Compact Fluorescent Bulbs

Well, I bought my first compact fluorescent bulb over the weekend. I used it to replace one of my six bulbs in my kitchen, as I feel we use this light the most. We are going to start buying one of these each trip to the grocery store. The labelling claims to save $55 over the life of the bulb. That is calculated based on 10 cents per kWh. Since we pay about 6 cents per kWh, our savings will be less... just guesstimating at $35 over the life of the bulb.

Anyhow, hopefully that will start to make a small difference in our electricity costs, and make a better difference in the environment. I went crazy several months back and tried to make sure everything used as little electricity as possible by unplugging the TV when we did not watch it, using my laptop instead of my desktop, and chasing everyone through the house and turning off the lights. That month, we used one less KWh than the previous month. A whopping savings of 6 CENTS! I nearly gave up then. So, I am easing back into it. With the summer approaching, I am look at ways to cut on cooling costs. While there are several ways to do this that are similar to heating control costs (insulation, etc), there are many differences as well. One thing I am looking into is solar screens. Also, I am building a patio off the back of my house (back faces southeast, and no windows on the southwest side of the house). So, we are thinking building a pergola to shade the back door and first story windows. That will look nice as well.

Cold Weather Heating Tip

While you may hear of all sorts of ways to reduce heating needs, you may not hear of this. Your central air should have an air filter to clean the air as it enters the unit. This is necessary for a couple of reasons: 1) it keeps dust out of your HVAC unit that could cause a fire, and 2) it helps to keep the amount of dust in your air low. Over time, the filter is clogged. HVAC technicians recommend replacing your filter once a month. I do this regularly, because my home is new construction, and there is a lot of dust in the air. But, many people stop doing this after some time.

Did you know that a clogged air filter can actually restrict airflow so much that it can overheat your HVAC unit? It can. So, you can reduce a lot of needs by changing your air filters. It allows the free flow of air, and means that your home is brought to temperature more quickly, meaning lower run times for your HVAC system. This can save on the wear and tear, as well as your energy consumption (which translates into lower energy bills).

You can buy disposable filters at hardware stores. You can also buy reusable filters that can be washed by hand in a sink, or vacuumed clean. The disposable filters usually filter the air better than the reusable. I tend to buy disposable filters, and vacuum them clean a couple of times, before replacing them. For me, it is the best of both worlds.

Company Spotlight: Evergreen Solar

Evergreen Solar is a PV panel manufacturer based out of Marlboro, Massachusetts. They were founded in 1994, and have a proprietary system for a different kind of PV crystal growth called String Ribbon (tm). This technology allows for a hybrid of existing and emerging manufacturing processes in PV. First, the techonolgy produces the same, high-quality, proven PV panels that is prevelant in the use. Secondly, their String Ribbon (tm) technology allows for quicker manufacturing, with less waste that is associated with sawing the crystals to the proper size and shape. This allows for lower costs for the company and the consumer.

If you want to be a part of conserving technologies, don't just be a spectator. Evergreen Technologies in traded on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange under ESLR. They are trading at a little over $12/share, and with their String Ribbon(tm) technology, you can expect them to continue to grow.

FAS and BAS for Entry-level Hybrid Technology

In a previous post, I discussed the cost analysis of owning and operating a hybrid vehicle. The numbers do not look that great. The only thing that will make them cost effective, with the current pricing, is if fuel prices climb near, or above, $5/gallon; We should hope that doesn't happen within the next decade. So what are the alternatives? FAS (flywheel alternator starter) and BAS (belt alternator starter). Both of these systems are considered the bare minimum to being classified as hybrids. In each case, the main fuel advantage is to stop fueling the engine while idling, and then starting it back up apon acceleration.

FAS is really the more powerful option. This is available today in Chevrolet Silverados and GMC Sierras. The additional cost is about $1,500. Coupled with a $250 tax encentive, this shows promise while increasing fuel economy by 10% and sacrificing no performance. Instead of having an alternator, you have a flywheel alternator/motor that resides between the engine and the transmission. It charges a 42v battery while the engine is running. When the vehicle deccelerates fast enough, or the vehicle begins to idle, the engine is turned off. When in motor-mode, it is much more powerful than a typical starter; this allows for a quicker starting time so that you are not burdened with the average ignition time when using your key. This system provides to extra acceleration power, however.

BAS is a similar system that will be offered the 2007 Saturn VUE, and the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu. It replaces the alternator in is current state with a alternator/motor that resides where the alternator usually resides. Instead of a 42v battery, it uses a seperate 36v battery, along with the traditionally 12v battery that a car typically has. When accelerating from a stop, or when the engine is off, the alternator switches to motor mode and drives the engine through the belt system. Estimates state that the fuel improvement will be between 2-7%.

Why are these systems being introduced when they do not create a large difference? Economics. These systems are very inexpensive for consumers to purchase, so the initial investment is low. Also, the resale value of the vehicles is expected to be much better than their non-hybrid counterparts. The small fuel economy improvement will have a quicker return than a full blown hybrid system.

P.S. Sorry about not posting for an extended period of time. We will just say that I was on a sort of vacation.

Biodiesel Kit

I was watching the show Trucks! on Spike TV yesterday. The host went through the entire process of creating biodiesel on the show. He used the FuelMeister. This kit costs about $3,000. It isn't cheap, but they claim that you can make your own biodiesel for about 70 cents per gallon. If you make 20 gallons per week, it would take you 83 weeks to make a return, with fuel pricing being about $2.50/gallon. That is just over a year and a half. Further, think if you make over 20 gallons per week... it could happen sooner.

This equipment is really nothing spectacular... it is just giant tupperware with some nice valves and hoses. You could easily make something like this yourself. The largest roadblock for me is that I do not own a vehicle with a diesel engine. In the US, we are limited to big trucks and German imports, if we want diesel engines. And the new turbo diesel engines get great gas mileage. Think of a huge Ford F250 getting 30mpg. That is what a turbo diesel can do. What if that turbo diesel were in a moderately sized truch or sedan? You could expect better fuel economy for sure.

I am not sure what regulations you would have to look into, but if you made a surplus of biodiesel, you could easily sell it for $2.00/gallon and make about $1.30/gallon profit. This would help out the purchasers and it would lower the demand on diesel fuel. Plus, you could pay off that FuelMeister sooner.

Cost Analysis for Hybrid Vehicles

I have been wanting to chart one of these out for a few months, but I have not brought myself to it, yet. JLP at AllThingsFinancial has shown comparisons of standard sized vehicles and their hybrid counterparts. This just illustrates the MPG and the cost of gasoline. From his data, he deduces that it is unlikely to will receive a return on the extra expense of purchasing the hybrid vehicle. Once again, why would people purchase hybrids if they are not going to actually save any money? It has to reach a point where it is cost effective.

I would still like to make my own graphs that show the break-even analysis of a hybrid vs. standard vehicle. Just so you know how long it will take to recoup your expense. Maybe all the rich people will buy them to be cool, and then trade them in after two years. Maybe we could do a break-even analysis on buying a two-year used hybrid vs. a two-year used standard vehicle. These would have to come off of leases. It would be highly unlikely that someone would buy a hybrid, with the extra expense, and trade it in without holding it for at least five or more years to squeeze out the savings. Even at five years, I wouldn't expect a return.

Straight Vegetable Oil as Fuel?

I was watching the local news this morning, and the headline was something like 'another fuel alternative'. It certainly peaked my interest. As the story finally began, they were discussing vegetable oil. I was thinking, great, another story about biosdiesel. There is nothing wrong with biodiesel, however, it is not new to me and is no longer exciting. Besides, I do not have a diesel engine. This story was not about biodiesel, however. It was about using straight vegetable oil (SVO). Unrefined (but highly filtered) cooking oil at a replacement to diesel fuel. Again, it did not seem as exciting to because do not have a diesel engine.

I wanted to find out some more information about this, however. The claim implied that you could just pour the vegetable oil in your fuel tank and go. From what I have found, there does not seem to be such a panacea. One of the key factors about using vegetable oil is that it is much thicker than diesel fuel. Because of this, it has to be heated before it is used, so that it is thinner. This reminds me of my fast-food days when we used to filter the fryer oil. The filter had a pump, a grate, and a paper filter, as well as a heating unit. It is not hot enough to ignite the fuel, but it is hot enough to burn yoor skin.

There are plenty of other factors that I found as well, sucu as the type of vegetable oil, the type of injection, the type of fuel pump, etc. Here are some links... it is almost enough to make me consider getting a diesel beater car to drive around.

• Straight vegetable oil as diesel fuel
• Greasecar vegetable fuel systems
• Veg-Conversion your diesel engine to Straing Vegetable Oil
• Car and Driver
  

More Fuel Saving Tips

I found a list of more fuel savings tips at SavingAdvice.com. It seems comprehensive. It discusses the often overlooked ideas of reducing weight and drag. My favorite are the tips to use at the fueling station to make sure you are not getting ripped off, like: tilting the nozzle 180 degrees when finishing, do not top off as it puts less fuel in your tank, fuel up when it is cooler outside, etc.