06 Jan 2013 New year is a good time for energy saving plan
Make a New Year’s resolution that saves money by committing to saving energy this year.
It’s a great idea for you, your bank account and the planet — but where do you start? To make sure the time and money you invest in improving your home’s energy efficiency is well spent and to maximize your savings while keeping costs low, it’s best to create a simple six-step energy savings plan.
Set goals based on objectives
Begin by setting ambitious but realistic goals for an energy savings plan. For example, a 10 percent reduction in electricity usage is probably realistic for everyone, but it might not be ambitious enough. It depends on your objective. Are you simply trying to save a little extra money or reduce your carbon footprint?
Measure consumption
Measuring consumption doesn’t mean comparing the last utility bill from before you drafted your energy saving plan, with the first one afterward. It means understanding seasonal and long-term use patterns. Measure past heating and electrical costs by going back over the past two years’ bills. Measure weekly heating costs and daily electrical costs by reading utility meters every morning at 7 a.m. Measure key appliance efficiency with a Kill-A-Watt meter. Estimate typical yearly electrical usage for plug-in devices where wattage is known (for example, light bulb wattage or wattage indicated on a single-speed motor, which usage can be predicted).
Identify opportunities
Include a home energy audit as part of your energy saving plan to identify energy saving opportunities. Conway Corporation provides audits free of charge to customers as part of its Energy Smart program. To find out more about the program or to schedule an audit, call 501.450.6000.
Project costs and savings
Project the cost and savings of each opportunity. Knowing the cost and potential savings of each opportunity means you can prioritize your actions from lowest cost/highest opportunity (do those first) to higher cost/lower opportunity (do those later). It also means you can avoid taking actions that will save you energy but won’t save you money.
Implement energy savings actions
Tackle planned items in order of fastest payback — lowest ratio of initial cost versus annual savings. That is, take cheap actions that save a lot before taking expensive actions that save a little. Hire a professional to do major renovation items, but save even more money by tackling smaller tasks yourself.
Follow up measurements
Continue measuring consumption daily or weekly, noticing any improvements resulting from actions. Don’t take too many actions at once so you can see what is helping and what isn’t. Plot last year’s consumption (in energy units, not dollars) on a graph in blue and this year’s in red to see how you’re doing on saving energy. Keep a ledger of this year’s costs, including energy efficiency upgrades and utility bills, and compare to last year’s utility bills to see how you’re saving.
For more energy efficiency tips, visit Conway Corporation’s website at conwaycorp.com and click on the Energy Smart quick link.
