Month: February 2014

Categories
energy

Electric Avenue

After writing my last post about how we are enrolled in DTE’s Green Currents program, I was curious about what sorts of programs other electric companies were offering in support of renewable energy and energy efficiency.  I found a list of the top 10 electric companies in terms of population served and looked into what each of them had to offer.  I thought I’d share the list here in case anyone out there is interested in putting some of their electricity dollars into renewables as well.

electric companies

1. Pacific Gas and Electric – PG&E offers financial help to customers who want to install their own solar panels and allows you to sell extra electricity back to them.

2. Southern California Edison – SCE provides about 19.9% renewable power across the board.  They also provide rebates for evaporators (alternative to air conditioning), and give cash incentives for installing your own electric generating equipment.

3. Florida Power and Light – FPL has been installing smart meters across Florida since 2010.  Once your house has a smart meter you are able to pay a variable rate for your electricity, allowing you to pay less for off peak use.

4. Commonwealth Edison – ComEd is also installing smart meters for their customers.

5. Consolidated Edison – ConEd provides rebates for upgrading to more energy efficient appliances and has a time of use program that provides variable rates depending on when you use electricity.

6. Georgia Power – GP has Green Energy and Premium Green Energy programs similar to DTE’s Green Currents program.  Their customers pay a bit extra each much to get their electricity from biomass and solar power.  At least 50% of the electricity comes from solar.

7. Dominion Resources – I couldn’t find any renewable energy information on Dominion Resources website.  Does anyone have them as their electric company and know if they offer any programs?

8. Public Service Enterprise Group – PSEG provides loans for customers who want to install solar panels.

9. Energy Future Holdings – TXU has a program called Energy Texas Choice 12 which allows customers to lock in a 12 month flat rate and buy 100% wind power.  They also have a program called Distributed Renewable Generation, where they will buy surplus energy from customers that produce their own electricity.

10. Xcel Energy – Xcel’s offerings vary based on state, but most states have a program called Windsource, which allows to pay extra to buy up to 100% wind power.  In Minnesota they also are looking to start a Solar Gardens program, which will allow groups of customers to go in on solar panel arrays together.

Categories
energy

Gas and Electricity in Detroit

Our apartment is in an old building in midtown Detroit. I’m not exactly sure when it was built, but if I had to wager a guess I’d say probably 1920s or before. This guess is based on the fact that my dad’s house was built in the early 1900’s and there are a lot of similarities between our building and his house.

heating an old apartment in Detroit

The building is heated with radiators. I was really excited about living in a building heated by radiators when we first moved in because I tend to feel cold all the time, and radiant heat said to me “This building will be hot all winter long, in fact, you may very wastefully decide to open the windows in the middle of January to bring it back down to a comfortable temperature.” This turned out to be not the case. Our building is chilly all winter long. But, in addition to the radiators, all the units are also equipped with a gas fireplace. This allows us to give our apartment a warm glow on cold winter’s nights.

heating an old apartment in Detroit

Being conscientious about our energy use, we do try to limit our indulgence in the use of the fireplace to nights or weekends when it is quite cold outside.  The chill in our apartment generally isn’t too bad unless the temperature outside drops into the teens or below. We plastic over our windows to keep the drafts at bay. And, since we live on the top floor, we also get to reap the benefits of our lower level neighbors using their fireplaces. When we do use our fireplace we close all the doors to the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom so that we’re only heating up the living room and dining room.

We also try to be pretty conscious of the electricity we’re using as well. Admittedly, Husby is much better about this than I am. But generally, if we’re not using it, it’s off. And in many cases, not just off, but also unplugged. Unplugging our electronics prevents them from drawing phantom loads even while they are off.

Southeast Michigan is supplied its gas and electricity through DTE. DTE offers a program called Green Currents, which Husby and I have opted into. Basically, we pay a little extra per kilowatt-hour to get our energy from renewables rather than from coal and drilled natural gas.*

Currently in Michigan, the Green Currents program gets about 90% of their energy from bio gas, and 10% from wind power. Our energy costs a little bit more than it would if we weren’t a member of the Green Currents program, but spending the extra dollar or so each month helps us tell DTE that it is important to us that they continue to invest in renewable energy solutions, as well as helping to reduce the overall use of fossil fuels in Michigan. It’s one of the ways that Husby and I choose to vote with our dollars.

Bio gas is methane collected from cattle farms and landfills – both naturally occurring as a product of the breaking down of organic material.  When methane is freely released into the atmosphere it is a very potent greenhouse gas, but it is also a very efficient fuel. Methane produces more energy per unit than coal. When it is captured and burned for energy the by-products are carbon dioxide and water. Carbon dioxide is obviously also a greenhouse gas, although it is less potent than methane. So bio gas isn’t a perfect solution to reducing our carbon footprint, but it is a way to use energy from a more potent greenhouse gas and convert it into a less potent greenhouse gas.

*Being a member of the Green Currents program does not necessarily mean that the exact energy that we are using comes from bio gas and wind power, as these energy sources are currently limited by geographical area. It means that for every kw-h of energy that we use, DTE is supplying that much energy in bio gas and wind power to someone who lives in the areas that have access to these sources. It’s a matching program.

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Categories
apartment living living green

Apartment Living

apartment livingI am so excited to own property. I am excited both to indulge my house decorating dreams, and also to invest in a living space that is focused on efficiency and sustainability. I have been excited for this prospect for years, but it hasn’t been in the cards yet. Husby and I are hoping to make an investment in this direction in the next year, but for the past 3 we’ve been happily apartment living. And we’ve been seizing on every opportunity to decrease our negative impact on the earth and increase our positive impact in our small rental space.

While living in a rental unit there are obviously quite a few limitations to our control over our environment. We don’t get a say in how our apartment is heated, or how the water is heated, the quality of the insulation or of our windows, or what materials are used to make improvements or replacements. With limited ability to make an impact in so many of the heavy hitting areas of our living space, we try to so what we can in all of the areas we can control, hoping that the accumulations of our smaller actions will add up.

One of the great features of our apartment we basically lucked into because of what was available at the time. We have fabulous southern and western exposure, and living on the top floor (out of 4) puts us higher than the neighboring buildings. Our windows and high position allow us to take advantage of wonderful sunlight, reducing our reliance on electricity for lighting. In the winter our large windows allow us to take advantage of heat from the sun. This reduces our need to supplement our heat via gas fireplace in an otherwise rather chilly apartment. In the summer our high position  means that we get a pretty decent cross-breeze through open windows, keeping our home a bit cooler than it might otherwise be.

We have been making many other “green” lifestyle choices as renters. We put plastic on our windows in the winter, we unplug unused electronics, we recycle as much as we can, we compost, we support renewable energy, use homemade cleaning solutions, spend our grocery money on organic produce and sustainable, humanely raised meat, buy dry goods in bulk, and reuse often.

I hope to write about many of these topics more in depth in the next few weeks. I think there are never enough resources out there for people interested in improving their impact. Husby and I are always looking for more ways to align our lifestyle with our values and morals, so I’m happy to share what we do with others that feel the same way.