Welcome to the Energy Sustainability page where we share our Experiences in Energy and provide our Customers Plans and Specs that gain Permit Approvals from Local Municipalities and Government Agencies. Our Articles are our Experiences and Solutions to those Problems we face today and are geared to Contractors and DIY…

Before we go any farther… this is NOT like Tim Allen and “more power”, I love Tim’s attitude, but it’s just the Opposite. A whole lot more like Marty Raney on Homestead Rescue… It’s all about Conservation and using as little Electricity as possible…

The Building: Whatever kind of Building you’re working with needs to be built to the standards of the International Building Code (IBC) which since 2008 has included Energy Standards for Buildings which have not changed to achieve the kind of Energy Savings that I demonstrate in my buildings. That means if you’re working with a 100 year old House, your first task is to get your Building to the 2008 (or later) IBC Standards regarding insulation, windows, doors, energy and the like. And remember your biggest heating and cooling losses are due to Infiltration.

The International Building Code: Since 2006, all buildings built to IBC standards include all current Energy Efficiency standards. However, not all buildings built today are always built to the IBC standards with Approved Plans and Specs, but rather by Contractors who are guided by the Local Building Inspector at the Municipality, those in control of the Building Permit process. The sets of Plans and Specs that we offer are intended to enable Contractors and DIY to obtain the Permits required for their Project, whether it’s for their Emergency Generator, Solar Panels or New House and Barn. Our Plans and Specs meet the current IBC and most Local Building Codes.

The Person: It makes great sense to start with an energy efficient building, but the most essential part of the Sustainable Homestead is the Person who Operates the building... the one that takes the responsibility to pay the utility bills and trains everyone in the household to close the doors and turn off the lights. That’s where YOU have to start. I told you it was like Homestead Rescue…

The Cost of HVAC: A good rule of thumb has always been that approximately 70% (and I’m sure it’s higher in “leaky” houses) of the Energy expended in a Building is Heating Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC). The biggest drag on the electric bill is usually the Air Conditioning (A/C) and it’s important to state at this point that ALL Homes require Back-Up Heat in the form of Natural Gas, Propane, Home Heating Fuel, Wood or other. In other words, NEVER plan to Heat your House with Electricity… It’s simply too expensive.

The Building’s Use: A House/Home is designed to be occupied 24/7/365 = 61,320 Hrs./Yr. An Office is only occupied 8/5/260 = 10,400 Hrs./Yr, which means that the office building is only operated 17% of the time. A Utility Building is never occupied. So the Strategy to furnish Heating and Cooling to the building based on its Use is wildly different as is the Equipment and Cost for HVAC systems.

Small Office Buildings (SOB): If you own a Small Office Building install Set-Back Thermostats that Heat and Cool the buildings 8-5, five days a week… The calculation goes like this: Normal Office HVAC operates: 24/7 = 168 Hrs./Wk. or with Set-Back Thermostat operates: 8/5 = 40 Hrs./Wk. A savings of over 75%… I know, because I did it in my Office Buildings on Valleybrook Road, and a couple months after I did it West Penn Power put me on a Demand Rate to try to recoup their losses. They’re always watching…

The Set-Back Thermostat: The simple answer to achieve savings in the 75% range is the set-back thermostat that you can access from your phone. You regulate the temperature of the building based on its occupancy. The set-back thermostat works well in a home also, especially one that is unoccupied during periods of time. By regulating the Home’s temperature during periods of the day, similar to the Office/Shop example, very significant savings can be easily achieved for little cost.

Energy Monitoring: When I installed the set-back thermostats at the Small Office Buildings (SOB) I also installed an electricity Monitoring system called The Energy Detective (TED) to monitor the electricity usage of my offices and tenants. In 2017 when Solar City installed Solar Panels at the new House and Barn. I purchased additional TEDs to monitor the Solar Panel generated, and since then, TED has gone out of business with the units crapping out, right on the planned obsolesce schedule.

Emporia Vue 2: Or maybe v3 by now, is the $100+ Energy Monitoring system that you need when you install your Solar Panels today. It verifies what you are producing and selling to the Power Company as well as what they are supplying to you. It is not that hard or expensive to reduce your electric bill, but you NEED this so that let the Power Company doesn’t cheat you…

GeoThermal HVAC: The only way to lower your Electric Bill for A/C is to install a Geothermal Heat Pump also called a Ground Source Heat Pump which consumes half of the Electricity of traditional A/C and Electric Heat Pumps. We have designed a prototypical 4-Ton Ground Source Heat Pump HVAC system that utilizes one 200’ x 6” borehole (a traditional water well bore). See the Borehole Installation Video.

The Geothermal Retrofit: That same 4-Ton system is designed to Retrofit a traditional (electric) heat pump Air Handler by replacing the Freon A Coil with a Water Coil thereby saving the cost of replacing the Air Handler. Heat Pumps and A/C units typically have a service life of 12-15 yrs (max) whereas the Water to Water Ground Source Heat Pumps typically have a service life of 30 years plus. They are just a refrigerator that can run backwards.

Solar Panels: The Best way to lower your Electric Bill is with Solar Panels but you have to navigate your way through the snake pit. Not only are the Municipalities and Contractors against you, but you ultimately have to sell your power back to the Power Company, and that’s the hard part. My experience with Utility Companies is that whenever they change your meter they never correct the accounting on the bill. Worse yet, if you have booked a bunch of Solar Credits, when they change the meter you lose any Solar Credits that you generated. I have even caught the Power Company adding “Diversion Fees” onto my bill in the form of an Estimated Bill, and how often do you see those? You’re getting cheated every time. Stay tuned for how to File a Complaint at the PUC.

We have developed this series of Projects and Products to help guide Homeowners on their journey to Energy Independence…