Energy Efficiency 101
Posted on May 7, 2013 by Stephanie Levine
Tags, Consumers and Utility Customers
Reducing energy consumption can help our utilities avoid using their most inefficient and dirty fossil fuel power plants, balance load, and ultimately avoid building new power plants altogether. Doing all of these things helps to keep rates low for customers, and consuming less energy means immediate incentives for participants through lower utility bills. With new smart grid enabled technologies, there are a variety of high tech solutions that can help us manage our energy use. Yet even with all the technological innovation taking place in this sector, energy efficiency remains the single most cost-effective resource we have to reduce consumption.
This is not news to Oregon. Residential energy use across the country continues to rise: the average US household now consumes 20% more electricity than they did in 1990. Yet here in Oregon, residential customers have reduced consumption by 12%.
This is not a fluke! Although Oregon’s conservation ethos has certainly played a role in our energy reduction, the state has invested heavily in energy efficiency in the last few decades and it is paying off handsomely in both the short and long-term.
TYPES OF UPGRADES
For residential homeowners looking to make large energy efficient upgrades to their homes, mechanisms that help control the temperature, heating, cooling, and air circulation of your home are often the place to start. Weatherization fixes like installing new wall insulation, high efficiency windows, or fixing air leaks can help to control the temperature and air flow into your house. To heat your home more effectively, you can make efficiency upgrades to your furnace or heat pump. For homes without ductwork or homes with highly inefficient ducts, you can install ductless heat pumps which provide highly efficient heating and cooling services. For these types of upgrades, Clean Energy Works Oregon provides no money down financing and the Energy Trust of Oregon offers cash incentives.
For appliance upgrades, most homeowners look to their energy intensive appliances, which often are your refrigerator, washer, and dryer. Switching from your old fridge to an ENERGY STAR model that is 30% more efficient that federal standards can earn you $75 from Energy Trust, as well as the savings you’ll see in your electricity bill. The same goes for washers, which can qualify for $50 or $70 cash back incentives.
Energy efficient upgrades are not just for homeowners. Home renters are often frustrated with inefficient rentals where the landlord has little incentive to invest in upgrades since they don’t pay the utility bills. For these folks, Energy Trust has a whole webpage with low-cost or no-cost tips to improve home efficiency. Highly effective improvements include switching to energy saving light bulbs, high efficiency showerheads and faucets, and other appliances. Additionally, there are energy monitors that can help you cut your electricity bill, which you can check out at the library!
KNOW YOUR RESOURCES
There are programs available all across the state that help low-income households make energy efficiency upgrades. The Community Action Project of Eastern Oregon (CAPECO) has housing and development programs to assist low-income renters in Umatilla, Morrow, Gilliam and Wheeler counties. CAPECO offers weatherization assistance for low-income renters to help lower utility bills, as well as a Case Managed Energy Assistance Program which provides qualified residents with an energy case manager who can help identify areas for energy efficiency. In the Harney and Malheur counties, Community in Action has weatherization and home energy assessment programs. In south-central Oregon, the Klamath and Lake Community Action Services helps thousands of residents each year lower their utility bills through their Heating Assistance Program. For residents on the southern Oregon coast, the Oregon Coast Community Action provides similar services, as well as the United Community Action Network for residents in Douglas and Josephine counties. For programs in other counties, check the members of the Community Action Partnership of Oregon (CAPO).
In 2002, Energy Trust of Oregon (ETO) was formed, like CUB, as a resource for customers of Oregon’s investor owned utilities: PGE, Pacific Power, Northwest Natural, and Cascade Natural Gas. The ETO helps homeowners, renters, businesses, farmers, cities, and counties lower their energy bills through energy efficient upgrades like the options listed above, but also for renewable energy installations, commercial equipment upgrades, and much more. ETO also serves as a resource to find trade ally contractors who can help you receive ETO’s cash back incentives, as well as a resource for receiving your state energy tax credits. Since their inception, the ETO has saved their customers over $1 billion in utility bills, and has saved utilities $1.57 billion in investments that would have recovered from customers.
Clean Energy Works Oregon (CEWO) is a nonprofit that serves residential homeowners who are making energy efficiency upgrades to their homes. CEWO provides instant rebates you can add to your upfront energy efficiency costs, as well as no-money-down financing. CEWO walks you through the whole process, from an initial free energy assessment, to the loan applications, and finally with helping you find certified contractors. Additionally, CEWO provides an energy advisor for each of their clients who acts as a point of contact throughout the whole process. You can read about CUB Executive Director Bob Jenks’ experience with CEWO here.
Weatherization workshops for Portland area residents are also available through the Community Energy Project.
As we move forward towards our clean energy future for the state, energy efficiency will continue to be a key player in our portfolio. If you agree with CUB and believe that we should keep investing in energy efficiency, renewables, and other clean technologies that will help us achieve our vision for Oregon, please join us in our efforts. Become a CUB member for as little as $5, or sign up for our email newsletter to stay up to date on energy in the Pacific Northwest.
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03/31/17 | 1 Comment | Energy Efficiency 101