Here are a few tips for maximizing your cool without crippling your bank account.

Be Cool (not Cold) Man

1.) You’ve been sweating your face off outside, and nothing feels better than coming in to a nice, cold room. Your impulse will be to set your A/C to 66 degrees and let it get nice and nippy. Don’t. Keep it set to 78 degrees. You don’t need to be cold, you just need to be comfortable. For every degree below 78, you are increasing your energy usage by approximately 8%. No bueno. You don’t need to be indoors in a sweatshirt.  If you have a window unit with Low, Med, and Hi as your only options, keep it as low as you can handle.

A Mighty Wind

2.) Ceiling fans use waaaay less power than an A/C unit, consuming about the same amount of energy as a 100w light bulb, which isn’t too bad, comparatively. Make sure the fan is going in the correct direction so that it is pushing air downward toward you (the higher edge of the fan-blade should be the leading edge in its rotation). Ceiling fans don’t actually make the room cooler, but they make you feel cooler when they’re blowing on you (think wind-chill). As with an A/C unit, if you’re not in that room, turn your fan off.

Clean Up your Act…errr filter and coil

3.)Your A/C unit has a filter. Replace it or if you want, clean it! Pull it out, stick it in the shower, and give it a good once-over with a sponge. Let it dry then put it back in—and be thankful you aren’t breathing that gunk anymore. This will increase the unit’s output and lower the temp. The other half of this is keeping the coil clean. Just use a garden hose to blast some water into the unit through the grates at the top and the sides.

Life’s a Beach! Especially without an umbrella

4.)This one’s a twofer. Keeping your air conditioning unit in the shade can make it up to 10% more efficient. That’s pretty major. If you have means to build a shade for it (that’s not too close so there’s no vent blockage), by all means, do it.  A simple beach umbrella would do the trick.

The other half of this is shading your nest. When it’s hot and sunny lower your blinds, yes, obviously, but if you really want to see a difference get yourself some honeycomb blinds (also called cellular shades). They are fantastic insulators. They will help keep the cooled air in during the summer and they’re great for the winter when you want to keep the cold air out (and they can darken a room for a more cinematic movie viewing experience). They will reduce your bill and start paying for themselves very quickly.

There are many other things you can do to stretch your A/C, but these are the quickest, easiest, and cheapest. If you have more tips, leave ‘em in the comments.

For more information on how you can save on your bill contact a Stanberry Green Team member today. 512.327.9310

 Did you know that you can call 877-549-2774 and get a free programmable thermostat? (Remember, the cleanest energy is the energy that is not used!)  We are so fortunate to have a forward thinking, innovative utility like Austin Energy.  Austin Energy is a progressive model for utilities all across the nation.  That’s so like Austin!

Visit www.CoolAustin.org to learn more about reducing your carbon footprint.

At www.AustinEnergy.com to learn about the Green Choice program and the many rebates available.

Next, check out www.WaterWiseAustin.org for tips on water conservation.

AEGB manager Richard Morgan says, “We’ve raised the bar. We’re looking beyond kilowatt hours and gallons of water saved, because the building community is really starting to get that.”

For homes to earn a 2-star rating under the single family system, builders will have to create a construction waste management plan. This will help the City of Austin reach its Zero Waste Goal of reducing waste sent to the landfill by 90 percent by 2040.

The changes are designed to further advance ambitious City of Austin sustainability goals that include the Zero Energy Capable Homes Plan, the Austin Climate Protection Plan and the Zero Waste Goal.  They include social equity and economic viability aspects and effect multi-family building as well.  Read the full article on the AE website:

http://tinyurl.com/269er96

One: Eat Green!  It’s a great time to plant some cool season veggies like spinach, kale, chard, and broccoli.  We have the luxury in Central Texas of a long growing season, and the shorter, cooler days are perfect planting weather for many vegetables.  Google your county + agricultural extension for a list of times and varieties for your area.  If you aren’t a gardener, check out your local farmers markets where you will find organic, local and seasonal choices.  Better for your health (no pesticides, processing, additives) and better for the environment (less fossil fuel used in transportation and production, less packaging waste).  Buying local offers the added benefit of keeping more money in your local economy!

Two: Protect your indoor air quality

Cooler weather may mean more time indoors, so make sure the air in your home supports your health.  Products we use are the source for a substantial portion of indoor air pollution. Because of this fact, it’s essential to know what’s in the products you buy and opt for the most natural and non-toxic choices.  Call me for a “how to” list for making your own housecleaning products- saves money, packaging, and you won’t be adding pollutants in your home when what you are trying to do is make it clean and fresh!

After doing your best to eliminate the source of the pollutants, you should ensure your home is properly ventilated.  Have your HVAC system serviced before cold weather arrives, and check to make sure the air exchange is working optimally so you have the right mix of fresh air coming in.  It’s amazing that our indoor air-where we spend some 90% of our time, is typically more contaminated than outdoor air.  I can recommend an HVAC specialist if you like.  You can also use an air purifier in bedrooms, or to address allergies.

Three:  Conserve Energy!

The cleanest energy is the energy that is never used, so get your home energy efficient and you won’t waste money heating the great outdoors. Get weatherstripping fixed around doors and seal around windows.  Put plug covers on plugs (they are basically holes in your walls!). Consider doing an energy audit.  They are inexpensive and will tell you where you need to spend money to save money. For most homes, it’s insulation that offers the most bang for the buck.  Programmable thermostats are a great way to manage the temperature in your home cost effectively, and if you are an Austin Energy customer, there is still a program where you can get one free.  PEC has an online Home Energy Center you can use to evaluate your usage and save money.

Read the full article here: 

http://www.austinenergy.com/About%20Us/Newsroom/Press%20Releases/2010/solarSchools.htm

 You probably know that this summer, the City of Austin made Energy Audits mandatory in conjunction with home sales.  You may not know that the feedback coming from those inspections is coming in, and homes are consistently rating most poorly in areas of insulation and damaged ductwork.  With much of our local construction style involving dark roofs with AC ducting in uninsulated attics where the summer temps can rise to 125 degrees, it’s no wonder these poor, baked ducts are commonly showing leakage rates of 30-40%.  You can save a lot of money when you aren’t air conditioning the great outdoors! 

There are some fabulous, and relatively untapped, sources of federal tax rebates to reimburse you for having energy retrofit work done, so you can get paid in rebates and save with lower bills.  Earlier this year, Congress approved the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  Until Dec. 31, 2010, homeowners can take advantage of a national tax credit of 30% of the cost, up to $1,500, on a variety of energy-saving products. Insulation, windows and doors, roofing, heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems, tankless water heaters and alternative energy programs, such as solar panels and wind turbines.   Check the Green Living Library for a pdf that outlines these rebates and how to use them.  Stanberry’s Green Team has also assembled some notable discounts through local contractors to enhance your savings even further, also available on our Green Living site. 

If you are considering purchasing a more energy efficient home, we can help you save money on that as well.  New Energy Efficient Mortgages allow you to identify a home to buy, have a HERS rating inspection done (Home Energy Rating System), then borrow an additional amount to cover energy upgrades that will be done at closing.  The title company escrows money to pay contractors, and you can count the monthly savings you will experience as part of your income qualification!  So you can afford more, expect lower energy bills, and on top of that, get money back from the Federal Government for the improvements! 

 The process is made simple by using professionals that understand the processes, and that starts with an informed REALTOR, who is at the center fitting the pieces together for you.  Please let us know how we can assist you; we know the inventory, the processes, and can help make the way smooth through the entire process.  You just can’t say ‘mean green’ anymore, because green is makin’ the livin’ easy!

The delegation from the U.S. Department of Energy lab was led by Robert McGrath, the lab’s deputy director for science and technology. Also attending were Robert Hawsey, an associate lab director for renewable electricity and end-use systems; Pete Sheldon, a scientist in the lab’s National Center for Photovoltaics, and David Ginley, a research fellow working with HelioVolt Corp., a pioneering solar power technology company in Austin.

“Texas is moving forward smartly and aggressively with deployment of renewable and energy efficiency technologies,” McGrath said. “We see multiple opportunities for partnerships for technology development and for renewable energy and energy efficiency deployment with many of the industry and university groups with which we met today.”

McGrath said his organization, which is based in Golden, Colo., wants to “capitalize upon the very productive, long-standing and continuing collaboration that NREL has with HelioVolt.”

Friday’s introductory meeting with state officials, led by Comptroller Susan Combs, included representatives from Gov. Rick Perry’s policy office and the Texas Enterprise Fund, state and federal lawmakers or their aides and Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce representatives.

Another meeting took place with managers of area utilities, including Austin Energy and CPS Energy of San Antonio, and officials with the University of Texas and Texas A&M systems and Texas State University.

McGrath said the officials all “enthusiastically encouraged” the lab’s expanded participation in planning and implementing renewable energy projects in Texas.

Laboratory officials also toured HelioVolt’s Southeast Austin plant with company executives and U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin.

“Obviously we want to transform Texas into a clean-technology leader, and we want to make the greater Austin region a center of innovation for clean technologies,” said Jose Beceiro, director of clean-energy initiatives for the Austin chamber.

Beceiro said local officials have been talking to the lab for a while. He was not at Friday’s meetings but has been involved in previous discussions about collaborating with the lab.

A larger presence of the lab in the Austin area could help recruit clean-technology companies and green jobs, developing new clean-energy technologies and attracting more federal grant money, Beceiro said.

B.J. Stanbery, chairman of both HelioVolt and the nonprofit Texas Foundation for Innovative Communities, said that “Central Texas’ unique combination of diverse utility markets, world-class research institutions and farsighted public leadership provide an opportunity for NREL to further their mission of accelerating commercialization and deployment of renewable energy.”

Bob King, president of Good Company Associates Inc., a business development consulting practice focused on energy efficiency and renewable energy, said his company helped the Texas Foundation for Innovative Communities organize Friday’s meetings.

King emphasized that discussions are in the early stages about how “the Central Texas communities can benefit from a relationship with our national lab,” which he called “the only national lab whose entire responsibility is energy efficiency and renewable energy.”

King said the meetings were productive.

“Everyone left with the next actions to take, and we’ll be having follow-up meetings,” he said. “This could be a long process, but I think we made some progress today.”

Article courtesy AAS, snovak@statesman.com; 445-3856

Designing and constructing a house to garner top-level certification in four different green building programs might sound like a nightmare of paperwork, red tape, and regulations, but it was all in a day’s work for this Austin home’s verifier.

For this contemporary house in the close-in, mixed-use Mueller community, verifier Chip Henderson compiled a simple three-page spreadsheet that included the mandatory requirements of each program.

“We took a look at the four programs and folded them into one to-do list,” recalls Henderson, of San Antonio-based Contects Consultants and Architects. “We realized that if we stuck to this one to-do list, at the end of the day we’d cross the finish line with all four of the programs.”

Henderson’s organizational skills paid off: The 3,266-square-foot home obtained top ratings by the three most widely accepted green building programs in Austin: LEED-Platinum, NAHB Model Green Home Building Gold, and Austin Energy Green Building 5-Star. The house is also Energy Star-qualified.

Read the entire article here: http://www.ecohomemagazine.com/news/2009/08/case-study-austin-home-achieves-top-ratings-in-three-green-building-programs.aspx

(Disclaimer: only averages, only examples, etc.) 

On a bid from Meridian for an upscale 13 KW system, which is more than an average household would use in a year, the cost was just under $100,000.  Austin Energy would provide a rebate amount of $48,000.  Available Federal Tax Credit would cover some $35,000 of that total, leaving the customer with only $17,000 out of pocket expense.  The new solar array would save the homeowner some $1500 per year, or more if they tied in to net metering/billing that is available through Austin Energy, bringing the payback period to 7.5 years or less.  That scenario is for a top-of-the-line system, but similar impressive incentives are available on smaller systems.  Another example was given for a $25,000 3KW system that had a combined rebate/credit savings of $18,000. 

I was once again impressed and inspired by Austin Energy’s forward thinking and excellent business management.  I’m proud to live in a city that offers effective incentives for homes and businesses to begin generating their own energy from renewable sources, and hosts sustainable future oriented companies as HelioVolt and Meridian Solar.

Austin Energy said Friday that it overestimated the growing cost of providing the city’s GreenChoice program, which sells wind and other renewable energy to willing customers but has struggled to find buyers since prices more than doubled in the past year.

The city should be able to cut the current asking price of GreenChoice to customers by about 25 percent, according to a memo to City Council members obtained by the American-Statesman on Friday.

Information thanks to AAS: more here- http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/2009/07/25/0725greenchoice.html