With the opportunity of writing a monthly column for the Flathead Beacon came the challenge of continually figuring out what to write about. I was struggling with where to start when it occurred to me that the same issue comes up for folks trying to understand their electricity consumption: Where to start?
To address that question I need to separate our members into two distinct categories: those who heat with some fuel source other than electricity and those whose primary heating fuel is electricity.
For those of you who heat with something other than electricity, your bill is made up of what we refer to as your base load.
This is the energy needed to run your fridge, freezer, TVs, lights, computers, range, microwave, well pump, A/C, engine block heater, fence charger, water heater (if it is electric) and any other electric items. With the exception of air conditioning and block heaters, these items tend to be very static in their electric consumption so your bill likely does not vary much. Obviously your bill is directly tied to cumulative use, or the addition of some new electrical load.
If your primary heat source is electricity then the place to start is actually much easier! Start with one of our free home energy audits.
Because electric heat can be very consumptive we focus our audit program on our electric heat customers. This is largely because the potential to discover and achieve significant energy savings is much greater in an electrically heated home. Quite simply, we get more bang for our energy efficiency buck!
So, what happens in an energy audit? Our very experienced contractor checks the insulation levels in your crawlspace, attic and walls. He checks the temperatures of your refrigerator, freezer and water heater. He notes what type of windows you have and what kind of light bulbs you are using. If you still use the old energy wasting incandescent bulbs, he will give you up to 30 compact fluorescent bulbs.
If your shower heads are inefficient he will install new energy saving showerheads and if you have an electric water heater he will wrap the first three feet of incoming and outgoing pipe.
We then take all of the information that he has gathered, incorporate it with your historical billing data, and send you an awesome detailed report that reveals just how much of your electric bill is going towards heating, water heating and all the other electrical loads in your house. This report includes specific recommendations on changes you could and should make, which rebates you may qualify for, and how much you might save.
Then, if there are significant energy saving opportunities available, you will receive a personal phone call as a follow-up to see if there are any questions you might have or if you need any further assistance. Over the years we learned that even with great rebates and tax credits many of our members would like to become more efficient but just don’t have the cash.
So last year our board and management approved the development of our new Energy Fix Loan Program. Funds from this program can be used by our members for several of our energy efficiency upgrades like adding insulation or installing a heat pump at a low interest rate of 3 percent!
Often times the energy savings helps to pay for the small monthly payment making it relatively painless to improve your efficiency and your comfort level. So, start with a home energy audit by simply calling our toll free energy audit scheduling line at 866-363-7448 or give us a call at 751-4483.
Ross Holter is the Flathead Electrc Cooperatuve superviser of energy services.