SO YOU WANT TO GO SOLAR? FIRST STEP, REDUCE ELECTRICITY USAGE

Step one in going solar is not sizing the Photovoltaic (PV) system, but reducing the energy needed in your home or business. To save green when you go green, first focus on increased sustainability and explore entry-level solar solutions that may provide excellent returns without major expense.  Knowing where your energy needs are highest and implementing shifts in those areas will allow you to more accurately assess the size PV system required and reduce the costs of purchase and installation.  

Focus on These 4 Areas to Increase Sustainability at Home and at Work

 1. Knowledge is power.  Literally.

PC www.ucsusa.org

Reducing energy usage and carbon emissions begins by getting an estimate of your personal carbon footprint or that of your business. The Cool Climate Network offers both a Household Calculator and a Business Calculator.  To receive practical tips to slash your emissions and your energy costs, take this quick and fun CoolerSmarter quiz and you’ll be on your way to 20% less carbon in 20 days.

2. Drive Smart: Transportation is the single biggest contributor to carbon emissions.

If you or your company are in the market for a new vehicle, you can use the calculators and comparison tools at www.FuelEconomy.gov to find the most efficient vehicle for your needs and budget.  Has your knowledge advanced with the technology? Read these Top 10 Misconceptions About Fuel Economy to make sure you are working with the latest information.

Regardless of the car you drive, you can drastically reduce your transportation emissions by simply driving more efficiently.  Slight but significant changes can save you or your business up to 20% at the pumps.

Improve Your Fuel Economy

A Solar Solution: Fueling with Sunshine

1 in 3 electric vehicle owners has a home grid-tied PV system. As technologies continue to rapidly develop across the solar industry, running your car on sunshine is increasingly an option.

3. Mind the Gap: Reduce the cost and impact of home heating and cooling.

Heating and cooling are the greatest energy hogs within the home and also represent an area where you can make a significant positive impact, both on your wallet and your carbon footprint.  How do you keep your home comfortable with less energy?

Seal the Leak

PC www.ucsusa.org

Air leaks in your home may waste up to 25% of the heat your heating system generates in the winter and account for the same amount of unwanted heat your home gains in the summer. That’s equivalent to leaving a window in your home wide open all the time. A draft check followed by these simple and inexpensive solutions for energy efficient heating can help you shut that window.

 Natural Home Cooling

Much of the cost of cooling your home can be saved by passive cooling techniques.

Landscaping, blinds, and shade screens are effective at blocking heat from entering your home. And reducing heat generated from within the house can also contribute greatly to lowering the inside temperature.  A significant source of that heat is electric lighting. In just one hour a 100 watt incandescent bulb can raise the temperature of a room by 11 degrees Fahrenheit.  One more reason to switch to cooler, more efficient LED bulbs!

 

“Cool roofs” are another simple strategy to lower electricity costs for your home or business.  Cool roofs reduce the amount of heat conducted to the building below and have several year-round energy-saving and cost-saving advantages over black roofs.

PC http://www.whiteroofproject.org/

  

A Solar Solution: Evaporative Coolers

For home and business owners located in dry climates, an evaporative cooler can be a good match for PV. An evaporative cooler, also known as a swamp cooler, will only consume about one-quarter of the power of a traditional central air conditioner.

4. Vampires in the Home: Do you know where your power is going?

PC www.ucsusa.org

Learn just how much energy is being tapped by the appliances and electronics in your home or business by using this Appliance Energy Calculator. Many electronics and appliances are consuming energy, even when not in active use. And by eliminating these phantom loads you can easily and significantly reduce your energy bills.

PC www.energy.gov

  

A Solar Solution: Dedicate one appliance to be powered by the sun.

Can’t go all solar? Dedicate one appliance to run off PV, like your washing machine or well pump.

Water heating is the 2^nd largest utility expense in your home. Could a solar water heater be right for you? If so, act soon and take advantage of the federal tax credit that is good until the end of 2016.

Chest refrigerators and chest freezers open from the top and the cold stays put.  Not only is the chest design more energy efficient for all homes, it also offers an incredible opportunity for those interested in entry-level solar.

“Off-grid living doesn’t mean that we go without the energy that we need, but that we live more in tune with the natural rhythms around us.”  By planning wisely and reducing waste in your home or business, you will be well on your way to successfully implementing your solar strategy.

Daily News-Record: Valley Businesswoman Makes Return White House Visit

SUNRNR Owner In On Sustainable Energy Talk

Posted: April 30, 2016

By VIC BRADSHAW

HARRISONBURG — Jenny French is learning her way around the White House.

The president and co-owner of SUNRNR of Virginia has made three by-invitation trips to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in the last 13 months. On April 20, she was part of a group that attended a three-hour briefing on climate and sustainable energy in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House grounds.

“I’ve been so deep in the business that this reminded me that [climate change is] not just about renewable energy,” said French, whose company makes portable units that can generate and store renewable energy. “All businesses, all people will be impacted.

“This pulled me out of my job to see the bigger picture.”

French was invited to the event by Business Forward, an organization comprised of a wide range of companies from across America that advocates ways the federal government can make it easier for businesses to create jobs and advance the economy. The White House Business Council also was involved in the event.

She said Sen. Mark Warner’s office put her on Business Forward’s radar.

White House staff members and a U.S. Department of Energy official led the briefing. The clean and renewable energy economy, the impacts of climate change on human health and business, and Obama administration priorities on climate were the main discussion topics.

The importance of climate to national security, French said, also was discussed.

The overriding message, she said, was that climate affects large and small businesses. The briefing included more than 50 business leaders from across the country in fields ranging from renewable energy to food security to apparel to construction.

Among those who spoke for the businesses in attendance were someone from a ski resort that has suffered from unusual weather patterns to someone whose supply chain was disrupted by storms overseas.

French and Thar Energy CEO at Briefing

French, a Harrisonburg resident whose company is based in Shenandoah, said she came away thinking about climate change as a global economic issue that should be dealt with.

“We need to try to let people understand the urgency of this,” she said, “without getting into the political ramifications or sides.”

Thinking Green

Climate change wasn’t directly on the agenda on either of French’s trips to the White House last year. She attended a White House Small Business Exporters Roundtable to discuss foreign trade issues, sitting next to President Barack Obama during part of the event, and was invited back when the president signed the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

In November, she was part of a U.S. trade mission to the Canary Islands.

French said winter is the slow season for SUNRNR (pronounced like “sunrunner”), a portable and storable system that can capture and store power generated by the sun, wind or water.

So with the help of some students from James Madison University, efforts were focused on a “soft rebranding” that included refining the company’s message, its documents and a rethinking of its name.

Many people are confused by SUNRNR, she said, so they’re considering changing it to “SUNRUNR.” The full term “sunrunner” already is trademarked.

A new product also was developed to add more solar panels. French said existing customers were contacted and told about that development, which led to additional sales and helpful customer feedback.

Multiple signs are pointing to new business for the company, she said, mainly because of the assistance it’s received from local, state and federal sources. Two dealers are meeting tomorrow to discuss sales to Zambia in southern Africa, and contacts made on the Canary Islands trip could result in the hiring of a sales representative in Mauritania in western Africa.

Her latest White House visit, French said, has her thinking “green.” The color symbolizes money and the ecology, but it also represents naiveté when it comes to climate change.

“We’re not getting the urgency,” she said. “This is urgent, whether it’s the flooding in Houston or the sea level rising in Norfolk.” 

Contact Vic Bradshaw at 574-6279 or vbradshaw@dnronline.com

3 Small Personal Changes, Immediate Positive Impact on EPA's 30% Carbon Pollution Reduction by 2030 Proposal

photo credit: epa.gov

Whether talking about food, water, electricity, consumer goods, or anything else, it is never a bad idea to understand where things come from, why they cost what they do, their availability, their unintended consequences, and their future impacts.  Americans, for the most part, have been blessed with exceptional access to these and other "commodities", even sometimes taking them for granted or becoming disgruntled if temporarily unavailable. Gratefully, public awareness of these concepts of cause-and-effect, need-or-want, and "what-if?" and the related reasons for making these choices seems to be on the rise.

Examples (and possible motivators):
- concerted efforts to buy locally-grown food (mistreatment of animals, growth hormones, local economy, reduced transportation),
- choosing American-made over price (quality differences, anti-overseas sweatshops, support US manufacturing),
- recycling (awareness of waste, pollution, consumption),
- increased self-reliance, self-responsibility (numerous reasons!)

These choices and changes usually take thought and effort.  Once I decided to stop supporting the use of plastic grocery bags, aka "New Jersey tumbleweeds" (petroleum-product, landfill burden, animal hazard), until it became habit I can't tell you how many times I'd get just inside the grocery store before realizing I had to go back to my car for my reusable bags.  If each of us could change a few tiny things like this ... even just three in the next month, we'd cumulatively make great changes.  And each future change becomes easier.  We make these changes for our own personal beliefs or reasons, but the results can have global ramifications.

It would be great if our utility companies would support us all with the next small change.  If they would give each household a P3 Kill-A-Watt-EZ Energy Usage Meter (or offer at reduced rate), American families could have fun with increasing their knowledge of energy in general and consumption/conservation in particular.  Such a neat little inexpensive device with so much potential impact - see what it takes to make a pot of coffee, how big an inverter is needed to run your microwave, how much stored power your fridge would require during power outage, or how you could do laundry purely by solar.

Let's apply the source/cost awareness above to energy and the EPA's proposed ruling last month seeking a 30% reduction in carbon-dioxide emissions by 2030 from existing power plants based on emission levels from 2005.  Yes, 30% is a large number, possibly inflated to leave room for compromise, but no matter where you stand on global warming, you most likely agree that pollution in any form and consumption of finite resources is not a good thing for mankind.  If we could each cut our electricity consumption by 5-10% through decreased consumption, increased efficiency, usage awareness, or conservation, we would be handing these power plants a 5-10% head-start or more on this requirement.

One place to learn about other easy changes you can make to make a difference is at energy.gov's energysaver website.  Another way, and with immediate impact, is to consider supplemental renewables like portable solar generators.  PSGs come in various sizes, but any comparable to SUNRNR specifications can sustainably provide at least 5% of an average American home's energy usage (given some sun and/or wind:)  They have the added benefit of being available for power outages or for use at non-grid locations.  PSG uses are similar to those of gas generators.  Both provide power independent of the grid, which is beneficial to this power plant proposal, but one still pollutes, robbing Peter to pay Paul using lumps of coal.  And no one in their right mind would want to run a gas generator continuously and sustainably like they could a PSG, to do their part toward requiring less electricity from power plants.