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Studying and Learning from Our Own Energy Use

Studying and Learning from Our Own Energy Use. ACI Home Performance Conference 2011 Jackie Berger, Su Wang, Chisoo Kim Parfait Gasana, Ferit Ucar April 1, 2011. APPRISE. Nonprofit research institute Mission: Analyze data and information to assess and improve public programs

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Studying and Learning from Our Own Energy Use

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  1. Studying and Learning from Our Own Energy Use ACI Home Performance Conference 2011 Jackie Berger, Su Wang, Chisoo Kim Parfait Gasana, Ferit Ucar April 1, 2011

  2. APPRISE • Nonprofit research institute • Mission: Analyze data and information to assess and improve public programs • Research areas: Energy efficiency and energy affordability • Clients • Federal government (DOE, HHS) • State governments • Utility companies • Nonprofits 2

  3. Staff Activity • Monthly lunch and learns • Pick one aspect of home energy usage to target for reduction • Take this action for one month • Report on findings 3

  4. Reporting • Which behavior did you decide to change and why? • How did you do? • What challenges did you face? • What impact do you think this had on your energy usage and why?  • Estimate the kWh or ccf or $ impact? 4

  5. Insights • Energy program implementation • Energy education • Energy usage behavior change • Energy program evaluation 5

  6. Personal Energy Saving Effort: Challenges and Lessons Su Wang ACI Home Performance Conference April 1, 2011

  7. Home Overview 7

  8. Home Overview • Home Type: studio w/balcony • Utilities: gas heat & hot water, coin laundry • Entertainment: no TVs, no audio systems • Appliances: 1 dorm-size refrigerator • Lighting: Fluorescent, CFL, or LED lights • Energy Use: 1,290 kWh for past 12 months 8

  9. Goal • Reduce Laptop Energy Use • Why Important: • Behavior would have monetary impact • Improve health and wellbeing 9

  10. 2009 Method Sept-Oct 2009: • Turn off computer and unplug power strip when leave for more than 1 hour • Manually put computer on standby mode when leave for more than 15 minutes 10

  11. 2009 Challenges Turning Off: • Couldn’t tell when leaving for 1+ hour • Takes awhile for computer to turn on • Rush to catch buses/subways, no time to turn off Standby: • Couldn’t tell when leaving for 15+ minutes 11

  12. 2009 Performance Turning Off: • Did not turn on computer in the morning for short periods of use • Unplugged every night after turning off, but I was doing that already! Standby: • Set computer to go to automatic standby after 15 minutes, but it was already on that setting! 12

  13. 2009 Impacts - Usage • Effort started right after cooling season • Changed all light bulbs to CFLs just before • Electric meter room locked 13

  14. 2009 Impacts – Electric Usage 14

  15. 2010 Method Dec-Jan 2010/11: • Reduce Computer Usage Time: • Maximum of 1 hour per day on weekdays • Maximum of 2 hours per day on weekends 15

  16. 2010 Challenges • Weather in NY/NJ in Dec/Jan • Wedding photos received in mid-Dec • Graduate candidacy exam • New York Public Library reserve system • Lack of inexpensive entertainment • After breaking rules a few times, just gave up… 16

  17. 2010 Performance Weekdays: • Followed schedule for a week and a half… • Gave up and used normal amount of 1-2 hours per day Weekends: • Followed schedule for 1 weekend – busy with library books to read… 17

  18. 2010 Impacts - Usage • Only followed plan for about 1.5 weeks • Replaced humidifier use with bowl of water 18

  19. 2010 Theoretical Impact Kill-A-Watt Metering: My Laptop: 0.03kWh per hour Husband’s Laptop: 0.06kWh per hour 42.12kWh x $0.18-$0.39 = $7.59-$16.43 Conclusion: not worth it! 19

  20. Electric Savings from Humidifier 20

  21. Humidifier Impacts 21

  22. Humidifier Impacts 22

  23. Humidifier Impacts • 12.5 kWh x 7 months (Oct-Apr) = 87.5 kWh • Verification (Kill-A-Watt metering): • 0.35 kWh x 30 days = 10.5 kWh • 10.5 kWh x 7 months = 73.5 kWh • No definite dollar value available • Changing rates • Regulated utility => ESCO w/100% wind power • 87.5kWh x $0.18-$0.39 = $15.75-$34.13 23

  24. Lessons • Alternative needed when attempting lifestyle change • One-time changes easier to make than actions requiring continued effort • Weather can have a big impact not just on heating/cooling • Program evaluation – energy saving potential can differ in homes; important to benchmark 24

  25. Personal Energy Saving Effort: Challenges and Lessons Chisoo Kim ACI Home Performance Conference March 2011

  26. Part 1: vampire usage

  27. Home Overview Home 1 Home 2 27

  28. Home Overview • Home 1: • 3rd floor loft apartment • Heating: Forced air • Cooling: Central A/C with a ceiling fan • Programmable thermostat • Most of lights are CFLs • Monthly Electric Usage: 4,045 kWH • Monthly Gas Usage: 198 Thm 28

  29. Home Overview • Home 2: • Single family detached • Heating: Gas heat, zoned • Cooling: Central A/C • 2 programmable thermostats • Hot tub • Annual Electric Usage: 15,147 kWh • Annual Gas Usage: 1,217 Thm 29

  30. Goal Reduce vampire energy usage from entertainment units. 30

  31. Why important? • Vampire usage has no purpose • Wouldn’t cause significant inconvenience • On a national basis, vampire power accounts for more than 100 billion kwh of annual U.S. electricity consumption (Source: www.energystar.gov) 31

  32. Energy Saving Behavior:Saving Energy for Entertainment Units • Method 1: Turn off the entertainment units • Method 2: Use smart strip for the entertainment units • Method 3: Turn off the switched-outlet with entertainment units when not in use 32

  33. Challenges • Inconvenience: Turning a cable box resets it. • Not all the houses have switched outlet you can turn off. • Is there a financial incentive to invest in a smart strip? (smart strip costs $25-$35) 33

  34. Performance • Forget to turn off power strip • Smart strip: Once installed, didn’t have to remember to turn it off. 34

  35. Impacts – Usage Smart Strip Power Outlet 35

  36. Impacts – Dollar Savings 36

  37. Lessons • Make it easier to follow-through • Install one time measure • Or incorporate the energy-saving measure in routine • Need to take benchmark before installing energy-saving measure 37

  38. Part 2: water usage

  39. Home Overview 39

  40. Home Overview • Three room apartment • One full-size bathroom • One TV, no audio systems • Full-size refrigerator • Gas heat, central handler • Annual Electric Usage: 4,200kWh • Annual Gas Usage: 1,080 Thm 40

  41. Goal: Reduce Water Use in the Bathroom 41

  42. Why Important • Consistent behavior might have monetary impact 42

  43. Method • Turn off water when lathering • Use low-flow showerhead 43

  44. Challenges • Decrease in comfort • Turning off hot water in the winter was too uncomfortable • Lack of motivation • Did not seem worth it relative to average length of shower (4.5 minutes) 44

  45. Performance • Did not turn off water while showering • Winter was too cold, too uncomfortable • Unable to replace showerhead with low-flow showerhead • Took many showers in the gym 45

  46. Impacts - Water Usage 78.8 gal/week 691.3 gal/week 46

  47. Impacts – Dollar Savings • Savings are only from water usage. Savings from hot water usage is larger. 47

  48. Lessons • Willingness to change behavior (sacrifice) • Choose changes that only need to be made once (i.e., installation of low-flow showerhead) over habitual changes 48

  49. Personal Energy Saving Effort: Challenges and Lessons Parfait Gasana ACI Home Performance Conference April 1, 2011

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