Going fridge free

Well, after an illustrious 6 years, our GE Profile fridge finally kicked the bucket. Early last week it started making weird clicking noises in the evening. By the time I woke up the next morning, everything in the freezer compartment was defrosted and the fridge was up to 50 degrees. I went out and bought a few bags of ice and stuffed them in the fridge. Everything in the freezer that could be saved went to the chickens.

The ice kept the fridge compartment at 50 degrees, but wasn't exactly keeping the items in there cold. In the meantime we deliberated what to do. I spent a bit of time researching replacement fridges. I knew I wasn't going to get anything nearly as big or as technologically advanced since getting something more complicated seemed to be the reason for the failures we were experiencing. On the other hand, I wanted to know if we could just have the digital thermometer piece replaced - that maybe that was why it wasn't holding the temperature.

Against my better judgement, I called GE to come in and take a look. They charge $80 just to make the trip regardless of what you have done. As I suspected, the motherboard in the thermostat dealy was toast. The quote to have that replaced (including the trip cost, labor, etc.) was about $500. But, that wasn't the actual problem with the fridge. The real problem was that the relay was out and possibly something else with the compressor.

Since the fridge we were thinking of replacing our current one with wasn't much more than the total quote just for the motherboard (and not the relay and compressor), I stopped the service guy from going any further and decided that, given its current problems on top of all the additional problems we already had with the fridge, it was about time to just cut our losses and start anew. As much as I'd like to repair it, this boat anchor just wasn't worth it.

So, after 4 days of being fridge free, we got a new fridge. This time, we got a smaller contraption with a CEE Tier 3 Energy rating (using 150 kWh less per year than our old fridge) and no extra computer chips, gadgets or whatnot. In other words, we are going old-skool with our fridge. You adjust the temperature in the fridge and freezer with a manual dial. The only thing fancy is an internal ice maker (my husband insisted on this) and a light bulb in the freezer.

One thing I did learn, however, was that (in addition to buying an extended warranty on major appliances) we really do need some sort of fridge. I'd love to think we could do without, but even if we didn't consume as much dairy and cheese, we rely on it too much for storing leftovers and keeping other perishables from going bad overnight.

What about you? Can you live without a fridge?

How do you heat your home?

With September in full swing and the weather cooling down rapidly, I start thinking of how long we can stretch it before we have to start turning on the heat. In anticipation of this year's Freeze Yer Buns Challenge, I'm always trying to calculate ways to reduce our heating costs.

Since we heat with oil, I'm conscious of not only the carbon emissions impact, but the cost. We try to limit its usage by supplementing with electric heat (which is inexpensive in our area of the country and generated by wind and hydro). But, one of my fantasies is to get a fireplace insert to heat our home with wood.

Fireplace inserts these days are much more effective at generating heat and emit far less smoke and contaminants as compared to older models. Plus, I like the idea of having a back up heating source during times of power outages or just to have a nice toasty fire. It's much more homey and romantic than forced air heat.

Unfortunately, they are also expensive, which is one of the reasons we haven't gotten one. That and the fact that we would have to acquire wood in order to use it effectively. I'm always curious about what other people use, whether it be oil, gas, electricity or something else.

So, what kind of system do you use for heating your home? Are you happy with it? What would you prefer to use if you could choose anything?

Home energy audit results

For those of you curious about the results of the winner of the home energy audit I hosted as a giveaway earlier this year for this year's Freeze Yer Buns challenge, you can read about it on the blog, Concrete to Chickens, Home Energy Audit Results.

The blog author gives an honest assessment of the audit and what he got out of it as well as a bunch of pictures of the audit itself. It is pretty informative about what to expect from an energy audit.

Have you ever had an energy audit done and, if so, what's the most important thing you learned?

Planned obsolescence aka Crappy GE Appliances

Do you remember my fridge that I was complaining about years ago? Well, let me remind you. We bought it when we first moved into our house 6 years ago.

Back then we bought a fancy new Energy Star GE Profile stainless steel refrigerator with french doors. Let me tell you it was not cheap. I'm wishing we had gotten a cheapo Kenmore instead because it's not worth the cost. About three and a half years ago a little plastic hinge thingy snapped off the door. This little piece of plastic is what ensures that the door remains closed. For the most part it stays closed without it, but when you close the other door, the pressure pops the "broken" door back open. So, you have to be extra vigilant about making sure both sides are closed.

Why don't we get it fixed so that we don't accidentally refrigerate the entire kitchen? Well, because in order to fix this tiny plastic piece, we need a new door. For $800. Needless to say, GE changed the way they manufacture this style and no longer puts such a stupid plastic piece on it because we aren't the only people having this problem.

About a year and a half ago the freezer ice cube tray broke. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but another large chunk of plastic came off and I think it's another one of those "one piece" deals that can't be replaced. Half the time our ice is somewhat melty, but we make do.

Well, last week the thermometer for both the fridge and freezer no longer displays. It's some digital job that lets you adjust the temperature of both units as well as tells you what the current temps are. We had to go out and buy a fridge thermometer to make sure it's still holding the temperature properly.

So, after a little over 6 years, we are proud owners of a fridge that is limping along. I wonder what will break on it next. But, I tell you the next time we buy a fridge I'm going to get one of those old-skool metal tanks with minimal working parts.

Who designs a several thousand dollar appliance that's designed to not last 5 years? Pretty much everyone these days. This planned osolescence crap is chapping my hide.

Do you have any recommendations for a replacement (and I'm not listening to you, Greenpa!)?

Surviving summer in Hades

I am in absolutely no position to dispense advice on how to keep cool during the summer. While most of the U.S. is experiencing insufferably hot temperatures, I've been wearing a sweater and a coat.

Not to complain or anything, but this temperature inversion has caused us here in Seattle to have an extra cool summer. In fact, the statistic running around is that we've experienced only 78 minutes of temperatures above 80 degrees so far this summer.

I couldn't imagine how miserable 100+ temperatures must be so I'm not going to lecture anyone on air conditioner usage. Because when I'm hot and uncomfortable, my brains tend to go squishy and I couldn't give a rip about energy usage and CO2 emissions. I feel really claustrophobic when I'm hot and tend to get panicky.

Anyway, in order to help out just a tad, here are my hints and tips for keeping cool this summer while either forgoing air-conditioning (ha, ha, ha!) or pushing up the thermostat a little at a time.

Home Cooling Tips

• Open windows at night and/or in the early morning and shut them once the outside temperature rises above the inside temps
  
• Close the drapes or blinds on the side of the house where the sun in shining in. So that means the East side of the house in the morning and the West side in the afternoon and evening. Consider purchasing insulated window curtains (these will also help hold heat in during the winter) or install inexpensive heat-reflecting film on windows that face the sun
  
• Turn off lights, electronics or appliances that you aren't using and generate heat
  
• Fans, fans, fans
  
• Put in a window fan and blow the air out of the room while keeping the doors to the room open
  
• Recreate your own air-conditioner by blowing a fan across a bowl of ice. This will simulate the same sort of cool air but without the energy involved
  
• Longer term home solutions include better attic/roof venting, getting a lighter colored roof or planting shade trees

Keeping Cool

• Drink ice water (or sit on a huge block of ice)
  
• Stay hydrated and avoid caffeine, alcohol and heavy, high-fat meals. All of these will increase your internal body temperature
  
• Stay in the shade and out of direct sunlight
  
• Wear loose-fitting, light-colored and lightweight clothes
  
• Do like they do in the tropics and eat spicy food. This stimulates sweat and, therefore, will cool you off
  
• Soak your feet in cool water or even throw in a few ice cubes
  
• Soak a rag or tea towel in ice water and wrap around your neck
  
• Sit outside in the evening to enjoy the cooling temperatures

Sleeping in Comfort

• Take a cool (not cold) shower before bed. Why cool and not cold? Well, if you lower your body temperature too much you'll exert extra energy (aka heat) trying to warm up
  
• Soak a t-shirt in ice water and wear to bed or wet your hair before bed
  
• Dig out that rice bag you made last winter and put it in the freezer for a couple of hours before bed
  
• Use linen sheets as they stay cooler than other fabrics
  
• Put your pillowcase (or sheets!) in the freezer a few hours before bed
  
• Sleep downstairs or outside if you can

For more ideas, check out this little how-to video on How To Survive Without Air-Conditioning. If you really must use air-conditioning, or something like an evaporative cooler won't work for you, try to avoid central air-conditioning as you're spending a ton of money to heat up the whole house when in fact you probably only need to cool down a few rooms at best. Window air-conditioners are one way of getting around this problem as you can set them up in the most heavily used portions of the house and assist with fans if need be.

What are your favorite methods of keeping cool when the temperature rises? Which ones did I miss?

Earth Hour aka Carnal Hour

Every year I complain a little (okay, a lot) about Earth Hour and what it means and all that. Two years ago I caved in at the last minute and felt compelled to participate for a variety of reasons. It didn't go very well, mostly because the kids kept getting up and couldn't figure out why it was dark, but anyway, the point being that I have issues with Earth Hour.

Last year I decided to spice things up and promoted Earth Hour by suggesting that people spend that hour in bed. Either with themselves or others.

This Saturday is Earth Hour 2011 from 8:30pm to 9:30pm your local time. In spite of all the corporate greenwashing sponsorship, how can we turn Earth Hour around? Well again, this year I propose that, in order to make it more personally meaningful, we spend the hour not just with the lights off, but that the hour is spent doing some hanky panky with your favorite partner. Or, if you don't have a partner, just yourself will do (just make sure those toys are solar powered).

Now, I know for many of you, it is difficult to get your significant (or not so significant) other to play along with your environmentally or eco-friendly green shenanigans. But, if you propose Earth Hour as a Carnal Hour and sweeten the pot with some of your honey, I bet they'll be plenty of takers out there.

They shouldn't be too hard to convince. Sometimes all it takes is a little motivation! And, unless contraception is an issue, what could be more environmentally friendly than a little lovin'? With the lights off?

Anyway, not to be a total killjoy, but if you are planning on lighting candles to improve the mood, make sure you avoid paraffin and choose soy or beeswax instead. Don't make me repeat my admonishments. So, let the sparks fly, just try not to burn the house down. That's not very environmentally friendly.

Are you planning on participating in Earth Hour, in any fashion? Did you participate in Carnal Hour last year?

Nuclear energy - is it worth it?

I'm sure all of you are aware of the growing risks of the situation in Japan following the horrific earthquake and tsunami. All eyes are now on Japan's nuclear reactors and the potential not just for localized radiation leakage, but on something much more alarming if their containment is breached.

Living on the west coast and, in particular, the Pacific NW, where we are right in the path of any large amount of radiation leakage certainly makes me think about the risks of nuclear power.

Having grown up living near Hanford, it's certainly something that occasionally crosses my mind but it's not something I think about much. The vast majority of our local energy comes from clean energy sources - hydroelectric and wind - and we are extraordinarily lucky in that regard.

I've never been a fan of nuclear energy and this event just reinforces for me that the dangers far outweigh any good they produce. The highly hazardous waste alone is sufficient to rethink nuclear energy as a long-term viable energy policy and the obvious risk of damage from natural events just isn't worth the cost to human health and the environment.

With the recent push toward reintroducing more nuclear energy as an option to get off of petroleum based fuel, the happenings in Japan should certainly make us all pause.

What do you think of what's going on? Are you scared? Do you feel threatened? And, how has it changed your opinion of nuclear energy, if at all?

Photo: Getty Images

Home Energy Audit Winner

I'm going to cut to the chase in today's post and announce the winner of the home energy audit, sponsored by Pro Energy Consultants.

And the winner is:
The Haphazard Countryman from the blog, Concrete to Chickens.

A professional energy audit (which usually costs $350 and up) can pinpoint where your home is "leaking" energy and tell you what steps you can take to live greener and save money. By identifying where a home is leaking energy and what improvements will make the home more comfortable and energy efficient, an audit can help you can lower energy bills and reduce your carbon footprint.

Congratulations to the Haphazard Gentleman! Please email your contact information to crunchychickenblog@gmail.com and I'll forward it to Pro Energy Consultants to set up your free home energy audit!

Note: I was in no way compensated for this giveaway nor do I have any business relationship with Pro Energy Consultants.

Home Energy Audit Giveaway

Let me first point out that I would absolutely love to win this giveaway. Unfortunately, I'm not eligible to enter.

But, for you, my glorious readers, I have arranged with Pro Energy Consultants, the only national energy auditing company, to perform a FREE energy audit on the home of one lucky winner.

A professional energy audit (which usually costs $350 and up) can pinpoint where your home is "leaking" energy and tell you what steps you can take to live greener and save money. If you've been suffering along at low indoor temperatures in the Freeze Yer Buns Challenge, fixing those leaks can help you stay much more comfortable at a lower thermostat setting.

An energy audit can help pinpoint the reasons why you maybe be experiencing any one or more of the top three building performance problems: comfort issues (such as rooms difficult to heat or cool), excessive energy usage issues (high utility bills) and poor indoor air quality issues (excessive humidity or constantly dusty rooms).

By identifying where a home is leaking energy and what improvements will make the home more comfortable and energy efficient, an audit can help you can lower energy bills and reduce your carbon footprint.

For more information about the home energy audit services provided for this giveaway you can check them out here. It's the full meal deal including installing a blower door and using infrared to determine where you need help. A detailed energy audit report including an explanation of their findings and suggestions for improvements, based on your budget, your goals and your interest in some DIY fun, wraps up the giveaway.

The Giveaway

The winner of this giveaway will get a free home energy audit. A few days after the energy audit, the winner will receive a list of prioritized, recommended improvements to make their home more comfortable and energy efficient.

To Enter

1. You must be a U.S. resident

2. Your house must not exceed 5,000 square feet (snicker).

3. You must live in one of the following cities/markets:

Austin, TX
Boston, MA
Waynesboro, VA (near Richmond)
Chicago, IL
Cincinnati, OH
Cleveland-Akron, OH
Columbus, OH
Denver, CO
Detroit, MI
Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Kansas City, MO
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN
Nashville, TN
Phoenix, AZ
South Bend, IN
Tampa, FL
Topeka, KS
Washington, D.C.

Updated! New cities added 3/7/10
Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX
Dayton, OH
Des Moines, IA
Evansville, IN
Philadelphia, PA
Piscataway, NJ
Portage, IN (northwest area of IN)
Reno, NV
Richmond, VA
St. Louis, MO
Tulsa, OK

[If you are not sure whether or not you are in a participating market, you can use this zip code finder tool to see if you qualify for the cities listed above.]

4. To enter, leave a comment on this post letting me know your zipcode and your biggest home energy concern (like leaky doors and drafty windows) by midnight PST, Friday, March 11th.

Good luck!!

Note: If your city isn't listed above, check back later this week as I may be adding additional participating cities to the list. I'll announce them on Facebook and Twitter as well.

Home Depot LED winners

Based on the responses from the giveaway entries filled out over the last week regarding your experiences with compact fluorescent light bulbs, it seems like there is a lot of satisfaction with these bulbs, mixed with worry over the mercury in them. There was also a lot of dissatisfaction based on how long they lasted, how long it took for them to "light" up and what kind of light they put out.

So, I'm excited to announce the winners of the LED light bulb giveaway sponsored by Home Depot because it's great to share some new technology that many of you may otherwise not try.

And, without further ado...

The three winners of 1 EcoSmart LED A19 40 Watt Equivalent light bulb are:

• Anna from the blog, Blue Dirt
  
• Monsieur Millipede Sr., the IIIrd a.k.a. Jonathan Kochmer
  
• Annie from the blog, Pollinators On the Brain
  

The grand prize winner of a $200 Home Depot gift card to re-fit their home with LED EcoSmart bulbs is:

• Ashley from the blog, One Year, Second Chance

All right all you fantabulous winners! You can thank the random integer generator gods. Send your contact info to crunchychickenblog@gmail.com and I'll have Home Depot send your spoils your way. Congratulations!!!!

LED giveaway from Home Depot

We've been talking a lot about energy savings with the Freeze Yer Buns Challenge by way of saving money from home heating costs, either from electricity, oil or natural gas. Well, another way to reduce your energy costs is by switching from standard incandescent bulbs for home lighting to an alternative.

Over the last five or so years, the most accessible alternative has been compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). However, LED options are becoming more and more available. Currently, they are more expensive than CFLs, much like CFLs are more expensive than incandescent lighting. However, the cost savings in the long run (assuming they last as long as they purportedly are supposed to) more than makes up for the initial investment.

I'm sure a lot of you have eyeballed LED light bulbs at the store, but didn't want to spring for the $20 or so to pick up a light or two. I know I have. So, I jumped at the chance when the Home Depot offered to send me a selection of LED lights to try out and review. I also managed to convince them to help spread the love to some lucky readers.

Most of the Home Depot's LED options are still fairly limited and I'm hoping that a larger selection is on the way in the near future. Of the LED bulbs that I received, the most comparable one was the 40 watt LED standard sized light bulb. It seemed like it put out as much light, as advertised, but without the warm glow of an incandescent, so really not that much different than a CFL.

What the heck is an LED light?
What's the big difference? Longevity. An LED bulb will last years (15 years!), longer than any comparable CFL bulb and you don't have the issue of mercury disposal when you do need to replace them.

If you are not familiar with LED bulbs, here are a few stats from the Home Depot website.

• An LED is a light emitting diode capable of illuminating any space in your home.
  
• LEDs generate a high level of brightness using less power than incandescent bulbs.
  
• LEDs last up to 100,000 hours, 100 times longer than incandescent bulbs.
  
• Using LEDs can dramatically reduce maintenance and replacement costs.
  
• LEDs are reliable, safe and durable, solid state devices with no moving parts.
  
• LEDs do not contain glass, filaments, UV light, or mercury.
  
• Longer life makes LED light bulbs less likely to create environmental waste.
  
• The size and digital nature of the bulb offers innovative technology.
  
• LED lights have an instant re-strike and are fully dimmable with no humming or buzzing

Giveaway
In honor of turning our clocks back an hour this morning, I'm hosting an LED light bulb giveaway sponsored by Home Depot and their selection of LED light bulbs. I don't know about you but, where I live, Daylight Savings Time means that I have to turn the lights on about 4:00pm if I want to see my hand in front of my face. Using energy saving light bulbs saves me a ton of money.

Here's the meat of the giveaway:

Three (3) random winners will receive 1 EcoSmart LED A19 40 Watt Equivalent light bulb

One (1) grand prize winner will receive a $200 Home Depot gift card to re-fit their home with LED EcoSmart bulbs

How to enter
If you are interested in entering the random drawing, please add your name to the comments of this post and tell me what you think about your lighting. Do you love incandescents and refuse to give them up and hate CFLs or are you happy with the energy saving alternatives. You have until midnight PST this Friday, November 12th to enter. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.

Good luck!

Energy efficient appliance recommendations

I was going over our electricity usage for the last year to do some analysis since I'm always trying to see if solar panels are in our future - they are not (more about that some other time). One thing that came out of this exercise was in thinking about ways to further reduce how much electricity we use.

Since our electricity rates are so cheap in Washington State, it's easy to ignore how many KWH we use each month. But if we want to replace those same KWH with solar, it's not so pretty. In fact, it's almost laughable. We have, over the winter months, relied on space heaters instead of our oil furnace, mostly because it's cheaper. But, there again, this increases our electricity usage.

There are two appliances that we can replace that are not at all energy efficient - our dishwasher and our hot water heater. (No, Greenpa, we're not going to address the fridge in this post.)

Of course, only running a full load of dishes and opting for air dry reduces our energy load, but I'm sure we could do better with an actual energy efficient model. And, the one we have sounds like it's about to die. When we moved in 5 years ago, the previous owners had installed a new dishwasher, but it was a cheapo thing and it's never been good at actually washing dishes.

Our hot water heater has been on its last legs for a long time. Plus, I'm afraid to admit that we don't have a hot water binky for it either. Since we were always planning on replacing the water heater, we never got around to the binky. I've looked into on-demand hot water heaters and they aren't very efficient if you electricity (versus natural gas) and our energy consultant at work was telling me the other day that it's coming out that the on-demand water heaters are more efficient if you have a lot of people in the house and are constantly running hot water. Otherwise, the numbers coming in show that on-demand water heaters are less energy efficient that ye olde water heaters.

So, my question for you good people out there... do you have any recommendations for super energy efficient dishwashers? What about hot water heaters? Anyone have a heat pump hot water heater? And, no, I'm not interested in the $8,000 price tag to get solar hot water, thankyouverymuch.

Image shown is a Rheem Hybrid Heat Pump Water Heater from WA Energy Services

Blow me

There's a sign above the electric hand dryers at work encouraging employees to skip the paper towels and use the blowers instead, stating that bathroom paper towel usage equates to twice as much greenhouse gas emissions as using the air dryers.

I don't mind using them these days, mostly because it's been so cold and having the hot air blow on my hands has been pleasant, helping me warm up, particularly after being outside when it's sub-20 degrees out. I'd use them more often if it were a force of habit. I'm so used to washing my hands and then grabbing the paper towels that half the time I'm just not thinking about it.

The dryers we have at work are the old school, wave your hand underneath and dry your hands kind. When we were in New York we experienced these phenomenally cool Dyson Airblade driers that you "insert" your hands into and draw them slowly out. They dry your hands in rapid time, although you feel like your skin is being stretched out in a wind tunnel. It is a 400 MPH blast of air, so that shouldn't come as a surprise. And, not too surprisingly, I made my husband take pictures of them in the bathroom at The Met.

The Dyson high-speed jet air dryer is supposed to use 80% less energy than the kind we have at work, but I'm sure they are more expensive. Hopefully, at some point, our work blowers can be replaced with a similar jet air dryer.

One thing to also consider is that our energy in Seattle comes from mostly green sources. So, not only do the dryers beat the pants (greenhouse gases-wise) off the paper towels, but since the electricity is most likely generated from wind or the like, it's a win-win hand-drying situation.

A while back, I got in the habit of either air drying my hands or using a handkerchief that I kept in my office for drying my hands. Sometime along the way, I stopped doing that and reverted back to paper towels - mostly out of habit. So, now I'm trying to make a concerted effort to use the blowers.

What about you? Do you air dry, blow dry or use paper towels when using a public restroom?

Contraception and carbon emissions

I ran across this article yesterday and thought it was an interesting idea and, since we've discussed the link between population control and environmental impact, I thought I'd share it with you guys.

In this article on CNET, Should contraception qualify for carbon funds?, the argument is based on the theory that, according to a study by the London School of Economics, providing contraception would be the cheapest and most effective way to reduce carbon emissions worldwide between 2010 and 2050.

The report, "Fewer Emitters, Lower Emissions, Less Cost," determined that if contraception was made widely available between 2010 and 2050 to women and men around the world who wished to use it, the reduction in unwanted births could result in saving 34 gigatonnes (one billion tonnes) of carbon emissions. That's roughly 60 years worth of U.K. emissions or 6 years worth of U.S. emissions.

The cost for supplying, and distributing contraception over those 40 years would cost an estimated $220 billion, or $7 for each tonne of carbon emissions avoided. It's cheaper than the next most efficient low-carbon technology, wind power, which would cost $24 per tonne or $1 trillion to prevent the same amount (one billion tonnes) of carbon emissions from being produced, according to the report.

In its per-tonne cost analysis, the report also calculated $51 for solar, $57 to $83 for coal plants with carbon capture and storage, $92 for plug-in hybrid vehicles, and $131 for electric vehicles.

The contraception as carbon reduction conclusion was based on United Nations statistics that 40 percent of worldwide pregnancies are unintentional. If contraception was made available to people who wanted it, those unintentional births could be reduced by as much as 72 percent. Between 2010 and 2050, that would result in curbing the world population growth by half a billion people, according to the UN statistics.

That is a conservative estimate, according to the report, since the UN figures are based solely on the lack of contraception access for married couples, and did not include unintended pregnancy statistics for unmarried women.

So, what do you think? Should we focus more on population prevention or is it too hot a topic? It's certainly easier to discuss solar arrays and windfarms without too much of a moral quandary, although some could argue the impact on wildlife.

Would you like to see public funds going to better pregnancy prevention both in the U.S. and assistance abroad?

To read the rest of the article, you can check it out here.

Cutting the heat and cutting costs

Now, you all know what's coming around the bend, don't you? The time for freezing one's buns is almost nigh and I hope you all are planning on joining me for the third year of the Freeze Yer Buns Challenge. I'll be posting more about that next month, but in the meantime I just had to share with you some exciting news!

For those of you following along at home, last week I was ruminating over the state of our oil heat supply and whether or not to switch to B99 BioHeat (99% biodiesel) now that it's available or to switch back to standard/conventional heating oil. You can go read the post and comments to see what the conundrum is all about, but the short story is that there are more petroleum inputs to creating biodiesel than just using the petroleum directly.

Of course, at issue is the source of the biodiesel. So, I called out heating company to talk prices and sources and such and found out that their source of biodiesel used to be a local company that went out of business. They won't source a waste veggie oil program because of very inconsistent products and availability and so they are now getting their biodiesel from midwest grown, soy-based Cargill biodiesel. Well, that there decided it all for me.

For the record, the price differential for the different blends are as follows (the number represents the percentage of biodiesel in the blend). The difference is about 50 cents a gallon between 99% biofuel and standard heating oil. The cost differential isn't as dramatic as I thought it was going to be:

B99 $3.479
B50 $3.219
B25 $3.089
Standard heating oil $3.049

But, my last question is the exciting part. I asked him to tell me the amount of oil we use per year (it's rather impossible to tell from their cryptic delivery receipts). In the 2006/2007 heating season it ended up being about 500 gallons per year. This was before the first Freeze Yer Buns Challenge. And, in the 2008/2009 heating season we used about 250 gallons per year. That's a 50% reduction in heating oil difference! That's about $780 a year savings. Apparently, their average customer uses 600 gallons of oil per year. That means we used about 42% of the average.

Now, I must confess that we did offset some of this by using space heaters last season. I went back through our electrical bills to see how much more we were spending and it was about 1-2 extra kWh per day (at about $.05 per kWh), coming to something like $10 - $15 for the season for extra electricity. One more caveat is that my husband was home full-time last season so the heat was up more than normal.

Anyway, not only is the extra electricity cheap (thanks to the wind farms and hydro up here), it's nice to know that it is based on renewable resources. All in all, I'd estimate we saved around $750 last year by turning down our heat and using space heaters instead of heating the whole house with B25.

If this isn't an example and incentive to turn down your thermostat, I don't know what is!

Wind turbine - eyesore or awesome?

Since we're talking energy these days, I wanted to ask your opinion on something I read in yesterday's NY Times that discussed how some individuals were being thwarted from installing a wind turbine on their private property even though the code in their area says it's legal. Mostly the reasons for it are due to the height and, basically, what an eyesore they are for the neighbors.

Other issues include improper installation and fear of the windmill falling over and landing on your house, fear of the blades shearing off and/or ice flying off the blades in winter, shadow flicker (the strobe of sunlight passing through rotating blade) and, most importantly, noise. Perhaps flying fricasseed birds should be added to this handbag of reasons. The American Wind Energy Association estimates that one-third of small wind projects are thwarted by vague or overly strict local laws, or by outdated zoning rules that preclude them.

What do you think about the responsibility of neighbors regarding installing these energy generators? It can certainly be argued that it's one thing when you live out in a rural area with lots of land. It's another issue altogether when you live in close proximity to someone else's property.

I know in California the installation of solar panels has caused issues since you can force a neighbor to cut down or trim their trees if the branches shadow your solar panels. Are we going to see the reverse problem when it comes to the responsibility of the owner of these wind machines?

Poll time!

What do you think about wind turbines?



Photo courtesy of the NY Times

BioHeat versus petroleum heating oil

As many of you know, we buy BioHeat for our oil furnace. It's currently at a mix of 30% biodiesel and 70%ish conventional heating oil (aka B30). When I initially signed up for the BioHeat program years ago, I did so because I figured it was better for the environment even though it cost more than the regular heating oil option. Cleaner burning and all that.

I've ruminated on the issues with buying BioHeat in the past, but basically to recap, the underlying problem is that it takes more petroleum-based fuel to generate the same amount of biofuel. So, wouldn't it be better to just buy the straight-up petroleum-based heating oil?

The arguments against doing so are primarily that it burns cleaner and supports energy independence, sort of, but at some point, farm equipment was burning diesel (and probably not cleanly) and oil-based fertilizers were used on the crops to grow the oil that is used in the end product. This was covered quite well in The Omnivore's Dilemma and there were a lot of well thought out answers in my last post on the subject.

But, here's the latest dilemma. Our fuel and heating company is now offering new blends at B50 and B99. Assuming the cost differential isn't exorbitant and our oil furnace can handle the higher blends, what makes the most sense from an environmental standpoint? I'm hoping to talk to the company about the source of their biofuel, but based on their website (which hasn't been updated with the new blend info) I'm certain it's not waste oil and it's most likely soybeans, possibly from WA state.

Again, do we stick with BioHeat and bump it up or scrap it altogether for sweet crude? Any thoughts on the subject? What's an environmentalist to do? Does anyone know the lifecycle stats of biofuel versus petroleum based fuel?

Cool coal coloring book

I don't know about you, but I'm thinking this coloring book, Eyes for Frosty, would make a great back-to-school educational gift for our nation's youngest students. What's more important than learning about where our energy comes from? Particularly the nitty gritty about coal? Fascinating stuff.

The Sierra Club has this to say about it:

Families Organized to Represent the Coal Economy, a coal-industry association that ironically does not permit families to join, recently released a coloring book for children teaching them the basics about coal energy. Enter Power Rock and his sidekick Spurt, superheroes with lumps of coal for heads.

To make a moronic story short, Power Rock sings the praises of coal energy, reminding kids that without coal they wouldn’t be able to play videos games or cruise the internet. Of course, he forgets to mention that coal is unsustainable, incapable of being clean, and continues to be a major contributor to climate change -- but these are just pesky little details probably too difficult to color.

Go download it now! Also makes a great holiday gift!

Originally, from this article on Grist, Coal coloring book teaches kids about dirty energy.

Cash for Clunkers: epic fail

I'm not even going to touch on the most obvious reasons why the Cash for Clunkers program is an environmental failure. If you want a quick overview, you can read Ruchi's post on the matter.

Basically, what I see as the main issue with this program is that it is only applicable to cars 25-years-old and younger. So, any car built before 1984 can not be traded-in. Now, before you get all excited, I do realize that many cars manufactured in the early 80s are more fuel efficient than many of the modern behemoths currently on the road. But, those cars wouldn't be eligible because they are too fuel efficient. However, that does leave 5 million of the other stinkers ineligible and still on the road.

One huge issue is that cars built before the mid 1970s didn't have catalytic converters and, in many cases, spew out hundreds of times the amount of particulate matter than even the most fuel inefficient beast produces today.

From the LA Times:

For example, a 1965 Chevrolet Malibu, when new, produced 400 times the smog-forming pollutants that a new 2010 Malibu produces, said John Swanton, an air pollution specialist with the board. Thus, an old Malibu driven only 1,000 miles per year produces as much pollution as a new Malibu would in 400,000 miles.

Why is it that the cars that really need to be pulled off the road aren't eligible for this program? Well, it seems that the classic car lobby managed to get older cars excluded. I don't understand the impetus for this lobbying effort, I'm sure there is one that makes sense to somebody, but frankly, the people I know that drive their classic cars around regularly really need some serious emissions control (but that's another story entirely).

I believe most of this has something to do with the aftermarket parts manufacturers not wanting their customer base removed. Unfortunately, the result is that the guy that drives a beat-up 1981 Dodge pickup can't take advantage of this program, even though his car doesn't exactly qualify as a "classic car" and, realistically, isn't spending a whole lot tricking out his ride.

So, is this program devised to help get fuel inefficient cars off the road, or really, just to move new cars off the lot? Methinks that if this program were really about fuel efficiency and pollution they would have told the classic car lobbying group to go stick it up their hotrod. You can thank the government for another auto bailout, this one more back-handed than usual.

Urine: fuel of the future

Now, many of you know that I'm always enamored of what useful things we can do with waste products and human waste is no exception. Why throw away a good thing?

I've discussed in the past the utility of urine in providing nitrogen to plants and even hosted a challenge for those who wanted to try it out (all the gory details of using your urine as a fertilizer are on the challenge page).

Well, it turns out that the hydrogen content of urine could save our hides. Research done at Ohio University has concluded that urine-powered cars, homes and personal electronic devices could be available in six months with new technology developed by scientists there.

From the article on Organic Consumers Association's website:

Using a nickel-based electrode, the scientists can create large amounts of cheap hydrogen from urine that could be burned or used in fuel cells. "One cow can provide enough energy to supply hot water for 19 houses," said Gerardine Botte, a professor at Ohio University developing the technology. "Soldiers in the field could carry their own fuel."

Pee power is based on hydrogen, the most common element in the universe but one that has resisted efforts to produce, store, transport and use economically...

One molecule of urea, a major component of urine, contains four atoms of hydrogen bonded to two atoms of nitrogen. Stick a special nickel electrode into a pool of urine, apply an electrical current, and hydrogen gas is released.

Indeed. In fact, a pee-powered vehicle could theoretically travel 90 miles per gallon. And, apparently, converting pee to hydrogen takes only 3% of the energy than converting water does. Now, that's something I can get behind. Or whatever the proper preposition is here.

But don't start stocking up now. Initially, urine collected from farms would provide the right scale for mass production. Then again, who knows, maybe you'll be seeing home urinefuel processing kits sooner rather than later.

Check out the article for more details.