Monday, June 1, 2009

Energy Efficiency the Affordable First Step Towards Zero Net Energy

It may be quite glamorous and popular to install a roof full of solar panels, tap into a geothermal source, or harness the wind to power your home or business. However these types of “sexy systems” should be the last step of your Zero Net Energy project.

By doing some focused work up front to tune, upgrade, or replace inefficient components of your existing building systems you will be able to save a great deal of money by reducing the size (capacity) of your renewable energy system. In addition to the reduction in your project cost, you’ll also enjoy recurring savings on your monthly utility bill by increasing the energy efficiency of your building.

Begin with an energy audit to determine where your building’s strengths and weaknesses are. Your audit report should be very detailed, and include a prioritized list of solutions with budget costs and an expected return on investment (ROI).

Low cost solutions like weather stripping, insulation, door and window replacements or films can be done for a small fraction of the cost of a photovoltaic (PV) system.

Medium cost solutions like HVAC system maintenance and lighting upgrades (LED being the best choice right now) are still first phase projects and make great economic sense.

Higher cost solutions will still be less than you’d pay for a renewable energy system (especially if sized for an inefficient building) and must be done to lower your overall power consumption. DDC controls for HVAC, sub-metering, lighting controls, demand response controls, etc fall into this category.

Making your building as energy efficient as possible will lower your utility bill and earn you immediate monthly savings. Start banking those savings and put them towards your (now smaller and less costly) PV system. It will still be “sexy”, it will still get you to zero net energy, it just won’t cost as much.

Now, that was smart.

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