Are Smart Meters a Smart Idea?

410px-intelligenter_zaehler-_smart_meterThe debate on the value (and costs) of wide spread deployment and installation of ‘Smart Meters‘ for monitoring energy usage rages on-most notably in the pages of the Wall Street Journal.

A succession of articles and editorials has been published recently, with each author taking a particular side of the argument. As is the case with many issues batted about by the press these days, the reader is left none the wiser.

There are obviously large capital costs involved in both preparing each property for energy use metering and providing a display device for each customer to examine their energy costs–then make intelligent decisions about saving energy and reducing the costs of powering their house.

After seeing how this debate is starting to be defined in the public arena, Warm Home Cool Planet would like to share a couple of observations:

Given the fact most houses have internet access, there should be some cost savings in allowing customers to use their current computers or mobile devices to view real-time energy use information through a web browser. All you need is a simple web connection for each energy device that reports through a customer’s current web connection to a central database. This would also allow the utility to see energy consumption patterns in real-time, including the ability to respond to service outages before the customer even notices.

Secondly, the ‘unique’ editorial policies of papers owned by Rupert Murdoch allow editors to add their own opinions to articles which are meant to serve as informational tools for readers to make their own decisions. For instance, last week’s article was titled “Smart Meter. Dumb Idea?“. What would the casual reader make of this?

Editorials published in response “Smart Meters are, well, Smart” are revealed to be written by leaders of trade associations who are hardly neutral observers on this subject. In the end, WSJ readers are likely to walk away with a sense of confused paralysis on the whole issue.

No matter which side of this argument you’re on, that is not the outcome we need.

Happy Earth/Wind/Sun Day

Wind TurbineWind TurbinesIt’s Earth Day, 2009.  What have you done this year to lessen your carbon footprint, save energy, and shop responsibly?  I remain imperfect although I claim to be “green.”  I educate myself, take public transit to work, turn off lights, shop with reusable bags and keep the heat off as much as possible.  Still, is this enough?  I’ve decided it’s important to not get overwhelmed and instead do what you can using the “every vote counts” motto.

For example, a simple way to support renewable energy is a mere few clicks away.  Just recently I learned Boston-area residents have the option to support clean wind power under NSTAR Green. This program makes it easy for consumers to support wind energy by demanding their electricity be provided by wind, not coal.  You have the option of choosing between 50% and 100% wind power.  And no, it’s not that expensive.  So, on this Earth Day, do your part by checking out NSTAR Green and switching from coal-generated electricity to wind.

Available Renewable Energy Tax Credits & Rebates

Here’s a list of the latest Renewable Energy Tax Incentives now available to residents and businesses in Massachusetts. The highlight being if you can somehow generate hydro-electric power from that attractive water feature in your backyard and hook it up to the grid, you’re good for a $50,000 tax credit from the Commonwealth.

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On the other hand, if you’re interested in available Tax Credits for Qualified Hybrid Vehicles.

Green energy companies still hiring in Massachusetts

dollar-sign“If you’re readying a resume, it might help to use recycled paper. The clean-tech and green industries in Massachusetts are hiring.”

That’s the takeaway from the article in today’s Boston Globe.

Amidst our economic woes and rising unemployment, the green energy sector continues to grow, thanks in part to the stimulus bill spending and an extension of tax credits for renewable energy generation.

Within the next two years, Stimulus Bill spending is expected to create or save 79,000 jobs in Massachusetts, and an estimated 3.5 million nationwide. In today’s economy, those are big numbers.

Green is the New Crimson

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Harvard University has opened a Office of Sustainability. This marks the formalization of the long running Campus Green Initiative at Harvard. The creation of this organization is tied to the University’s long-term energy use. The goal they are aiming for is simple:

30% reduction from 2006 campus-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 2016.

The office has an interesting business model for funding insofar as only 20% of their operating expenses comes from the Harvard’s general fund. The other 80% is generated from working with various University departments on a fee-for-service basis to produce energy and cost savings on building maintenance and construction, and to help each department adopt green policies in operations and procurements. Way to go Harvard!

Crawlspace 101

This weekend, Warm Home Cool Planet received a message from Lands’ End specifically targeting everyone shivering their way through winter here in Massachusetts.

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You know it’s cold when folks from Wisconsin are sending you winter sympathy messages via email. Beyond how cold it might be outside, the recent patch of artic weather here in Cambridge has resulted in lots of time spent inside for most residents. For Warm Home Cool Planet, that also means plenty of time to ponder why the ground floor of the house is always colder than the floors above.

A quick search around the Internet revealed a wealth of information on how most houses–particularly those built before the 1970s–don’t have properly insulated crawlspaces.

So if your bottom floor feels like a skating rink, find out why crawl space vapor is reducing your comfort–and increasing your heating bills. We also recommend looking at your all your options for properly sealing and insulating your crawlspace. Depending on the situation under your house, you need to check your polyethylene sheet has the right thickness, and you have the right kind of membrane to deal with moisture build up under your flooring.

Energy Efficient-from the ground up.

From the Laconia Citizen:

“It was 30 degrees outside but inside a yet-to-be-finished basement of a home being built on Summit Road, the temperature remained above 42 degrees, with no heat.

That’s because the home, which belongs to Cecilia Rai and James Koren of Plymouth, is being built to be energy-efficient from basement to attic.”

Find out more about this couple’s experience in building an energy efficient home in New Hampshire.

Cecilia Rai stand inside her yet to be finished house in Laconia, NH.

Cecilia Rai stands inside her yet to be finished energy efficient house in Laconia, NH.

Note the use of ICFs (Insulated Concrete Forms) in the outer walls. This is becoming a popular technique for including insulation in the construction process-particularly as it is independent of material used (stucco, brick, vinyl siding, wood…) for the outer walls.