Q We fenced in our yard so that the dogs can run free out there. Now we're thinking about putting in a pet door, but we're concerned that it will let in cold air next winter. But on the other hand, the little door would let in less air than opening the "people" door for the dogs. Are pet doors considered energy savers or wasters?
I don't have figures for you about the exact amount of heating energy that a pet door wastes compared to a full-sized door.
However, a big door that's opened a few times per day will typically let in less outdoor air (and let out less indoor air) than will a pet door that constantly leaks air.
Some pet doors leak less than others, though. The pet doors that have a double-layer rigid door instead of a flap are likely to leak least. Pet doors with an inner and outer flap, especially if they have a magnetic seal, are also an improvement over the leakiest pet doors. If you want to conduct an experiment next winter, visit friends with different kinds of pet doors. You'll be able to feel how much cold air is coming in and get a general sense of what you'd be comfortable installing in your home.
Q I don't have much shoveling in the winter - just about 40 square feet from the house to the garage - but it's getting tougher as I get older. Would an electrically-heated mat under the sidewalk add much to my utility bills?
The added utility costs would depend on the amount of time you'd use the mat. It would be important to only have the mat on when you need it, so you would need either to be available to switch the mat on and off or to get a mat with a properly-adjusted moisture sensor.
If you keep careful control of the mat's operational hours, we can make a conservative estimate of 30 hours of use over the course of the winter. Then, your added energy costs wouldn't be very high; you'd pay about $8.40 more in electricity costs for the season (at an average electricity rate of 14 cents per kilowatt hour). However, there would be other expenses involved. You'd need to hire an electrician to install in a 240-volt outlet near the walk, and you'd buy a timer or snow sensor. You would pay an installer to remove your sidewalk, put down the mat, and lay a new sidewalk. And you'd spend several hundred dollars on the mat. If it were my walk, I'd be curious to see how those costs compare to what I'd have to pay somebody to shovel my walk for me.
Q My elderly uncle is largely housebound and I've recently started keeping an eye on him because my aunt passed away. My uncle's electric bills seem very high and I'm wondering if the reason might be some of the medical equipment he needs. He has an electric wheelchair that needs to stay charged and he uses oxygen. How do I determine if these are the problem or if it's something else that I could actually fix?
I'm sorry for your loss. Your uncle's electric wheelchair probably isn't causing high electric bills. However, an oxygen concentrator can use a lot of electricity. The longer this or any powered device is on, the bigger the energy bill.
Even if the oxygen equipment is a factor, it's worth finding out if other high-bill causes exist in your uncle's home. My terrific colleagues in the customer service department at Efficiency Vermont can help you take a comprehensive look at your uncle's energy use and can show you how to identify what's causing his high bills. Give them a call, toll-free, at 888-921-5990 and tell them the Home Team sent you!
QI've seen ads for a small grey box that I can hook up to my breaker box at my house. The ad says this will save me 25% on my electric bill. Do you think it's a good idea?
I don't. Ads that recommend home use for these boxes, known as power-factor correction devices, will tell you that they reduce power use. What the ad won't tell you is that this is a specific kind of power and that utilities don't charge residences for this kind of power. So, these devices won't lower residential electric bills.
Power-factor correction devices may lower energy costs in some commercial buildings where a high proportion of energy demands are from motor-driven equipment, such as in manufacturing facilities. Even in some of these facilities, however, the energy savings may not be sufficient to justify the price of the device and the installation cost (an electrician needs to install it). Thanks for your question.
Q My gas lawn mower is finally broken beyond repair, so I've been borrowing a friend's battery-powered mower. I'm thinking of getting one in the spring if it doesn't mean paying a lot in electric bills for recharging. My friend doesn't keep track of his bills, so I'm hoping you can tell me how much it'll cost to keep this kind of mower charged.
Sure thing. Charging these mowers doesn't cost much. Your exact cost will depend on the model you use, your electricity rate on your utility bills, and how often you need to charge the mower. But I can give you an estimate for one charge for a specific mower, using Vermont's current average residential electricity rate of 14 cents per kilowatt hour.
Let's say you get a mower that runs for 45-60 minutes on a 36-volt battery. A full recharge of that battery will cost about seven cents in electricity. Multiply that amount by the number of times you expect you?'ll recharge, and you've got a season's worth of estimated charging costs.
As you can see, you aren't likely to see a big difference in your electricity bills. But you will definitely notice the difference in air quality. Some estimates put the contribution of gas mowers to nationwide air pollution as high as five percent. This is due to poor combustion of gas and oil and to spills during refueling. Thanks for asking about a topic that lots of people are thinking about these days.
Great question. A tax credit is connected to your federal taxes. Here's how it works:
After you make certain energy-saving home improvements, like installing insulation or an efficient furnace, you can lower that year's federal taxes by a specific portion of your qualifying costs. You can find out more at the Tax Incentives Assistance Project.
A rebate is money you're refunded after a purchase. Or, in the case of instant rebates, you get money back right at the cash register. For example, Efficiency Vermont provides rebates for the purchase of specified ENERGY STAR® qualified appliances. Participating appliance retailers have the mail-in rebate forms you'd need to get these rebates. If you'd like to know about current available rebates, check out the Efficiency Vermont Rebate Center.
As for a financial incentive, it can be just about anything that makes it easier for somebody to afford something. If you've ever used a grocery coupon or bought a car with low-percentage financing, you've taken advantage of a financial incentive. Rebates and tax credits are, in fact, two kinds of financial incentives.
Efficiency Vermont can help you find out what financial opportunities are available to you for energy-efficient home improvements. So give us a call, toll-free, at 888-921-5990.
A: Glad to. Typically, these desktop frames consume between 6 and 15 watts of power. That doesn't sounds like a lot, but if you and six colleagues were to each leave a 6-watt frame on all day, every day, it would be the energy-use equivalent of adding a 15 cubic-foot refrigerator to the office. Larger frames use substantially more energy than small, desktop versions.
The good news, aside from seeing your grandkids' faces all day, is that energy-savings features are available. These can include auto-off, light-sensing dimming of the display, and timer functions, as well as motion sensors that only turn on the images when someone's in the room. If your frame doesn't have these features, you can simply turn it off or unplug it at the end of your work day.
Q Our spring-cleaning project this year is the garage. Once we can fit the car in there, my teenage drivers would love to have a garage-door opener. Are these things big electricity users? Are there efficient models?
A: Garage door openers are not big energy consumers because they only operate for very short periods. So, no matter what kind you get, the difference in energy use among models will be small. But if you're interested in where the differences lie, I'm glad to help. But please keep in mind that these differences add up to miniscule savings.
A screw-drive model demands less energy because its drive mechanism uses less friction than chain-, belt-, or torsion-drive models. If given a choice, opt for a DC motor, which is generally more efficient than an AC motor. The bigger the motor, the more energy you'll use, so pick the smallest motor that will safely operate your garage door. If there's a light in the unit, use a wattage that only provides as much light as you need. If the light is on a timer, see if the amount of time it's programmed to remain on after operation is right for your needs or if it's adjustable. Thanks for the question and good luck cleaning the garage!
Q I've been trying to get a better understanding of my electric bill. I can see that I'm charged for how many kWh I use, but can you tell me what a kWh is?
A: Glad to. KWh stands for kilowatt hour, which is a kilowatt (1,000 watts) used for one hour. In other words, a kWh measures how many watts you use in an hour. If you're now wondering what time has to do with electricity, read on.
The only way to determine how much electricity something requires is to know how long it's in use. Take a light bulb, for example. I'm sure you know how many watts your light bulbs use; you can read the number on a bulb. That wattage, though, just tells you the bulb's electrical demand. To determine how much electricity the bulb will use in your home, you need to know how long you'll keep it lit. So, wattage multiplied by time equals the bulb's electrical use. For a 20-watt bulb, for example, kept on for 4 hours, you'd use 80 Watt hours or .08 kWh. Thanks for the great question!
Q I get my TV reception through a satellite dish. How much electricity do these things use?
A: It depends on the particular unit you have, but satellite dishes typically demand about 130 kilowatt hours (kWh) per year. Your satellite receiver box will demand another 130 kWh or so. Add the two together, at a rate of 12.5 cents per kWh, and you?re looking at a TV-watching electricity cost of approximately $32 per year, or just under $3 per month, in addition to the electricity cost of using the TV.
Q My condo association has voted against replacing our windows. The windows work fine and look fine, but some people thought we should move up to high-efficiency windows. The association has given us permission to buy our own but the price is daunting. Is it worth it?
A: Energy-efficient windows do a great job of reducing drafts and increasing comfort. But the payback period, from energy savings, on the cost of new windows is long. So it's generally not advisable to replace old windows for energy-saving purposes alone. The most cost-effective time to buy high-performance windows is when you're building a new space, putting on an addition, or replacing nonfunctional windows. If you've got windows that work, you're better off, cost-wise, improving them than replacing them.
And that's fairly easily done. Repair any cracked glazing, run a bead of caulk around window frames, and use side-mount sash locks to hold windows firmly in place. Block drafts through sash-weight pulley openings by using pulley seals. Inexpensive window weatherization kits, from hardware stores, add an additional level of protection from the elements. If the building has storm windows, use them. If not, have them made - they're far less costly than new windows.
A: Great questions! Whether your power strip is on or off, your equipment is safe from power surges. When you turn off the strip, you cut off its electric supply. So, the items plugged into the strip are as safe from electrical surges as they would be if you'd unplugged them from the wall. When you turn the strip on, power flows through it again and, if the electricity surges, the surge protector will do its job.
As for a smart power strip, it works this way: You plug a device, such as a computer, into one socket of the power strip and peripherals into another socket. When you turn off the designated "main" device ? in this case, the computer ? the smart strip turns off the rest of the equipment. This feature saves energy for people who'd rather not have to be vigilant about switching off the power strip or the devices themselves. If that sounds like you, then yes, a smart power strip would be a good way for you to reduce phantom load.
A: Decorations like these use between 90 and 200 watts. If you had, say, a six-foot Santa that was inflated and lit but had no other features, it would be in the 120-watt range. If you keep it on, around the clock, for three months of the year, it will add about $34 to your electric costs for the season. You can reduce that cost somewhat by putting Santa on a timer that will cut his power overnight and then power him up again when you want him to greet/distract morning commuters. Yes, your Santa will deflate when he's off, but nobody will know in the dark.
A: Thanks for bringing this up. Lots of people are wondering the same thing. Typically, you'll use less energy adding a converter to a cathode-ray tube TV than you will by using a flat-screen, high-definition, digital TV (HDTV) of the same size as the CRT.
Here's why: You can purchase an ENERGY STAR® qualified converter that operates on less than 8 watts and uses only about 1 watt in sleep mode. If you watch four hours of TV per day, use of this converter will cost you about $4 dollars annually. But if you swapped a TV smaller than 40 inches, as yours is, to an HDTV of the same size, the new set would cost you, annually, at least $15 more than the current cost of operating your old TV. If you upgraded to a bigger HDTV, the operating cost would go up substantially with size.
Size is the most important factor when it comes to the energy demands of flat-screen TVs. If you do decide to get a new TV, look for the ENERGY STAR label for energy savings. We hope this helps. Happy watching.
Q Our utility bill shows us how much electricity we use per month, but my husband and I would like to have a more detailed sense of our use. It would be helpful to know our real daily electricity costs, not just averages. That would help us be able to budget for increased costs when, for example, our children and grandchildren visit, with their video games and other electronics that use so much energy. They also use our big, flat-screen TV much more than we do, and we know that the TV is an energy hog. Are there computer programs or metering devices that can give us facts like daily use?
A: Definitely. You can buy a whole-house energy meter that will provide a range of information, such as a real-time display of how much power is being used in the house, the cost of that power and more. This will enable you to compare household usage when equipment is unplugged and when it's in use. I do recommend unplugging rather than turning off electronics equipment for this test, because many items use electricity even when they're off.
To install some whole-house meters, you'll need to hire an electrician. Others are designed so that you can attach them to a house's utility meter yourself. Whole-house meters aren't currently available in Vermont stores, but you can find them online. Good luck with this information-gathering project. My hat's off to you; the more we know about our energy usage, the more control we can have over our own bills.
Q I've been reading your column in my paper for a few years and nobody's asked this basic question. The column says you're from Efficiency Vermont. What exactly is that?
A: Thanks for asking! Efficiency Vermont helps Vermont homes and businesses reduce their electricity costs. We provide technical information and financial incentives to help people to build or renovate energy-efficient buildings and to increase the efficiency of existing buildings, with energy-saving lighting, appliances, heating, cooling, ventilation, electronics and more.
We've been around since 2000, when the Vermont Legislature and the Vermont Public Service Board established Efficiency Vermont. This was done to reduce electricity use, strengthen local economies, lower pollution from power plants, ease the load on Vermont's electric infrastructure (power plants and power lines), and to lessen the need for costly new infrastructure. Efficiency Vermont is funded through the Energy Efficiency Charge on your electric bill. If you're in Burlington, that charge instead funds energy-efficiency services provided by Burlington Electric Department.
Since 2000, Efficiency Vermont has worked with more than 50% of Vermont electric ratepayers to save over 318 million kilowatt hours of electricity. That translates to more than $324 million in combined savings over the lifetime of energy-efficient products that Vermonters have installed in their homes and businesses. These efforts have also reduced pollution. In 2006 alone, the amount of carbon-emission reductions from energy-efficient actions was equivalent to taking 6,257 cars off Vermont's roads. If you'd like to learn more, please visit www.efficiencyvermont.com.
Q You ran a question once about testing breakers to figure out what's causing high electric bills. Would you mind describing that test again?
A: I'd be glad to. Sometimes you can find a mysterious high-use culprit by isolating the electrical circuit it's on. This is best done with two people: one standing by the electric meter, the other standing inside at the electrical breaker box. If you're not in shouting distance to each other, use cell phones to communicate.
Start by watching the spinning disk on the electric meter and noting how long it takes for it to spin around one time. There is usually a black mark on the disk to help you. The person at the breaker box can then turn off and on breakers, one by one, as the other person watches the spinning disk. You may notice that turning off one particular breaker will cause the meter to spin more slowly. Make a note of the breakers that have the greatest effect on the speed of the spinning disk and determine what appliances are on those circuits. You can then borrow a meter from Efficiency Vermont to find the appliance that uses the most electricity. Plug an appliance into the meter and the meter into the wall and you should be able to find your high-use culprit.
A: A TiVo unit will typically consume between 20-30 watts constantly. That's 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, whether you're recording or not. The new HD TiVo units use more. For the sake of this estimate, let's assume that your TiVo is using a middle-of-the-road 25 watts.
Here's the math: You pay for electricity based on kilowatt hours (kWh). One kWh represents 1,000 watts used for one hour. (Or 100 watts used for 10 hours. You get the idea.). So, at 25 watts, a TiVo unit will consume 1 kWh in 40 hours. There are 8,760 hours in a year, which means that your TiVo will consume about 219 kWh per year. At the statewide average of $0.133 per kWh, your ability to watch TV on your terms will cost you about $29 in a year, or about $2.40 per month.
Keep in mind that this estimate doesn't take into consideration the power consumed by the television or other electronic devices you may have hooked up to it, like a game console, dvd player etc. Seeing as you're interested in the power consumption of your equipment I suggest that you arrange to borrow a meter, which measures the power use of nearly any electric device, from Efficiency Vermont. With the meter, you might find enough things to measure to cover take-out bets for a semester.
A: You bet. There are simple ways to minimize a fish tank's electric use. Keep it away from windows in the winter, set the thermostat as low as is healthy for the fish in the tank, and use fluorescent lights on a timer.
As for how much of your daughter's hobby costs are in your electric bills, I'll give you an estimate for a 10-gallon tank with a filter, light and heater. That will typically cost about four dollars per month at today's electric rates. Costs go up as tank sizes increase.
If you want to know more specifically how much power the fish tanks in your house are using, you can borrow a meter from Efficiency Vermont. Plug an electric device into the meter, plug the meter into the wall and you'll get your answer.
A: I'm glad you asked. The ENERGY STAR label indicates that a product exceeds minimum federal energy efficiency standards. Products of any brand or manufacturer can qualify to receive the ENERGY STAR label. You can find this label on lighting, appliances, home electronics, heating systems, office equipment and much more. You can even buy an ENERGY STAR home or hire a Home Performance with ENERGY STAR contractor who has been specially trained to assess homes and make them more energy-efficient.
ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, designed to reduce energy use as well as the pollution and greenhouse gas emissions associated with power generation. According to energystar.gov, Americans using ENERGY STAR products and services in 2006 saved $14 billion on their utility bills and prevented as much pollution as is produced by 25 million cars.
Here in Vermont, you can get rebates for certain ENERGY STAR products through Efficiency Vermont. Stores throughout the state sell these products and can help you get rebates. For more information, visit www.efficiencyvermont.com/pages/Residential/
A: The biggest electric snow blowers use around 1,440 watts of power. If you run one of these blowers for 10 hours over the course of a season, its impact will hardly be noticeable on your electric bill. Naturally, your usage may rise if we get an unusually high number of storms or if individual snowfalls are consistently big (electric blowers typically are designed to handle up to six inches of snow). But if you think an electric snow blower can handle your new, longer paths (power cords longer than 100 feet may result in a drop of power) then here's to clean air while clearing snow!
A: Sure do. Sometimes you can find a mysterious high-use culprit by isolating the electrical circuit it is on - otherwise known as a "breaker test." This is best done with two people: one standing by the electric meter, the other standing inside at the electrical breaker box.
Start by watching the spinning disk on the electric meter and noting how long it takes for it to spin around one time. There is usually a black mark on the disk to help you. The person at the breaker box then turns off breakers one by one as you watch the spinning disk. You may notice that turning off one particular breaker will cause the meter to spin more slowly. Make a note of the breakers that have the greatest effect on the speed of the spinning disk and find out what appliances are on those circuits. You can then find the "culprit" with a meter you can borrow from Efficiency Vermont.
Q What would cause a sudden big spike in my electric bill? Could our utility meter be broken?
A: It's rare for meters to break, but when they do, they typically move slower. And that results in a lower electric bill. So, your meter seems fine. The three most common causes of a sudden increase in electricity use are:
- You brought more appliances into the house, or you replaced old ones with bigger or less efficient models.
- Equipment (like a well pump or refrigerator) is malfunctioning.
- You have an additional person in the house, or someone who stayed home more than usual and used lights and electric equipment more. If you have an electric hot water heater, showers and laundry for an extra person can add up.
If you're still stumped, give me a call and I can help you figure it out.
Q Is it worth it, money-wise, to replace my windows with more energy-efficient ones?
A: Energy-efficient windows are a good investment when you absolutely must replace a window or when you're building a new home or addition. But if you're considering new windows because you want to save energy or to reduce drafts, there are other effective solutions that will pay for themselves much faster. These can include improved insulation, caulking around windows, or adding interior or exterior storm windows. If you're not sure where to start, hire an energy auditor to find out where your dollars can best be invested to save energy and make your home more comfortable.
Q What is phantom, or leaking, power? Are there are ways to eliminate or reduce it?
A. Phantom power may sound like the name of the latest thriller, but it actually applies to the small, but constant, power use of most modern household electronic equipment that's required to keep these appliances ready for action. Your TV, for example, has a phantom load of between five and 15 watts as it sits idle - but not sleeping - waiting for a command from the remote control. All the gadgets in your home that use little black box plug-in power supplies may appear to be off, but the black box is always using power. The same goes for anything with a clock (like a microwave oven) or little red "standby" light. You can reduce phantom load by unplugging these appliances when you're not using them. To make it easy, use a power strip with a switch on it and turn off the switch when not in use.
How much will you save? Picture a home entertainment center with TV, VCR, DVD, stereo, cable or satellite tuner box and games all plugged into a power strip. If the equipment is actually being used only four hours a day, and you turn everything off with a single switched power strip the rest of the time, you can eliminate a phantom load of 50 watts or more for 20 hours a day. That adds up to a savings of about $45 per year! Not a bad return on the $10 investment of a power strip.
