Life, food, events, and community in Albuquerque, NM
PNM costs up 75%??????
So Fleck's blog says that PNM's energy costs are up 75% over a year ago. I assume that, at some point, they'll be passing the pain onto us. That scares the CRAP out of me given the crazy state of my heating bill last winter.
Last winter, we got rid of the "energy vampire" appliances, caulked the windows, and kept the thermostat WAY down. I don't think it'll be enough this year. I have a 2300 sq/ft house with wood floors....and rugs are out of question given the number of furkids.
My guess is that we'll need to have some kind of audit done to see where we're losing energy. How does one find someone to do that?
I was considering looking into more/better insulation for the attic and/or crawl space under the house, but I have no experience finding people who do that. Anyone have any advice or recommendations?
How does one go about making a house more energy-efficient?
Last winter, we got rid of the "energy vampire" appliances, caulked the windows, and kept the thermostat WAY down. I don't think it'll be enough this year. I have a 2300 sq/ft house with wood floors....and rugs are out of question given the number of furkids.
My guess is that we'll need to have some kind of audit done to see where we're losing energy. How does one find someone to do that?
I was considering looking into more/better insulation for the attic and/or crawl space under the house, but I have no experience finding people who do that. Anyone have any advice or recommendations?
How does one go about making a house more energy-efficient?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Amy on -
Disclaimer, I worked for PNM for three years, I was your friendly neighborhood bill insert author, among other things. So I was responsible for trying to get info out there about energy efficiency, and in the process I learned quite a bit that I put into practice at my house.
A lot of people don't do this as a first step, but ask PNM for help. There are booklets, online tools, efficiency tips on the website, etc. (I know because I wrote or edited a lot of that stuff.) You can go to pnm.com, where they have all kinds of goodies, including videos of how to weatherize your house, etc. or you can call customer service and tell them you need information about energy efficiency and weatherizing your home, and they should help you.
One thing we did after I learned a little bit about energy efficiency was replace our 30-year-old gas furnace. It hadn't been well-maintained and was maybe 40-50 percent efficient, at best. We got a new one, 90 percent efficient, and our bills went down. Yes, it did cost us some money to do the replacement but over time we will get it back, especially with how high natural gas prices will be this winter. The other things we did in our house:
- Weatherstrip and seal holes around doors, windows etc. - a lot of people don't do this but it does make a difference
- Don't use a traditional fireplace. I did not know this prior to working at PNM, but a regular old wood or gas fireplace (not pellet stove or woodburning stove) sucks all the hot air out of the room to fuel the fire and then your furnace has to turn on to replace that warm air. On a cold night, we would start a fire, to keep warm, of course! Not knowing that we might as well have been tossing dollar bills on the fire, it would have been an easier way to waste money. You'll stay warmer and less poor if you close off the fireplace so air can't escape. Not as romantic to cuddle up with your sweetie next to the furnace, but you can always get one of those DVDs of a "roaring fire" if you want.
- Turn down your thermostat. I once had a customer call me to complain about a high bill, I asked her what temperature her thermostat was set at. "74 degrees, day and night! I hate to be cold!" I can sympathize, like her I dislike being cold but I also dislike not having any money. We have a programmable thermostat that keeps the house at 68 degrees when we're there and goes down to 60 when we're not there and at night. We wear sweaters and slippers inside the house and put extra blankets on the beds. If you don't have a programmable thermostat, that is a great low-cost investment that can save quite a bit of energy.
Anyway - I learned all of this at PNM so visit their site, whydontcha, or give them a call. Oh, and I am not still taking kickbacks from them or anything, really. If I was I wouldn't be telling you how to give them less money. :)
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Permalink Reply by Rodney on -
68! In the winter, our thermostate is set at 58 for nights and is programmed for 62 beginning at 5:30am, then back to 58 after 8am.
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Permalink Reply by Amy on
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We have a toddler at home and 68 is as low as I feel comfortable setting the thermostat given that he doesn't have the communication skills to tell us when he's too cold. Not that it's a contest or anything...at least, if it is I wasn't aware of that...
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Permalink Reply by Martini Mike on -
I believe it. My electric bill is much worse than same time last year. I haven't changed a thing & this is a mild summer.
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Permalink Reply by Hairy McLairy on -
Mild Summer?
Our covered back patio in the South Valley has been hitting 102 in the shade day after day.
You must be up in them thar hills Mike!
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Permalink Reply by Carrie on -
Stephanie -- Here's two more cents from another PNM alum (I used to work down the hall from Amy in the Environmental Sustainability Dept, which they just disbanded...duh...no comment on that one).
I co-presented an Energy Efficiency 101 workshop at this year's Sustainability Week with a home energy auditor named Rick Crysler. I learned so much from his part of the workshop and I was surprised at how reasonably priced his services were. I liked him personally, felt he was honest, ethical and an all-around good dude. If I was going to get a home energy audit, that's who I would call.
Anyhow, here's how to find local home energy auditors for comparison shopping:
US Green Building Council, NM chapter web site lists professional services. Look at the HERS raters and call a few to see if they do home energy audits. The site is directed towards commercial buildings and Leadership in Energy and Environmental (LEED) projects, but most of these folks do residential work, too.
If you are interested in sustainability and green building, you might bookmark the USGBC NM site and check for their monthly salons and lunch presentations (salons are free, lunches are $25) or look at their classes. I belong to the organization and just love it.
Another resource is Green Build New Mexico, which lists home energy auditors under the Energy Efficiency Raters heading.
If you are considering insulation and you are a PNM natural gas customer, you can get a rebate if you use a qualified contractor. Check out this page of the PNM site for more details.
For free and fun learning, there is an incredible woman in town that hosts neighborhood house parties to teach people about energy efficiency and solar PV. She doesn't do this for any other reason other than to educate neighborhoods (she's a normal jane like you and me). I'll try to find out when her next one is and will ask her to post it on the Events listing at DCF.
Also -- the Sierra Club site is initiating an energy efficiency program and will start hosting house parties for neighborhoods -- check out their site for more information or call.
Lastly, check out the DOE's Energy Star Challenge for homes.
Good luck and let us know what you find!
Carrie
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Permalink Reply by NMGolfHacker on
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