Panel says little fixes can save lots of energy

By ALEX STRICKLAND / Bigfork Eagle

The experts were unanimous: it doesn't matter if you spend thousands of dollars to buy the latest and greatest insulation for your home, if there's a big gap under the door, you're still left out in the cold.

A panel of energy and insulation experts was called together by the Essential Stuff Project, a loose knit Bigfork group that meets on occassional Wednesday evenings to discuss ways to lessen environmental impacts, increase sustainability and a host of other issues.

Last Wednesday night's panel included representatives from Northwestern Energy — who supply gas to much of the Valley — Flathead Electric Cooperative, Sliter's ACE in Bigfork and a few local contractors and related business owners who specialize in effective and effecient heating and cooling.

"The more we save the less we have to purchase," Vicki Judd of Northwestern said. "And that's better for all of us."

Don Newton from Flathead Electric Co-op agreed, explaining that while there aren't many businesses encouraging less use of their product, energy conservation is a good thing for the consumer and the provider.

Newton said Flathead Electric is better served by putting money into rebate and incentive programs for customers than by spending the same amount to go out and buy another megawatt of power, because the energy saved will equate to more than the amount the money could buy.

As for what the average homeowner can do to lower their bill: The group was unanimous about the quick and simple fixes of making sure door seals and weather stripping are present and properly installed and plugging holes or spaces around outlets with insulating foam or other insulation.

"You certainly can spend lots of money and the payback is awesome," Judd said. "But the simple things make a big difference."

David Lohse, who operates Bigfork Build, said even materials that were properly installed to seal doors and windows are prone to wear and tear or natural changes like a house settling.

"You can put in any fancy wazoo, but if you have a three foot hole in your cieling, it isn't going to do anything," Newton said.

The group answered questions about the best way to insulate windows — not an easy task, considering they are practically perfect heat conductors. He said hanging curtains or putting up any type of barrier to disrupt the flow of heat loss would help.

For the more ambitious, or those just building a home, Jeff Salois from Bigfork's Sliter's ACE put it very simply: "You build your house once and buy insulation once, but you pay your heating bill every month."

One of the facts that seemed to surprise the audience the most was that, all things considered, the Flathead Valley has remarkable green electricity.

Newton said that all of Flathead Electric's power comes from the Bonneville Power Administration, and that electricty is almost exclusively produced from hydroelectric dams. The remainder comes from Bonneville's nuclear reactor.

"We're very fortuanate here in the Flathead to be mostly hydro, green, renewable," Newton said.

But, with steadily increasing demand, the day is not far off when needs will outstrip supply and Bonneville will have to purchase more power off the open market, according to Newton. And that is not a cheap fix.

"That's why we want to incentivize conservation," he said. "It's cheaper than buying more energy."

He also said that the co-op was looking to impliment a home energy audit program much like the one that Northwestern Energy performs for its customers to help identify trouble spots and help people seal their homes.

Aside from heating and cooling, the panel touched on other energy saving tips like switching to Compact Flourescent Lightbulbs and Energy Star appliances, the later of which can earn incentives from Flathead Electric.

Panelists also put to bed fears about mercury in the CFL lights that one person in the audience said she had heard about.

"It releases far more mercury mining coal for electricty than making a CFL," Newton said, adding that safety guidelines encourage someone who accidentaly breaks one of the sealed bulbs to leave the room for 15 minutes to allow the tiny amount of mercury to dissapate, then come in and clean up.

What much of the energy conservation and effeciency comes back to, it was agreed, was habits, and those can be tough to change.

One audience member, Jeff Funk, said that without a lifestyle change, it would be difficult for many people to truly conserve.

"I mean, how energy effecient can you be in a 3,000 square foot house?"