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The Rural Missouri NEWS Service
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April 2008
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September 2008 Your Co-Op is Fighting For You Your electric cooperative, as your provider of safe, affordable and reliable electric service, is fighting to minimize the cost impact of legislation currently being discussed by lawmakers — legislation that could otherwise go wrong for consumers, and go wrong for the country. Between now and 2030, consumer demand for electricity is expected to increase by 30 percent. To meet that, our nation must add about 264,000 megawatts in expected demand. But construction cost increases and the need to develop climate-change policy is preventing new coal and nuclear power facilities from coming online. Power suppliers are being forced to use fuels such as natural gas, which is subject to wide swings in price, to generate electricity. Coal, a once inexpensive fuel, has recently shot up in cost as well. The impact of these mounting fuel issues is being compounded across the country as dramatic electric rate hikes are announced, driven by steady cost increases. These are no longer far-away problems reserved for backroom discussions in Washington, D.C., or state capitals. What has been described as a perfect storm — the clash of growing demand, skyrocketing power plant construction and fuel costs, and climate change policy constraints — has hit home. To ensure that co-op members’ energy needs are met, electric cooperatives across the country are engaged in a grassroots campaign called “Our Energy, Our Future: A Dialogue With America.” This campaign seeks to engage policymakers on critical energy questions, such as how to reconcile growing electricity needs and environmental goals, and how much of all this will increase electric bills. Please visit www.ourenergy.coop to get the conversation started. Here you can send an e-mail or print a letter directed at your U.S. representative and Senators Bond and McCaskill. If you don’t have Internet access, contact your local electric cooperative and they will help you get in touch. As they work to solve our nation’s energy problems, your elected officials need to hear from you. Missouri’s electric cooperatives believe the challenges of meeting our environmental goals can be addressed without breaking the economy and putting the burden on consumers, who are already being hit hard by high gas prices. Major questions to ask elected officials and candidates for office are:
Balancing electricity needs and environmental goals will be difficult. How much is all this going to increase my electric bill and what will you do to make it affordable? Freezer Fix Do you need a stand-alone freezer? For large families and for gardeners, fishermen and hunters with lots of produce, fish and game to preserve, the answer is more than likely yes. Harvest time and hunting season are good times to consider buying an energy-efficient freezer or replacing your old model. Like refrigerators, freezers have an average life of 17 years. And like refrigerators, the efficiency of freezers has increased dramatically — they use only about half the energy of a typical 1990 model. Energy Star models use at least 10 percent less energy than the minimum federal standards. Energy Star models may use as little as 230 kWh a year for a 6.4 cubic feet chest freezer up to 705 kWh a year for a 20.5 cubic feet upright with an automatic defroster, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Keep in mind, chest freezers are more efficient than uprights, because they typically have more insulation, and cold air doesn’t sink out when the freezer is opened. Freezers with automatic defrost use more energy than manual defrost models and also can dehydrate food, causing freezer burn. Stand-alone freezers also use less electricity than a refrigerator freezer, because there’s typically less loss of cold air from opening and closing the door. Freezer efficiency: some facts As a first-time shopper for a freezer or an old pro looking to eke out more efficiency from your current model, here are some facts about freezers from the U.S. Department of Energy and other sources to consider:
DOE compared an upright with automatic defrost of between 16.5 to 18.4 cubic feet with varying degrees of efficiency. A base model used 687 kWh annually, costing $42 a year based on 6 cents per kWh. Compare that to the most efficient model available, which used 616 kWh and cost $37 a year. Over the lifetime of the unit, the less efficient unit will cost $545 to run and the most efficient $485. At the Energy Star Web site at www.energystar.gov, you can find an Excel-based cost calculator for freezers. Select the type of freezer you have or may buy and the electricity rate you pay, and the calculator will automatically display your costs. Keep in mind, a chest freezer will cost less to operate than an upright, and manual defrost will use 35 percent to 40 percent less electricity than automatic defrost. Hot tips for freezer buyers
Before you buy a freezer… Freezers are a workhouse appliance. They don’t come with lots of bells and whistles: Basically, they just need to keep food frozen. While there aren’t lots of options to check out when shopping for a freezer, do ask these questions before you buy:
Chest or upright? So you’re ready to shop for a freezer but don’t know whether a chest or upright is better for your situation. Consider these characteristics of chest versus upright models. Chest
Upright
Fight frost: the enemy of freezer efficiency Online energy-efficiency advisor Amy Clark at www.momadvice.com says frost buildup increases the amount of energy needed to keep the motor running, so defrosting your freezer is an important step in being freezer-savvy. Defrost your freezer when the ice buildup is at least one-fourth inch – for a typical family that will be once or twice a year. Choose a time when your food stocks are low, say after the Christmas holidays. Before defrosting, check food for expired dates and freezer burn and throw out anything suspicious. Put any food that looks good into coolers while your freezer defrosts. If you’re manually defrosting, the least labor-intensive approach is simply to unplug the freezer, open the door and let the ice melt naturally. Or you can speed up the process by placing a pot of boiling water on top of a pot holder inside the freezer. Blow dryers also can hasten the ice melting. Don’t forcibly pry off the ice buildup — you could puncture the freezer lining. Drain the ice debris and water or use a wet-dry vacuum cleaner to suck up any ice debris and water. Then clean the freezer with 2 tablespoons of baking soda and 1 quart of warm water. Allow the freezer to run for an hour after you’ve switched it back on before filling it again. Because freezers run more efficiently when full, fill up unused space with inexpensive food items like loaves of bread or with crumpled newsprint to prevent air from circulating inside. You can also freeze plastic bottles of water. Energy Efficiency Tip of the Month Save money and energy by implementing these no-cost efficiency measures:
A few months ago, my wife and I had the opportunity to visit six European countries. I quickly noticed that almost every light bulb there was more energy efficient than most regular incandescent bulbs in America. I remember looking at her and saying, “Honey, they are a lot further ahead on energy-saving light bulbs than we are.” Well, 10 months later, I am happy to say that we in America are rapidly adapting to the use of compact fluorescent lights (CFLs). CFLs are getting more dependable, and there a more classes of the light spectrum being offered (soft white, bright white, etc.). Some are now being made for use with a dimmer switch, and there are far more sizes and designs than in the past. In fact, I believe that I could totally light any new or existing house with CFLs. The only exception would be an appliance light for a refrigerator or oven. As interest in CFLs grows, I find myself getting a lot of questions at my seminars, in letters and on the phone about the proper way to dispose of a CFL. At first I didn’t know why folks were asking that question. Then I learned it had been mentioned on television that CFLs contained mercury. Well, we learned from our mother and teachers in school to never touch mercury and certainly never to put it near our mouth, except when our temperature was taken with a thermometer that has mercury in it. Because of your question concerning this matter, I went out and did some research. Here, to the best of my ability, is the answer. First, man does not make mercury (unless you are talking about the automobile). God made mercury as one element of the earth, as evidenced by the element chart on the wall of a chemistry class. Minute traces of mercury can be found in many places and many soil types. You may actually come into contact with some mercury while you are working in your garden. It appears that contact with minute amounts of mercury poses no health threat whatsoever. OK. Just how much mercury is in a CFL anyway? Well, take your ballpoint pen and made a dot, like the period at the end of this sentence. That is about how much mercury is in a regular CFL. It is miniscule, folks. There are a few locations that recycle CFLs, and if you are near one, by all means recycle them. However, if you are not near such a center, I see no reason why you can’t dispose of a CFL in the trash as you would a regular incandescent bulb. And just as you would with any bulb, I suggest that you be careful not to break or crush the bulbs because you could cut yourself. So, I hope this column will put your mind at ease about CFLs. In these days of rising energy costs, CFLs are a cost effective way to save energy. So, if you haven’t already, go out and replace those old incandescent bulbs today with CFLs and start saving on your electric bill. For additional information on CFL recycling, visit www.serviceconcepts.biz/products_recycling.htm. |
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So what’s it going to cost to
run? It depends on size, degree of efficiency and the rate you pay for electricity. But here’s an example from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
Doug
Rye says...