May Energy Star Newsletter

Curtis Park Energy Stars

SCNA/SMUD Energy Partnership

May 2007

"There isn't a single American household above the poverty line that couldn't cut their CO2 at least 25 percent in six months through a straightforward series of fairly simple and terrifically cost-effective measures." -- Charles Komanoff, energy economist (NY Times 4/29/07)

Dear Curtis Park Energy Stars:

Imagine if every household in America cut their energy use by 25%. We'd be half way to solving the global warming dilemma.

Curtis Park is showing SMUD, Sacramento and California that we can reduce energy consumption at home and that we are willing to do our part to reduce CO2 pollution causing climate change. Our Energy Stars numbers are growing (We now have 107 households participating!) and our energy use is dropping!

SMUD Tips For Smart Energy Use

Many of you have already taken major steps in past years to conserve energy through small steps, such as converting to compact florescent bulbs and keeping an eye on your thermostat, and through larger steps, like installing a whole house fan or programmable thermostat.

To better assist us in home energy conservation and to help us reduce a little more, SMUD has prepared a list of the Top 7 No Cost, Low Cost and Major Investments to achieve a reduction in energy use. Prepared especially for Curtis Park Energy Stars, these tips help prioritize the most important steps for the biggest energy reduction. See the SMUD Tips For Smart Energy Use.

Energy Stars Use Less Energy

SMUD has also been tracking electricity use by Curtis Park Energy Stars. The good news is that Energy Star households definitely use less energy. On average, Curtis Park Energy Star households collectively used 7% less electricity so far in 2007 than the rest of Curtis Park and 15% less energy than the typical home in SMUD's service territory in Sacramento County.

Have a look at the full size graph showing Energy Star progress to date.

While this is excellent, we can still do better. Our new goal is for Energy Star households to collectively reduce their energy consumption to 20% below the Sacramento average. Let's call this our own 20% solution. What an admirable accomplishment this would be!

How To Track Your Own Energy Use

Each Energy Star household should do their best to conserve energy based on the recommended SMUD tips (Because our partnership is with SMUD, we are focusing on reducing electric use). You should be able to achieve good reduction by following SMUD's No Cost steps plus converting to compact florescent bulbs.

It's important to check your monthly SMUD bill to check your progress. Each month your bill will provide the following information:

Usage History	Dates	Days	kWh/Day	$/Day
Billing Period	3/15/07 - 4/12/07	29	9.3	$1.09
Last Year	3/16/06 - 4/13/06	29	14.8	$1.62
This Month	2/14/07 - 3/14/07	29	10.1	$1.16

The best gage of your progress is comparing your kWh this month versus the same month last year to get your percentage up or down. In the example shown, there was a 37% reduction in electricity usage.

Reduce Solar Gain on Your Screens

Before During After

Summer is just around the corner and soon sun will be poring in our windows raising the interior temperatures and causing us to head for the AC thermostat. You can keep your house cooler on the natch by installing darker window screens to reduce the sun's ability to penetrate into your house.

Gerre Buehler of Fourth Avenue has recently solar proofed her window screens - all by herself. She shares with us the easy and cost-effective step-by-step process:

"Last summer's heat wave lead me to investigate adding higher efficiency sunscreens to my duplex. All the research indicates you have to stop the sun before it hits the window for the highest benefit. That's done with awnings, big trees, or sunscreens. Since my duplex has a total of 24 windows facing east or west, changing the screening material was the best choice for me." Read Gerre's solar screen how-to.

Speaking of Cool

Last month I shared photos of cleaning my refrigerator coils. It showed the truth about my negligence in keeping the coils dust free. (View the April Energy Stars newsletter.) This month, I share a bit more motivation about why it's important to tend to your refrigerator. See how you can Let Your Refrigerator Help You Save Energy.

How Low Can You Go?

Last summer, I converted about six of my most frequently use lamps to CFL bulbs and have gotten mean about keeping lights off when we're not in a room. Any light not yet converted to CFL bulbs is rarely on in our household anymore and if we do use a traditional bulb, we keep it on only for the time we need it. In addition, I wash clothes only with cold water, only wash full loads in the clothes and dish washers, use a low-flow shower head, and try to use less heat on colder days.

Since September of 2006, my SMUD bills have dropped an average of 30%. During that time, my 1,700 square foot house had four months where we used only 9 kWh of electricity for the month. Last year during the same period of time, our electricity was always in the double digits each month. Please let me know if you have me beat. I welcome the challenge.

Share Your Best Energy Saving Tips

If you have realized a noticeable dip in your energy bill (SMUD in particular) please share your energy reduction strategy with the rest of us. Or if you have an energy saving idea you would like to write about for this newsletter, please feel free to send it to me. You can do so by responding to this e-newsletter and I will compile the tips for next month.

Keep on conserving,

Kathy Les

Curtis Park Energy Stars

P.S. Our pledge form has been modified to include those who already work toward energy conservation at home. Help spread the word and make our ranks grow. Click here to view our new Curtis Park Energy Stars pledge form or direct your neighbors to www.sierra2.org for more information about our energy conservation program.

Sierra Curtis Neighborhood Association

Kathy Les

Curtis Park Energy Stars