Get Energized

New Get Energized incentives, posted on:

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

UPDATE!!

Get a ChicoBag from CEC!

On-line pledge takers in July will receive a FREE ChicoBag reusable shopping bag or CEC reusable lunch bag. Plus, you’ll also be entered in a raffle to win a CEC universal solar charger, perfect for recharging your iPod, iPhone and other personal electronic devices.

If you get five of your friends* to take the Get Energized pledge, you’ll also receive a cool CEC stainless steel water canteen. This incentive ends July 31st, so pledge today!

*Please contact sfeldman@cecmail.org to submit the names of the five friends who you help get to take the pledge.

Current Rebates and Incentives

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Did you make a New Year’s resolution to lower your energy use?

We’ve put together a list of the current available rebates and incentives that can help you meet your stretch goals – and in this economic climate, who couldn’t use a little extra cash?

Transportation
•    Hybrid cars
Toyota and Honda have sold out of federal tax credits, but Ford, Nissan, GM and others qualify. Click HERE to see what makes and models are eligible.

•    Commuter benefits
If you ride transit or vanpool, there is a federal commuter tax benefit of up to $115/month, though not all businesses offer them. Many large businesses offer commuter benefits, or employees could ask their business to offer them. Click HERE for more information.

•    Find a local carpool
The easiest way to double your gas mileage, cut car expenses, and help fight congestion is to rideshare. Find a rideshare partner easily online through www.trafficsolutions.info. Even if you just start with two days a week, you can make a large difference. To sweeten the deal, Traffic Solutions is currently offering $100 raffle prizes for carpoolers who use their Traffic Solutions commute calendar. To can learn more about Carpool for Cash, visit Traffic Solutions' website.

Replacing big appliances
•    Refrigerator rebates
You can receive $50 back from Southern California Edison (SCE) on an ENERGY STAR qualified refrigerator. Learn more on SCE's website.

•    Refrigerator and freezer recycling program
You can receive $50 for your old, working refrigerator or freezer. Better still, SCE will come to your house to pick it up. Learn more on SCE's website.

Other home conservation ideas
You can get a one-time federal income tax credit of up to $500 for installing specific energy-efficient windows, insulation, doors, roofs, and heating and cooling equipments in your home.

•    Exterior windows
10 percent of the total cost, up to $200. Includes skylights and storm windows. Learn more HERE.

•    Insulation, exterior doors, or roofs
10 percent of the cost of the product (but not the installation), up to $500. Includes seals to limit air infiltration, such as caulk, weather stripping, and foam sealants, as well as storm doors. Learn more HERE.

•    Central air conditioner, heat pump, water heater, or bio gas stove
Up to $300 toward the full purchase price, including installation costs. Starting in 2009, geothermal heat pumps are instead eligible for a separate tax credit for 30 percent of the cost up to a maximum credit of $2,000. Learn more HERE.

You can get $50 back on an ENERGY STAR qualified room air conditioner from SCE. Learn more HERE.

SCE offers up to $600 for an energy efficient evaporative cooling system. Click HERE to learn more.

•    Furnace or boiler
Up to $150 towards the full purchase price, and/or $50 for an efficient air-circulating fan in a furnace, including installation cost. Learn more HERE.

•    Whole house fan rebate
You can get $50 back from SCE on a Whole House Fan. Learn more on SCE's website.

•    Pool pump and motor rebates
You can get $200 back for a Two-speed pump or Variable-speed pool pump purchased and installed. Learn more HERE.

•    SCE’s rebates and programs for heating and cooling
Join SCE Summer Discount Plan and save up to $200 annually. Learn more HERE.

•    Lighting rebates
SCE's Operation Light Exchange allows residential customers to exchange halogen torchiere floor lamps and incandescent floor/table/desk lamps/night lights for new Energy Star labeled lamps. Learn more HERE.

Hot water on demand
•    Electric water heater rebates
You can get $30 back from for purchasing an energy efficient electric water heater. Learn more HERE.

Generate your own electricity
•    California State Incentives
Photovoltaic rebates given through the California Solar Initiative are performance-based incentives that reward properly installed and maintained solar systems. The incentives are determined according to the system size.

For PV systems greater than or equal to 50 kilowatts in size, incentives are paid monthly based on the actual energy produced over a period of five years. Residential and Commercial customers will earn $0.34/kWh and Government and Nonprofits will earn $0.32/kWh.

All systems smaller than 50 kilowatts will receive a one-time, up-front r    ebate based on expected system performance, which is calculated from equipment ratings and installation factors, such as geographic location, tilt, orientation and shading. Residential and Commercial customers can earn up to $2.20/watt and Government and Nonprofits can earn up to $2.30/watt.

•    Federal tax credit
The federal Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008 provides incentives for homeowners and businesses to install solar by extending the federal tax credit. Between January 2009 and December 2016, homeowners can receive a 30% tax credit – with no cap - for installing photovoltaic or solar domestic water heating projects. Businesses can also receive a 30% tax credit – with no cap - on photovoltaic, solar thermal, concentrating solar power, and solar hybrid lighting projects.

    >>Download CEC’s Get Started with Solar brochure to learn more.

Lee Heller set stretch-goals

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Here's my theory on Getting Energized: Every little bit helps, and sometimes some big bits too. So here's what I've done, and continue to do, to reduce the size of my footprint both by using less energy, using energy more wisely, and using as much renewable energy as possible.

The Big Bits:

My biggest effort came a few years ago when I had solar panels installed on the roof of my house. What this means, of course, is that I am using clean, completely renewable electricity (minus the environmental costs of manufacturing, transporting and installing the panels, sadly). However, since solar panels only work when there is sunlight to power them, and because I have limited roof space, I have combined them with as frugal a use of energy as I can. I only keep on a light in the room I am occupying; try to unplug appliances when not in use; have installed compact fluorescent bulbs in every room; and use minimal amounts of electricity consuming things like hot water (thus, I do all my laundry in cold water washes).

Another big bit involves trading in my small SUV for a Prius, which I did 2+ years ago. It's been a pinch, since I do animal rescue and sometimes have five or more dogs with me on the way to beach walks -- and it was nerve-wracking during the Tea Fire, wondering how I would fit 16 animals into the car if I had to evacuate. I've been tempted to try to convert the car to a plug-in hybrid, since then my solar panels could charge my car batteries and I could "close the loop." But I'm not quite ready for that expense!

The final big bit I've done is to reduce my airline travel. I have a house in New Zealand that I used to visit twice a year; I've cut that by half, because air travel is such a carbon-producer. It's hard not to be able to go, but worth it for the environmental savings.

The Little Bits:

In addition to doing only cold water laundry, minimizing lights on in rooms, and such, I try to be mindful of the energy I use in every action. So, I hang out my laundry to dry when the weather permits -- which is most of the time here in sunny SB! I turn off the water and wash dishes with a wet brush, only turning the water on for brief rinses -- since water use does involve energy consumption somewhere along the line. I wait to do dishwasher or laundry loads until I'm doing a full load, so as not to waste water or electricity. I have cut back on the frequency of things like sheet washing (although I can't bring myself to take less than one shower a day!). And, hardest of all for those of us in California, I take the bus when I can.

There is more I can do, of course -- and I am always glad to get CEC updates that give me new ideas. . . .

A local 4-year-old energy advocate

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

This story is from Drusilla van Hengel

Last year, when he was 3, we started teaching our son Riley how to be conscious of energy. Now he is a tattling 4 year old, who feels free to tell me when I am wasting energy around the house, "Mama, You're wasting energy." Despite being just a little afraid of the dark, he goes around turning off lights in empty rooms as well as in rooms that are occupied (such as a room already glowing from the computer monitor.)

He is a transportation connoisseur, really a car guy, but he chooses the bicycle so as to save fuel for when we really need it. I love to have conversations with him about transportation choices and enjoy watching him make a conscious decision about travel mode. In his pretend play with cars, he reminds me which ones are fueled by gasoline and which ones are electric. Last night we finally introduced a hybrid into the fleet.

The main thing I think distinguishes our thinking about transportation is that I think about my travel choices in such a way as to ask first if I need to make the trip, or whether it can be combined with another trip, and I choose what mode I am going to use instead of just picking up the car keys (it is so long between driving my car some weeks, that I can't find any keys anyway). Riley has been riding a bike since he was three, and although he doesn't get to ride on the street for 6 more years (yikes) he is already asking us to take the bike to save fuel. He always asks how we are getting to the place we are going, and never assumes we are taking a car.

Our Bakfiets bike serves as our station wagon, so it is my main transport vehicle. Living downtown, I am lucky that I have a variety of modes to choose from. (I also have a 14 year old Jetta, so that I can get to the other places I like to go on occasion).

Most of our energy conservation focuses around transportation, but in the last year or so we have also reduced our energy use by using the following methods:

Put the audio-visual equipment on a powerstrip

Put the printers and computers in our office on a powerstrip

Force ourselves to go back to turn off the lights in rooms that we have left unoccupied (Riley is best at directing this)

We don't leave a light on when we leave the house anymore

Installed an on-demand water heater when we were replacing our plumbing

Six stories to inspire your new year�s eco-resolutions

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

You’ve already taken CEC’s Get Energized pledge to reduce your carbon footprint. Now what? As we enter the new year, CEC encourages you to set audacious resolutions to lower your energy consumption and achieve your green goals.

It won’t always be easy -- and at times it may feel a bit uncomfortable – but you don’t have to go it alone. To provide inspiration, here’s a look back at some of our favorite Get Energized success stories from the past year:

•    The one-car couple: More than two years ago, Santa Barbara couple Amanda Combs and Matt Eastwood became a one-car couple. Now they pollute less, are in better shape, and save about $8,000 a year on car payments, maintenance, gas, tags, and insurance.
Click here for the full story.

•    Replacing big appliances: Sue Sadler-Pare used to have a high electric bill, but since she is careful to turn off lights (and mostly uses compact fluorescent lights), she assumed it was due to the small hot tub in their backyard. However, after learning about energy efficient Energy Star appliances, she and her partner decided to replace their older fridge and oven - and their annual electricity bill dropped more than 33 percent!
Click here for the full story.

•    The 100 mile diet: Inspired by reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma and 100 Mile Diet, Eric Lohela became intrigued by the concept of being truly “local,” and one day he just stopped going to the grocery store for food. That was almost two years ago. Today 90 percent or more of the food Eric buys is grown within 100 miles of his house – and he’s happier than ever.
Click here for the full story.

•    Wise about water: When Margaret Jose bought her home, she decided she didn’t want to be a slave to a lawn. She tore out about 4,000 square feet of turf, installed a drip irrigation system on a timer, put in water-retaining mulch, and collects rainwater to use for her plants and trees.
Click here for the full story.

•    Energy vampire in the basement: After borrowing a Kill A Watt meter from CEC, Kay Rhoney deduced that her older 'extra' refrigerator in the basement --though empty and pretty much forgotten about -- was costing her $200 a year. Shams Barnhart tackled his ‘electronics corner’ and was shocked to see how much electricity was being used by his TV, computer, printer, and cell phone charger – even when they weren’t in use.
Click here for Kay Rhoney’s full story.
Click here for Sham Barnhart’s full story.

•    Hot water on demand: When Laguna Cottages needed to reduce its energy use to stabilize costs, the non-profit senior housing project took advantage of rebates from The Gas Company and installed 36 on-demand water heaters. In addition, Laguna Cottages upgraded its four washing machines and dryers to high efficiency Energy Star appliances and installed Solatubes in the current remodels.
Click here for the full story.

Do you have your own energy conservation success story – why not show off?

Tell us what you’re doing to reduce your carbon footprint and we’ll send you an oversized organic cotton tote bag. Learn more HERE.

Tips for an eco-friendly holiday

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

From Thanksgiving to New Year's, this season is packed with parties and presents. The amount of waste that goes into our landfills increases 25% during this season, and research from the Department of Energy found that if all decorative light strings sold in America this year were ENERGY STAR qualified, we would save over 2 billion kWh per year and reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to nearly 300,000 cars!

It's easier than you think to have a low-impact holiday. Here are a few ways to trim your holiday wasteline.

Gifts

•    Give gifts of service, not stuff – such as gift certificates to a spa, restaurant, or theater.
•    Buy gifts that give twice by giving your friends and family memberships to museums, or making a gift to charity in someone’s name. (Watch for CEC’s Green Santa campaign.)
•    Think 'green' when you shop. Look for recycled and recyclable content, minimal packaging, and certified organic chemical-free contents.

Decorating

•    Decorate with energy efficient and environmentally friendly holiday lights. LED (light emitting diode) lights use approximately 90% less energy than standard incandescent string lights. Learn how you can get a free strand of LEDs holiday lights through the South County Energy Efficiency Partnership.
•    Get a really truly green holiday tree. Go for a native tree in a pot, which you can use year after year.
•    Use decorations bought from charity shops, and avoid buying single-use decorations that will only end up in landfill.

Entertaining

•    When shopping for treats this season, try to buy locally-grown organic food and flowers.
•    Buy beverages in aluminum cans and glass bottles that can be recycled, and create a ”festive” reminder for guests to dispose of these items in a recycling bin.
•    Enhancing the mood of your soiree with beeswax and/or soy candles. Not only do they soften the lighting and add a festive flair, but they also are electricity-free.
•    Encourage your guests to carpool.

How Shams Barnhart tackled his 'electronics corner'

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

CEC loaned a Kill A Watt meter to Shams this summer and asked him to let us know what he discovered by using it. What he discovered is an incredibly simple trick for saving energy at home.

"I try to do my part for the environment, Santa Barbara is just such an amazing place you can't help but to want to do right by it. So I've always done the basics: shop at Farmers (Market), stay out of my car as much as possible, put CFLs in my lighs, use a refillable Sigg for water, and bring my own bag to Trader Joes. I was curious about what a Kill A Watt meter even was when I read about it in (CEC's) email, so I figured I'd borrow one and see what it showed me.

I was pretty shocked to see how much electricity I was using in just one corner of my bedroom. I share a house with friends so I have my own TV and computer set-up in my bedroom, I tested all the electronics in the corner (TV, computer, printer, cell phone charger) and found that they use a lot of energy when they're in use but also a lot of energy when they're just sitting there. I have most of them plugged into a power strip, so now I just unplug the whole power strip when I'm leaving the house and I know they aren't wasting energy all day.

I had the Kill A Watt with me once at a friend's house on the mesa, and he has this huge TV, a 50" plasma or something -- the Kill A Watt showed that it uses 400 watts! My TV used about 110 I think. We googled it, and found that his TV uses as much electricity as if you turned on 35 CFLs at once. Ridiculous!"

Send us your stories about saving energy and you could win a "Smart" Power Strip (making it even easier on you than what Shams has been doing). More information HERE.

Are you living with energy vampires?

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Energy vampires, phantom loads, idle currents, wall warts. They all refer to one thing: the way devices use and waste electricity when they aren’t even on.

Many gadgets, electronic devices and appliances draw power when they’re switched off or not in use, just by being plugged in. This may not seem like a big deal, but think about this – 75 percent of the electricity used to power your small appliances and home electronics is consumed when the appliances are in stand-by mode. This can add up to about 10 percent of your home energy use, equal to about one month of your electricity use each year. Nationally, phantom loads make up 6 percent of our energy consumption.

In fact, a typical home has about 20 vampires, which can add up to approximately $200 in an annual energy bill. The average modern-day television uses more energy in the 20 hours it is turned off (in stand-by mode) than during the four hours it is actually being watched.

Are you ready to put a stake in the energy vampires living in your home?

Here are some tips to save energy and money -- and reduce your carbon footprint -- by eliminating unnecessary power use in your home. More information can be found in our NEW BROCHURE Get Started with easy home conservation.

Find the energy vampires (or phantom loads). Look into how much energy your appliances waste while in standby mode. One way to do this is to use a Kill A Watt meter, which helps you identify what appliances are using the most electricity and which appliances should be replaced. You can borrow a Kill A Watt meter from the CEC

Plug appliances into a “Smart Power Strip. Turn off your most wasteful appliances by plugging them into a power strip. The “Smart” Power Strip has one master plug, which stays on all the time, and five special plugs, which go off when the master device is not in use. This device is great for computer and home entertainment systems, as it senses when your TV or computer has been turned off and automatically cuts power to your peripheral devices (speakers, printer, and monitor, VCR) to eliminate their phantom load.

Only purchase new home electronics with low standby mode energy use. For efficiency recommendations, visit the U.S. Department of Energy website

Set you computer to power save mode and turn off the computer when not in use. Power save mode will make your screen go dark if you have not touched it in a while. Your computer is still ready to use with just a click of the mouse. Also, try using the Mini Power Minder which has the smarts to shut off your computer’s accessories (monitors, printers, speakers, laptop docking stations, external hard drives) when the computer itself is shut down.

How Kay Rhoney slayed her home's energy vampires

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Kay Rhoney submitted her story after borrowing a Kill A Watt monitor from CEC. If you would like to try out a Kill A Watt in your own home, contact CEC at sfeldman@cecmail.org.

"I have lived in my home for over 15 years. I had two refrigerators and one stand up type freezer. Our main refrigerator is only two years old and an energy efficient new type, which I noticed reduced my electric bill when we first started using it.

Lately our electrical bill has been gradually increasing with a substantial hike in the last year, (and more hikes expected from the electrical company?), so I decided to take advantage of CEC's offer to borrow a Kill A Watt monitor and looked at what I used and really needed. I figured out that my older 'extra' refrigerator in the basement, though empty and pretty much forgotten about, was costing me $200 a year! I turned off (and disconnected) the downstairs refrigerator holding soft drinks, and then got inspired to unplug my huge freezer in the garage. (I threw away about 90% of the stuff in it -- what a wake up call!) I got everything I really needed into the main refrigerator/freezer in the kitchen.

My electrical bill did go down noticeably with just those changes. YEA! Now I continue to work on turning off the lights etc. while hoping I can soon buy a new, energy efficient washer/dryer. It has made a difference to me and my bill, but I also hope it makes a positive difference with my carbon footprint for our world."

Save energy by saving water

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

It’s hard to believe that running the tap for five minutes can use as much energy as running a 60-watt light bulb for 14 hours--but it often can (depending on where the water comes from).

Most of us realize that it takes energy to heat water, but we don’t think about the energy needed to pump, treat and transport it. In fact, according to the California Energy Commission, each year 19 percent of all electricity, 32 percent of all natural gas and 80 million gallons of diesel fuel are used statewide for water-related activities.

One of the most effective things we can do to reduce our carbon footprint is to use less water. Currently, Americans each use about 100 gallons of drinking water a day, far exceeding the world average of 22 gallons per person per day. By taking a few simple actions to make your home more water efficient, you can help the planet – and save at least $170 per year.

View our new water-saving pledge items on our resources page, where you can also learn ways that you can save water, energy and money. Another step is to pledge to save water by taking the Family of Santa Barbara County Water Providers 20 Gallon Challenge.