Optimize Energy – Systems

When designing your home, be sure to get the best bang for your buck by selecting heating, cooling, plumbing, and power systems that maximize the efficiency of your home’s energy use.

In this article we’ll review various types of heating and cooling options, plumbing and electrical systems, and appliances and home electronics for your new house.

Energy Sources

Keeping your house comfortable in winter and cool in summer while striving to optimize energy use requires some research. Below we’ll provide some guidance, discussing the various energy sources available, some from utilities, and a few that can be used for your on-site power generation.

Electricity

Electricity is generated rather than obtained from nature. A variety of power sources can be used to generate electricity, from burning of fossil fuels, water generation, wind generation, solar generation, and nuclear generation.

Once generated, electricity is the most versatile of energy sources. It’s used for home heating and domestic water heating, operating furnaces and boilers, lighting the home and yard, powering equipment and appliances, and running an amazing variety of home electronics.

Electric heating involves electric resistance. This involves an electrical system where the heat source is made of a material that slows down the electrical current, causing the material to heat up, thereby releasing heat. There is no combustion or associated ventilation required for this process. It’s used for home heating, water heating, cooking, and drying clothes.

Electricity has the following pro’s and con’s:

Pros:

• Electricity can be used to power an amazing variety of equipment and appliances, and is the primary source for day-to-day uses via electrical outlets and lighting.
• Clean electricity generation sources are available in some parts of the country. These can include generation from hydroelectric systems, wind generation, and large-scale solar generation.
• On-site electrical generation can cut your power costs to practically nothing.
• Electric resistant home heating has a lower purchase price compared to a comparable gas or oil heating systems. This is due to the fewer components needed for the installation.
• Electric resistance home heating does not require ventilation. This allows for greater flexibility in placing the furnace, and makes installation quicker and easier compared with a comparable gas unit.
• Electrical resistant home heating is easy to maintain due to its simplicity compared to gas and oil units.
• Electrical resistance home heating has a very high output efficiency compared with gas and oil units.

Cons:

• Electricity service is primarily provided by local utility services. This means you have limited to no alternatives for your electrical service.
• Utility-generated electricity is predominately created from the burning of fossil fuel or coal, or created through nuclear processes.
• The extraction of fossil fuels is very disruptive to local vegetation and natural habitats, including marine habitats for offshore oil drilling.
• The refining of oil into usable products is energy intensive and releases pollutants.
• Oil and natural gas for electrical generation requires pipelines, which are disruptive to local vegetation and habitats.
• Coal must be delivered by rail, which is an expensive process of delivery that requires a significant amount of energy.
• The burning of oil, natural gas, and coal releases pollution into the air.
• Electricity must be transported and controlled through a vast network of large and small transmission lines and power substations. This process wastes a lot of the generated power due to cable resistance and heat generated in transformers.
• Electricity can be dangerous, and even deadly, when one’s exposed to an electric current.
• Electric resistance heating takes a bit longer to warm to its maximum temperature when compared with gas or oil heating. This will cause a bit of lag time between the unit’s start-up and the delivery of air warmed to the necessary temperature.
• Utility-generated electricity is typically more expensive than natural gas or oil, so you’ll have a higher lifetime cost for home heating even when taking into consideration the longer lifetime of an electric furnace.
• Electricity used for heating, cooking, and clothes drying is generally more expensive than fuel-based options.
• Electrical resistance home heating is not an effective heating option in all regions. It’s best in warmer climates where heating loads aren’t as heavy as in areas with colder winters.

Gas

Natural gas has become very popular as an energy source over the past 50 years or so. It burns cleanly compared to other fossil fuels, though venting to the exterior is still needed for the combustion gases created in the heating process. Gas can be used for home heating and cooling, domestic water heating, cooking, and drying clothes.

Natural gas has the following pro’s and con’s:

Pros:

• Gas is typically cheaper than electricity, so in colder climates when the heat runs more consistently through the season gas will be less expensive to operate compared to electric heat.
• Gas can heat quickly since it’s maximum heat is generated as soon as it starts. This is a great benefit in cold winter climates.
• Gas can be used for other home uses such as air conditioning, cooking, and drying clothes.
• Gas is a somewhat clean fossil fuel when compared with coal or petroleum products, but it’s not perfect.

Cons:

• Gas must be extracted from underground. This process releases pollutants, requires land clearing for extraction and laying of pipelines, disturbing vegetation and wildlife.
• The extraction of gas can lead to pollution of ground water sources.
• Gas is a non-renewable fossil fuel that you burn. This burning releases carbon monoxide into the atmosphere, as well as carbon dioxide and methane during its extraction and processing.
• Gas furnaces cost more to purchase compared to comparable electric furnaces, and installation is more complicated due to the venting requirements.
• Gas furnaces have a shorter lifespan, around 10 to 20 years, due to the many components that make up the system. That’s about half that of comparable electric furnaces.
• Gas furnaces require more yearly maintenance in order to maintain safe and efficient operation.
• Gas furnaces use combustible fuel. The byproduct gases must be ventilated to the exterior.
• A gas leak in a home can lead to a deadly explosion if an ignition source ignites the gas while its built up in the house.
• An improperly-operating gas heating unit or other appliance in a home can release carbon monoxide, which is a colorless, odorless, poisonous, deadly gas.

Oil

Oil has been a common energy source on the east coast of the U.S. for generations. This provided a convenient and affordable source of home heating through the early and mid-20th century when gas pipelines and distribution systems weren’t readily available.

Heating homes with oil has hung around even as natural gas overtook the market. Over 10 million homes in the U.S. use heating oil, with 300,000 of those having been built in the last decade. There are still oil heating systems available for new homes.

Oil heating has the following pro’s and con’s:

Pros:

• Oil is an efficient heating source with some heating systems having ratings up to 95% efficiency.
• Depending on market conditions, oil can be less expensive than electricity.
• Oil heating systems are long-lasting compared to natural gas. 30 years is the average lifespan for the heating unit.
• Oil burns 300 degrees hotter than natural gas, making the system more powerful and efficient compared with the best natural gas or electric heating systems. Oil has 125,000 BTUs of energy per gallon, while natural gas has 20,160 BTUs per pound and propane has 84,512 BTUs per gallon.
• Oil does not require a utility company for service. Electricity and natural gas are delivered by utility services, which tie you into one source for either. Oil is delivered by truck, so there are multiple services you can contract with.
• Oil can be used in remote areas that don’t have easy access to natural gas due its delivery by truck.
• Oil does not burn in a liquid state. Any gases that might be released are not explosive or deadly as with natural gas.
• Oil boilers can be used for domestic water heating, with quicker heating times that other sources.

Cons:

• Oil must be extracted from the earth. This process pollutes the air, disturbs vegetation and wildlife, and harms marine ecosystems when offshore drilling occurs.
• Hydraulic fracturing, know as fracking, is used to extract oil trapped in shale formations. This process uses large amounts of water and chemicals which can pollute underground water resources, and produces large amounts of contaminated wastewater which must be treated before disposal or reuse.
• The laying of oil pipelines disturb vegetation and natural habitats.
• Oil must be refined into usable products, including heating oil. This process leads to the release of pollutants.
• Heating oil must be delivered by truck, which also releases pollutants.
• Oil heating systems are more expensive to install and maintain compared with electric systems, due to the number of components involved.
• A storage tank is required for the oil.
• Oil is not delivered by a utility, so contracts must be arranged for scheduled deliveries.
• Oil storage tanks only last upwards of 10 years.
• Oil is typically more expensive than natural gas.
• Ventilation of the heating unit is required.
• These systems will require thorough and consistent maintenance.
• It’s a fossil fuel. Though today’s home heating systems are efficient and effective in controlling pollutants, burning oil still releases gases into the atmosphere.

Propane

Propane is one of several liquefied petroleum gases created as a byproduct of refining petroleum. Propane is delivered to homes in liquefied form and pumped into a storage tank. This is then used in gas form. Propane can be used for the same purposes as natural gas.

Propane has similar pros and cons as natural gas, along with issues pertaining to oil refining for its extraction from petroleum. It’s the cleanest-burning of the fossil fuels. Though it’s non-toxic, it is explosive. It has the highest unit of energy per cost than other sources, and a shorter installation cost payback period.

Nuclear Generation

Nuclear generation is often referred to as a clean energy source since condensate steam is the primary byproduct released into the atmosphere. It is also one of the more efficient power generation methods at around 55% efficiency (output of energy compared with the input of energy needed to generate power).

Nuclear power uses the fission process (breaking apart) of the uranium nucleus. This process creates heat used to create steam. This steam is used to generate electricity using steam turbines.

The biggest issues with nuclear generation are the mining of the uranium, radiation that’s released during the fission process, and the spent fuel rods which remain radioactive and must be stored for centuries before the radiation subsides.

Though there have been several headline-generating problems over the past several decades, nuclear plants overall are actually one of the safer methods of power generation.

Renewable Generation

Using clean natural processes for power generation, those that are freely available from nature without the need for extraction, are becoming ever more popular, efficient, and cost effective. These processes are leading the way to energy independence from fossil fuels. Let’s review:

Solar

Solar generation uses the suns energy to produce electricity and to provide heating and water heating in homes.

Solar generation typically involves the use of specially-designed panels that absorb the sun’s energy, converting it to electricity or using it for heating purposes.

Solar power is rather low in efficiency, turning only about a quarter of the sun’s energy to electricity, but given the sun’s power is endless, that’s not much of an issue.

Additionally, the sun’s energy is not consistent, given the day/night cycle and the impact of weather. Battery storage is necessary.

Wind

Wind power is collected by windmills or wind turbines, which turn to generate electricity. This is a fairly straightforward process. However, only about 35% of the wind’s energy is converted to electricity.

Wind is also inconsistent, so battery storage is needed.

Hydro Power

Hydro power uses the strong flow of water to move turbines that then generate electricity. Often considered one of the greenest of generation methods, it has the highest power generation efficiency around 85% to 95%.

However, most hydro power is created from the construction of large and complex dams or diversion systems, along with complicated methods to get the water to the generators. This is a massively expensive process that involves a lot of energy to construct. Concrete is a major component, and the creation of concrete is a significant source of carbon dioxide.

The damming of rivers can also lead to environmental issues for local wildlife along with downstream issues with water supply to the streams and rivers.

Newer methods of hydro generation uses the natural flow of rivers and tidal flows to generate power through the movement of underwater turbines. This is a less intensive method of water power generation, but can have its own environmental issues.

Geothermal

Large-scale geothermal power generation uses reservoirs of hot water found deep in the earth. Steam from that water is used to generate electricity.

On a smaller scale, residential geothermal systems are used for the heating or cooling of fluid circulating through underground tubes. This fluid is then used through the heat exchange process to provide heating and cooling of heat pump systems and/or to assist in heating domestic water.

Home Heating

There are many home heating and cooling systems options. Let’s take a look at them.

Central Heating Options

Centralized heating can involve different approaches to generating and distributing heat throughout the house.

Furnace

The furnace is one of the most commonly used methods of heating homes, especially since the mid-twentieth century. A furnace involves the direct heating of air which is then circulated by an in-unit fan throughout the house by a system of air distribution ducts and a central return-air duct.

The heat needed in any particular room is provided by one or more air registers, from which air is blown outward from the duct. The registers are sized to deliver an amount of air at a given temperature needed to heat the space.

Furnaces can have humidifiers added so that dry winter air can be modified to a more comfortable humidity level.

Furnaces are controlled by a thermostat placed in a central part of the house near the return air duct. The thermostat is set at a threshold temperature. When air drops below the temperature, the furnace is activated. This leads to varying temperatures and a continuous series of on-and-off cycles. The movement of air for heating can be an odd sensation if you’re not used to it.

Furnaces can heat the air in a variety of ways:

• Electric resistance heating: This type of furnace has an electric resistance coil through which air flows when blown by a fan.
• Natural gas and propane heating: This type of unit has a separate combustion chamber in which burners are activated. The heated air in the chamber is circulated through a heat exchanger. This exchanger is what heats the air in the furnace. Combustion gas from the chamber must be ventilated to the outside.
• Heat pump system: Heat pumps use a heat exchange process similar to that used for air conditioning (cooling). A circulating fluid travels through a pipe loop from the furnace unit to what’s called a temperature sink, where the medium “grabs” heat and circulates it to the furnace unit to heat the air. These sinks can be air, water, or the ground. A variety of methods can be used.

Hot water boiler

A hot water boiler uses electricity, gas, or oil to generate hot water. The water in the boiler is heated and then circulated to baseboard heaters in each room of the house. The heat from the water is exchanged to metal plates which then radiate heat into the room. The cooled water then returns to the boiler to be reheated.

The boiler heating cycle is typically controlled by a thermostat placed in a central part of the house. When the temperature falls below a threshold level, the heating cycle is activated. Though water might not be circulating during the interim off cycle, the warm plates will continue to radiate heat for a while, providing a more consistent temperature throughout the day compared with furnaces.

Steam boiler

A steam boiler uses electricity, gas, or oil to generate hot water to such a temperature that the water converts to steam. The steam is pressurized, and then circulated to metal radiators in each room of the house. The steam travels through the radiators, exchanging the heat to the metal, which then radiates heat into the room. The cooled vapor condenses back to water which is then circulated back to the boiler for reheating.

The boiler is controlled by a thermostat placed in a central part of the house. When the temperature falls below a threshold level, the boiler is activated. Though steam might not be circulating during the interim off cycle, the warm metal of the radiator unit will continue to radiate heat, providing a more consistent temperature throughout the day compared with furnaces.

Radiant Floor Heating

Radiant floor heating provides heat from the floor. There are three primary means for this:

Circulating Fluid (Hydronic)

This system uses a boiler to heat a liquid which is then circulated through a series of tubes set within a floor slab. The heated liquid heats the slab, which then radiates heat into the room. It’s the most common radiant flooring system used, and the one that’s most used to heat a whole house.

The tubes can be laid such that the heat generated can match the needs of a room, and can also be laid to provide more heat at windows to counteract cold-air-slip that occurs off of windows.

The home can be zoned through the use of valves and pumps to address differing heating needs.

Electric

Electric radiant flooring places electric resistance cables within a floor slab. When the system is activated the cables heat up, transferring the heat to the slab, which then heats up and radiates warmth into the room.

Operating electric radiant flooring is expensive, so it’s usually limited to smaller rooms such as bathrooms.

Air-heated

This is the least efficient and least effective radiant floor system since air cannot hold large amounts of heat over time. This system heats air through a furnace, which is then circulated through a series of metal pipes set in the floor slab.

Active Solar

Active solar generation uses the sun’s energy in two ways:

• To generate electricity directly in the panel.
• to heat water for domestic hot water and for heating and cooling the house.

Electrical power generation is probably the best known application. This requires the placement of panels either on a roof or at ground level, oriented toward the sun to maximize solar energy collection. This energy is then converted to electricity which is fed into the home. The amount of power generated is determined by the number of panels used.

Battery storage is needed since sunlight is inconsistent.

Active solar can also use solar panels to heat a liquid that’s then circulated either directly into the house as hot water or through a heat exchanger to transfer the heat to a thermal liquid, typically water, that’s stored in a central tank. The thermal liquid is then used to circulate through a furnace system for heating and cooling and/or as hot water for domestic use.

Passive Solar

Passive solar heating uses the sun’s direct radiant energy to heat a house. All floors and walls that catch direct sunlight are made with materials that can absorb heat and then radiate it back out into the room. This has become a more common goal for whole-house heating as part of the “green” movement of home design.

Geothermal

Geothermal heating uses a fluid that’s circulated through tubes that are placed in deep vertical boreholes or in long trenches buried deep enough to reach soil that remains warmer than the coldest air of the winter season and cooler than the warmest air of the summer season.

This fluid is circulated through a heat pump furnace system to provide or to augment the heating and cooling of air for the house.

Local Heating Units

Local heating units are located in individual rooms, but aren’t tied together. Such units can include portable heaters, gas-fired space heaters, wood-burning and pellet-burning (biomass) stoves, and fireplaces. These systems allow for heating of only the rooms occupied at a given time.

Be aware that most fireplaces are not effective for heating rooms due to the air needed for combustion. This air is drawn from inside the house, into the fireplace, and then exhausted through the chimney, losing more energy than gained. This process also pulls in colder air due to the negative pressure of the air being drawn into the fireplace.

There are some fireplaces that are designed to draw air into the fireplace directly from the exterior. These fireplaces require a glass enclosure at the fireplace hearth to minimize air being drawn from inside the house. The glass enclosure has a panel that can be opened to put wood into the fireplace.

Home Cooling

Cooling a house in warmer months can provide comfort in regions with hot summers. Let’s take a look at some options for this.

Forced-air Cooling Systems

Ventilation cooling uses a similar process as a furnace. A circulating fluid is used to cool air, which is then circulated by a fan into the house using air ducts. This involves two primary pieces of equipment: an interior fan unit to distribute chilled air and an exterior compressor to exhaust heat from the fluid so that it can be used again for cooling.

This system is often combined with a furnace unit so that it can provide both heating and cooling without having to use separate systems. In a heat pump furnace the circulating fluid is used for both heating and cooling.

Unit Air Conditioner

A unit air conditioner is a single-space (room) air conditioner rather than a whole-house air conditioner. This unit is typically placed beneath a window or in a wall. However, some units are “portable” such that they can be placed in a window for the cooling season and then removed and stored during the heating season.

These units are a single-package system that essentially combine the fan unit and compressor unit used for the forced-air cooling system.

This type of cooling allows for the conditioning of only occupied spaces. However, they use a lot of electricity.

Evaporative Cooling

The evaporative cooler, sometimes called a “swamp cooler”, uses a box with evaporative pads on two or more sides. Water is circulated through the pads while a fan pulls warm outside air in through the pads, cooling the air. The fan then blows the cool air into the house.

These units can be used to cool a whole house through a ducted system, or can be a single-room unit placed in a window.

This type of cooling is typically used in more arid environments. My grandparents used this type of unit in West Texas, and a single unit in the window was quite effective to cool their small house. There was nothing better on a hot summer day than going into the house and standing in front of that fan!

Radiant Cooling

Radiant cooling uses a chilled fluid that circulates from a chiller to metal panels on walls or ceilings. These panels stay significantly cooler than warm air and thereby pulls heat out of the room through a heat exchange process.

This system is not commonly used for residential cooling.

Geo-thermal Cooling

Geothermal cooling is essentially the same system that’s used for geothermal heating. It uses the ground, which in summer is cooler than air temperature, to cool a circulating fluid that can then be used in a fan unit to distribute cool air through the house or as part of heat-pump air conditioning.

Air-movement (Fan) Cooling

Moving air within a room or pulling air through a house using fans can be an effective means of feeling cooler. Let’s look as some options.

Ceiling Fans

Most all of us are familiar with ceiling fans. The fan is ceiling-mounted, and the blades are tilted such that air can blow down, cooling the occupants of the room. This is an effective means of making people feel cooler, often allowing an air conditioning thermostat to be set several degrees higher than you would otherwise.

Many fans have a reverse switch for use in cooler months. This rotates the blades in the opposite direction, pulling cooler air up to displace and circulate the warmer air at the ceiling back down into the room by way of a forced convection loop.

Window fans

Window fans are units placed within the opening of an open window in warmer months. Such fans can cool a house if the fan blows outward with windows on the opposite side of the house open to allow air to be pulled through the house.

This is an “old-style” means of cooling, and is not attractive. However, it can be effective.

Whole-house Fan

A whole-house fan is a large fan placed just above the ceiling in the center of the house. When activated the fan draws air in from open windows and pushes air into a ventilated attic space. This displaces warm air near the ceiling and pulls air into and through the house. It also keeps the attic space cooler.

The fan unit includes louvers that open during operation but close when not in use. This is an ugly method to accomplish air-movement cooling.

Passive Cooling

Passive cooling is the age-old method of cooling houses. There are two methods, both of which can be combined.

Cross ventilation

Cross ventilation essentially means opening windows on opposite sides of the house. This allows air to be pulled in on one side and expelled on the opposite side, cooling the space.

Stack ventilation

Stack ventilation takes advantage of the fact that warm air rises. A house with a central skylight that can open or a cupola with windows that open can utilize the stack effect. By opening up at the top of the house and opening windows on the floor(s) below, the warm air will be pulled up and out of the house while drawing in lower and cooler outside air.

Electrical Systems

Power for our homes primarily involves electricity. Without electricity its hard to run most anything in the house, from lights to appliances to TV’s and computers. Yes, we could go back to the pre-electricity days and live with kerosene lamps and wood stoves, but who wants to do that?

Below we’ll discuss various options to optimize energy use in your home whether you’ll be powering from the grid or generating your own electricity.

Power Use Reduction

The easiest means of power efficiency is to reduce your power use. For more traditional types of houses this should involve:

• Designing your house’s enclosure to be extremely efficient using super-insulation and advanced enclosure design.
• Using ultra-high performance windows and doors.
• Using properly-oriented widows to capture sunlight to augment winter heating in your daytime living spaces. The design of the house should shade these windows in warmer seasons.
• Selecting interior finishes to allow for radiant heating from sunlight.
• Selecting high-performance mechanical systems for heating and cooling
• Selecting energy-efficient appliances, TV’s, computers, and other home electronics.
• Selecting high-efficiency electrical lighting, choosing fixtures that use LED or other low-energy lamps.
• Using solar-generated exterior lighting.

Methods for Clean Energy Purchase

Optimizing energy is a goal not only for your home, but also for the nation and global community as a whole. Assisting with this effort is another way to optimize your energy use.

If you’ll be getting power from your utility, look into methods of purchasing clean energy to help with the overall change to clean energy generation methods. These can include:

• Green pricing: Some utilities offer customers a method to pay a small premium in order to obtain electricity generated from clean and renewable energy sources. This premium covers the utility’s costs that are incurred to add renewable energy to its power generation capacity.
• Competitive Electricity Markets: Some states and regions allow you to choose who generates electricity for you. Since all power generators supply to the same electrical grid system, this allows customers to directly support producers that the customer wants. This typically involves a bit higher rate than the local utility but can help change the overall energy production methods in the nation.
• Renewable Energy Credits (REC’s): These credits, also known as green certificates, represent a given amount of power generated by a clean energy producer. Their certificates are sold to companies and individuals who want to help increase the amount of clean power in our utility network. This purchase helps the producer offset any above-market costs to generate power.

Each state will have their own variations and requirements for these options, so be sure to do your research.

Solar Power Generation

Solar power generation is becoming an ever-more cost effective means of producing your own electrical power. Solar panels have become more efficient which makes their purchase costs more reasonable from a payback point of view.

Panels are now easy to integrate into your roof design, giving you an even better opportunity to look into this option.

Wind Power Generation

Wind is another one of those “free” resources provided by nature. Though we often picture those huge wind generators you see across the countryside, there are small wind turbines that can be used for individual residences.

Deciding whether to opt for wind power generation involves reviewing a lot of factors, including:

• The amount of average wind on your site and the variations in that amount by season. A site typically needs to have an annual average wind speed of 10 miles per hour.
• The terrain of your site and the surrounding area that might impact power generation.
• Any zoning limitations or neighborhood development covenant (HOA) restrictions.
• Any potential payback for purchasing and installing a wind generator, taking into account incentives for installation that might be available.
• The potential savings from using a generator compared with the monthly utility costs in your area.
• The utility’s requirements for connecting to their grid for any excess power generation created by you.
• If your home is to be built in a remote location that doesn’t have electric utility service and any costs that would be incurred to extend service to the property.

Selecting and sizing a wind turbine with the necessary power production can involve many factors.

First, an energy budget for the home is needed. The more efficient the home design, the less power usage required to heat and cool it. Energy-efficient appliances and home electronics can reduce energy needs.

Second, you need to determine the goal for using wind generation. Do you want it just to generate battery power for short-term backup during blackouts, or to power the full house at all times? Power generation will require enough battery storage for use when winds are calm, and the intent of usage will impact the size of battery needed.

Third, selecting the needed size for your use requires understanding residential power generation sizes, stated in terms of watts or kilowatts of power produced. A kilowatt generator (1,000 watts) would be the energy produced that could run a 1,000 watt appliance for one hour. Turbines come in power generation sizes from 20 watts to 100 kilowatts.

Fourth, locating your turbine on your site (especially if it’s a large site) and how high it will be can affect the amount of energy it can produce over time. A turbine at the top of a hill or knoll will get more wind power than one located in a small gully. Also, wind speeds tend to be stronger the higher you go. Some jurisdictions might have height and placement restrictions, so be sure to investigate that.

Microhydropower (on-site water stream)

If your site has any streams that run all year or most of the year, you can consider using that stream for power generation. The site and stream will need a significant drop in elevation in order to use such a system.

This system simply uses the energy of moving water to spin a turbine that can generate electricity. The movement, and therefore the power generating capacity, is based on how fast the water can move. The greater the vertical difference between where you get the water and where the generator is located the more energy you can produce.

These systems employ a means of collecting and storing water at the high point, typically by damming the stream or diverting water from the stream. This collection source is then connected by pipes to a generator located below the source to generate electricity. The water is then returned to the stream after it has run through the generator.

Again, this will typically be viable only on large-acreage properties with a stream that runs consistently throughout the year across a large drop in elevation from the high point of the stream on the property to the stream’s low point on the property.

Appliances & Home Electronics

Appliances and home electronics are a significant part of energy use in our homes, accounting for around 30% of the overall use for an average house and family size. Reducing the energy needed for these components involves selecting energy-efficient appliances and electronics.

Energy Star Appliances

Most appliances today are made to meet the energy efficiencies of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program. This program was established to encourage the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants through reduced energy usage, and to make it easy for customers to identify and purchase such products.

Energy Star certified appliances will tend to reduce energy use anywhere from 10% to 50% over the lifetime of the appliance.

The Energyguide label, a component of the Energy Star program that’s required on most Energy Star appliances, can be used to determine the likely annual operating costs of a specific appliance. This will give you a method to determine potential payback periods for the appliance purchase cost, which can be shorter with Energy Star products.

Energy Efficient Equipment (computers, home office equip, electronics)

The average household owns 24 consumer electronic products which account for around 12% of a home’s electrical use. The EPA’s Energy Star program covers home electronics, so shopping for these products will help to reduce your energy use.

Energy Monitoring Systems

Energy monitoring systems are a great way to get a handle on a home’s energy use. Monitors can be used for specific appliances or tied to your electric meter as a whole-house system.

Monitoring systems vary greatly in terms of complexity and cost, so be sure to research options against your budget. Let’s take a look at some features:

Appliance Monitoring

Some systems can track appliance energy use. This is done by tying the system into the circuit used by the appliance at breaker panel.

Larger appliances such as refrigerators, clothes dryers, and mechanical and plumbing equipment typically have their own dedicated circuits. Their usage will be easy to track.

Since smaller appliances won’t have dedicated circuits, they’ll only be trackable by the circuits on which they’re used. You’d need to determine the likely circuit that equipment was on and then estimate a percentage of electricity on that circuit used by that equipment.

Mobile App Tracking

Some energy monitoring systems have apps available that you can download onto your phone. These apps can send notifications regarding an appliance’s energy use performance as well as suggestions for improvement.

Cost Tracking

Some energy monitoring systems have real-time cost tracking capabilities. These can give you a means of seeing how you’re energy use is costing you so that you can reduce energy use.

Solar-ready Systems

Some energy monitoring systems allow you to also track energy production from your solar panel system. This is a great way to review production vs. use.

Plumbing System

According to the EPA, the average American family uses over 300 gallons of water per day! At least 70% of that is used indoors. That’s amazing when you think about it. Below we’ll look at various ways to optimize energy in the plumbing system of your house.

Low-water-use Appliances

Energy Star clothes washers and dishwashers are inherently more water efficient than traditional washers. The standard top-load washer uses anywhere from 30 to 45 gallons of water per load washed. Today’s high-efficiency machines use only 12 to 17 gallons.

Front load washers are particularly beneficial both in terms of water use, around 13 gallons per load, as well as its washing performance compared with top-load washers.

Energy Star dishwashers will save around 3,800 gallons of water over its lifetime. This is done using more efficient water jets, improved water filtration, and improved efficiency of the overall design.

Using water-efficient Energy Star appliances will inherently use less energy due to less heated water needed and more efficiency in power use.

Energy Star Water Heater

Water heating accounts for around 17% of a home’s energy use, the second highest usage behind home heating. Using efficient water heaters will greatly improve that number.

Again, the Energy Star program has brought about high-efficiency water heaters.

Energy Star gas storage water heaters can use around 10% less energy compared to standard water heaters, saving hundreds of dollars over their lifetime.

Whole-home tankless water heating is an on-demand system for all of the house, as opposed to a European-style point-of-use tankless system. This system does not use a hot water storage tank. Rather, water is heated only when being used. The heating process is the same as that used for a typical gas-fired water heater. This can save up to 60% of water heating costs compared with standard stored-water tanks since water in a tank has to be reheated even when not being used.

Energy Star electric storage water heaters use less than half the energy of a standard electric storage heater and can save over $330 per year for a family of four. This is done by utilizing a heat-pump system that transfers heat from the surrounding air to the water, much the same method as a heat-pump home heating system.

Energy Star tankless gas water heaters use a secondary heat exchanger to extract heat from the combustion gas before it’s vented. This uses around 9% less energy than a standard gas tankless system.

Solar Water Heating

Using the sun to heat domestic water is a great way to cut money out of your annual budget, as sunlight is basically free to use.

There are various solar water heating options available, with many variants to each depending on the system and components used. Below are the general methods of heating domestic water.

• Direct water heating: This system circulates domestic water to the solar panel for heating. The heated water is then piped directly to the plumbing fixtures in the house.
• Direct circulation hot water storage: This system circulates domestic water through a solar panel for heating. The heated water is then pumped to a storage tank for later use.
• Circulating fluid water heating: This system uses a non-freezing fluid which is heated in a solar panel and circulated to a water storage tank. The heat of the fluid is transferred to the water in the tank using coils. Once the heat transfers off the coils, the cooled fluid is circulated back to the solar panel to be heated.
• Direct heating of water storage tanks: This system, also known as batch collectors, places two or more water storage tanks in a glazed enclosure outside of the house. The tanks are painted black to absorb heat, which then heats the stored water.

Solar water heating can be accomplished by a variety of systems, described below:

• Flat-plate collector: A circulating fluid passes through a solar panel that uses flat plates to gather solar energy which is then transferred to the fluid.
• Evacuated tube collector: This system is the most efficient of the collectors. This system uses inner and outer tubes with an air vacuum in between, working similar to a thermos. It can heat water or a circulating fluid at outdoor temperatures down to -40 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Batch collection system: This system places two or more water storage tanks in a glazed enclosure outside of the house. The tanks are painted black to absorb heat, which then heats the stored water.

Hot Water Pipe Insulation

Insulating hot water pipes is becoming standard practice for new homes, especially with stricter energy codes being adopted by many states and cities. The benefit is reducing heat loss, and therefore energy. Insulated pipes provide water that’s 2 to 4 degrees hotter than uninsulated pipes.

Low-flow Fixtures

Low-flow fixtures are a great way to reduce your water consumption. They’re also becoming more of a requirement as regions of the country adopt stricter water use measures.

In similar vein as the Energy Star program, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has developed the WaterSense label to identify efficient plumbing fixtures.

Products featuring this label perform better than standard counterparts, and save around 20% in water usage. This reduces water heating demand and its related energy use.

Domestic Water Recycling

Potable water – water that’s been treated and is safe to drink – is what comes into our homes from a municipal source. Once we use it, it typically goes into the sewer system or the septic system, never to be used by you again.

Recycling takes the water we’ve already used, called greywater, and uses it elsewhere in the house before it goes out. Greywater can be taken from every water use except for toilets. Water used in toilets is called blackwater, and can’t be recycled.

Once used water drains, it’s sent to a series of filters to remove the various non-water items that we don’t need or want in the greywater. Once filtered, the greywater is pumped to a storage tank for re-use.

Greywater water can be used for toilet flushing and laundry. This reduces potable water use, saving around 13 gallons a day at the toilet and around 23 gallons for clothes washing in the average household.

Be sure to check with local requirements, some of which may not allow some uses or require greater treatment of greywater before reusing.

Non-Potable Rainwater System

Rainwater is another one of those free gifts from mother nature. Let’s see how we can use it.

Rain Capture – Domestic Use

Capturing rain requires your roof drainage system to be tied to water storage tanks, which can be located at ground level or be below ground as cisterns. Capturing ground-level water from non-asphalt paved surfaces (also excluding driveways due to the oils from your car) or from rain gardens might also be used.

This collected water is not “potable” unless its filtered and treated properly. Otherwise, the water can be used by way of a separate water system for toilet flushing, washing clothes, or washing your car.

Check with local requirements to see how you can use it.

Rain Capture – Irrigation

Using captured rainwater for your yard minimizes the amount of water needed from a utility or pumped from underground sources. This can be combined with the use of regional plants and vegetation, called xeriscaping, to further reduce water use since those plants are adapted to the region’s weather and rain cycles.

Top Image: Photo by Kristoferb
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