A New Horizon for Weatherization: Base Load Measures

May 1999
By Robert Adams

NOTE: The following article is reprinted from the Web site of the National Association for State and Community Services Programs (NASCSP), http:// www.nascsp.org. Author Robert Adams is director of the Weatherization Assistance Program Technical Assistance Center (WAPTAC), http://www.waptac.org.

As part of the Weatherization Plus initiative being undertaken by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of State and Community Programs, the Weatherization Assistance Program will soon embark on new territory in its effort to assist low-income families conserve energy and reduce their energy burden - base load measures.

For many practitioners, the term "base load" is very familiar; however, for some this term is new. Simply stated, base load is the amount of energy, specifically electricity, used in providing routine needs for the household. The energy used when operating the refrigerator, clothes washer, dryer, lights, cook stove, oven, radios, televisions, and other appliances is considered base load. This energy use is differentiated from heating and cooling use, which are usually seasonal in nature.

Residential base load comprises more than 50 percent of the energy used in an average home. Traditionally, the Weatherization Program did not address this use in a comprehensive fashion. All states operated programs that included hot water system treatment, like insulation, pipe wrap, and temperature set back. Some states included lighting retrofit as an option, especially where utility investments were present. A few states operated refrigerator replacement pilot programs, again using utility or other investments.

Soon, all states will have the option to include these measures in a total Weatherization package to serve our customers even better than before.

Electricity is purchased from the local utility company in kilowatt hours (kWh), which is equal to the use of 1000 watts for one hour. Installing energy efficient appliances and lighting fixtures that require lower wattage for operation translates directly into lower electric bills. Less electricity used each month means savings at the end of the month, every month. It's that simple.

It is anticipated that at least three major areas of electric use will be addressed when base load measures are included in the Weatherization Program - refrigeration, lighting, and hot water heating. The following is a brief description of these areas and how they might be addressed in the future.

Refrigeration

The refrigerator is the single biggest power consumer in most households. Typically, older refrigerators use more electricity than newer ones. A standard refrigerator built around 1990 will use over 900 kilowatt hours per year, or more than $72.00 per year of electricity at $.08 per kWh. That's the same amount of energy used by a 1,250 watt hairdryer left on for a month.

A new generation of refrigerators began to appear in the early 1990's. These high efficiency models consumed at least 20 percent less energy than the older models already in use. They are manufactured with better insulation so that the compressor needs to run less often to keep things cold. The compressor is also built to be more efficient; the refrigeration box contains improved heat transfer surfaces; and the unit has a more precise temperature and defrost mechanism. Because the efficient refrigerator needs to run less often, the compressor produces less heat and the kitchen stays cooler. This extra benefit can reduce the need for air conditioning and can improve comfort.

Until recently, the market for high efficiency refrigerators was growing very slowly. In most cases, utility companies were the major impetus for consumers selecting high efficiency equipment by using rebates to motivate consumers to purchase these units. The size of the rebate usually depended on how much less energy the new model used compared to the unit being replaced. Low-income families were rarely able to take advantage of this rebate system since it required a significant up-front investment ($450 to $1,100) before the rebate could be accessed.

Within the last three years, several states have undertaken refrigeration replacement programs as pilot project initiatives or as part of an alternate service delivery package funded by utility companies or other stakeholders. The preliminary evaluations of these projects (Iowa and New York specifically) have proven that addressing this energy use feature in low-income homes can have a positive result in reducing consumption and saving money for the families.

The Weatherization Plus initiative hopes to include this option as part of a comprehensive base load package to be added to the standard heating and cooling measures already performed.

Of course, not every home can receive a new refrigerator and the application is not cost-effective in every instance. When opting to include refrigerators as an allowable service, each state would likely have to amend its auditing procedures to assess cost-effectiveness and applicability.

Lighting

One of the easiest base load measures to install is lighting retrofits. The standard incandescent bulb produces its light very inefficiently, wasting most of its energy by producing heat instead of light. In fact, over 90 percent of the energy used by an incandescent bulb produces heat instead of light. Research into more energy efficient lighting has produced a line of products that easily replace old incandescent bulbs in table lamps, ceiling fans, and other fixtures - compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL). These bulbs use triphosphors to achieve soft white incandescent color instead of the harshness usually attributed to fluorescent lighting. More importantly, the CFLs produce the same amount of lumens (light intensity) using less than one-quarter of the energy of an incandescent bulb and last 10 to13 times longer.

CFLs have excellent color rendition and are available in a wide variety of sizes, shapes, and wattages. As a rule of thumb, 1 watt of compact fluorescent can replace 3 to 4 watts of incandescent lighting. For example, you can replace a 60 watt incandescent lamp with 15 to 20 watts of compact fluorescent.

How much does an incandescent light bulb really cost and how much can be saved using CFLs? The math is very simple. An incandescent bulb has an average life expectancy of 1,000 hours. The bulb costs $.75. At an average kilo-watt cost of $.08, a 100 watt bulb will cost $8.00 in electricity during its life. This means the cost of the bulb is $8.75 ($.75 cost Plus $8.00 in electricity).

The life expectancy of a CFL is 10,000 hours. The bulb costs $16.00 on average; however, the replacement bulb is 23 watts, or one-quarter of the incandescent wattage needed. At the same average of $.08 per kWh, the electric cost for the bulb is $18.40. The total cost of the bulb is $34.40 ($16.00 cost Plus $18.40 in electricity). The major benefit is that you need one CFL for ten incandescent bulbs because of life expectancy. This means that the CFL cost of $34.40 is compared against the incandescent cost of $8.75 times ten, or $87.50. The savings from replacing one 100 watt incandescent bulb with a comparable 23 watt CFL is $53.10, yielding a savings to investment ratio of 2.4.

It is easy to understand why this retrofit measure became so popular for utilities and energy service companies. In addition to the financial benefits, lower energy consumption means less pollution. For every ten incandescent light bulbs replaced with a single CFL, 25 tons of coal will be preserved and smog and acid rain will be reduced by 150,000 pounds. Retrofitting an average single family home with compact fluorescent lighting will reduce imported oil by over 10,000 gallons over the life of the bulbs; 100 tons of coal will not need to be burned; and carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrous oxide emission will be reduced by 225 tons - a winning situation for everybody.

Water Heating

Water heating is the third largest energy expense in the average home and accounts for approximately 14 percent of the utility bill. There are four commonly known ways to reduce the energy bill associated with producing hot water: use less hot water, turn down the thermostat on the water heater, insulate the water heater (older models), and buy a new, more efficient water heater.

Weatherization already addresses three of these ways. A family of four can use between 800 and 1,000 gallons of hot water a week for showering, cooking, clothes, and other household chores. The amount used for showering could be cut in half by installing low-flow showerheads. The installation of high efficiency clothes washers can reduce water use by 33 percent and energy use by more than 25 percent. The insulation of older hot water heaters and hot water pipes can reduce energy use by up to 10 percent. Reducing the temperature of the hot water tank takes a few minutes but can sometimes be the most cost-effective thing done to a home.

In the Weatherization Plus initiative, there could be an allowance to replace older inefficient hot water heaters with new high efficiency models. Typically, these new units are 15 percent to 20 percent more efficient than the older models and some are as much as 50 percent more efficient. There are three important things to remember when replacing a hot water heater. First, check the "EnergyGuide" label to see how much energy the water heater will use in one year. Next, check the First Hour Rating of the water heater to see how much hot water the heater will deliver in the first hour of use. Finally, make sure the heater is sized properly for the home and the pattern of occupant use.

Because of the integration of new services like the base load measures referenced above, the future of the Weatherization Assistance Program appears bright and alive. The Weatherization Plus philosophy expands the services we can provide while challenging us to initiate new assessment technologies and better utilize resources to attract partners who will invest in our high quality service delivery array. As we approach the next millennium we must focus on answering this challenge by taking advantage of these opportunities to constantly improve the services we provide to low-income Americans.

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