Alright, so you want to go green [0]. You want to get efficient [0]. You want to save money. So how do you decide what to do first? You want a solar-powered hot tub [0], you want cheap electricity – but which one gets priority?
Let me first clear up a slight something: I am not the reigning expert on prioritizing. Look at the timestamp of my posts [0]: I write them in the middle of the damn night, after I’ve banged out all my other assignments six days after they were due. Maybe that’s just part of being freelance, maybe that’s just part of living in the modern world. Point is you should take anything I say about “time management” with a box of salt. (Seriously. It’s gotten so bad I have to buy books [1] about how to live like a normal human being. Someday I may have the chance to read them.)
Anyway. First step is to distinguish what we need from what we desire. Solar panels look good, and – as Dave pointed out [1] last week – they get your friends and neighbors all excited about solar power. They are, in modern parlance, sexy.
Incidentally, I was just reading a little efficiency report sent to me from the Center for the American West [2] that had this to say: “American society, when we are bored by a topic… we have a custom of dismissing it as 'not sexy.' Actual human beings put a goofy amount of personal energy into the project of achieving an appearance, shape, dress, walk and manner that will qualify as 'sexy.' …Imagine how difficult it must be for a light bulb, a refrigerator, or a social policy to qualify as 'sexy.'”
Can you afford sexy? How long are you going to live in your house? Long enough to enjoy the simple payback period [3] of whatever improvement you’re making? If you’re not long for that house and are planning on selling, how much does it matter to you to pass on efficiency? Will it matter to a prospective buyer that you’ve got superinsulated [4] R-42 walls? Before you answer that, let’s look at a couple of data points.
Nine out of ten Americans would choose one home over another based on its energy efficiency, according to a survey by energypulse.org [5]. And a survey [6] by Sharp [7], the world’s largest solar-cell producer, showed that two-thirds of Americans are willing to pay a premium for homes that have solar systems installed. Half would spend up to 10 percent more for a solar-equipped house. So let’s say your house cost $350, 000. A new solar PV system might cost you around $30,000 – and that’s before any tax breaks [8] or state-based incentives [9]. But that solar install could add $35,000 to the sale value of your house – someone out there is willing to pay a for the install. (I mean, they then want to move into your house and paint the walls, but they’re willing to give you money in exchange.) But which is going to save you more energy (and money) in the long run -- $30,000 of panels, or $30,000 spent on new insulation, energy efficient appliances, and a crate of CFLs? Or buying a hybrid? The short answer is, It depends.
Here’s what I’d like to do. Let’s take a collective look at what y’all blog readers are dealing with in your own homes, and let’s look at what we can do – now – to make it better. For reals. Post a comment below, put it in my Limebox [9] or send an e-mail to me personally: mail AT filipo DOT net. (That’s my personal address, now, so don’t go too crazy with the love letters or the wife’ll crack me with the frying pan.) I’ll post your issues and start discussions of what’s possible. Enough chit-chat; let’s get to work.