Tip Energy
David Hogan
Picking the Right Type of Light to Turn Off - By minimizing the amount of time we run our electric lights we also minimize the pollution generated from the power used, as well as minimizing our electric bill. Since much of the power consumed is simply turned into heat, running the lights less also reduces the load on our air conditioners. Use natural daylight through the windows when possible. LED and fluorescents are more efficient than incandescent lights consuming about 1/10 and 1/3 the power respectively.
You may have heard that compact fluorescents (CFLs) use a lot of energy when turning on and off. While there is a brief surge in energy use when a CFL is turned on, with today's starting technology, that surge usually lasts about a tenth of a second and consumes about as much energy as five seconds of normal operation. So, even when turned on and off frequently, a CFL uses less energy than its incandescent equivalent. But because a CFL is more expensive than an incandescent and turning a CFL on and off more frequently can shorten its life, it is recommend CFLs not be used in applications where they are turned on and off many times a day. LEDs do not have this problem but are yet more expensive. However LEDs have the longest life expectancy (about 100x incandescent or 10x CFL).
For more see: tinyurl.com/LightingComparison and tinyurl.com/CFLonOff
David Hogan
Austin Energy Offers Summer Solar Bonus - Austin Energy is offering an extra $.50 rebate per installed watt of roof solar power for eligible residential customers until September 30. This is a 20% boost from their standard of $2.50 per watt rebate to $3.00 per watt. Combined with federal rebates this can reduce your out-of-pocket expenses to less than half the installation cost. Depending on how deeply you want to impact your electric bill you will need a few hundred square feet of largely unshaded south to west facing roof area.
A solar panel generating system avoids generating the pollution associated with Austin Energy generating that much power, saves the fuel resource, and after the panel’s savings pay for themselves, it’s essentially free electricity from your panels. With your past utility bills the size and payback period can be estimated. Details of the Austin Energy offer and sample estimates may be found at: tinyurl.com/SolarBonus.