NEGAWATTS FROM HIGH ENERGY HOMES PROPOSAL TO PORTOLA

NEGAWATTS FROM HIGH ENERGY HOMES PROPOSAL TO PORTOLA VALLEY TOWN COUNCIL FOR EECBG FUNDS 1 Debbie Mytels, Acterra Steve Schmidt, Los Altos Hills resident & volunteer December 9, 2009

E ILL GA LO D IS CL OV I LV ED ER LA E FA YE TT E RI PO N RO BR CKL IN EN TW OO D OA KL EY LO SA LT OS BE HE IN DA AL DS SH BUR AS G TA LA KE CL AY TO N OR NV DA TO LL EY SS RO VA RA SA ILL S GH RE NO SE LA RT O TE ON SH LT O E ID OU OR DS ON 20, 000 PO M SA LO SB HI LL OO W HE RT AT WHAT ARE “HIGH ENERGY HOMES”? (DATA FROM PG&E; ELECTRICITY ONLY) Highest Average Annual Residential Electric Use (k. Wh) 15, 000 10, 000 5, 000 0 2

SIZE OF HOME ≠ ENERGY USE BUT IT MAY BE THE BEST PREDICTOR Mostly High Energy Mostly Typical Much Variation About 3000 Homes 3

HIGH ENERGY HOMES: WHY CARE? For Towns, it’s AB-32 Carbon regulation is on its way For Residents, various motivations: Rising Costs Highest PG&E tier now 44 cents/k. Wh Energy Independence Less energy used = Less energy imported The Energy Crisis WW demand growth not sustainable Global Warming Dying coral reefs, sliding ice sheets, polar bears, sea level changes, dogs & cats living together, etc. Pick Any 4

SAMPLE COMMUNITY EMISSIONS (DATA FROM 2008 LOS ALTOS HILLS GHG INVENTORY) Home Energy Use Three Initiatives: 17% Residential PV Green Building Codes Home Audits 18% 17% 43% Commercial Gas & Electric Residential Solid Waste Government Operations Transportation Behavior Focus on Education 5

HOME ENERGY USE: ANALYSIS (SOURCE: DOE & LAH AUDITS; INCLUDES BOTH ELECTRICITY AND HEATING FUEL) 300% 120% Other Appliances 250% 100% 37% 80% 200% Other Appliances & & Lighting 120% Refrigerators Water Heating 60% 150% 52% 34% 40% 100% 20% 50% 34% 20% 0% 0% Space Heating 88% Space Heating HVAC 37% Air Conditioning 20% CA Average LAH Audits * HVAC normalized per square foot 6

CHARACTERISTICS OF HIGH ENERGY HOMES Typical CA Home High Energy Homes • Smaller, older • Bigger, newer, Title 24 • HVAC & water heating dominate energy use • Lots of extras & gadgets: Plugin loads dominate • Few inexpensive ways to “move the needle” • Many inexpensive ways to “move the needle” HVAC Bonus: Mild Bay Area Climate (CEC Climate Zone #3) 7

RESEARCH GOAL: FIND THE LHF (LOW HANGING FRUIT) Focus on True Waste Lifestyles not affected Little if any capital outlay required “If I’d only known how much energy that thing used…” Found Two Types: 1. Base Loads (aka Standby/Phantom/Vampire loads) Always on, often providing no benefit. Examples: Hot water recirculation pumps, unused set top boxes, PCs left on, electronics, whole house audio… 2. Intermittent Loads Examples: Inefficient pools, hot tubs, fountains, “All-On” lighting feature, media centers, old fridges, specialized ice makers, floor heating, certain wine coolers… 8

4000 ART ROSENFELD’S PREDICTION: RISING BASE LOADS 3000 First Draft, High Energy Revised chart, July 2008 Homes Measured: Average of June 2003 4552 1800 9

BASE LOAD IN SAMPLE HOME (SOURCE: HIGH ENERGY AUDITS; ALL RIGHTS RESERVED) 93 Loads plugged in all the time 3, 300 k. Wh per year 10 Challenge with Base Loads: Very hard to itemize

BEYOND BASE LOADS: HIDDEN ENERGY HOGS RUN WILD One Home’s Electric Loads (k. Wh/year) Refrigeration 1, 771 1, 355 Base Loads 5, 168 Kitchen/Laundry HVAC Entertainment 5, 675 3, 810 Bed/Bathrooms Lighting 1, 519 4, 202 Outdoors/pool Other 1, 429 37 4, 292 Unidentified 11

EXISTING ENERGY AUDITS DON’T APPLY WELL TO HIGH USER SITUATIONS High Energy Home Issues Typical Focus • Pools, Fountains, Spas • Hot water recirculation pumps • Non-Energy Star appliances • Extra Refrigerators & Wine coolers • HVAC & Water Heating • Home Theaters, Gaming Systems, PCs • Energy Star Appliances • CFLs, Clotheslines… • Whole-house Audio, Video & Lighting • Energy Star appliances • Security/Surveillance Systems • Irrigation & Landscape Lighting Systems • Guest house/Pool house loads • Instant hot water dispensers • Heated bathroom floors & towel racks • Saunas, Steam rooms, Exercise equipment, Aquariums • Elevators, Endless lap pools, Ice skating rinks… 12

PROBLEM: NO EXISTING SOLUTIONS Where is all that energy going? How much does it cost me to keep my spa at 104? The guy selling the TV doesn’t speak Watts Very hard to figure it all out Little data exists on energy use of luxury goods No Energy. Star labels & much variation across brands, models… Existing home audit services focus on HVAC “[Existing] home energy audits are especially effective in lowering consumption in homes built before the Title 24 standards came into effect in 1978. ” San Carlos CAP “Some high end homes have more in terms of plug loads and appliances. . . and lighting. But it is actually really hard to address, as their stuff is by nature custom” CEO of a leading Bay Area home audit company 13

ROI OF TWO ENERGY EFFICIENCY MEASURES: PLUG LOAD VS. HVAC Total HVAC Energy: 23% (4, 750 k. Wh/year) One Entertainment System with 45 Watts of Standby Load (uses 394 k. Wh/year) Assume unused for 18 hours/day: 75% Waste (295 k. Wh/yr) Install Smart Strip: Saves 295 k. Wh/yr Cost of Smart Strip: $30 Electricity: $0. 20/k. Wh 32% Plug Loads 5% 6% Assume 40% is Wasted (1, 900 k. Wh/yr) 19% HVAC 4% Water Heating 34% Typical CA Home 20, 650 k. Wh/year* Simple Payback period: 6 months Amount of Waste due to Duct Leakage: 15% Best case: Zero Duct Leaks after retrofit: Saves 285 k. Wh/yr Average Cost of Duct Sealing: $600 Electricity: $0. 20/k. Wh Simple Payback period: >10 years 14 * Data from www. eia. doe. gov

COMMENTS FROM EARLY RESEARCH “In the first 10 minutes of the audit we discovered a way to save 850 k. Wh per year with zero cost and no impact. ” “Three months after the audit my electric bill was the lowest in 9 years. ” “I had tens of thousands of dollars in water and electric bills, but no idea where to find further cost-savings. This audit dramatically lowered my usage and costs. ” “A quick visit and analysis of my home uncovered a number of hidden costs. Thankfully, they were easy to adjust and had no effect on my quality of life. ” “In the past three months I have watched my PG&E bill drop by 62%. Thank you!” 15

NEEDED: REMOTE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM High Energy Remote Assessment Identify LHF & Areas needing more attention Remote Evaluation In-home Evaluations Acterra Green@Home Audit Recurve, Building Solutions, Energy Beyond Design, etc. Detailed HVAC Audit Detailed Plug Load Audit Detailed Water Audit Ennovationz, High. Energy Audits, etc. SCVWD, Local Water Companies 16

PROPOSAL TO DEVELOP & DEPLOY Green@Home High Energy Program BAAQM, PG&E Funding Atherton High Energy Audits, Inc. Acterra Leading Conservation Non-Profit Woodside Los Altos Hills Portola Valley ARRA Stimulus Funds Monte Sereno 17

ABOUT ACTERRA A proven partner Excellent credentials in advocating social change Wide range of programs; over 40 years of local service Existing, successful Green@Home program “The Bay Area’s Center of Excellence for Residential Energy Education and Conservation” – PG&E Rep Experienced management team clearly focused on conservation – not profit Many ties to target communities 18

THE BEST OPTION FOR PORTOLA VALLEY Free for residents and town Uniquely targeted at the PV demographic Homes are different from CA average Avoid “invasion of privacy” concerns Collaborative programs preferred by CEC Partner with and leverage neighboring towns Similar sizes & demographics, primarily residential, minimal commercial, large lots, large homes, high energy use. Primary goal is not “monetization” But broad-based energy, GHG & water reductions Finally, this is not an either/or decision: Residents can always chose an onsite audit after the remote assessment, and will be much better informed if they do so. 19

HOW DOES THE ASSESSMENT WORK? 1) 2) Homeowner signs up Acterra collects basic info 3) Acterra performs initial analysis 4) 6) 7) Categorize energy use into different types (seasonal, base loads, variable loads) Compare to similar homes and identify areas above norms Review initial results with homeowner 5) Home size, age, occupants, thermostat settings, etc. Past 12 months of utility data Ask targeted questions based on results If significant energy remains unaccounted for, forward to a higher level of investigation Secondary analysis based on additional data Acterra provides report & custom recommendations Monitor monthly utility data for next 12 months Follow-up calls as needed for encouragement 20

DEVELOPMENT PHASES Phase 1: Detailed Audits Onsite Visit Phase 2: Assisted Assessments Phone Interview 10’s of Audits Detailed 100’s Assisted Web-Based Assessments Phase 3: Web-Based Assessments Self-Directed 1000’s 21

EXPECTED ROI ~$175 k for development and 1000 Audits Cheaper than existing in-home audits Expected impact for audited homes: Electric use reduced by over 20% Natural Gas reduced by over 10% Annual reduction in GHGs: 1, 100 tons e. C 02 total; 1. 5 tons e. CO 2 per audit Annual cost savings for residents: Over $1 M total, over $1, 500 per audit Funding Options: Towns, BAAQMD, PG&E Joint Applications for Stimulus Funding 22

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS 23

CALIFORNIA’S ENERGY CZAR Arthur Rosenfeld, California Energy (CEC) Commissioner since 2000 Early Pioneer of Energy Efficiency in California “Rosenfeld Effect”: Stable/declining energy use per capita in CA since 1973 due to effective State energy efficiency initiatives. 24

SAMPLE AUDIT RESULTS #1: HOME ENERGY USE (KWH/YEAR) 90, 000 Other Appliances 80, 000 Lighting 70, 000 Air Conditioning Refrigerators 60, 000 Water Heating 50, 000 Space Heating 40, 000 30, 000 20, 000 CA Average 10, 000 0 25 Often Vacant Non-Target Demographic

SAMPLE AUDIT RESULTS #2: GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS (TONS ECO 2/YEAR) 45 40 9 11 35 Air Travel 11 17 30 4 21 9 25 Gasoline 29 14 Water 11 20 11 13 10 15 9 10 10 6 4 Electricity 3 8 3 3 7 2 Big PV 0 3 8 6 0 3 10 10 5 6 0 2 12 6 5 Heating Fuel 8 Non-Target Demographic 2 1 11 26