Kauai Energy Efficiency At Home
If all the households in Hawaii cut their energy bill in half, we would save one million dollars per day in energy costs. Therefore, energy efficiency in the home is the cheapest, safest, and fastest option we have available. If you want to get started cutting your home energy bill in half, you may want to do an energy audit to see where you can make the greatest difference in your energy consumption. You can do an energy audit yourself, or you can hire a professional to tell you where savings can be found.
A typical Hawai’i home uses:
40% – Water Heater
15% – Refrigerator
12% – Air Conditioner
8% – Lighting
8% – Cooking
8% – Clothes Dryer
5% – Misc
3% – Dishwasher
1% – Clothes Washer
You can find resources online for completing your own home energy audit, including the Department of Energy. New tools make it easy to measure how much energy your various appliances and devices are using, and different electricity monitors are available at home improvement stores. Many of these monitors allow you to plug in an electrical appliance, and it will measure how much energy the device is using and will tell you how much it costs to operate it. More sophisticated models can track exactly how much electricity your home is consuming at any given moment, allowing you to switch on or off various appliances and electric devices to see how much they are consuming individually. Some of these will interface with your home computer and allow you to record changes so you can track your usage over time. These are incredibly useful tools for helping you identify where you can make the biggest energy improvements and save money.
Kauai Energy Conservation At Home
Energy conservation begins at home, and there are many things that people on Kauai can do. For the typical household in Hawaii, the top energy users are hot water, refrigeration, air-conditioning, clothes drying, cooking, and electric lighting. Here are steps you can take to use energy more efficiently.
Hot Water
- Install a solar water heating system.
- Turn down the temperature of your electric water heater to the warm setting (120°F).
- Install a low-flow showerhead and take short showers.
- Wash only full loads of clothes, and use cold water whenever possible.
- Fully load your dishwasher before running it.
- Air-dry dishes instead of using the drying cycle.
Refrigeration
- Shorten the amount of time you keep the refrigerator door open.
- Make sure your refrigerator door seals are airtight. (You can test them by closing the door over a dollar bill so it’s half in and half out of the refrigerator. If you can pull the paper or bill out easily, the seal may need replacing.)
- Don’t keep your refrigerator or freezer too cold. Recommended temperatures are 37° to 40°F for the refrigerator and 5°F for the freezer.
- Consider buying a new Energy Star unit.
Air-Conditioning
- Use ceiling fans and natural ventilation instead of air-conditioning. Utilizing Hawaii’s trade winds can save a lot of energy.
- If it’s time to purchase a new air-conditioner, consider buying an Energy Star model and be sure it’s the right size unit for your home.
- Install your air-conditioning unit on the north side of the house if possible or surround it with shrubs and other landscaping that shade it from the sun without blocking the airflow.
Clothes Drying
- Dry laundry naturally in a fresh breeze or the sunshine.
- Don’t over-dry your clothes. Use the moisture sensor if your dryer has one.
- Dry towels and heavier cottons in a separate load from lighter-weight clothes.
- These drying tips alone may save a typical family about $300 per year.
Cut Phantom Loads
- Phantom loads are from devices that use energy even when they are not in use – such as certain cell phone chargers, computer equipment, and devices that have a “standby” mode. Plug home electronics into smart power strips, which will eliminate phantom loads. This can account for as much as 15% of your energy bill.
Lighting
- Switch from incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). CFLs use 75% less energy and last up to 10 times longer. By replacing just one 100-watt light bulb that’s turned on six hours a day, you can save about $50 a year.
- Using CFLs in outdoor fixtures will save a lot of energy.
- Installing solar lighting outside your home is quick and easy and no electricity costs.
Solar Water Heaters In Hawaii
Hawaii becomes the first state requiring energy-saving solar water heaters installed in all new homes starting in 2010. The bill which took affect January 1st prohibits issuing building permits for single-family homes that do not have solar water heaters. The move to force solar heating is a big step for a state that relies on imported fossil fuels for 90% of its energy supply.
Conventional water heaters are typically the largest electricity consumer in the average household, gobbling up nearly 40% of consumption. This measure was first introduced five years ago when a barrel of oil was much less, and since then, the price has more than tripled. Lawmakers described a government requirement for solar water heaters as a way to protect the environment, reduce Hawaii’s heavy reliance on foreign energy sources, and save money.
Solar water heaters typically cost home buyers about $5,000 extra, but island residents will save thousands of dollars on their electricity bills over the life of their home. Solar water heaters reduce residents’ electricity costs between 30 percent and 35 percent – up to $150 per month for a family of four on Kauai. With those kind of savings, the initial expense is usually paid off in three to four years.
