Second Quarterly Update to Edmonds City Council

We've made it through two quarters of the Save Energy Now program, and the homeowners are well ahead on overall savings.

Here are a few key slides from the presentation that we are giving to the City Council on August 24th, showing the progress of the SEN program. Let us know what you think of the data, the graphs, and any other info that you think would show how the program is going overall. (Click on each slide to enlarge)
















Save Energy Now participants have reduced their annual natural gas usage by over 12%, as of the end of June 2010. The blue curve on this graph represents the annual heating demand - which shows that the mild 2010 winter accounted for much of the savings through March, but that participants continued to drive down usage as the year progressed. Of note, most participants joined the program in late February. Well done!



Save Energy Now program participants have reduced their annual electricity usage by about 3%. This is a sizable reduction of consumption, but is not on track to achieve the goal of a 10% reduction by the end of 2010. From a carbon emissions standpoint, it is better to continue to focus on natural gas reductions, but we should continue to find ways to reduce electricity consumption as well.




Everyone's favorite metric is cost, and SEN participants are well, well ahead in this category. Overall, program participants have reduced their annual utility bills by a combined $2,525 for the 10 homes in the study. Yes, that's an average of over $250 saved, per house, just through June of this year! We have one house in the program that has racked up nearly $500 in saving, and is going to shoot for an overall savings by the end of the year, of $1000.


Now that we know that this approach to conservation works, it's time to start rolling out a bigger program, Sustainable Works. I invite you all to visit the Sustainable Works website to read up on the Edmonds/Lynnwood project, and, if you like, you can sign up for the program right there on the website.

We Need Your Business!

The Save Energy Now program is in full swing, and we've seen some impressive numbers posted by our participants. But finding business participants has been a challenge.
We want your business to join us. Save energy. Save money. Be a community leader. And see your name in lights as you achieve success!
If you own or operate a business in Edmonds, email us at SustainableEdmonds@gmail.com. Or, if you know someone who owns or operates a business in Edmonds, refer them to us. We want our local businesses to thrive, and what better way to thrive than to get a subsidized energy audit that helps you figure out how to cut your overhead! Oh, and help reduce energy consumption.
We are authorized to enroll up to 10 businesses in the Save Energy Now program, and we have 6 spots left to fill as of June 9th. WE NEED YOUR BUSINESS!

Wait - You Mean It Costs... NOTHING?

Is it really this easy to save over $150? It just might be.

Some of our Save Energy Now participants started the program having already taken several measures at home to save energy. Some other participants, like A.Z.'s family, started out the program without having taken any conservation steps.

Starting in a home like A.Z.'s, how much difference can you make without spending a penny? Well, here are some hard numbers, just looking at natural gas:

Feb/Mar 2009: $416
Feb/Mar 2010: $253

That's over $150 saved in one house, without spending a dime! What's the big secret? We asked A.Z. to share what she's done. Here's what she had to say:

First, we set the water heater temp lower (120F). We also reduced the water pressure during showers. (This is so ridiculously simple- we just don't pull the faucet handle all the way out.) We've shortened the time in the shower, too (five minutes max). My daughter has actually taped a sign to the shower door that reads, "Shorter showers save water." She's also put little notes on switch-plates that say, "Don't forget to turn out the lights."

A PUD thermometer now sits above the thermostat which gives the current temperature and reminds us to keep it at 68 degrees when home, and 55 degrees when gone or asleep (which we do now.) (see above photo) I used to keep it at 70 when we were home and at 67 when we were asleep. We are using electric blankets instead for sleep time.

There are so many behaviors that we never really considered until we got involved in this program. It's really put our actions under a microscope and helped us see ways to change. For example, I get up at 5am and head downstairs. On goes the morning news, the coffee pot, the heater, the gas fireplace and the lights. Then I head upstairs to get ready. I used to leave everything on. Now everything goes off before I head upstairs. That's an hour of energy saved, 5 days a week. It all adds up.

What will we do with the savings? Still don't know. A trip? A more efficient water heater? An extra fabulous Christmas? The possibilities are endless.

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Keep following Save Energy Now, and we'll see what A.Z. and the rest of the participants come up with next!

I'm Insulated! So, tell me about it.

Now that the audits are mostly done, a few participants have already started getting insulation work done. That seems to be the number one cost/benefit item in the audits, so it's no surprise.
If you have had insulation work done - let us know how it went. And, while I won't mention contractors by name.... if you'd like to, go right ahead. Every homeowner could benefit from your experience.
Please include as much data as you can - especially costs.

How Did The First Round of Bills Go?

So, you've decided to take on the Challenge. When that first utility bill rolled in, was it what you expected? What challenges did you take on to get the savings this month? What are you planning on doing for next month?

What are Your Top Three?

So, you get your audit done, and it's an extensive report. Luckily, EcoFab was kind enough to provide you a short list of high priority things to work on. So, what are your top three, based on your energy audit report?
Are there enough of us looking for the same kind of repair that we want to consider something out-of-the-box, like trying to get a discount on work or materials?

How Can I Best Prepare for an Energy Audit?

This is an open question for those of you who have completed your energy audit. If you were to do it over again, what would you be sure to do... or NOT do?

• Did you ask all of the questions you had, or did you forget to ask all of those burning (pun clearly intended) questions?
  
• Was your house ready for the Auditor? For example, did you have to move some furniture to access a leaky area in the house?
• How well did your prediction of your home's performance match the audit results? Any BIG surprises?

Post your answers as comments to this article.

Welcome to the Save Energy Now program!

Welcome to the Sustainable Edmonds Save Energy Now (SEN) program!

This blog is where we'll share our lessons learned with each other. Want to tell everyone what to expect from an audit? Or to share your experience in weatherizing? Send us your thoughts at SustainableEdmonds@gmail.com , and we'll post them here to share with the group.

But first, why the Save Energy Now program? The answer is simple. It's the answer that speaks to you. Here are a few to choose from:

1. Saving energy will save me money.
2. Saving money means more money to pay bills. Or to spend in Edmonds!
3. Saving energy, specifically electricity, will reduce the amount of energy that Snohomish PUD has to obtain from outside, allowing SNOPUD to provide a greater percentage of our electricity from clean power and renewable sources.
4. Saving energy reduces my impact on the environment.
5. Who likes to be wasteful?
6. I can't stand having someone else doing this, when I know I can do it better.

All of these reasons align well with the philosophy of Sustainable Edmonds, which is why we are championing this program. We hope to find the essence of "what works" for Edmonds homes and businesses, and to inspire all in our city to take action to conserve energy.

Sustainable Edmonds will be posting periodic updates on the SEN program on this blog, and we invite all participants, or anyone else interested, to click on the "follow this blog" link on the margin of this page to be notified when we've posted something new.

Our goal: to reduce the energy consumption of our participants by at least 10% over the next year. And eventually, to reduce the energy consumption of all of Edmonds by at least 10%.

Well, then, let's get started!