Energy Buzz

Energy Insights from Policy Expert Marilyn Brown

Energy Efficiency — the Best Way to Cope with Summer Heat and Rising Prices

Marilyn Brown
Professor, School of Public Policy
Georgia Institute of Technology

As the summer season approaches, many Americans worry about the cost of staying cool. While electricity rates have not experienced the meteoric rise of oil prices, they have been steadily increasing. Over the past two years, residential electricity rates have increased 6 percent above and beyond the rate of inflation. The era of cheap energy has ended — and energy efficiency is a valuable "front-line" strategy against rising energy prices and global climate change. A quick look around the typical American home reveals some surprising facts about energy inefficiencies that help to pad the electric bill over the warm summer months.

Consumers have a growing appetite for new products and devices. A recent study by the Electric Power Research Institute highlights the move of consumers from 27-inch standard televisions at 100 watts toward 42-inch plasma TVs that require 250 watts — a two-and-a-half-fold increase. To save electricity, an LCD TV is a better choice (my 48-inch LCD flat screen TV draws just 150 watts). But don’t forget the set top box; one of these consumes nearly half the energy of a new refrigerator and costs $20 - $30 to keep running for a year, whether your TV is on or off.

Incandescent lighting is another energy hog. An 18-watt compact fluorescent bulb can produce as much light as a 75-watt incandescent, and if it is on for 4 hours a day, it costs only $2.80 to operate for an entire year (at nationally average electricity rates) compared with $11.65 per year for an incandescent. But because incandescents are cheap to purchase (perhaps 50 cents a bulb), consumers think they're saving money by not spending $2.00 for a compact fluorescent. In reality, replacing incandescents with compact fluorescents is one of the best investments a consumer can make.

A key to cutting back on air conditioning costs is to use a smart, programmable thermostat so that air conditioners only operate when needed. By offering multiple programmable temperature settings, these devices save energy while you're out of your house or sleeping. Compared to manually manipulating your thermostat (or not changing it at all), programmable thermostats usually pay for themselves within a year by saving you at least as much as they cost.

While consumers recognize that summer months bring smog alerts and air quality advisories, few realize that their air conditioners and appliances are a major cause of this. The impact of electric power production on air pollution was made clear by the 2003 Northeast blackout, which shut off electricity for 50 million people. Twenty-four hours after the blackout, SO2 concentrations in New York City dropped 90 percent and ozone concentrations were cut in half.

May is the perfect time to "summerize" our homes with ceiling fans, compact fluorescent light bulbs, smart thermostats, and power strips to turn off unnecessary plug loads. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that if every household were to replace its appliances with Energy Star equipment, they could cut their electricity bills by 30 percent. Investments in energy efficiency can save consumers money while reducing pollution and stretching our energy resources. If the nation were to embrace energy efficiency with a vengeance, we could all save money, breathe better, and avert global climate change.