Filed under: Project Updates
The Blue house Green house project has come to a close. It was a great experience in working with the people involved in our project as well as interacting with those who talked with us on our blog. The results that came in allowed us to analyze the impact we made on a local scale. In addition to our two places of residence, five additional homes were very cooperative in working with us.
In home one, our results showed that 2.02 KWh less power per day compared to last year and that the temperature outside was four degrees cooler. Home two went from 17.1 KWh per day last year to 16.38 KWh per day this year. This was a reduction of .72 KWh per day, not a bad drop considering that there is only one person living in the home, and the energy consumption was already low. Home three dropped from 46.08 KWh per day to 42.61 KWh per day. This was a reduction of 4.19 KWh per day. The reason the electricity consumption in the home was high is because there are seven students living in a seven bedroom house. This home showed outstanding results from the energy consumption last year. Especially because the temperature has been cooler this year and one more person was living in the house. With our larger home the major factor in this change must be accredited to the plastic on our windows, and the improvement of our day to day energy saving habits. The fourth home was an apartment in Whitewater. Although it is a small place, there are four students living there, so there is a lot of energy being used. When the idea came up to try and save money on the energy bill, the others quickly rushed to help with the project. Last year was 18.98 KWh per day. It dropped to 17.44 KWh per day this year which is a drop of 1.54 KWh. Home five was the largest drop with a 6.57 KWh drop. It went from 26.91 KWh per day to 20.34 KWh per day. This was possibly due to the remodeling of the kitchen in the summer before the project began. House six was the only home to have an increase in their energy bill. It went from 15.02 KWh per day to 15.39 KWh per day the month prior, a minimal increase of .37 KWh per day. The last house went from 9.66 KWh per day to 6.63 KWh per day, a nice drop of 2.03 KWh per day.
The following is how the participants responded overall to the project. Many comments were provided by the participants and are summarized in the categories in which they were discussed below:
1. Sealing air leaks (an average home leaks 60% of its conditioned air every hour)
a. Windows
Three of the participants noted putting plastic on their windows to decrease heat loss. Most of the participants that chose this method noted that it was an easy step that helped get rid drafts during cold, windy days.
b. Doors
Door leaks were stopped in two homes using draft guards. One home even put plastic over one door to stop a major draft.
Draft Gaurd 
c. Attic
Two homes sealed and insulated their attic doors. One home insulated their entire attic. Another one of the participants used insulation from a downstairs rec. room project to fill in gaps in the attic. By using these leftover materials, this participant reduced the amount of waste that would have been created.
2. Refrigerator
a. Keep space between fridge and wall
Two homes added space between their fridge and the wall behind it.
b. Keep coils clean
Six homes cleaned their coils. We were pleasantly surprised to see that so many people used this method to make their fridge more efficient.
c. Ensure tight, clean seals
Three homes cleaned the seals on their refrigerators to ensure a good seal. One noted that top freezer door tended to crack open when the heavier bottom fridge door slammed shut. In the past, they had tried to place less objects in the door to make it lighter. They had also tried to adjust the hinges of the fridge door so it wouldn’t slam shut. Neither method had worked so freezer burn and energy loss continued. When our report came out that suggested the adjustment of the seals themselves, the participant had the freezer seals changed. The problem was solved and they were happy to have finally stopped wasting their freezer energy.
3. Dish washer
a. Avoid using heat dry, rinse-hold, and pre rinse features
Of the four participants that owned dishwashers, two participants said they would no longer use the heat dry cycle. One of them noted that because their dishwasher is old, there is no option to turn off the heated dry cycle. Since a new dishwasher was not in their budget, they now try to stop the cycle when it reaches the drying phase.
b. Use air dry option or keep the door open to dry dishes
Two homes used the air dry function on the dishwasher while one other had already used this method
c. Fill completely before use
Two homes always filled the dishwasher completely before use. One other home stated that they would try to fill and organize it more before starting the wash cycle.
d. Scrape dishes instead of rinsing them before loading dishwasher
One home scraped the dishes instead of rinsing them.
5. Washer and Dryer
a. Use moisture sensor option on dryer
Two houses used the moisture sensor option on the Dryer.
b. Use high spin on washer to reduce the amount of remaining moisture
All seven houses use the high spin on the washer.
c. Use a solar dryer i.e. Air dry clothes when possible
Two houses air dried their clothes when it was warm enough. A third home said that they always hang things such as bedding and towels on the line clothes line in the summer and in the basement when it is cold out.
d. Use cold water whenever possible(most of the energy goes to heating the water)
All seven participants mentioned that they used cold water whenever it was possible.
6. Lighting
a. Use tube fluorescent lighting
Five homes replaced old lighting fixtures with fluorescent lights. Some complained that the fluorescent lights don’t work well with overhead lighting fixtures such as ceiling fans. Others stated that this was the easiest form of directly saving energy
Incandescent Flourescent
b. Turn off lights when not in use
All seven homes that responded made a sincere effort to turn off as many lights as possible when they were not in use. However, to some of those not as involved with the project that lived in the home (siblings) it was tougher to rid themselves of old habits throughout the project.
7. Additional Suggestions
a. Unplug chargers and other electric devices to reduce the use of phantom energy.
Many homes were enthusiastic about the information put out on phantom energy. One home installed green light switches in their living room in order to cut power to the electronics when they were not in use. Another participant unplugged as many appliances as they could, but complained about the inconvenience of reaching back behind them every time to plug something in. The most common items unplugged by the participants include: cell phone chargers, toothbrush chargers, curling irons, and tools.
b. Open windows during the day and close them at night
All but one of the homes mentioned they opened windows when it was warm enough.
c. If you have a fireplace that is no longer in use seal it and insulate it to prevent conditioned air loss
Of the two homes that had chimneys, one home sealed their chimney.
d. When buying new products for the home, look into Energy Star products
One participant bought an energy star refrigerator. Another participant plans to do so in the near future.
e. Set computer to automatically go into sleep mode and not just turn on screensaver
Four homes set their computer to automatically go into sleep mode.
f. Insulate water heater
Two homes insulated their water heater. One home had already done it.
Overall, the comments that we received went into great detail about the methods that were carried out. While we would have liked to see more definitive results on the energy bills, there was no way that a great impact can be made in one month’s time. However, due to the thorough explanations of those who responded to our project, we can assume that the long term reduction of energy consumption in these homes will be successful.
There were many lessons learned during the course of this project. The first is that every person matters when it comes to saving energy. Many have the mentality that they are insignificant in comparison to the large environmental problems the world faces today. Nonetheless, with each home that participates in a simple energy conservation project such as ours, a difference can be made. A green solution can never be reached without the participation of the masses. Overall, we saved 17.07 KWh per day, or 529.17 KWh per month. In a year’s time, that is over 6350 KWh per year. That is 6.35 tons of CO2 emissions. We believe that this is actually a conservative estimate of a one month’s savings. If we had had a full month just to test the results, the electricity saved would have likely shown to be more significant. Even with only seven of the ten homes participating, a definitive impact was made. All this talk of claims that small steps can add up to make a big difference was realized in our findings. We learned not to underestimate the impact of a small class project such as ours. We can only imagine the impact of our class as a whole.
Thank You for adding comments to our blog as well as providing feedback. We suggest to all of you to keep making good environmental decisions. Any house can be GREEN.
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Way to go guys..hopefully this effort will encourage others to do their part.
Comment by Ben C - Solar Refrigerators 11.26.08 @ 3:32 pmBen C.
http://www.bensdiscountsupply.com/