Occasionally, I’ll post some tips to more energy efficient living. This is our first round in a series that hopefully will compile most of the information that is out there already and some original thinking.  Much of this comes from aggregated post, blogs, newsletters I’ve gathered over the last weeks. If you have a tip to greener living you’d like to share please send me an email, I’ll post it for the benefit of us all!

Energy Efficient Living Manual – Chapter 1

Lower your thermostat and put on a sweater, a shawl or a hat: you’ll look stylish. You’ll be saving yourself some dollars, and saving the earth some extra carbon. And you skin will thank you for that – cooler air is better than dry overheated one.

When buying a washer, choose a Front Loader, they’re more efficient, most come with short cycle (my favorite) and you can load them up to max and still have clean laundry.

Air-dry your clothes whenever possible. Buy a clothesline; put it up in your bathroom, your veranda, in your backyard.

If you have no choice but to use the dryer, clean the lint trap before loading it. If the air can flow freely your dryer won’t work overtime to compensate, you’ll save up to 30% energy on each load according to the Sierra Club. Occasionally, wash the lint trap mesh to remove cleanup from dryer sheets and other small material.

Fix the flush and any dripping faucets. The waste of water can represent hundreds of gallons a year for a leaking flush or dripping faucet. How much water does a standard toilet uses per flush? If it’s a pre-1980s toilet between 5 to 7 gallons. For a post-1980s, 3.5 gallons per flush, for the newest low-flow models it’s about 1.6 gallons per flush. If you have an old toilet model, you can install a homemade displacement device – which is basically a plastic bottle filled with sand or pebbles placed inside the tank, it reduces the amount of water flushed each time. Ideally you’ll want to replace your old talk with a lowflow tank. Most cities have some form of rebate program for energy and resources saving appliances and equipment.

Change your shower head to a water efficient showerhead. Besides taking shorter showers, you can help reducing your water consumption by changing to a water efficient showerhead. Most will use about 1.6 gallons of water per minute (gpm) as opposed to the standard 2.5 gpm or more. If you are like most Americans, your average shower time is 10 minutes that is 10 Gallons of water a day, 14,600 liters of water not wasted each year, just by changing your shower head.

Unplug your Appliances and Kill That costly Watt: Unplug your appliances (computer, fax, cell phone, TV, radio) or get a multiplug outlet with an ON/OFF switch. Even when not working your appliances are still using energy called “phantom power”, “standby power” or “leaking electricity”. Unplugging cuts off that drainage

You can use a neat device Kill a Watt to determine how much ‘drainage’ you are getting from your appliances. You’ll be surprised by how expensive that “phantom power” really is.

Upgrade your light bulbs to CFLs. We’ve heard that one before, but if you haven’t yet, bite the bullet and just do it. For those who are still working through this. CFL stands for Compact Fluorescent Light bulb. Most CFLs are designed to replace an incandescent lamp and can fit in your existing light fixtures; they give the same amount of light than incandescent, use less power and have a longer rated life. In the United States, a CFL can save over $30 in electricity costs over the lamp’s lifetime compared to an incandescent lamp and save 2000 times its own weight in greenhouse gases.

and… Turn Off the Lights.
… right.

If you are interested in lowering the cost of solar energy for your home by buying in a group, sign up at 1bog.org today.

We at 1 Block Off the Grid are pleased to see movement on renewing the solar investment tax credit. This program has been instrumental in driving and accelerating solar to date. Combining the Federal, state and local solar incentives with the purchasing power of 1 Block Off the Grid makes solar more accessible. Please call your senator to support this bill. Learn more about how 1 Block Off the Grid works.

Senator Baucus, Chair of the Finance Committee, and Senator Reid, Majority Leader, have introduced a Senate version of the storied clean energy investment tax credit bill. It’s S3335, the Jobs, Energy, Families and Disaster Relief Act of 2008.* It contains the extensions to clean energy investment tax credits (ITC) that we’ve been promoting for so long, and it could come up for a vote as early as Tuesday July 29th.

What’s different this time, that might lead to a bill actually making it through both chambers? Well, on this occasion the document is coming from the Senate with funding provisions attached–the very issue that senators have objected to, for over a year now. This means that a lot of bipartisan shaping of the bill has been going on, to either remove provisions that senators disliked or add provisions that would switch their votes to ‘yea’ (such as tax relief for those affected by natural disasters this year). But most importantly to the House, it ensures that the clean energy tax credits can be paid for without adding to the deficit. And it means that:

• commercial and residential solar 30% ITCs will be extended for 8 years
• the residential cap on the ITC will be doubled to $4000
• corporate and individual taxpayers can claim the ITC against the AMT
• investor-owned utilities can claim the ITC directly

It sounds like there’s a good faith effort, this time, to provide sufficient ‘feel-good’ measures all around to put the dreaded filibuster to bed. We sure hope so. But to make sure, can you hit your senators one more time with an e-mail, reminding them how important this bill is to the future of solar power in America?

Following this link: Solar Nation

Enter your ZIP code and press GO to TAKE ACTION!

*For parliamentary junkies, this replaces HR6049, which was the House-originated vehicle. Assuming it passes, the language will be folded back into HR6049 for the president’s signature, because all bills containing revenue-raising measures must originate in the House.

source: Solar Nation

We’ve made tremendous progress since we launched our Solar Community Purchasing initiative last month. In only four weeks we’ve gathered over 100 registrants for SF/Bay Area and launched 1BOG Washington DC. But the exciting news today is about San Francisco/Bay Area.

We’re excited to announce that 1BOG is moving into the next phase. On July 31st – our deadline for the first 1BOG campaign – we’ll be initiating the official “Request for Proposal” process to select solar installation companies for our first Solar Community. We encourage Bay Area residents to sign up before July 31^st so you can benefit from the first round of affordable solar.

It has never been a better time to go Solar!

By Dan Barahona

Last summer I wrote an article about how attractive solar energy generation has become, especially for Californians, thanks to federal rebates and the generous California Solar Initiative. We had solar panels installed on our own home on Central Avenue and haven’t paid an electric bill since!

I’ve been amazed at how efficient the panels are, even in the winter months when we have shorter days. With the long summer days we easily produce more electricity than we need, and we use the extra energy to offset the lower winter production.

The very best time to ‘go solar‘ is right now, during 2008. There are several reasons for this. First, the federal solar rebate is expiring at the end of the year (with luck and sufficient public pressure, it will be renewed by the next administration). Second, the California rebates, now at $1.90 per watt, are steadily declining and will soon drop to $1.50 per watt. Third, San Francisco has just passed a very generous rebate, ranging from $3,000 to $6,000 per installation, for the city’s residents.

If you’ve got an average electric bill of, say, $100 per month, you’ll probably need a 2.5 kilowatt solar system (about 14 solar panels). The price of such a system, including installation, is around $25,000. The federal incentive offers a $2,000 tax rebate. The State of California will kick in about $4,000 more, which you’ll receive right away. And now San Francisco, too, will cover about $4,000 of the cost.

Do the math: your net cost is about $15,000. If you put this on a home equity line, the monthly cost probably amounts to less than you are paying PG&E today.

Still, $15,000 is not a small investment. So we have launched a San Francisco solar challenge to take “One Block Off the Grid.” In other words, we are forming “solar communities” – groups of neighbors who want to go solar – and then negotiating volume discounts with solar panel installers.

By applying the power of the community, we will make solar energy even more attractive and attainable. Please visit our site at www.1BOG.org to learn more.

Sustainable Industries Magazine published a nice piece on 1BOG – check out Becky Brun’s article: Startup breaks barriers to solar.

With a mission to drive wider residential solar adoption, a new Bay Area startup is using bulk purchasing to bring the costs of solar down for individual homeowners.

“We are trying to leverage numbers and drive savings for people,” says Sylvia Ventura, co-founder of 1BOG, or One Block Off the Grid.

The for-profit organization is aiming to help homeowners install 200 kilowatts of solar power, or the equivalent of the electricity used by a typical San Francisco city block, in its first campaign.

It plans to do so by working neighborhood by neighborhood with residents interested in investing in solar electric systems, which would create economies of scale and drive down the costs of installation.

Seventy qualified homeowners signed up with 1BOG in its first month, according to Ventura. The company is gearing up to issue a Request For Proposals to solar electric system installers that can handle numerous orders for solar electric systems within one neighborhood. “Our goal is 60 houses in 30 days,” Ventura says.

Ventura also says 1BOG’s goal is to help cut the price of solar installations in half. 1BOG, which is completely self-funded by Ventura and her husband Dan Barahona, is seeking private funding to help further finance the first 50 customers that install solar electric systems. The company helps educate homeowners by going into neighborhoods and explaining solar incentives and rebates. As such, the company says it helps create camaraderie among neighbors.

“People don’t want to be the first one on their street to install solar, to go through the permitting process, etc.,” she says. “So we identify others who are interested so you don’t feel alone. There is a level of comfort that we bring.”

1BOG, is looking to partner with corporations such as Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) that are helping drive more widespread adoption of renewable energy technology.

Ventura says 1BOG recently launched a second campaign in Washington, D.C., and is working to raise private funding to continue launching in new markets.

Solar supporters,

Thank you again for your tireless advocacy to advance our local solar rebate program into implementation. I’m very pleased to report that the solar rebate program is up and running through our SFPUC. Information on how to capture these rebates can be found on the PUC’s website:

Next, we are working closely with the City of Berkeley and Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval’s Office to implement a low-interest loan program for property owners to install solar. We believe that a local loan program coupled with a rebate program will advance our efforts to expand solar generation in the city. This low-interest loan program allows property owners to borrow funds for the cost of their solar installation through a low-interest rate secured by the City, and then pay this loan back over time through their property taxes.

The week of July 21, Supervisor Sandoval’s ordinance enabling this loan program will be heard at a Board of Supervisors committee. I am working with Supervisor Sandoval’s aide, Nick Kinsey, to ensure passage of this ordinance. I am giving Nick your contact information to update you on the advancement of this ordinance. We would ask solar supporters to indicate their support for the program and ordinance in the coming weeks.

Nick is copied on this email and I will ask him to provide a copy of the legislation and explanation of the approval process through a separate email.

If you have any questions in the meantime, or would like your email removed from this update list, please contact me.

Thank you very much,
Wade

Wade Crowfoot
Director of Climate Protection Initiatives
Office of Mayor Gavin Newsom

The San Francisco Public Utilities commission met last Wednesday with local solar installers to go over the logistics of the subsidy that is now San Francisco Law.

There are a few changes between the original draft and the new ad final version of the solar program that is now written into law. Here is our best attempt at clearly explaining those differences:

(btw, with the varying subsidy levels, some based on geography, income, installer location, it can get damn confusing, but just know that except for the special new “low income” incentive, they are all mutually exclusive. That means you only get one, so it’s either $3000, $4000, $5000, or $6000. Just figure out the highest number you would qualify for and that is the one you get.)

1. The $5000 “Environmental Justice Districts” was extended to low income individuals. It now includes not just zip codes 94107 and 94124, but also anyone who qualifies as “low income” by the Mayor’s office of housing (MOH), or anyone who qualifies for the PG&E CARE program. To qualify at the MOH you must make less than $63,350 for a household of one up to $97,700 for a family of 5. The MOH may also be able to help you with low interest financing for a solar project. The MOH website is here. These loans are generally 3%. Wow. I’ll scan their handout when I get back from out of town.

2. An Additive Low-Income subsidy of extra $5000 – all of the other subsidies are not additive and are mutually exclusive, except this one. If you qualify in the same manner as above (by qualifying as low income from the MOH or through the PG&E care program) you can get an additional $5000 to install solar. That’s pretty huge.

3. The addition of the $6000 workforce development incentive. Personally, I’m not pleased with this addition because it makes the subsidy confusing and makes people think they have to wait when that may not be the case. Don’t be fooled by any marketing from installers concerning who can offer the $6000 and who can’t, because it’s a brand new program and hasn’t even started yet (Starts in July). The positive note about it, though, is that it trumps the “local installer” incentive so that it gives out-of-towner installation companies a chance to compete, and competition is good for the consumer, and solar in general.

So how does it work? Well basically, a solar installer must hire a worker from this San Francisco Workforce Development Program, like one from Citybuild, and then use him or her on the installation on which the subsidy is being applied for. It’s relatively simple, but it’s new and there are kinks to be worked out. Personally, I feel like installers should also be able to hire them to do work other than installing, such as clerical or warehouse work, but it’s a great start.

4. Qualifications for the $4000 “Local Installer” incentive have changed. The wording used to require a “business license with an SF address.” That part has not changed, but now that business address must be your “principal” office.

(To establish a principal place of business in San Francisco, as distinct from an office, a business must demonstrate that the majority of its principals are based in the San Francisco office, and that it pays San Francisco payroll taxes on at least 51% of its total payroll. See here.)

5. The Non-Profit Pilot Program – in addition to the original subsidy, a $1.5M pilot program with very hearty subsidies for non-profits was passed. These include an uncapped $1500/kW incentive for non-profits, and $4500/kW (capped at $30,000) for multi-unit non-profit housing. These are big incentives.