A much more economically-viable and environmentally-beneficial measure to reduce CO2 would be increased energy efficiency. A 60% reduction in Btu/$ of GDP is feasible with existing technologies. Such a reduction would place the US on par with most European nations.
The US has some catching up to do regarding energy efficiency. The energy intensities, Btu/$GDP, of the US, Germany, UK, Switzerland, Denmark and Japan are 9111, 7396, 6145, 4901, 4845 and 4519, respectively. If the US would reduced its energy intensity by 4,000 Btu/$GDP, the US economy would
- have energy cost savings of 4,000 Btu/$GDP x $14.5 trillion GDP x $4/million Btu (natural gas) = $232 billion/yr
- need to invest less in new power plants and unsightly transmission and distribution systems
- pollute less, emit less CO2, spend less on healthcare
- live in more compact communities, have more energy efficient residences and drive more high mileage vehicles.
There are major side benefits from becoming more energy efficient. People have to put on their thinking caps. It leads to better trained people, technological advances and better products and services that are more competitive which helps exports, reduces the trade deficit, increases household incomes and tax collections. Energy efficiency is a lifestyle with many rewards.
Energy Efficiency First, Renewables Later
Doing energy efficiency first and renewables later is the most economical way to go; especially important when funds are scarce. Vermont providing huge subsidies for renewables BEFORE doing a great deal more in energy efficiency may be politically expedient, but it is costly and unwise; akin to putting the cart BEFORE the horse.
Vermont needs measures to increase worker productivity and to make Vermont more efficient in ALL areas, including energy. Subsidies usually SHIFT jobs from one sector to another; there is little NET job gain. According to economics 101, job gains usually come from improving worker productivity and becoming more efficient and BROADLY DISTRIBUTING the benefits of those efficiencies.
Example of job shifting due to subsidies: Under the Vermont SPEED program it will take about $230 million of scarce funds to build 50 MW of expensive renewables that produce just a little of variable, intermittent and expensive power that will make Vermont less efficient at exactly the time it needs to become more efficient.
The VT-DPS evaluated the program in 2009 and issued a white paper which stated about 35% of the $228.4 million would be supplied by Vermont sources, the rest, mostly equipment by non-Vermont sources, such as wind turbines from Denmark and Spain, PV panels from China, inverters from Germany
There would be spike of job creation during the 1-3 year construction stage (good for vendors) which would flatten to a permanent net gain of 13 full-time jobs (jobs are lost in other sectors) during the operation and maintenance stage.
Germany and Spain, big on renewables, have similar misallocations of capital and net job creation, the fallout of unwise government policies.
http://publicservice.vermont.gov/planning/DPS%20White%20Paper%20Feed%20in%20Tariff.pdf
Pres. Andrew Jackson, Democrat, Populist: “When government subsidizes, the well-connected benefit the most”. Effective CO2 policy requires all households to be involved with reducing CO2, not just the top 2 to 3% of households which benefit the most from the existing, rather elitist subsidies, such as grants, low interest loans and tax shelters for a PV solar systems and wind turbine facilities.
Some people claim Vermont already spends a lot on energy efficiency and point to the $30 million/yr spent by Efficiency Vermont in 2009. However, more than $20 million of the $30 million are expenses for payroll, office, travel, etc., of its 175 person staff, leaving only $10 million to do projects.
It would be more effective to augment the $30 million/yr to $100 million/yr, and use all of it as DIRECT subsidies to the bottom 90% of households to make their houses (“cash for caulkers”) and their vehicles (“cash for klunkers”) more energy efficient; the lower the household income, the greater the incentives.
it would quickly lead to a surge of renewal of tens of thousands of houses, condos and apartments buildings providing many hundreds of jobs. This renewal would quickly lead to lower fuel bills, lower CO2 emissions, less need for fossil power plants and renewables, AND would quickly put money in the pockets of people which they would quickly spend to stimulate the economy which would quickly raise revenues to help balance Vermont's budget. Imagine what the above $228.4 million would do.
Shift Subsidies from Renewables to Energy Efficiency
It would be much wiser, and more economical, to shift subsidies away from expensive renewables, that produce just a little of expensive, variable, intermittent energy, towards increased EE. Those renewables would not be needed, if we use those funds for increased EE.
EE is the low-hanging fruit, has not scratched the surface, is by far the best approach, because it provides the quickest and biggest “bang for the buck”, AND it is invisible, AND it does not make noise, AND it does not destroy pristine ridge lines/upset mountain water runoffs, AND it would reduce CO2, NOx, SOx and particulates more effectively than renewables, AND it would not require expensive, highly visible build-outs of transmission systems, AND it would slow electric rate increases, AND it would slow fuel cost increases, AND it would slow depletion of fuel resources, AND it would create 3 times the jobs and reduce 3-5 times the Btus and CO2 per invested dollar than renewables, AND all the technologies are fully developed, AND it would end the subsidizing of renewables tax-shelters benefitting mostly the top 1% at the expense of the other 99%, AND it would be more democratic/equitable, AND it would do all this without public resistance and controversy.
http://theenergycollective.com/willem-post/46652/reducing-energy-use-houses
http://theenergycollective.com/willem-post/61774/wind-energy-expensive
http://theenergycollective.com/willem-post/64492/wind-energy-reduces-co2-emissions-few-percent
Effective CO2 Emission Reduction Policy
Effective CO2 emission reduction policy requires that all households eagerly participate. Current subsidies for electric vehicles, residential wind, PV solar and geothermal systems benefit mostly the top 5% of households that pay enough taxes to take advantage of the renewables tax credits, while all other households are required to pay for them by means of fees and taxes or higher electric rates; the net effect is much cynicism and little CO2 reduction. Improved energy efficiency policy will provide much greater opportunities to many more households to significantly reduce their CO2 emissions.
Energy efficiency wiil have a major impact on improving industrial processes and reducing building and transportation energy consumption. It will improve standards of living and reducing pollution.
Energy Efficiency:
- will make the US more competitive, increase exports and reduce the trade balance.
- usually have simple payback periods of 6 months to 5 years.
- reduce the need for expensive and highly visible transmission and distribution systems.
- reduce two to five times the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and create two to three times more jobs than renewables per dollar invested; no studies, research, demonstration and pilot plants will be required.
- have minimal or no pollution, are invisible and quiet, something people really like.
- are by far the cleanest energy development anyone can engage in; they often are quick, cheap and easy.
- use materials, such as for taping, sealing, caulking, insulation, windows, doors, refrigerators, water heaters, furnaces, fans, air conditioners, etc., that are almost entirely made in the US. They represent about 30% of a project cost, the rest is mostly labor. About 70% of the materials cost of expensive renewables, such as PV solar, is imported (panels from China, inverters from Germany), the rest of the materials cost is miscellaneous electrical items and brackets.
- will quickly reduce CO2 at the lowest cost per dollar invested AND make the economy more efficient in many areas which will raise living standards, or prevent them from falling further.
- if done before renewables, will reduce the future capacities and capital costs of renewables.
Some Examples of the Benefits of Energy Efficiency.
Heat Loss from a 2006 IECC Reference Home on a Cold, Windy Day
Infiltration rates for most houses are primarily driven by the pressure difference (delta p) due to the stack effect in the house and the higher pressure on the windward side relative to the leeward side of the house. The natural delta p on mild windless days = 0.1 Pa - 0.3 Pa, on cold windy days = 20 Pa or more. ACH varies according to the square root of delta p. If ACH @ 50 Pa = 8, then it equals V20/V50 x 8 = 5 ACH @ 20 Pa.
The heat loss on cold windy days = 5 ACH x 11,688 cu ft house volume x 0.075 lb/cu ft x 0.24 air specific heat x (68F - 20F) = 50,492 Btu/hr, equivalent to about 50% of the furnace output. An equivalent size house designed to the much stricter Passivhaus standard would have a heat loss of 1,010 Btu/hr on a cold windy day. See Passivhaus below.
The above shows the 8 ACH @ 50 Pa of the 2006 IECC Reference Home and the 7 ACH @ 50 Pa of the 2009 IECC Reference Home are grossly inadequate. In the future ACH = 1, or less, @ 50 Pa is needed to significantly improve energy efficiency.
However, various interest groups, such as the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), are opposed to stricter ACH standards because it would require major changes in the construction of housing. Houses with wood frame walls are difficult to build to have ACH = 1, or less, @ 50 Pa. Few members of the NAHB are ready for these changes. See SIPs and ICFs below.
Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) and Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs)
SIPs: Sips are used for walls and roofs. They have a layer of closed cell foam between two 1/2" OSBs; the thicker the foam, the higher the R-value. Three foams are in use: most common is expanded polystyrene (EPS), R-3.85/inch; second is polyurethane and polyisocyanurate (PUR), R-6.76/inch and third is extruded polystyrene (XPS), R-5/inch.
Winter Panel, Brattleboro, VT, has EPS and PUR SIPs rated R-25 to R-38. They are 4 or 8 ft wide varying from 8 to 24 ft long.
Murus, Mansfield , PA, has EPS SIPs rated R-16 to R-45, PUR SIPs rated R-26 to R-40 and XPS SIPs rated R-19 to R-58. They are 4 or 8 ft wide varying from 4 to 24 ft long.
RAY-CORE, Idaho Falls, Idaho, has 2x4, 2x6 and 2x8 SIP panels rated R-26, R-42, and R-52, respectively. Its factory-built panels are similar to stud walls but with sprayed foam insulation between the studs and reflective foil-facing on both sides. They are 4' wide and 8', 10' and 12' long.
ICFs: ICFs are mostly used for concrete basements but can be used to construct an entire house. The forms consist of two foam sections that are held about 8" apart with plastic braces; the thicker the foam the higher the R-value. The ICFs lock together into walls, similar to LEGO blocks. After placing reinforcing steel, concrete is poured between the foam sections to form walls. Because of its large concrete thermal mass, the temperature in an ICF house varies little and slowly with outdoor temperature changes.
Quad-lock, Surrey, B.C., has ICFs rated at R-22, R-32 and R-40
Construction with SIPs and ICFs can reduce house energy use by more than 50%, making it easy to qualify for ENERGY STAR and a low HERS rating. SIPs and ICFs perform better because they do not have the voids, gaps, and compression of fiberglas and cellulose insulation in stud walls. SIP and ICF houses are significantly more airtight than houses with stud walls. The foam core of SIP panels function as a complete air barrier, and working with large panels means there are fewer joints to seal.
Studies by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) show that when whole wall R-value is measured, SIPs and ICFs far outperform wood framed walls. ORNL evaluations of a SIP test room revealed it to be 14 times more airtight than an equivalent room with 2x6 construction, sheathing, fiberglas insulation and drywall. For ENERGY STAR rating purposes, the EPA does not require a blower door test for houses built with SIPs and ICFs.
Passing the required Thermal Bypass Checklist is practically automatic when building with SIPs and ICFs. Properly installed SIPs and ICFs provide the whole-house air barrier that the checklist requires, and if a SIP roof is used as well, additional areas of air leakage are avoided.
Heat Loss Reduction by Superinsulating and Sealing an Existing House
A house, 80 years old, 2-family, 2-story, 3,000 sq ft total, located in Arlington, Massachusetts, was selected to demonstrate the energy reduction that can be achieved by superinsulating, etc. The house was in need of new roofing and siding. Fuel oil consumption for space heating and hot water was about 2,500 gal/yr.
The project cost was about $100,000, of which $50,000 was donated by the state and participating vendors and contractors which benefitted from the publicity. After improvements the fuel oil consumption for heating and hot water is about 800 gal/yr, for a saving of 68%.
Whereas the payback will be several decades, the house will be more comfortable, and just as the Toyota Prius market value went up when gas was $4/gal, as will the market value of superinsulated houses go up in the future which will greatly shorten the payback period.
- The existing roof was R-25. To obtain an R-60 roof, existing roof shingles were removed, 2 layers of styrofoam, 7" total, were added. All seams were taped. Roof reshingled and retrimmed.
- The existing walls were R-13. To obtain R-33 walls, existing clapboards were removed, 2 layers of styrofoam, 4" total, were added. All seams were taped. Walls reclapboarded and retrimmed.
- Existing windows were replaced with double-pane energy efficient windows
- Existing exterior doors were replaced with foamcore doors
- Heat recovery ventilation system was installed to ensure fresh air
- Carbon monoxide monitors were installed
A future project could be insulating the interior basement walls.
Near Zero Energy Housing Development in Massachusetts
The RDI designed Wisdom Way Solar Village is a development of 20 super insulated, 2-story, 1,400 sq ft houses with roof-mounted PV and solar hot water systems, located near the center of Greenfield, MA, priced at $210,000 - $240,000; HERS = 7 - 17
A state subsidy allowed 16 of the houses to be sold to low and medium income households at about $110,000; an example of Massachusetts helping low income households.
A typical 2-story, three-bedroom house in the development has a heating load of 12,600 Btu/hr when the outside temperature is 2F. It has the following features:
- Southern orientation, open floor plan, 1,392 sq ft of heated space above an unheated full basement
- Roof-mounted 3.4 kW PV system generates about 4,000 kWh/yr and provides for most of the electricity use
- Roof-mounted 87 sq ft solar hot water system with 105-gal storage tank provides for most of the hot water use
- Building envelope ACH = 2 or less @ 50 Pascals
- Recycled blown-in dry cellulose encircling the building envelope: 12 inches in the offset double 2x4 walls, R-42; 14 inches in the ceilings, R-52; 11 inches in the basement ceiling, R-38
- High efficiency windows north, east, and west; U = 0.18, Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) = 0.26, Visible Light Transmission (VLT) = 0.42
- High efficiency windows south; U = 0.26, SHGC = 0.36, VLT = 0.53
- Continuous 50 CFM exhaust ventilation
- ENERGY STAR refrigerator, dishwasher, and clothes washer (plus natural gas cook stove and clothes dryer)
- Compact fluorescent light bulbs, CFLs, throughout
- On-demand natural gas hot water heater as back up to solar hot water system
- Sealed combustion Monitor room heater in the central living area on the first floor (no fossil fuel-based central heating system is necessary)
- No air conditioning
- Air distribution system to move air and heat from the first floor to the second floor bedrooms. The ducts for this system, as well as the vent fans, are sealed with mastic; duct tape deteriorates with time.
Near Zero Energy Housing in Germany
The Passivhaus standard was developed in Germany in 1988. The Passivhaus Institut was founded in Darmstadt, Germany, in 1996. Over 20,000 Passivhauses have been built since the early 90s, mostly in Germany, Austria and Scandinavia.
After some decades of experience, the cost of building to the Passivhaus standard is now only an additional 5% to 7%. Passivhaus builds the walls and roof as much as possible in the factory, ships them to the site, and has certified builders erect and finish the house. The insulation, plumbing, wiring, etc., are pre-installed as much as possible. Connections are made in the field.
There are over 30 German suppliers of Passivhaus specified walls, roofs, windows, doors, heat exchangers, duct systems, etc. They are a part of Germany's Efficient Buildings industry that provides market-tested products and services.
Passivhaus Design Criteria:
- Less than 15 kWh/sq m/yr, or 4,746 Btu/sq ft/yr for space heating
- Less than 15 kWh/sq m/yr, or 4,746 Btu/sq ft/yr for space cooling
- Less than 42 kWh/sq m/yr, or 13,289 Btu/sq ft/yr for space heating and cooling, hot water, electricity
- Less than 120 kWh/sq m/yr, or 37,969 Btu/sq ft/yr as primary energy. This standard requires the use of energy efficient electrical appliances, heating and cooling systems, etc.
- Insulation minimum for concrete basement or slab R-40, walls R-40 and roof R-60
- Windows are fiberglass-frame, triple-pane, argon or krypton-filled, low-e, U = 0.14 or less
- ACH = 0.6 or less @ 50 Pa below atmospheric pressure, as measured in a standard blower door test. This requirement is about 12 times more strict than for the 2006 and 2009 IECC Reference Homes
- Energy recovery ventilator, at least 80% efficient, to provide a constant, balanced fresh air supply via a duct system
- Electric resistant heater element, a maximum of 10 W/sq m, or 0.93 W/sq ft, in the duct system to provide auxiliary heat on very cold days
- HEPA filter (optional) to remove particulate 1 micron or larger, i.e., germs, dander, viruses, air pollutants, etc.
Notes:
1. In Germany a "Niedrigenergiehaus" uses less than 50 kWh/sq m/yr, or 15,850 Btu/sq ft/yr for space heating.
2. In Switzerland a "Minenergiehaus" uses less than 42 kWh/sq m/yr, or 13,289 Btu/sq ft/yr for space heating.
3. Primary energy is unconverted energy; i.e., energy to make electricity, uncombusted fuel, etc.
4. Anderson, Marvin and Pella windows are wood-frame, double-pane, low-e, U = 0.32; they lose twice the heat lost by Passivhaus windows. Thermatech windows, fiberglass-frame, triple-pane, argon-filled, low-e, U = 0.17.
Serious Windows, fiberglass-frame, triple suspended films between two glass panes. U = 0.09 - 0.13, VT = 0.30 - 0.39, SHGC = 0.20 - 0.26
Therma-Tru fiberglass or steel doors, polyurethane core, R-10.
http://www.efficientwindows.org/factsheets/vermont.pdf
5. 1 atmosphere = 101,325 Pascals = 406.8 inches of water = 10,333 mm of water; thus 50 Pa = 5.1 mm of water = 0.2 inch of water.
Simplified Calculation of a Passivhaus Heat Loss and Heat Gain
Example: an approximately 1,600 sq. ft. Passivhaus on a concrete slab, R-40; 1st floor walls, R-40; 4 ft knee wall on the 2nd floor, R-40; 2nd floor has 45 degree cathedral ceilings, R-60. Inside ambient 68F, at cathedral ceiling 73F, outside 20F, soil under slab 50F. Air-to-air heat exchanger eff. = 80 %.
House volume = 9,792 + 4,896 = 11,688 cu ft
Slab heat loss = 1/40 x 24 x 34 x (68 - 50) = 367 Btu/hr
First floor walls heat loss = 1/40 x 2 x 9 x (24 + 34) x (68 - 20) = 1,253 Btu/hr
Knee walls heat loss = 1/40 x 2 x 4 x (24 + 34) x (68 - 20) = 557 Btu/hr
Roof heat loss = 1/60 x 2 x 1.41 x 12 x 34 x (73 - 20) = 1,046 Btu/hr
Forced ventilation heat loss at 0.5 ACH = 0.5 x 0.075 x 0.24 x 11,688 x 0.20 x (68 - 20) = 1,010 Btu/hr
Total heat loss = 4,233 Btu/hr
Two people heat gain = 2 x 397 = 794 Btu/hr
Electrical appliances, computers, lights, etc., heat gain = 0.5 kW x 3,413 = 1,707 Btu/hr
Total heat gain = 794 + 1707 = 2,501 Btu/hr
Heat loss - heat gain = 4,233 - 2,501 = 1,732 Btu/hr which can be provided by a 1.5 kW hairdryer- size heater in the ventilation system even on the coldest days.
- Solar heat gain through windows and cooking heat gain were not considered
- A 3 kW PV system and an 80 sq ft solar hot water system would provide for most of the electrical and hot water use
Actual experience by a Passivhaus homeowner: During a power outage for several winter days, the ambient temperature in the house did not drop below 60F. When cooking with a gas range it rose to 62F and when the sun shone it soon became 70F while the outside temperature was 20F.
Annual Energy use for Heating, Cooling and Electricity of Inefficient Government Buildings
NY State Office Building Campus/SUNY-Albany Campus; average 186,000 Btu/sq ft/yr. Source: a study I did in the 80s.
Vermont State Government buildings; average 107,000 Btu/sq ft/yr.
Not much can be done with such buildings other than taking them down to the steel structure and start over.
http://www.publicassets.org/PAI-IB0806.pdf
Annual Energy use for Heating, Cooling and Electricity of Efficient Corporate Buildings
Building energy demand management using smart metering, smart buildings (including increased insulation and sealing, efficient windows and doors, entries with airlocks, variable speed motors, automatic shades on the outside of windows, Hitachi high efficiency absorption chillers, plate heat exchangers, task lighting, passive solar, etc.) were used in the Xerox Headquarters Building, Stamford, CT, designed in 1975 by Syska & Hennessey, a leading US engineering firm.
As a result, its energy intensity is 28,400 Btu/sq ft/yr for heating, cooling and electricity, which compares with 50,000 Btu/sq ft/yr, or greater, for nearby standard headquarters buildings.
France and Germany are building high-rise office buildings that average less than 10,000 Btu/sq ft/yr.
China is building net-zero-energy, high-rise office buildings designed by Skidmore, Owens, Merrill, a leading US architect-engineering firm in Chicago, Illinois.
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