Monday, October 27, 2014

A Family's Journey to the Sun: Part Three

Photo by Ethan Lofton
We began telling Will Finn's story this month in Part 1 and Part 2, and we wrap it up with this: They are not done yet.

After saving as much energy with efficiency measures in Part 1 and joining the Durango Community Solar Garden in Part 2, you'd think that Finn and Family would be finished with saving energy and money. But they are not.

'Q' is for Quality

Once he has completed all the efficiency upgrades that were prescribed in the HomeRx report, Finn plans to get a quality inspection from 4CORE to ensure the air leaks are plugged and his new appliances are working properly. Setting up the blower door for a second time after he has made the changes will let Finn rest assured that his home is sealed tight and the energy he needs to heat and cool will decrease.

Options for a Clean Commute

Will has recently become a big fan of the "Way to Go Club" in Durango. The little gifts every so often help keep him commuting by bike and connect him with others who are doing the same.

Additionally, Sandra commutes quite a way and now that they subscribe to solar power, they are looking into an electric car to commute responsibly. The Tesla models are the only electric cars that offer a long enough range for her commute. However, the financial investment is a barrier at this point. Will and Sandra are biding their time, as Tesla has announced a new Model 3 that will arrive in 2017, offering an affordable price with the range Sandra needs to get all the way to work. They are using this time to save up for another purchase from a solar garden to power this electric car.

Saving Water Outside

Most water at home is used on lawns and gardens in the summer. Will and Sandra will begin xeriscaping their front yard to reduce water use this coming spring. This will save water resources, as well as on water bills, which are likely to increase by next summer.

How About You?

Now that you've heard about Will, Sandra and Jasper, what is YOUR story? 4CORE would love to hear about your efforts in the comment section below!

About the Family
Will Finn is an internal medicine physician and his wife Sandra Beirne is a pediatrician. They have a four-year-old son Jasper. Previous to moving to Durango, Dr. Finn spent four years practicing broad-spectrum Internal Medicine on the Navajo Reservation in Shiprock. He and his wife enjoy hiking, biking, kayaking, and skiing. He believes that if everyone could make their home more energy efficient, we would make our community stronger and our world more liveable.

Monday, October 13, 2014

A Family's Journey to the Sun: Part Two

It is National Energy Awareness Month and we're celebrating by continuing our story about a family who is reducing their energy use.

In Part One of this story, we found out about the energy Will Finn and Sandra Beirne are saving at their home through an energy assessment and upgrades. Just around the time of this HomeRx Assessment, Solarize La Plata was accepting participants. Finn and Beirne signed up to take part.

As part of the process, Shaw Solar came to their home and did a site assessment. The outcome was not what they'd hoped for.

Shaw solar's utility bill analysis surmised that they would need a 6 kilowatt (kW) system to power their family's needs. The roof is marginal because they are shaded by a hillside and many trees. The house is oriented on north-south axis with the roof facing east and west. Because of these issues, Shaw recommended a pole mount system, which would have shaded their family garden and created what some might consider an eyesore in their neighborhood.

Though this was a setback for the family, sunnier news came quickly in the form of a Community Solar Garden. 

John Shaw & Friends
 at the Girls and Boys Club
At about the time they found out that the roof-mounted system would be out of reach, La Plata Electric Association approved Policy 366, which made it possible for the creation of Community Solar Gardens. Shaw Solar had two gardens to choose from- one in Ignacio and one in Durango. 

Because the Durango array will be located on the Boys and Girls Club of La Plata County building, Finn opted for this closer array so that his son could see where their power was being produced. Since the array will be visible from Main Avenue and  it is located on a non-profit that works with kids, there is a good chance that his son and other kids will be learning about the benefits of solar in their community- which were positives for Sandra and Will.

Using a 5% increase in electricity costs, Shaw estimated their payback to be approximately twelve years. Finn's family feels good knowing that electric prices will likely be rising faster than that (potentially producing a faster payback) and the environmental choice to take part in this Community Solar Garden was clear for them. They are now signed up to subscribe for 6 kW of power from this garden and feel much relieved that this was an option since their own roof mounted array was not.   

So they've got a safe and efficient home. They are on their way to solar power. What more can they do and what is next?

Find out the surprising answer in the third and final part of this series by subscribing to the 4CORE newsletter.

About the Family
Will Finn is an internal medicine physician and his wife Sandra Beirne is a pediatrician. They have a four-year-old son Jasper. Previous to moving to Durango, Dr. Finn spent four years practicing broad-spectrum Internal Medicine on the Navajo Reservation in Shiprock. He and his wife enjoy hiking, biking, kayaking, and skiing. He believes that if everyone could make their home more energy efficient, we would make our community stronger and our world more liveable.

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

A Family's Journey to the Sun: Part One

Will Finn and his family moved to their Durango home in April of 2013. Built in 1990, they were soon to find out how the home needed some attention to safety and efficiency.

Finn and family moved from Shiprock New Mexico, where he was briefly involved with a taskforce that worked to improve the efficiency of area homes so that they could move toward taking advantage of the area's abundant solar energy. This experience familiarized him with the notion that if a home is leaky and inefficient, there is no sense in investing in solar. Making a financial or an environmental decision for your home starts with efficiency.

Finn and his wife Sandra heard about 4CORE from La Plata Electric Association, who conducted an electricity usage assessment at no cost. The LPEA staff suggested several things that could make their home more efficient, including window blinds and a deeper analysis of their home through 4CORE's HomeRx Program.

Will and Sandra signed up for a comprehensive home assessment while getting a bid for new blinds. The estimate for insulating blinds was $6,000. In the end, they were glad to have the in-depth testing by 4CORE, which provided a blower-door and other technical assessments. Not only did these tests reveal they didn't need new blinds after all (they just needed to latch their windows), they discovered carbon monoxide was leaking from their furnace room, situated right next to the bedroom of their son.
“4CORE's thorough professional evaluation revealed many shortcomings of our home that we never would have noticed, including a potentially dangerous carbon monoxide back-draft on a part of our home that wasn't built to code.” 
Money Matters

Incentives made it possible for Finn to receive a total of $250 off the assessment and another $500 toward efficiency improvements that were recommended in the HomeRx report. All told with rebates and the federal tax credit, Finn saved $1,875 on their home improvement projects.


 Amount  Product/Service Grantor
 $150 HomeRx Assessment Energy Smart/ Atmos
 $400 Efficient Furnace Atmos
 $25 Programable thermostat Atmos
 $50 Proper Furnace sizing Atmos
 $100 HomeRx Assessment City of Durango
 $500 Efficient Furnace City of Durango
 $300 Fed tax credit for solar attic fans US Fed IRS
 $100 Marathon Water heater LPEA
 $250 30 LED bulbs LPEA
 $1,875 Total

New energy efficient furnace and marathon water heater
The 'To Get Done' List
"Many of these recommendations are cheap and easy to do on our own, but we are contracting out the bigger items, which is helping provide work for some local companies.”
The HomeRx Assessment helped educate Finn about specific tasks that would improve his home safety and efficiency. Here is the substantial list of improvements they have accomplished:
  • Sealed a heat duct that was causing an unsafe carbon monoxide back draft. Now they have a closed system in their furnace closet so that it isn't vented right next to their son's bedroom. 
  • Replaced their furnace with an efficient model 
  • Replaced water heater with a Marathon Model 
  • Installed a programmable thermostat to regulate temperature when they are not at home
  • Put a timer on the water heater in case 'time of use' from LPEA is an option. 
  • Replaced 57 light bulbs with efficient LED and CFL bulbs. This was a bigger project than he anticipated, but he took advantage of LPEA rebate of up to $10 per LED bulb. 
  • Caulked along windows
  • Insulated the attic hatch
  • Replaced recessed light housing because of the direct access to the attic from these cans. This is something he never would have done otherwise, but was a need that HomeRx revealed.
  • Installed solar powered attic fans. 
  • Sealed a heating vent in the laundry room (there were two heating vents in the laundry room so it was excessively warm) 
  • Installed new, more energy efficient bathroom fan in each bathroom
The last item that Finn is currently working on is to replace the foam board in the garage storage room.

A conservative estimate of $424 per year in energy cost savings based on these improvements was calculated by 4CORE.

Now that their home is more efficient, they are ready for the next step in their 'Journey to the Sun'. Stay tuned to the 4CORE newsletter for the Part Two!

About the Family
Will Finn is an internal medicine physician and his wife Sandra Beirne is a pediatrician. They have a four-year-old son Jasper. Previous to moving to Durango, Dr. Finn spent four years practicing broad-spectrum Internal Medicine on the Navajo Reservation in Shiprock. He and his wife enjoy hiking, biking, kayaking, and skiing. He believes that if everyone could make their home more energy efficient, we would make our community stronger and our world more liveable.