Keeping warm
Photo by Erich Boekelheid
One Eugenean saves energy bucks with a simple sheet of plastic.
‘Wise energy use’ key
to renter weatherization
By LESLIE FARRIS
Of th* Emerald
Is weatherization cost-effective for
students who rent apartments and
houses?
Yes, says Earl Ritter of the Eugene
Water & Electric Board Conservation
Center.
“The most practical weatherization
for students is wise use of energy, and it
doesn’t cost a thing," Ritter says.
Most no-cost savings come from
conserving heat and energy. The
Oregon Department of Energy es
timates 50 to 70 cents of each house
hold energy dollar goes to space heat
ing.
“A lot of people make the mistake of
leaving their thermostats set at a cer
tain temperature,” Ritter says. "You
can save a lot by turning it down at
night and when you’re in school. It may
take a little more energy to bring the
temperature back up to a comfortable
level, but you get a net savings if you
turn it down when you don’t need it.”
He says each degree over 70 degrees
adds about 3 percent to the annual
heating bill, and each degree below 70
saves about the same. Make sure cur
tains, furniture and other objects don’t
block radiators or registers, and keep
heating surfaces clean.
More heat may be wasted if the water
heater is turned up unnecessarily high,
Ritter says. Lowering the heater’s ther
mostat to 140 degrees can save up to
$45 a year. Turn off the electricity to the
heater if you’re leaving for three days or
more.
In the winter, open window drapes
: during the day to let the sun in and
close them at night to keep the heat
inside. Also close the fireplace damper
when the firelace is not in use. An open
damper loses as much heat as an open
window.
Ritter says “wise use” of kitchen
appliances also can save energy.
“If you want to bake a potato in the
oven, try to plan your whole meal
around that oven,” he says. “And make
sure your refrigerator doesn’t have ice
build-up. It causes the motor to run
harder.”
Ritter advises taking showers instead
of baths because showers use about
half as much hot water. Shower head
restricters, which cut the water flow in
half, are offered free at the
e conservation center.
Also offered free at the center are
gaskets for electrical outlets. "You’d be
suprised how much air leaks through
plug-ins — an awful lot,” Ritter says.
Other energy wasters often neglect
ed by students are dripping faucets and
leaking toilets. Sealing a leaky hot
water faucet can prevent 210 gallons of
hot water from being wasted yearly, the
center estimates.
Air leakage can account for as much
as one-third of a household's heating
cost. Just a one-eighth inch crack
around the front door equals the heat
lost through a 4-by-7 inch hole, the
center reports.
Weather stripping and caulking are
effective and cheap ways to reduce
heat loss around windows and doors.
How much you spend depends on the
method you choose — cartridges, tubes
or ropes — and the condition and size
of your house. A do-it-yourself job can
cost up to $100.
The Department of Energy says a
poorly adjusted oil or gas furnace can
waste up to 50 percent of your heating
budget. For instance, if the nozzle that
sprays oil into the furnace is too large,
the furnace will use more oil than
necessary to heat your home. A
professional inspection and adjustment
usually costs about $30.
Although manufactured storm win
dows constitute a major expense, there
are other ways to insulate windows and
save on heat loss. For instance, you
can build wooden-frame storm win
dows with plastic sheeting for less than
$6 for each 3-by-4 foot window.
The simplest, cheapest do-it-yourself
storm window consists of stretching the
plastic film over the outside of the
window and holding it firmly in place
with wood lath or other nailing strips. At
least one inch of “dead air” space must
be between the glass and plastic.
A variation of this method is to staple
the plastic film over a single wire strand
placed on all four sides of the window.
Duct tape is then used to seal the edges
of the film to the outside of the window.
EWEB offers free energy audits to
determine a home’s heat loss and what
can be done to prevent it. The audit
includes a home energy analysis, tech
nical advice and information about
state-sponsored, low-interest weather
ization loans.
You can write the Oregon Depart
ment of Energy, Labor & Industries
Building, Salem, 97310, or call toll-free
1-800-452-7813 for a pamphlet on
‘‘Weatherization Incentives for
Oregonians.”
City considers mandatory weatherization
By DAWN GARCIA
Of the Emerald
Failure to insulate your home by Jan. 1, 1985
could cost you $500.
As part of its citywide conservation program, the
Eugene City Council has proposed a mandatory
weatherization law that would set energy-saving
standards for single-family to four-plex homes.
The proposed law applies to homes built before
July 1, 1974, the date the state instituted insulation
standards in the building code.
The penalty for noncompliance would be the
same as for any other housing code violation — a
maximum of $500.
The controversial ordinance was brought before
the council at the Dec. 22 meeting, but action on the
proposal will be delayed until at least Feb. 9 to give the
public more time to adjust to the idea, councilors say.
"It makes a lot of good sense to let it filter through
the hearts and minds of people out there," explains
councilor Mark Lindberg.
Lindberg and several councilors say they support
the weatherization idea, but agreed to allow additional
public comment in the hope of gaining even stronger
support and unanimous council approval.
But some citizens have accused the council of
railroading through the weatherization law.
Most of the 13 citizens who testified against the
weatherization law at the Dec. 22 meeting said they
believe in the value of energy-saving measures but
they object to having those measures made manda
tory.
“I think people are disturbed any time any form of
government attempts to mandate any part of their
lives,” says Greg Page, the city’s technological coor
dinator and author of the weatherization ordinance.
“But with the energy shortages forecast for the
mid-1980s and rising energy costs, the law is very
necessary,” he says.
Some opponents of the measure argued that the
council is convinced that voluntary programs in other
communities — and in Eugene — are inefficient.
“Intervening by local government to a certain
extent is necessary,” says councilor Gretchen Miller.
The people most reluctant to weatherize their homes
are renters and landlords who don't pay for the heat
for their rentals, she says.
The council has met with various neighborhood
groups and members of the business community to
answer questions and explain how the law would
affect them, Miller says. The council is willing to meet
with any interested group, she adds.
If the law goes into effect, all homes will be
required to meet certain weatherization requirements,
including weatherstripping windows and door frames
and insulating attics, floors, heating ducts and water
heaters.
Financing for such conservation measures would
be available through zero- or low-interest EWEB
loans. Other financial incentives would include state
and federal tax credits.
The city has included in the plan only weather
ization measures that would pay for themselves in less
than 10 years.
In certain cases, houses would be exempted from
specific energy-saving measures. Exemptions would
include houses where structural barriers occur or
where faulty wiring could make insulating a fire
hazard.
A city appeals process that would take financial
hardship and unreasonable weatherization costs into
account also would be implemented.
Although there would be a grace period for
residents who don't comply with the law, those who
continue to refuse to comply after that period would
violate the city's housing code. The law would apply to
the owners of residences — not tenants — and would
not affect the sale of the home in any way as similar
laws in other cities do.
A home would be inspected and the law enforced
whenever a residence changes electrical service.
EWEB officials say they hope to inspect approximately
20,000 homes over an eight-year period.
Page estimates that energy saved through the
weatherization program would be substantially more
than the cost of purchasing power from new genera
tion sources.
The program is expected to reduce oil and natural
gas consumption in Eugene by 750,000 gallons and 1
million therms per year.
“It's terrifically cost-effective in terms of savings
on heating bills," Miller says.