ESTABLISHING AN ENERGY PLAN

An energy plan for your home or business is the best, least cost alternative to building more power plants. If we consider energy efficiency measures as compared to building more power plants, on average, efficiency upgrades cost about $.032/kW, while building the cheapest kind of coal fired generator costs more than 3 times that amount.

Energy Efficiency                                                  3.2 cents/kW

Wind                                                                    6.6

Biomass                                                               7.1

Natural Gas Combined Cycle                               8.7

Pulverized coal                                                     10.5

Thin Film Photovoltaics                                         11

Nuclear                                                                11.5

Coal Gasified Combined Cycle                             12

Source: NC State Energy Office

 Residential Energy Conservation:

Double pane windows give an immediate return. You can feel the difference right away and will have a significant impact on your energy bill.

Insulation in the floors and attic are an obvious improvement, yet it is remarkable how many homes lack adequate insulation. Some homes have no insulation in the floors at all, and even though heat rises, major losses occur through floors that are not insulated.

HVAC tune-ups are another widely overlooked area. An installer recently stated that about 80% of heat pump systems are out of specs when installed, then keep getting worse. Tuning up your heating & cooling system doesn’t cost much and will save big money by insuring optimal operation.

 Business Energy Conservation:

Businesses use most of the electricity produced in the US. Even modest increases in energy efficiency mean huge gains in profit as the dollars accumulate. Replacing inefficeint, older lighting, upgrading to a higher efficiency HVAC, or just turning off equipment when not in use will translate into operating profit every year.