Jean Horst

Energy Conservation - Who Has Practical Ideas?



Posted: Wednesday, August 16, 2006

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This last year has started to turn me green. Not a lot, but a little. For me any amount of green is significant. By green, you may have figured out, I mean the conservation-style green, not the jealousy-style green, or the I’ve-worn-this-copper-ring-too-long green. Up until this point in my life, the only green I've been is green-eyed and that doesn't count.

I’m actually seriously looking into alternative energy sources and trying to find something that my family can afford. Considering that I’ve never even managed to get on the recycling band wagon, it’s a pretty major change in thinking for me. I figure if even I have begun thinking about this, there must be a paradigm shift coming soon in the U.S.

I’m pretty sure this all got started by the few days without electricity and the mad stampede out of town that came to Houston, Texas last fall. All of that was blown in on the winds of Hurricane Rita in September, 2005. There wasn’t enough water, we ran out of gasoline, grocery stores were cleaned out. All of that occurred while the images of Hurricane Katrina's decimation our neighbor to the east, New Orleans, was still fresh in my mind. Seeing thousands of people stranded without any way to help themselves left a big impression on me.

I started demanding that my handyman/geek/electrician/you-can-rig-anything husband find a way to turn our house to solar power, or wind power, or anything else. I bought anything that would crank to run and never need batteries that I could get my hands on. I own so many back up batteries that I should have bought stock in one of the battery manufacturers first. We toyed with buying a natural gas powered generator. We investigated natural gas appliances of all kinds. We thought of growing grass on our roof.

None of those options have panned out so far. In the process, I think I’ve figured out why so few people are making the transitions to alternative energy sources: Cost and Feasibility. Either the choices are so expensive to start up that we can’t afford them, or they don’t deliver enough of what we need to make them a viable option. Solar power is a good example. There is no way it's physically possible for us to install enough panels on our suburban-sized lot in Houston to provide any significant amount of power.

I have not given up, as the gas prices stay high and the wars and terrorism continue in and around the oil rich parts of the world, I’m committed to supporting whatever I can as soon as I find it. The one avenue we’re actually able to experiment with is Ethanol fuel. I discovered that my 2000 Chrysler Grand Caravan is actually a flex-fuel vehicle and can run on E85. (It was right in front of my nose all the time – a little sticker inside the fuel tank cover.) I plan to write an article with all the info on it, pros and cons, after I run on a couple of tanks but so far, so good.

I’m investigating tankless hot water heaters www.rinnai.us , I’ve been reading up on electric cars www.teslamotors.com as well as air conditioners that use ice www.ice-energy.com . I’m also doing simple things like trying to plan trips to do multiple errands in one outing to save on gas. I’m working on landscaping to increase the shade around my home to decrease on summer cooling bills.

I want to know what you are doing. Leave a comment or write an article and submit it to us here at SearchWarp.com. I’d love to know what you’ve discovered that is workable for the average middle-class family.
Jean Horst lives in Texas with her husband and three children. She and her husband of 25+ years are co-owners of a successful internet business. She has many years of experience in small business and office management. Her interests include travel, music, reading, writing, and family life.
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Top-level comments on this article: (4 total)
» left by Ed Howes from Arizona 5 years 176 days ago.
Hi Jean, Now let's see, where did I put my character counter? We need to think in terms of having the national energy supplies disrupted for six months or a year, nit a few days.
» left by 5 years 176 days ago.
Hey, I have to start somewhere. It will take me a little while to have my own energy source that will support my household for a year.
» left by Ed Howes from Arizona 5 years 175 days ago.
It starts with your plan. But then I said that elsewhere, eh? Ed Howes
» left by Anonymous 5 years 169 days ago.
I have found a whole range of lighting products that claim to save energy and money. If more people were to ise these products then huge energy savings could be made. See 'Save It Easy'
» left by James P Krehbiel
 4 years 238 days ago.
125 fans.
Jean, In our part of the world in Arizona, we have put in artificial grass in our backyard (actually looks quite natural), high-efficiency water heater and clothes dryer, and high efficiency thermostatic temperature controls along with a separate container for recylable matierials. Kind of expensive, but not bad. I keep thinking that there should be a way to utlilize solar energy for our house, especially in the Valley of the Sun. I'll keep thinking. You've got my interest up!
» left by 4 years 237 days ago.
Thanks for the ideas, James! It does seem like in order to do anything immediately, we're limited to switching to high efficiency appliances (A/C is the biggie in Texas, and there are significant tax breaks available). My husband, being somewhat of the absent-minded professor type has toyed w/ideas like "drip-irrigating" the roof to cut down on cooling expenses or growing grass on the roof... :-) We're also actively looking at a hybrid vehicle. The internet is still our best source of info... go figure.
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