A Summary of all we do toward energy independence

The bolts arrived and the concrete pad for the first windmill is poured.   Next we have to get the pole and in a month after the concrete pad cures, we can install the windmill.

Pouring the first wind mill base in Alaska

We have had a bit of a delay in installing the 5kw helix wind mill in Alaska.   But we are moving along.   here is where we are with this project:

1.  Continuing with the wind feasibility study.  A huge 60+mph gust took out the weather station.    Since we are down south at meetings and conferences, we had to get a local friend to put it back up.

2.  The Helix 5kw windmill was shipped.  Part of the packaging was damaged.  We’ll have to inspect it when we get back up there in December.

3.  We had sticker shock for the concrete pad pour.  There is only one concrete vendor in town and they charge 3 times more than any other concrete place in the US because of their monopolistic hold on the town.  We are holding our nose and paying their bill.   And contemplating setting up our own concrete plant to give folks in town an option and introducing some competition.

4. We ordered four sets of bolts for the concrete pour even though we are just installing one wind mill now since we want to put in three more wind mills next spring.   The bolts are showing up next week.

5. Kent is taking a class on installing the windmills this week so we can put the windmill up in December.

6.  We are ordering the pole for the windmill this week.   When you get a windmill - they do not sell you everything you need to install it.  BIG lessons learned.

My graphics design team and I came up with this conceptual drawing of a wind farm in Haines Alaska.   Depending on the size of the wind turbines, this wind farm can create from 9 to 18 mw of power.  The town right now only uses 3 to 4 MW of power.  The extra power could be used to create a hydrogen refueling station for a fleet of fuel cell powered fishing boats at the small boat harbor.

Gas Fireplace Insert uses half the natural gas of the open hearth and stopped heat loss up the chimney

I was inspired to become more energy self-sufficient after experiencing one 20% price increase after another with my local utility company, living through $5 per gallon gas prices, watching the tundra around my brother’s house in Fairbanks, Alaska turn to swampland because of warming global temperatures and watching my retirement savings take a nose dive in late 2008. Just from the financial perspective alone, I figure if I can reduce my recurring expenses then I can live on far less income in my “golden” years. PLUS, it makes far more sense to me to invest in things that will give me a solid return on investment than investing in a very volatile securities industry. Additionally with the prospect of looming inflation because of the US Treasury having less than 1% of assets in reserve vs. what they are loaning out, I figure the more I can reduce my monthly bills, the more resistant I will be to economic instability.

To get started, I first evaluated all my options (see blog post below). Next I created my first project plan, and then started by reducing the energy needed to heat the house and the water. I am eventually going to be creating my own electricity with solar and maybe wind power, but I learned that for every dollar I could save in energy usage, that was $5 less I’d have to spend with creating my own energy to power and heat my home. So I figured I would start with reducing my energy usage first.

Tankless Hot Water Heater Uses Half the Natural Gas as the Old Water Heater and 75% of the Natural Gas of a New Water Heater.

I started with the heavy hitters first - the natural gas I was using to heat the house and the water. I had a very old natural gas water heater and with my travel schedule, I was paying to keep a lot of water hot that I was never around to use. I also had this open natural gas fireplace that used 40,000 BTUs of natural gas and let a lot of heat out through the chimney. I replaced the water heater with an instant on tankless water heater that uses half the natural gas of my old water heater and 75% of the natural gas of a new hot water heater. But with my travel schedule, it just made no sense for me to keep a tank of water, no matter how well insulated, heated. For the fire place, that is easier, I installed a natural gas fireplace insert that uses half the BTUs, and is rated to heat the entire space of my house. Plus the insert is very well insulated so I won’t have the heat rushing up the chimney when it’s not on. By my back of the envelope estimates, I cut my natural gas use by at least 50%. This means I am saving $70 per month. I’ll have the upgrades paid back in less than five years. Click here to see the pay back analysis for making these improvements. payback-analysis-for-tankless-water-heater1

For more information on energy efficient appliances - visit - http://www1.eere.energy.gov/femp/procurement/eep_gas_waterheaters.html

Next I am making warm window shades to reduce the heat loss through my windows, improving the insulation under the house, and swapping out light bulbs with LED bulbs as they burn out.

Click here to see the project plan for becoming energy self-sufficient with this house. project_plan_energy-improvements-house-carson-city