Finding new sources of oil and developing alternate energy sources such as wind and solar is not the only way to increase American’s energy independence. We can also use less energy by practicing energy conservation.
The average Return on Investment (GOI) on Wall Street is 8% — 0% over the last decade. The average ROI on energy conservation projects is two or three times that. Moreover, the savings on energy conservation investments lasts for the lifetime of the project – and savings even increase as energy prices increase, as they are sure to do.
Typical Projects
Some common projects for homeowners and their payback are as follows. The new “smart meters” will double your electric bill because they will charge you for both usage and peak demand.
10% – Solar panels
15% – Solar hot water heater
10% – Double pane windows
40% – Insulate/seal hvac ducts
30% – Increase attic insulation
40% – Change incandescent to fluorescent lamps
30% – Programmable thermostat
20% – Ceiling fans
20% – Trees for shading
30% – Water heater blanket
Where an ROI of 30% means the investment will be paid for in 3 years from savings in utility bills, and after that the savings continue for the lifetime of the equipment or the building, whichever is less.
Coal
The average efficiency of U.S. electrical plants (excepting the nuclear power plants) is 25%. The newer coal plants are 45% efficient, which means cheaper electricity and less CO2 emissions. With Cap and Trade, these utilities will double their profits – and with “smart meters” their profits will double again.
Coal Exports
The United States exports 74 million tons of coal each year. Several other major coal producers are:
252 million – Australia
203 million – Indonesia
101 million – Russia
74 million – Columbia
62 million – South Africa
Virtually the whole world depends on coal to generate electricity the way we depend on oil for transportation. The major coal exporters should form a cartel similar to OPEC and manage prices to increase safety in coal mines, to promote high-efficiency power plants, and to otherwise promote efficiency to reduce global CO2 emissions.
Action Items
Every building in America should have an “Energy Conservation” sticker like we do with cars for safety inspections. Energy efficiency standards should be increased gradually until every building is as energy efficient as technically possible. Well conceived projects with a good ROI will be a good investment, create good jobs, and dramatically reduce our dependence on heating oil and natural gas.
Resources
You can learn more in my little book BTU Bill’s Guide to Energy Conservation written for homeowners, showing how energy is used in a residence and how you can save in simple, cheap ways. You can also try this Excel spreadsheet Energy Auditor 2.0 that will let you canculat exact savings from various projects. It has a large weather database and was used to do hosital energy audits, so it’s accurate.
