, old friends, and others.

And other things — I save money by eating real food that Theresa and I cook, and save leftovers for lunch. I must admit, I’ll miss my favorite Harvard Square taqueria, Felipe’s, but my “super veggie burrito, whole wheat, salsa, guacamole, jalapenos, cilantro and onions and lots of hot sauce” was almost $6 per day.

I don’t have to miss work if the kids are home from school for snow, or sickness. Or, for that matter, if I am sick! I have had a cold all week, and no one has caught my virus through Skype!

(I will say, it’s a little weird to be at home when the kids are back from school but not really be “there”. We’re working on how to make that be OK.)

To be sure, there are some intangibles that I miss being in the same room with other people.

But lately Theresa has been working from home a few days a week. Between the two of us, our carbon footprint has continued to fall. And it’s nice to each lunch with my honey :-)

The Facts of Cap-and-Trade from Clean Energy Works on Vimeo.

Yep. It’s that simple.

Unlike a modern system, using copper pipe that run through baseboard radiators, we have a system that appears to be one step beyond the old steam-heat systems: big, heavy cast-iron radiators that take up a lot of space; and big, heavy cast-iron piping that runs through the basement and upon which I regularly knock my noggin.

Insulating my pipes was, to use an indelicate expression, like pissing in the wind. Or at least it was then. Today, I finished that job. But it took 13 years — insulating my heating pipes was probably the only thing I did that I should have done last. But I am getting ahead of myself.

Last Things First: Insulate the Pipes

We live in an old house — 1920’s era, nothing fancy — small and rather plain. Back in those days, it had a modern heating system — not an old coal-fired steam system, nope, this house had hot water heat. Well, that was fancy! But it doesn’t make for a great basement, since the hot water pipes get in the way.

The pipes have to be low in places, since the system was initially designed as a gravity feed system — hotter water is lighter, so the pipes are all arranged so the outgoing lines are higher than the return lines. The burner heats water and it tends to flow through the pipes, through radiators, and as it cools, it gets heavier and rolls back down into the boiler to get heated again.

There’s a reason these systems were replaced — they only work if your boiler is firing pretty much any time it’s cold. When we moved in here in 1997, little had been done — the boiler was a 1940’s era gas burner; huge and inefficient. On our first or second winter, it was so cold during January that it ran continuously and still couldn’t keep parts of the house above 55°.

And that first winter we couldn’t keep the house warm. I realized it was freezing cold in the basement, and by the time the water got to the radiators, especially the ones at the end of the loop, it was tepid, at best. So I bought some rolls of insulating tape — foil on the outside, some foam, and adhesive that made it stick to the pipes. For several weekends, I diligently wrapped pipes — starting with the outgoing pipes. I must have bought 30 rolls of tape before I called it good enough, but I figured that might help a little bit. It didn’t.

Insulate The House, Of Course! (Not)

Not really realizing what was wrong, we figured the house was uninsulated (we were right) and had blown-in insulation installed the following summer. They removed the clapboard siding, drilled holes in the board (no plywood in 1920’s) siding, blew in cellulose, plugged the holes with styrofoam, and replaced the siding.

Of course in this process they broke many of the clapboards, and broke any seal that 80 years of paint jobs had created. And, as we subsequently learned in our energy audit, they didn’t realize that before plywood was created, houses needed diagonal wind-braces in the corners in order to prevent the walls from “racking”. So they missed part of pretty much every corner on both floors.

Next winter, we still couldn’t keep the house warm … in fact, it might have been worse. (In retrospect, it probably was: the insulators broke air seals in a number of different ways, so cold wind was probably blowing right past that insulation). At the time, our son was a toddler, and he tested positive for lead paint (on the skin-prick test — blood was fine), but it made us research lead, and we learned that old windows are one of the biggest source of lead dust, since the sashes move up and down and disperse paint particles into the air.

The windows sucked anyway, so we got them replaced with high-quality Pella, double-insulated windows.

Replace The Windows, Of Course! (Not)

The windows are excellent, and still working nicely, but again, we only learned much later how poorly they were installed. The old windows they replaced had iron sash weights and cords that (theoretically) made the window sashes easier to open. But when the replacement windows were installed, they failed to do anything to insulate or seal these cavities, leaving us with relatively efficient windows, surrounded by wood hollow wood frames.

Next winter, we still couldn’t keep the house warm … in fact, it might have been worse. Now we had the combined effect of the cracked and broken clapboards, letting air into the uninsulated cavities surrounding our high-tech windows. I think I realized that fall, that if you put your hand near any window, you could feel a breeze coming in the house.

So I got a bunch of caulk and went around outside and did my best to caulk the holes around the windows. But we realized the burner was still running almost all the time during the cold part of the winter.

Replace The Furnace, Of Course! (Not)

That summer, we had the house painted (finally covering up the scars left by the insulators), and also re-sealing the corners and other joints that were broken. We also sucked it up and had a new gas burner installed — far, far more efficient, and the installer added circulator pumps that forced the water around, rather than letting gravity to the job. Also, the new system had some ball-valves we could use to adjust the amount of flow to a couple of different pipe circuits. These changes made it possible to heat the house so it was warm and mostly rooms were about the same temperature.

Next winter, we were able to heat the house, as long as we had the heat on most of the time. It wasn’t so much that the house was more efficient, just that the new burner could use the gas it did burn to more effectively get heat into the house. It didn’t stay in the house for long, but at least we weren’t freezing all the time.

So by now we had insulated, replaced windows, caulked outside, replaced the boiler and upgraded the heating system. But the house was still drafty, and very costly to heat.

Warm Now, But Expensive Still

We added some insulating shades. We had part of the basement finished, and replaced some of the old windows. We insulated much of the floor under the unfinished parts of the first floor. Several years back, we had the ceiling over the sun-room insulated. And I realized there was still some air leakage around the windows (I could feel it with my hand), which I caulked.

The house was tighter, and we were able to get a programmable thermostat. But I still had to set the heat to go on at 4:30am in order to have the house relatively warm by 7 in the morning, and, then again in the mid-afternoon so it was warm again by the time we got home from work. But at least we were in control, and a couple years ago, we saw our fuel consumption actually fall, but only a little. Hrrm.

The Epiphany: Learn What The Problem Is, Then Solve It

Finally, last spring, we did what we should have done in 1997 when we moved in: we had an energy audit. After everything I had done (and paid big money for), we learned that some of the biggest causes of heat loss were ones that had existed when we bought the house, and that I could have fixed with a properly aimed caulking gun, and others were obvious and simple.

That steel bulkhead door to our basement — yeah, the one that leaks and you can see light through — it also leaked air. The whole house fan that allows us to avoid air conditioning in the summer — yeah the big hole punched through to the icy cold attic — it leaked air. The chimney leaked air. And despite all of my valiant caulking efforts, the window frames still leaked live sieves. And the remaining old basement windows which we never open, may as well be open, now that we know how much air they let in. And the sill of the house (the one that let all the ants in the house every Spring) leaked air. And on, and on. And yes, the original insulation missed a bunch of spots where the wind braces are.

The energy audit showed us in black and white (actually red = warm, blue = cold) exactly what was working and what needed fixing. These were the main problems the house had when we bought it.

Energy Audit: Why Are They Not Required By Law?

We have now fixed most of what needs fixing (at a far, far lower cost than the windows, boiler, original insulation and other fixes), and a re-audit confirmed most of what we did had worked. And we have re-programmed the thermostat to come on much later and for a shorter time. And our fuel usage, and heating bill has fallen dramatically.

Now have a far tighter, far more comfortable house.

Would we have needed to replace windows and the boiler, and insulate? Yes, we would have. But what we have only just realized is that most of those expenses were wasted until we did the basic air sealing that keeps cold air from blowing away any heat you add or try to keep in through other means. We had 10 or so years of living in an inefficient, drafty, uncomfortable, expensive, and wasteful house.

Last Things Last

So today, I finished a job I started 13 years ago. Now, having fixed the major problems, in almost exactly the opposite order that we should have, it made sense for me to buy a little more pipe insulation and make the house just a bit more efficient.

And here are the results. Well, actually, the results are on Energy Circle — they have real editors and a wider audience than little ol’ Five Percent, and it was Energy Circle that helped me find Flemming and learn about a lot of this stuff from the start.

I hope you’ll take a minute to pop over and read my story. Our savings from the whole process, from an energy audit, air sealing, insulation, and good old caulk are pretty impressive, if I do say so myself.

Here’s a little teaser…

by Marcy Tate
 
Energy conservation is not only good for the planet, it’s also good for your pocket. It’s pretty simple to conserve energy at home and you’ll notice the savings right away. Still, changing your energy habits isn’t easy for every homeowner. Start by picking a few energy conservation techniques and gradually add a few more each month. As you go along, remind yourself how much of a help your efforts are for the planet and how much lower your utility bills will be. That should give you the inspiration to turn your energy conservation habits into a way of life. The tips below do not involve high investments. 

1. Light Bulbs

Those curly-shaped light bulbs, called compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs have been around for over a decade. If you haven’t replaced your energy wasting incandescent bulbs yet with CFL bulbs, then make this your first move in greening your energy spending habits. CFL bulbs last up to 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs. Here’s a chart from General Electric that will help you select your CFL bulbs:
 
Standard Bulb = CFL Bulb
40w = 10w
60w = 13w-15w
75w = 20w
100w = 26w-29w
150w = 38w-42w
250w-300w = 55w
 

2. Dimmers

Dimmers let you control the lighting in your home. When you need less lighting, you can easily dim the lights and save energy and money. Dimmers are inexpensive and can be used with most lighting fixtures, including pendant lights and recessed lighting. Dimming a light by just 10 percent more than doubles the bulb life.
 

3. Programmable Thermostats

A programmable thermostat is not only good for conserving energy, it’s extremely convenient. You won’t have to get out of bed if you have forgotten to lower your thermostat. Instead, you can program the thermostat to lower the temperature each night at a designated time. According to the US Department of Energy, you can save approximately 10% a year on your heating and cooling bills by turning your thermostat back 10°–15° for eight hours. Programmable thermostats give you the ability to do this easily.
 

4. Appliances & Electronics

Refrigerator

Refrigerators account for about 20 percent of household electricity use. Raising the temperature in the refrigerator will help lower your electricity usage. Check the gaskets around your refrigerator and freezer doors to make sure they are clean and sealed tightly. If they are not clean, it will cause the refrigerator to work harder, wasting unnecessary energy.
 

Water Heater

Turning the water heater temperature down can also save energy. Many thermostats are set to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Lowering it by 20 degrees can save almost $100 a year.
 

Computer

Turn off your computer at night. According to the US Department of Energy, you can save an average of $90 a year. If you are in the market for a new computer, consider a laptop. They use less energy than desktop computers.
 

New Appliances

If you are in the market for new appliances, select energy-efficient models. Look for the Energy Star label on appliances. The label means that the product is an energy saving product.
 

5. Standby Power

Standby power, also known as vampire power, is the electric power consumed by electronic appliances while they are switched off or in a standby mode. Unplug appliances, power adapters and other electronic devices when not in use and you’ll save.
Microwaves, cell phone chargers, televisions, and power adapters for laptop computers should be un-plugged for optimal energy savings.
 

6. Weatherize

The little cracks and crevices around your home can cause hot or cool air to exit your home. Sealing the cracks and crevices can save you up to 15 percent in heating and cooling costs. Depending on where the draft is, you can use weather stripping or caulk to fill in the crack. Weather stripping is easy to install and your whole house can be weatherized in one day.
 

7. Insulation

Do you find that you need to run your heating or air conditioning unit all the time to achieve a comfortable temperature? It could be that you do not have enough insulation in your attic. Improper amounts of insulation means that the hot or cool air is entering and exiting your home, causing your heating or air conditioning system to work harder. This is a waster of energy. Adding insulation will keep the cold or hot air in your home.
 

8. Hang-Dry Laundry

Gas and electric dryers use a lot of energy to dry your clothes. There are many inexpensive drying racks on the market that can hold an entire medium sized load. Alternatively, consider cutting back on your dryer usage. You can do this by drying the clothes on a lower temperature setting or drying them until they are half dry and then hanging them to dry.
 

9. Stovetop

On gas burners, the hottest part of the flame is right at the tip. If your flame has a larger diameter than the pot you are heating, you are wasting a lot of the heat produced by the flame. If the flame isn’t under the pot, it’s not working to heat it. Avoid producing unnecessary heat by using a burner that is the same size as the pot or pan.
 

10. Home-Energy Audit

A home-energy audit assesses how much energy your home consumes. It also evaluates what you can do to make your home more energy efficient. Many local utility companies offer low-cost audits. Contact your local utility company to see if they offer this service.

Marcy Tate is a blogger at Networx. She is also a featured author at Electricians Networks.

Now, we have washed our hands. SUVs and big houses are out. The rich and famous are mostly in jail. A tipping point of an entirely different kind tipped.

We’re a little aimless these days, as a country. There was a groundswell of recognition that Obama’s course was right, and he got elected. Like a diet, we all got psyched to buckle down and get in shape. But we’re not very good at keeping our resolutions, are we (even if we know they’re right).

Can the same phenomenon — ideas that spread because it’s the “in” thing to do — apply to things like restraint? Could it possible be cool to have a small carbon footprint?

I hope so.

Sure, we turn on lights earlier due to shorter days.

But there are other factors, and I am beginning to figure out what they are:

• More loads of laundry in the dryer: fewer shorts, more layers
• The gas burner uses circulator pumps to move water around the house’s heating system
• We use the gas oven more, meaning the “glow bar” I found a while back runs
• Humidifiers — the ones that create steam are basically boiling water all day!
• Fish tank heater — the house is cooler, but fishies like 80°F in all seasons (no fishie sweaters I know of)
• More TV and video games for the kids; less playing outside
• Christmas tree
• Probably a few sneaky ones I have not found yet…

Of course I was able to isolate these items just because we have an energy monitor (TED 5000, in our case) — it’s easy to see the readings jump when things come on, like the heat.

We can affect some of these (the cool mist humidifiers are far less costly). Some are just not ones I want to give up on, although the fishie sweaters seem plausible.

And one other item is worth noting: this year we put a lot of effort and a little money into making our house keep in the heat: insulation, and especially air sealing with foam and caulking — it’s pretty clear it’s going to make a big difference. And the less the heat is on, the less those circulator pumps run. These are the kinds of unexpected additive effects you sometimes get in making changes.

I shoveled my driveway.

With a shovel.

It took longer.

My back is a little sore.

But…

I am in better shape

and

I emit less CO2 than the snowblower I have in my garage, now unused for my third winter.

At a party last weekend, my friend Mike said he had just bought an electricity monitor based on my recommendation, and admitted it was a gift for his wife — he said that all of our little individual efforts add up to nothing significant. He didn’t really believe that personal action will affect things; his wife does.

I have written down my personal attempts to make change here in this blog, now in my fifth year. Much of what I have done involves making small changes that have indeed added up, so perhaps you might guess that I disagree with Mike’s view. Is it really true that all of the little things I have done add up to nothing?

Yes: the changes I have made add up to nothing.

Even our personal reduction of our energy consumption by almost one half of its former levels (probably more) over these years has resulted in a dramatic reduction of our impact, it means very little. The problem is that we need is to get the other several billions of people living in industrialized countries to make even modest changes. And our governments to concur and set in motion a new set of policies that lead us back to sustainable occupation of the planet.

So why bother making personal changes when a wasteful neighbor (not Mike) undoes our efforts five times over?

The answer lies in how big changes tend to happen. I see myself as part of a movement. I do what I can to make the movement progress.

Mike bought an electricity meter because I had one. Theresa and I have Prius’s now — we bought them to replace our older less efficient cars. We were the first on our street to have a Prius. But we told several neighbors and friends how much we like them (and that they really do get good mileage and are big enough for almost everything). Now our street has nine Prius drivers. Did I cause this — maybe not all of them.

But my personal efforts matter because:

• By making changes, I learn what works and what doesn’t
• My purchases and support of products that enable green choices help make their companies viable
• People see and hear about what I do and a few might start doing things on their own
• I have learned enough to participate in the debates with actual knowledge and facts
• As more people come to see various realities, and understand, they influence their leaders

In short, my personal efforts affect others’. And their actions also affect others. It doesn’t take long to get to billions of people, actually.

I am actively participating in a movement that was underway long before I was part of it. Buying an electricity monitor is just one way that my actions affect others.

Oh, and I pay about $250/month less for energy than I would otherwise.

Wind Turbumpkin