Covering Your Bases —
Refrigerator, Lighting, and Hot
Water Base-Load Measures
Larry Kinney
Synergistic Building Technologies
Synertech Systems Corp
Sunflower Corp
Session objectives
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Achieve a global sense of the importance of
weatherization in general and the key role of
baseload measures in particular.
Gain insights on the greatest electric baseload
failure and cost-effective measures not taken;
Learn why refrigerators and CFLs sometimes fail
prematurely and how to deal with the problem;
Learn how to work with suppliers to receive
credit for replacement materials; and
Identify when to select another supplier or
manufacturer.
Let us by all means think globally and act
locally. But let us also think locally as well
as act globally, and try to tune our global
and local thinking as the several notes of a
single and common chord.
Baird Callicott “Ethics and Agenda 21: the
Moral Implications of a Global Consensus”
On the occasion of this
weatherization training conference,
we plan to invoke the genius of
Plato’s ascending and descending
dialectic: upwards toward a principle,
downwards toward a practice—and
back up again.
Source: Adbusters
Population
1950– Population 2.5 Billion
 2000– Population 6.1 Billion
 2050– Projected 9.3 Billion
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World population increased 48% between
1975 and 2000.
 The pattern is that of classic exponential
growth (which cannot be sustained).
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Population
Energy and power: cosmic definitions
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“I hold that being is merely power.” (The Eleatic
Stranger, Plato’s Sophist c 430BC)
“Electricity is actually a fast-moving herd of
electrons, which are tiny one-celled animals that
can survive in almost any environment except
inside a double-A battery, where they die within
minutes.” (Dave Barry, Funny TimesMay 2001)
What’s a million British Thermal Units?
The amount of energy necessary to heat
100,000 pounds of water 10 degrees
Fahrenheit
 One billionth of a quadrillion (Quad)
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And a Quad is 106 * 109 = 1015 Btu!
Some global energy numbers
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Worldwide annual
energy consumption:
400 Quads, 400 billion
person years
equivalent.
US annual
consumption in 2005:
100+ Quads, 100
billion person years of
labor equivalent.
We’re number one!
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With less than 5 percent of the
world’s population, the US
consumes about 1/4 of the world’s
energy and produces almost 1/2 of
the world’s garbage.
In 2002, the US used 339
MMBtu/person; Germany and
Japan 173, and China 33.
Yet 2.5 billion people have no
electricity…and we won’t sign the
Kyoto accords!
Nighttime from the Space Shuttle
World Energy Consumption 1970-2020
(EIA 1999)
How do we make electricity?
Generator basics
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Moving a coil of wire in a magnetic field induces a
voltage
Output depends on number of turns of wire, strength
of magnetic field
Magnetic field may be from a “permanent” magnet or
an electromagnet
A wire cutting perpendicular to the magnetic field
produces maximal voltage; parallel minimum
Sinusoidal output is a natural consequence
Heat
Steam
Turbine
Generator
Carnot effect:
Qout = Qin[(Tin-Tout)/Tin], where Q is
quantity of energy and T is absolute temperature
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A fundamental physical
limitation applicable to all
heat engines
Practical effect is that the
efficiency of electricity
generated by heat
engines < 40%
Water use in electric power generation
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Thermal power plants use about 0.47 gal/kWh
generated in the US
Hydro is 18 gal/kWh!
P. Torcellini, N. Long, and R. Judkoff. NREL/CP550-35190. November 2003. “Consumptive
Water Use for U.S. Power Production.” Available
electronically at
http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy04osti/35190.pdf
So measures that save a kWh of electricity save
a half a gallon of water at the power plant.
Energy Costs 2008, Oil @ $100/bbl
Fuel
Unit
Coal
Ton
Crude Oil
Btu/Unit
Cost/ Unit
$/MMBtu
28,000,000
$70
$2.50
Barrel
6,300,000
$100
$15.87
Heating Oil
Gallon
140,000
$3.60
$25.71
Propane
Gallon
92,000
$2.30
$25.00
Gasoline
Gallon
125,000
$3.80
$30.40
Natural Gas
Therm
100,000
$1.25
$12.50
Electricity
kWh
3,412
$0.14
$41.03
Peak Oil
Earth’s Surface Temperature
“The Revenge of Gaia"
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James Lovelock, who espouses the Gaia Theory, now
says that the earth is not an organism (but in some
respects can be likened to one).
There are feedback mechanisms on Earth that tend to
correct or at least recover from some physical and/or
chemical and/or biological imbalances.
The world has already passed the point of no
return for climate change, and civilization as we
know it is now is unlikely to survive.
Preliminary conclusions:
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You may believe in the impossibility of the continued
exponential growth of non-renewable resources.
You may believe in the likely painful consequences of
our planet having reached its peak in oil production.
You may believe in substantial climate change due to
our overly consumptive lifestyles that “require” the
burning of enormous quantities of fossil fuels.
But only fools believe in none of the above.
Unhappily a number of our nation’s leaders appear to
be included in this class…
"We now face the prospect of a kind of
global civil war between those who refuse to
consider the consequences of civilization's
relentless advance and those who refuse to
be silent partners in its destruction. The time
has come to make this struggle the central
organizing principle of world civilization.“
Senator Al Gore, 1992
So I see two fundamental choices:
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We can wring our hands in anguish and curse
the enemy (who may be us!)
Or we can roll up our sleeves and try to
reverse the trends of waste, becoming part of
the solution instead of part of the problem.
I view weatherization as a very important part
of the solution—and I salute you!
In hopes of rolling up our sleeves, here are
some energy considerations in buildings
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Waste is rampant, costs are high, and Mother Nature is
not pleased with our wasteful habits!
It’s possible to retrofit most dwellings to achieve much
better energy performance cost effectively.
Baseload measures are very important, can save water
as well as energy, both locally and at the power plant.
Everyone (including Mother Nature) can win.
Intermediate conclusions
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Electricity costs more because most of it is
produced via heat engines which are inherently
wasteful due to the Carnot effect.
Savings electricity saves water at the power plant
as well as fossil fuels.
So helping WX clients save electricity a high
calling, very much part of the solution.
Key areas: DHW (including pumps), lighting, frig,
freezer, plug loads, education.
Think globally
Water
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Only 2.5% of the world’s water is fresh
water.
Two thirds of it is frozen in glaciers.
1.1 Billion people lack clean water.
2.4 Billion people lack sanitation.
Americans consume 158 gallons of
water per day, Europeans 66, and
Africans 8.
By 2025 two thirds of the world may lack
clean fresh water.
Water 2025
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After 2010, key aquifers in China, India, West
Asia and North Africa will begin to fail.
Decreased public investment in crop breeding for
rain-fed agriculture will lead to further declines in
productivity growth and yields will fall.
Farmers will expand slash-and-burn agriculture
and groundwater pumping. Deforestation,
erosion, river and reservoir sedimentation, and
encroachment on wetlands will increase.
Water in 2025
The Diary of George
Templeton Strong, 1842
There are…ways in which government may
provide material remedies for personal and
family uncleanliness engendered by the
conditions of life in tenements; such as, for
example, public baths, or still better, cheap water
rates that will encourage house owners to put
bathrooms in tenements.
Insights from Peter Judd, circa 1993
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NY City didn’t meter water use
until the last several decades
(that’s cheap!)
Patterns of water use are very
interesting.
Peter Judd was Assistant
Commissioner, Energy
Conservation Division, NYC
Department of Housing
Preservation and
Development
Average daily water use from apartments in
40 buildings, outliers removed
Average daily water use from apartments in
47 buildings with outliers
Patterns of practice illustrate a key principle
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The magnitude of savings due to retrofits is a
strong function of before-retrofit use.
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In short, savings follows waste
The circumstances of water are closely akin to
the circumstances of energy.
The policy consequences are clear:
-You can’t control what you can’t meter.
-It’s cost effective to go after the big stuff
first.
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Act (and think) locally
The problem in achieving comfort and
efficiency in the shower
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Water from shower heads evaporatively cools
from nozzle to the shower floor by 10ºF to 25ºF!
Fine droplets and low humidity enhance effect.
High mass shower stalls cause radiant losses
from bodies to shower walls.
Moisture from the space is removed by a fan that
causes more evaporative cooling of the body.
These problems are routinely solved by higher
water rate shower heads with higher temperature
hot water at the head—tacky and wasteful!
Temp difference over 23F!
Solution
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Low mass shower heats
quickly
Sealed shower stall goes to
100% RH within seconds,
eliminates evaporative
cooling
Stall closed until shower is
over, then damper is opened,
evacuates moist air quickly
without fan
Result: better comfort, less
waste of water, heat, and fan
power
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High flow in the shower wastes
energy and water.
This one peaked at about 4 gpm.
Shower heads that produce 1.5 gmp
widely available.
Get very good shower heads that
look good and work well. Those that
mist require higher temp water
because of evaporative cooling from
shower head to the body (10F or
more!)
Investing in the best will still result in
paybacks of a month or so.
Experiment with several models
(shower with a friend!), then buy in
bulk.
Shower heads
The economics of low flow showerheads
6.5
Shower head flow rate (gpm)
6.0
5.5
5.0
Annual total savings w/
gas heater ($/yr)
4.5
4.0
Annual total savings w/ electric
heater (($/yr)
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
$0
$50
$100
$150
$200
Annual savings
$250
$300
$350
$400
There are excellent low flow
shower heads available to
weatherization programs.
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Case prices are $2.07 for this
model, 1.5 gpm. It works well!
Installation is usually quite simple
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When unscrewing an old
showerhead to replace it with
a new one, it is possible to
unscrew the shower arm
instead.
A simple way to prevent this is
to put a small pipe wrench on
the shower arm, set to turn it
clockwise (the tighten
direction)
Using a rag under the wrench
or putting Teflon tape on its
jaws keeps from marring the
shower arm.
Unscrewing old shower head
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Use a pair of pliers to unscrew the shower head
(turn it counter clockwise) while putting clockwise
pressure on the shower arm.
Most pliers will do well
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The pliers in the last slide are called “water pumps,” but
ordinary pliers work well, too. Use the inner grip instead
of the nose of the pliers
Clean the shower arm threads
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Old Teflon in the
threads can usually be
taken off easily
If it’s crusty, using a
metal brush makes the
job easier
Follow with cleaning
the threads with a rag.
Hold the rag tight while
turning it counter
clockwise.
Install new Teflon
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Be sure to wrap new
Teflon in the direction
you will screw on the
new showerhead,
clockwise.
Keep it good and tight
and don’t leave any in
front of the shower
arm, just around the
threads.
Two turns will do well.
In with the new
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Make sure the new
showerhead has a
washer. This will
keep it from leaking.
Start the shower head
onto the shower arm
by turning it gently
clockwise, being sure
the threads take.
Tighten gently and try it out!
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Tighten the
showerhead hand
tight, then give it a
gentle turn with the
pliers.
Then test to make
sure it works well
and the joint
doesn’t drip.
Good job!
Happy showering…and happy
savings
Water summary
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Stop the leaks, slow the flow, use better flushing
devices, use more efficient appliances, develop
better habits with washing of dishes, clothes,
hands, bodies.
Heat it efficiently, keep temps as low as practical,
limit standby losses.
Efficient pumps when changing out, watch for
leaky pressure tanks, voltage flexibility best for
future PV.
Lighting
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Luminous efficacy of CFLs four times that of
incandescents, lifetimes longer by a factor of ten.
Change ‘em all! The lifetime economics work.
But buy in bulk, nothing but Energy Star-rated
bulbs.
Look for low mercury, long life.
CFLs hard to manufacture, 1% fail within first five
hours. So manufacturers who test for six before
shipping are best, e. g., AutoCell,12,000 hrs
rated lifetime.
When in doubt give away more bulbs, install as
many as possible (but not on dimming circuits).
Refrigerators
Big opportunities, but we need to
avoid the down side
Frig choices
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Some premature failure of compressors; how
much, what to do?
Interestingly, no problem from Whirlpool
according to Indiana WX people.
But there are rumors of problems with Maytag,
perhaps which is owned by Whirlpool!
Compressors manufactured in Brazil, elsewhere.
Moving to limit warrantee to one year.
How prevalent is the problem?
Some areas no problem at all.
 Speculation is that a bad batch of
compressors due to a manufacturing flaw.
 The argument that the problem is due to R134a instead of R-12 is bogus; R-12 has
been banned in most countries for over 10
years and the technology of building
compressors that work quite well with 134a
has been mastered.
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So what do we do?
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Possible solutions: make Wx customers whole right away
no matter what!
Make lots of noise about the supplier and manufacturer:
consumer advocates, local radio, TV, and paper, BBB, WX
network; local, state, fed policy makers, launch formal
investigations
Perhaps there’s collusion among manufacturers to lower
warrantees across the board; class action suit may be
helpful. Find some articulate, hungry lawyers.
Take all biz to honest, high quality suppliers who offer and
honor long term warrantee. Use large public forum to
shame the others for screwing the poor.
Good warrantee should be part of the negotiation package,
play prevent defense for next year’s purchasing package.
Other ideas?
We need to hang together on this one;
there’s strength in numbers.
Need to begin by careful
documentation of the problem.
Feedback’s Welcome!
Larry Kinney
Synergistic Building Technologies
Synertech Systems Corporation
Sunflower Corporation
Boulder Green Building Guild
LarryK@SynergisticBT.com
www.SynergisticBT.com
www.SynertechSystemsCorp.com
www.SunflowerCorp.biz
303-449-7941(voice)