June 2010
| Welcome to the e-Newsletter for the Green Monroe community. In this issue: |
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Recycling CFLs in Monroe County
RG&E/NYSEG's New Incentive Program
What Can You Do on GreenMonroe.org?
Getting Ready for "Cash for Caulkers"!
Sponsor
RG&E and NYSEG's new:
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How much do utilities cost an average New York Household per year?
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration 2005 Residential Energy Consumption Survey |
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How much energy cost can a programmable Thermostat save? Use a Programmable Thermostat to change temperature settings around your family’s schedule by 5-8 degrees will save around $150-$180 a year in energy costs Source: U.S. EPA ENERGY STAR |
Pass It On
| Help Green Monroe reach as many residents as possible by forwarding this email to your Monroe County neighbors, friends and family - encourage them to visit www.GreenMonroe.org and to sign-up for the Green Monroe email-newsletter. They only need to provide an email address to receive the free email newsletter. |  |
Recycling CFLs in Monroe County
A Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulb saves about $30 in energy costs over the bulb’s lifetime. Switching from incandescent light bulb to more energy efficient ones is an easy way to reduce energy use and lower utility cost.
Each CFL bulb contains a very small amount of mercury - an average of 4 milligrams in each bulb. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends recycling and responsibly disposing of CFLs at the end of their life cycle.
In Monroe County, all the Home Depot stores are collection locations. The CFL recycling container is located inside the main entrance next to the service desk.
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| Caption: Penfield Home Depot recycling bins | Caption: Closeup view of the CFL recycling bags |
The photograph on the left shows the recycling bins at the Panorama Trail Home Depot in Penfield. The second container from the right in the photograph is for CFL recycling. Follow the instructions on top of the container. There are bags to wrap the CFL for recycling. See the photograph on the right for an illustration.
- Frequently Asked Questions about CFL and Mercury
- What should I do with a CFL when it burns out or breaks?
- Additional CFL Recycling Centers
RG&E/NYSEG New Small Business Energy Efficiency Incentive Program
| RG&E and NYSEG is offering energy efficiency program to business customers with demand of less than 100 kilowatts (kW). Eligible entity will receive free energy efficient
lighting assessments and 70% of the cost of recommended lighting upgrades will be covered by RG&E/NYSEG.
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Cooling Tips for this Summer
| The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Energy Star program offers low to no-cost energy-efficient cooling tips to beat the heat. Try these simple tips to start saving today! |  |
No-Cost Ideas:
Program your thermostat to work around your family’s summer schedule—set it a few degrees higher (such as 78 degrees) when no one is home, so your cooling system isn’t cooling an empty house. With proper use, programmable thermostats can save cooling and heating energy costs.
Check your HVAC system’s air filter every month. If the filter looks dirty, change it, but change the filter at least every three months. A dirty filter will slow air flow and make the system work harder to keep you cool, wasting energy.
Run your ceiling fan to create a cool breeze. If you raise your thermostat by only two degrees and use your ceiling fan, you can lower cooling costs by up to 14 percent. Remember that ceiling fans cool you, not the room, so when you leave the room make sure to turn off the fan.
Pull the curtains and shades closed before you leave your home to keep the sun’s rays from overheating the interior of your home. If you can, move container trees and plants in front of sun-exposed windows to serve as shade.
Low-Cost Ideas:
Remember to have your HVAC system serviced annually to ensure it’s running at optimum efficiency for money and energy savings.
Swap out incandescent bulbs with more energy-efficient lighting choices. Energy Star qualified lighting not only uses less energy, it also produces about 75 percent less heat than incandescent lighting, so cooling bills will be reduced, too.
Seal your air ducts. As much as 20 percent of the air moving through your home’s duct system is lost due to leaks and poor connections. Seal duct work using mastic sealant or metal tape and insulate all the ducts that you can access (such as those in attics, crawlspaces, unfinished basements, and garages).
Make sure that connections at vents and registers are well-sealed where they meet floors, walls, and ceilings. These are common locations to find leaks and disconnected ductwork.
Other Tips:
When buying a room air conditioner, look for one that has earned EPA’s Energy Star. If every room air conditioner in the United States were Energy Star qualified, they would prevent 900 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions annually—equivalent to the emissions from 80,000 cars.
Add insulation to your attic to keep cool air in. If every American household did so, Americans would collectively save more than $1.8 billion in yearly energy costs.
Hire a contractor to seal and insulate the interior ductwork in your home (the ducts you can’t reach yourself).
If your central air conditioning unit is more than 12 years old, replacing it with a model that has earned EPA’s Energy Star could cut your cooling costs by 30 percent.
Source: EPA Air News Release (HQ) June 8, 2010
What Can You Do on GreenMonroe.org?
There are many free helpful tools and guides on GreenMonroe.org. It is the aim of these resources to help Monroe County residents explore energy and cost savings ideas. Starting with this issue of the newsletter, we will bring one tool or guide in each newsletter to your attention.
Wondering how much your appliances are costing you in electricity? Use the Home Appliance Energy Calculator on GreenMonroe.org below to find out!
The Calculator is available on the SAVE MONEY page under the 
Energy Savings Ideas section, and also on the GET INVOLVED page under 
the Reduce Through Efficiency section.
For example, an average household in the US has more than 40 light sockets. Many lights stay on for more than 6-8 hours per day. If just five of the light sockets has Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs replacing equivalent brightness of "Lumens" of 75W incandescent bulbs, the household would save more than $24 per year in utility cost, at the current RG&E's electricity rate for residential customers.
Getting Ready for "Cash for Caulkers"!
| The "HOMESTAR" program is similar to the "cash for clunkers" program Congress authorized in 2009 to encourage trading in older cars for more energy-efficient models. HOMESTAR's aim is to jumpstart economic recovery by boosting demand for energy efficiency products and installation services. For middle-class families, this program will help save hundreds of dollars a year in energy costs while improving the comfort and value of homes. |  |
On May 5, the House passed the Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010 (H.R. 5019) by a bipartisan vote of 246-161. The bill, also known as "Cash for Caulkers,” authorizes $5.7 billion over two years. A bipartisan group of senators (Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Olympia Snowe (R-ME) Mark Warner (D-VA)) joined to introduce the HOMESTAR Energy Retrofit Act of 2010 on May 28.
According to the White House issued Fact Sheet, key components of the HOMESTAR Program include:
- Rebates delivered directly to consumers: Like the Cash for Clunkers program, consumers would be eligible for direct
HOMESTAR rebates at the point of sale for a variety of energy-saving investments in their homes. A broad array of vendors, from small
independent building material dealers, large national home improvement chains, energy efficiency installation professionals and
utility energy efficiency programs (including rural utilities) would market the rebates, provide them directly to consumers and then be
reimbursed by the federal government.
- $1,000 - $1,500 Silver Star Rebates: Consumers looking to have simple upgrades performed in their homes would be
eligible for 50% rebates up to $1,000 - $1,500 for doing any of a straightforward set of upgrades, including: insulation, duct sealing,
water heaters, HVAC units, windows, roofing and doors. Under Silver Star, consumers can chose a combination of upgrades for rebates up to a
maximum of $3,000 per home. Rebates would be limited to the most energy efficient categories of upgrades—focusing on products made primarily
in the United States and installed by certified contractors.
- $3000 Gold Star Rebates: Consumers interested in more comprehensive energy retrofits would be eligible for a $3,000
rebate for a whole home energy audit and subsequent retrofit tailored to achieve a 20% energy savings in their homes. Consumers could
receive additional rebate amounts for energy savings in excess of 20%. Gold Star would build on existing whole home retrofit programs, like
EPA’s successful Home Performance with Energy Star program.
- Oversight to Ensure Quality Installations: The program would require that contractors be certified to perform
efficiency installations. Independent quality assurance providers would conduct field audits after work is completed to ensure proper
installation so consumers receive energy savings from their upgrades. States would oversee the implementation of quality assurance to ensure
that the program was moving the industry toward more robust standards and comprehensive energy retrofit practices.
- Support for financing: The program would include support to State and local governments to provide financing options for
consumers seeking to make efficiency investments in their homes. This will help ensure that consumers can afford to make these investments.
The House Bill set aside $200 million of the money to support existing state-level financing programs.
Your Green Monroe team will update HOMESTAR in future newsletters and will post information on the www.GreenMonroe.org website.