PSP Article in Galesburg Register Mail

http://www.galesburg.com/business/x946494075/Buying-electricity-hourly-can-cut-costs

The next time I see you it will be 2009! Happy new year!

The Smith House of Urbana, IL

As we saw during the past week, our furnaces are sometimes put to the test and we see it on our energy bills. It’s just like that old saying, “Furnaces, can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em.” What if that wasn’t entirely true? It seems improbable that you could live through a bitter Illinois winter without a furnace or electric space heater and maintain any level of comfort. However, a developing trend in Germany is to build residences without a furnace that meet the German Passive House Standard.

The Smith House (pictured above), located in Urbana, IL is an all electric house designed without the need of a furnace. Architect and owner, Katrin Klingenberg describes the house as a “simple shed-roofed house insulated on all six sides to at least R-56.” An R-value is an insulation rating. The higher the value, the better the seal. In Illinois, Energy Star suggests an R-value of 38.

In the 1970’s, many US homes were built with an ultra-tight seal, but they failed because of an increase in stagnant air and mold. The new Passive home uses a Heat Recovery System (HRV or ERV). The warm air going out passes side by side with clean, cold air coming in, exchanging heat with 90 percent efficiency.

Building costs are slightly higher (like 10%), but the construction design of the home is a traditional ballon frame. Prices in the United States will come down as more contractors and designers become accustomed to the Passive House building standards. Klingenberg believes that the premium would be covered in 10 years with lower energy costs. She says that in January 2007, “the electric bill totaled only $35 despite the fact that the month included two weeks of -10 degree cloudy weather.”

Via Greenline Blog

The Smart Home and In Home Displays

This past week a group of CNT Energy staff took a field trip to the Museum of Science and Industry on Chicago’s South Side to look at the Smart Home exhibit. In this highly energy efficient model house designed to spur the imagination about what the future of homes in the 21st century could be, we noticed that there were building monitoring display systems in almost every room. We are constantly keeping an eye on the emerging products in this sphere since they have the potential to be a breakthrough for helping people become more energy efficient.

Some Power Smart Pricing Participants have been members of our PriceLight in home display test program. The PriceLight brings information about the current price of electricity into the home. The next generation of in home displays brings in more information such as real-time electricity consumption information and the ability to control appliances. Studies have observed proven results showing that people with these devices in their homes have decreased energy consumption simply because they have a better grasp of their daily electricity usage. A recent article in The Christian Science Monitor provides some good examples of this trend in action. It goes on to mention the added influence of more advanced electric meters combined with real-time pricing.

Power Smart Pricing is a growing program that has reached national acclaim because of the shift in energy usage participants are making away from high priced hours. Your efforts have shown the energy efficiency industry that real-time pricing combined with emerging smart grid technology is an important part of the solution for lowering energy costs, improving reliability and cutting emissions.

Christian Science Monitor – December 18, 2008 edition
Power meters help homeowners track and cut their energy use

Top 6 Stories of the Year

The Power Smart Pricing Blog has been a tremendous amount of fun in 2008, and I hope that you have enjoyed it as well. As many readers have recently found their way to our site, I wanted to highlight some of the great articles that are now buried in our archives. This was originally going to be the top 5 articles, but in the spirit of the season I included a sixth. In no particular order (except publish date)....

1) New online tools to help you keep track of hourly prices
We hadn't yet worked out the kinks of long entry titles.... You can find the link for the google gadget as seen in the sidebar in the article along with a couple others.

2) Fighting Phantom Load
Here at the PSP Blog we aren't fighters, but if you must... fight phantom load.

3) The Fifth Fuel and Negawatts
In the most profound statement of the year: The cheapest kilowatt is the one you don't use.

4) Monticello School District Recognized as Top Energy Saver
Energy efficient schools have a near and dear place in my heart. Way to go!

5) GE's Smart Appliances
Here's to hoping our appliances don't get too smart. I like the pecking order as it is....

6) Green Gingerbread House
This one is fun for all ages.

No need to panic! The blog will be humming along for the rest of the year looking to top this list in the process.

In Other News…

Lighting of the future... made into a Christmas tree today!

GE has been conducting a lot of research and development into Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs). It seems that holiday cheer overtook the Global Research Center, and they wanted to show off their latest technology in a festive way.

OLEDs are highly energy efficient. In the lighting world that means they use less watts (electricity) to produce more lumens (light). The other part that designers are so excited about with OLEDs is that they are very thin and incredibly flexible. Be on the look out for this technology to make its way to cell phones in the next couple years. I mean they already made a Christmas tree!

Costs are still high, but GE is working hard and they are making advancements. As you can see in the picture, these lights can be made in one long roll. The production is similar to a newspaper press which was a breakthrough in lowering manufacturing costs. The prediction is that OLEDs will make a jump in usage by 2015 (that sounds a lot farther away then it actually is… wow).

In the meantime we can follow its progress dreaming up some interesting uses, or we can just watch GE make it into a Christmas tree.

Our New Website

The Power Smart Pricing team has updated the Power Smart Pricing website (www.powersmartpricing.org)!

We are excited about the new features that the website now offers our current participants. Check out the new way to get daily prices by clicking on the “Hourly Prices” menu option. Now you can view (and print) the prices in a graph or table format where the day’s prices are color coded. A green bar indicates a low priced hour (less than 8 cents), a yellow bar is in the middle (8 to 13 cents), and a red bar is a high priced hour (above 13 cents).

In the new “Participant Tools” menu option, you can check out our web gadgets, learn about seasonal energy saving tips, and link to the Ameren login page to view your personalized online tools.

There is also a link to the PowerSmart Pricing blog www.powersmartpricing.blogspot.com). As many of you have already seen, it’s a frequently updated source of program news and interesting energy related stories.

As the number of Power Smart Pricing participants grows everyday, we’ve found that the participants themselves are great sources of information about how to succeed on the program. We work to provide the best possible information, and participants can be a great source of advice as well. That is why are we are beginning to build the foundation for new online social networking groups. Check out our new Facebook group called Power Smart Pricing!

Thank you for your participation in Power Smart Pricing. If you have any ideas about how to get the best possible value from the program, try using some of the online tools so other participants can hear your great ideas! And of course, if you want to talk, our staff is always more than happy to take your call.

The Story of Bureau Valley High's Wind Turbine

I have already written about Monticello High School and its strive to be energy efficient, but there is another Illinois school that needs to be heard as well. Bureau Valley High School in Manlius, IL has a 660 kW Vestas wind turbine. The catalyst for the project was the dedication of a hog farmer from Northern Illinois named Keith Bolin. Most folks tend to be racing along through life a little too fast to consider the energy of the natural elements around them, but Bolin could not help but sense the wind energy in the area. The thoughts of his children and grandchildren led him to one conclusion, installing a wind turbine at the local high school.

The school district applied for their first grant in July of 2002 and received $20,000 from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation to hire a consultant to review their site. After careful review and study from local Monmouth College, the site was accepted and they received an additional $480,000 in grant money. That accounted for about half of the needed resources, and the rest was acquired through a bank loan and some money from the school’s operation and maintenance fund.

Altogether Bolin expects total revenue for the project to be about $1.6 million. Superintendent Rick Stoeker said that after the first two months it looked as if the project would save the school district approximately $100,000 each year, or as Bolin puts it “two teachers a year.”

"I'm just a dirt hog farmer. I'm not the smartest guy on the block," Bolin said, but "somebody had to take the bull by the horns."

His great volunteer effort is an example of community organizing driven by a meaningful purpose to pursue a concrete tangible result. Bolin’s success came from including the community, the local governments, and business professionals to find a common solution. Many rural schools across America already have access to renewable energy with either wind or solar power. The rest is dedication.

Three other school wind projects are in development in Illinois at:
- Erie Community Unit School District No.1 , Whiteside, Rock Island and Henry counties , IL, 1.2 MW
- Keeneyville School District , Keeneyville , IL, 66 MW
- UPDATE: University of Illinois , Urbana-Champagne , IL, three 1.5 MW turbines - Cancelled

For more information on wind power in Illinois go to http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/astate_template.asp?stateab=il

Holiday Wishes from PSP Participant

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non addictive, gender neutral, celebration of the Northern hemisphere’s winter solstice holiday, practised within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion or secular practises of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or the choice to not practise secular or religious traditions at all…and a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2009, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contribution to society have helped made our country great (not to imply that our country is necessarily greater than any other), and without regard to the race, creed, colour, age, physical ability, religious faith, veteran status, choice of computer platform or sexual orientation of the wishee.

Use of the term "Holiday" herein is not intended to, nor shall it be considered to be, limited to Judeo-Christian celebrations or observances, nor to such activities of any organized or ad hoc religious community group, individual or belief (or lack thereof). In particular, the word "holiday" is used herein without reference to its etymology.

Note: By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal, and is revocable ab initio at the sole discretion of the wisher at any time, for any reason or for no reason.

This greeting is freely transferable provided that there is no alteration to the original greeting text. Any transfer is to be at the risk of the transferor who, by making such transfer, thereby agrees to hold the wishee harmless from any and all adverse consequences resulting from such transfer.

This greeting implies no promise by the wisher to actually take any action or fail to take any action to implement any of the wishes for the wishee her/himself or others, or responsibility for the consequences which may arise from the implementation or non-implementation of same.

This wish is expected to perform as expected within the customary and usual application of good tiding for a period of approximately one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.

This greeting is void where prohibited by law, custom or policy and is offered irrespective on any card, hard copy or embarrassingly self-indulgent letter summarizing achievements in 2008, however mendacious, which may or may not have been purveyed by myself or any member of my extended family.

In Other News…

The Vatican Goes Solar!

Vatican City has just installed 2,400 photovoltaic solar panels on the 5,000 square meter roof of Nervi Hall where popes hold general audiences when the weather is poor. Since he was elected in 2005, Pope Benedict has drawn attention of the faithful to “the unbalanced use of energy” in the world and has remarked that environmental damage is making “the lives of poor people on earth especially unbearable.”

The solar panels were a donation by the German companies SolarWorld and SMA Solar Technology that will power the Nevri Hall when it is use and feed the Vatican City main power grid on off hours. So when I asked you all to consider donations to your church in the form of weatherization and energy efficiency, I wasn’t exactly thinking about a $1.6 million dollar solar array. But, if you have the means then I’m sure you will find someone willing to accept it….

As much as this is a symbol of environmental change, it also highlights what I find to be the most important part of the new green movement and that it is an investment in lowering our energy costs. Beyond just being good stewards of the earth for those who come after us, it is essential to rebuild our country into a more efficient, cheaper place for all of us to live.

Help Keep your Neighbors Warm this Season

Ameren’s Warm Neighbors program has provided bill payment assistance and home weatherization for qualifying customers since 1982. As part of the Energy Assistance Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, founded by Illinois Power (now Ameren IP), has helped weatherize more than 5,500 homes and provided heating assistance to over 76,000 households.

During this holiday season, Ameren Illinois Utilities is making it even easier to help those in need with the Dollar More program. Beyond just donations, you can purchase gift certificates that can be used toward electricity or natural gas service bills for any Ameren customer.

The winter can be a costly time for organizations that have been struggling with rising costs for a long time. It is easy to think of the public places that open their doors to you and your loved ones like a church, a senior center, a food bank, or a veterans’ organization. Making a donation contributing to their utility costs can help them maintain the quality services they offer to your community.

As a nonprofit that hopes to upgrade our homes and buildings to become energy efficient, we strongly encourage giving to those organizations that help weatherize like Warm Neighbors as it is an investment that will go beyond its initial dollar amount.

To learn more visit the Ameren Web site (www.ameren.com), selecting "My Home," then "Special Programs & Services," then your Ameren Illinois Utility.

Welcome Mumby the Chumby!

Welcome Mumby!

We have an addition to our Power Smart Pricing office. It’s Mumby the Chumby. As described by the makers, Chumby is a “compact consumer Internet device that enables people to receive a constant personalized broadcast of their favorite parts of the Web.” It has partnerships with CBS, MTV Networks, MySpace, The Weather Channel Interactive, AOL’s SHOUTCast, and Scripps Networks to provide a base set of widgets that can be displayed on its screen.

We are excited by the visit because each Chumby can be highly personalized to have the channels, or widgets, of your choice. This even includes ones that can be created by outside developers. Here at CNT Energy we are constantly looking for new and innovative ways to display hourly prices. A widget could be designed a lot like Jay Nick’s google gadget (as seen on the sidebar) that would show the current price and match it with an easily recognizable color scheme (green, yellow, or red).

If you currently own a Chumby, let us know what you think! Also if there are any developers out there who want to take a shot at programming a widget keep us informed with your progress!

To learn more go to http://www.chumby.com/.

What Exactly are "Green Collar" Jobs?

If we want home insulation programmes and green energy schemes to create lots of new jobs for plumbers, roofers and electricians then let's say that, rather than making vague pronouncements about "green collar jobs" and expecting people to know or care what we mean. Jobs that don't sound real, don't look real and don't seem like they will ever pay real money to real people are unlikely to ever capture the public's imagination.
- Darren Johnson, Green Party (UK)

In the past, environmentalists were often considered to be on the opposite side of economists on various issues. This conflict came over the protection of natural areas versus the capacity to build on those parcels to spur business development. As the world has evolved and changed, the connection between these two fields has been altered. At CNT Energy we support stronger energy efficiency standards because of their influence on lowering energy bills for households, businesses, and governments. Such improvements can help create and save jobs while lowering the operating costs for all sectors both public and private.

It costs a certain amount of money to run a home, and with lower monthly energy bills costs can be diverted to more necessary household expenditures like education and health care. As the need for these improvements has been more understood by the public, it is important to now find the proper message to be an advocate for these investments. America is facing a dwindling work force, but it is still filled with the expertise and skill to accomplish the tasks at hand and the men and women who have lost their jobs are eager to get back to work.

Wind farms and solar panels are on the horizon as examples of technology that we will one day be able to harness with a large scale capacity, but today there is a lot of work that can be done on a much smaller scope. Installing higher grade insulation to our homes and schools to lower heating and cooling costs, replacing inefficient windows with ones that are better suited to keep wanted air in and undesired air out, and revamping a building’s water system to lower the amount needed for daily tasks which require a great deal of energy to heat the water are all improvements that can be made today.

So when you have the ear of your local representative, make sure you’re pushing for energy efficiency improvements! Wind farms are popping up across Illinois, and they get a lot of attention (for good reason), but don’t forget about all the small jobs that need to be done. They can lower energy bills for your home, your school district, or local municipality and most importantly get America back to work!

In Other News...

Wal-Mart reached an agreement to purchase 100% of the power generated by a new wind farm in Texas. A collection of 360 Texas stores and distribution centers will use the electricity, providing about 15% of the power for those locations. The current economic environment and the lowering of energy costs in recent months have somewhat slowed the expansion of similar projects throughout the country, but Wal-Mart says they remain 100 % committed to its renewable energy goal.

No matter what your previous feelings are towards one the world's largest retail company, Wal-Mart's decision to go after renewable energy has implications on your household monthly bill. As a participant in an hourly pricing electricity supply program, you are already relative experts as compared to your neighbors (although you should get them to sign up!). Following the prices, shows you that they tend to be substantially lower during holidays and on weekends. This is because many businesses, including commercial retail companies on holidays, are closed. The demand for power throughout the region drops, and the prices reflect that change.

Obviously 360 stores in Texas won't do much to the prices in Illinois, but if other companies begin to find the financial incentive to go after renewable energy then the prices in your home could see a noticeable change.

To read more check out Hank Green's article at EcoGeek.

New feature! In Other News...

Under this header we will post interesting ecofriendly and other energy related articles from around the web. A link will guide you to the original article so you can explore more of the story. You can find these articles in the new label called "In Other News...."

This first post highlights HOK's green gingerbread house. HOK is an international architecture firm and their Toronto office designed this house to promote a fundraiser called the 2008 Green Gingerbread Build.

Don't miss the "chocovoltaics" on the roof!


For more information check out their blog Life at HOK.

UK to Test 3,000 Smart Refrigerators

The UK and a company called RLtec have initiated a pilot program to test 3,000 smart refrigerators that will have adjustable power to match the needs of the grid. The utility could adjust each refrigerator very slightly (like one degree). If everyone's appliance had this capability there would be a significant demand reduction system wide without a noticeable change in your home. The pilot program will be able to test what kind of impact this could have on a larger scale.

The program is very similar to efficiency programs that some utilities have began to use on household air conditioners. In these cases, the utility would install a switch onto your central air conditioner that would allow the utility to cycle your unit on and off over a period of high demand.

The goal of these programs is to reduce the peak demand that puts strain onto the system grid. Lowering usage during these periods has a significant impact on the price of electricity throughout the region over the course of an entire year.

In the case of Power Smart Pricing those times correlate to the highest summer prices. As participants, your actions during high price times have the same effect. While it is easier to turn off or manage your air conditioner and other electrical appliances, it does not make much sense to turn your refrigerator off. Having a system that could control everyone's refrigerator to adjust its demand by small amounts would reduce the system peak load without spoiling your dinner.

In the US, GE is developing a model with this capability to be out sometime in 2009.