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Aztec Energy Partners: Personal Case Study

For Immediate Release

 November 2008

Aztec Employee takes Energy Savings to Heart

GEORGIA – Robert Eidson is the Director of Retail Sales for Aztec Energy Partners and one of the original Founding Partners. When he purchased a new home a few years ago, he decided to get serious about saving energy and implement the same type of actions that he has for his customers. Below is Robert’s write-up and provides an example of the kind of passion for saving energy that you can get when you choose Aztec Energy Partners.

Personal Case Study:  85% Reduction

by Robert Eidson

My family and I were pleased when we purchased our 1972 house in the North Georgia Mountains in 2004. The house had everything - Great views of the mountains, wildlife galore, large yard for the pets and spacious interior for the family.  Everything seemed great until we received our first electric bill for $628 with a follow up winter gas bill for $2,100 (this was when gas was still relatively cheap). The house had everything alright.  It was just that everything was 30 years old.

Below are the steps we implemented to help reduce our energy consumption and carbon footprint by almost 85% and our monthly bills by 75% (numbers don’t match because rising energy costs from 2004 till 2008).

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Insulation: One of the most cost-effective ways to make your home more energy efficient and comfortable is to add insulation. 

Blew in additional attic insulation

Replaced R-11 insulation (that settled anywhere from 12-24” down walls) with R-15 blow in synthetic cotton

Seal Air Leaks: Keep the conditioned air in and the outside air out.

Replacing worn or missing weather stripping around doors (including garage doors) and windows

Caulk or spray foam penetrations (dryer vents, electric, cables, etc.)

Windows:

Replaced all single pane windows with dual pane with radon gas (reflects radiant heat).

Tinted windows on East and West sides of house (additional radiant heat barrier)

Setback Thermostats:

Replaced old dial thermostats with new and more accurate 7 day thermostat with vacation mode setting. Offset temperatures during different times of the day and days of the week.

By adjusting room temperatures by five degrees for an eight to twelve hour period, you can save five percent on your heating/cooling bill.

Air Conditioning:

Replaced old AC unit with new SEER 14 unit (including blower section inside house)

Re-insulated all accessible duct work

Change filter on regular basis (recommend pleated filters only versus the fiberglass)

Have system cleaned and inspected twice a year (dirty system makes unit work harder)

Heating:

Replaced 65% furnace with 90% furnace (but only runs 5% of heating season)

Installed Breckwell pellet stoves. Outputs 40,000 BTU’s, uses reclaimed wood shaving from factories and mills, and only costs $350 during four month heating season to operate – 84% reduction. Works in masonry and pre-fabricated fireplaces or as stand alone units.

Lighting:

Replaced all 60W incandescent bulbs with 13W CFL’s (compact fluorescents)- 78% reduction

Replaced all 65W flood lights with 14W CFL floods for recessed lighting – 78% reduction

Installed motion sensors in restrooms(lights and fan), garages and laundry room

Installed timer switches on all closets, work shop, food pantry and storage room

Replaced 13W CFL night lights with 1W LED lights

Electric Water Heater: Usually accounts for 13% of normal utility bill

Installed timer to regulate cycles on time of day schedule (06:00-09:00AM and 07:00-10:00PM). Went from 22 hrs runtime to less than 5 hrs – 77% reduction

Insulated hot water pipes to reduce heat loss before reaching destination

Note: If this was new construction versus a retrofit application, I would have installed the solar water heaters and then used the hot water for radiant heating as well as hot potable water.

Water:

Installed aerators at the faucets. These reduce hot and cold water flow while maintaining the original water pressure.

Replaced two smaller in line whole house water filters with one larger whole house water filter to reduce back pressure

Installed 1.6 gallon American Standard toilets

Appliances:

It is a good idea to look for and compare energy star washers, dryers, stoves,
refrigerators, etc.

After doing much research and calculating the return for the investment (including life cycle costs), we decided to install the BOSCH line of appliances. Buyers beware – BOSCH is no different than most manufacturers, they have many quality levels of products, so compare before you buy. A few that we have been extremely pleased with:

• Front load washer – Uses less water, increased drum size (less loads), high RPM spin (decreases dry time), many are up to 102% more efficient than energy star rating (note: low suds detergents required)

• Side by side refrigerator/freezer – 107% more efficient than Energy Star standard ratings and maintains excellent product temperatures.

• Dishwasher – 20% more efficient, very quiet (so quiet they put a LED so you know it’s on), self cleaning, very good product
  

Please note that I am a licensed electrician that works in the energy industry, so I was lucky enough to be able to complete some of these projects without outside assistance. Many of these will require a professional installer to complete. Basic materials were purchased from local DIY stores, specialty items were purchased from the following:

a.    Hot water heater timer – Ace Hardware, Intermatic model #ET104CP

b.    Lighting motion sensor – Grainger, Watt Stopper model #WS-200

c.    Lighting timer – Grainger, Watt Stopper model#TS-400

d.    CFL’s  – we only use Sylvania (had better long term results)

e.    Whole house water filter – Home Depot, GE model #GXWH35F

f.     Breckwell Pellet stove – Model #P2000I, Local Dealer Only - http://www.breckwell.com/

g.    BOSCH appliances –

• Refrigerator Model# B20C580SNS /01

• Dishwasher Model# SHX45M05UC /48

•  Washer Model# WFMC3301UC /03

Additional Recommendations:

a.    Contact your local utility company for additional savings opportunities. Many offer rebates and/or incentives for various programs to help offset the initial cost of the upgrades.

b.    Identify and neutralize the electrical vampires – those devices that stay turned ON or plugged in idle mode but still use power 24/7 (i.e. printers, recharging stations, VCR’s, TV’s, Stereos, etc.) Recommend placing multiples on surge strip so one button turns off multiple devices.

c.    Schedule an energy audit, preferably including a Thermal Image scan. Many utility companies offer this as a free service to residential customers.

d.    Investigate solar cells with your utility – there are some phenomenal rebates available in certain areas.

e.    Energy conservation should be a continuous improvement project