Remodel Pays Off with Energy Savings

In past winters I came to dread the gas bill. This former California resident had never seen a gas bill for $351.00, last winter’s highest.  I knew my roof had virtually no insulation because the ceiling WAS the underside of the roof. The heat just leaked out of the top of the house. I could visualize dollar bills escaping through the cracks!

Energy costs will increase; it’s just a matter of how rapidly. Looking to the future, I vowed to address the issue with the remodel. We installed foam insulation for the entire roof and all exterior walls of the new addition.

I’ve been watching my gas bills closely since the remodel and have good news to report! Despite working from home and cooking more meals at home, my energy usage is down. The house is much more comfortable overall and even the basement is warmer.

Here is a quick diagram I made using data from my Washington Gas bills (dropped data into Excel, annotated with Photoshop).  I haven’t normalized for temperature, but it is encouraging so far. I’ll keep you posted.

Please click on chart below to see larger, clearer image.

Comparison of energy usage, year-over-year.

Broken Oven Fixed Under Warranty

Recently I realized that the glass in the roof of my new Dacor oven was cracked. Fortunately this was remedied very quickly. Today the service technician came out with a replacement element. It was installed, tested and working, good as new, in less than an hour. The element is protected by a glass panel which had cracked. He’d only seen this happen once before and didn’t have an answer for the how. I suspect shipping.

Color Choices: Are mine dated already? (surely not!)

I was somewhat dismayed to learn that Pantone has anointed turquoise as the 2010 color of the year. Why? Because, if you must know, removing the TURQUOISE countertop from my old kitchen was one of the primary motivators for instigating my wonderful remodel.

Pantone *Likes* Turquoise

Just for fun, check out Ylighting.com selections of turquoise design. They have truly embraced the new palette (with a vengence!).

Ylighting has the blues... turquoise, that is.

Lutron Plates, Switches, Dimmers and Receptacles are In!

Inching closer to completion…

My Lutron order arrived today from www.dimmers.net! Diva style switches, plates, receptacles in gloss brown (perfect for the backsplash tile) are sitting in a box ready for installation. It won’t be long now.

Millions Are Being Donated Each Month to Support Great Ideas!

Whether you care about arts and culture, health, education, neighborhoods, food and shelter or the planet, there is something you can do to help. The Pepsi Refresh Project is giving away millions to implement good ideas. And the best part? The ideas come from YOU. And if you’re not ready to share your idea, then vote on the ideas that have been proposed and you can influence how the money is spent.

Each month the cycle begins again. Ideas are collected, organized and presented, then voting begins. Get in on the next cycle.

Yes, this is a corporate goodwill/marketing project, but if you or your organization has a great idea, why not try to get the funding? The other thing that can happen is that your idea gets traction and is funded by someone else. Win. Win.

UPDATE: Tile is Here and Work Begins Again!

Happily, after significant delays waiting for tile delivery and holiday festivities to wind down, work has recommenced. Great progress was made today! Remaining tile went up on the backsplash. Three kitchen ceiling lights were installed. Bench hardware was installed so the lids to the three discreet storage compartments can be accessed. This is terribly exciting!!!!

Always Inspect Your New Appliances

This weekend I decided to give the new oven its first thorough cleaning. I removed the racks in preparation for wiping down the interior. This is when I noticed the damage on the roof of the oven. A very large crack ran across the glass panel. It almost looked like part of the design until I felt the sharp edge. Aaaaaaaaach! Had I not undertaken the detailed cleaning, I’d never have noticed this. The contractor suspects the oven was damaged during shipping, perhaps something heavy was stacked on top of it or was dropped on it. It’s under warranty, so will be repaired. But what if I hadn’t seen the crack until AFTER the warranty expired?

I can’t stress this enough. INSPECT YOUR NEW APPLIANCES CAREFULLY!

First Signs of Energy Efficiency

It might be too early to start crowing, but it appears that I am beginning to see some good energy savings. First indication of savings came with my Washington Gas bill this weekend. Of course I immediately dropped everything and decided to do an energy comparison—YOY current (‘09) v.s. previous (‘08) usage by month. This exercise was more cumbersome than I’d hoped. First stop was washingtongas.com looking for a nice usage chart. No such luck. I reconstructed my energy usage and costs by reviewing individual bills online.

Ever notice the usage data on your bill? It’s not very usable. Why would I want to compare November to May?

Hint: At the very least, I’d want to see 2 years of data plus a trending chart.

Well, I guess the utility companies are not in the business of helping us understand our energy usage.* I did, however, write Washington Gas a nice note with these and other suggestions on the contact form at the web site. Guess it’s the information design part of my brain.

So, I’ll report back in a few months. But for now, considering I am WFH (working from home) and spending more time in the house than in previous years, my energy usage is stable or declining. My investment in energy efficient appliances, HVAC and retrofit foam insulation may be paying off. Stay tuned…

*There are a few companies that purport to provide household energy data and even incentives to conserve. One is Opower in Arlington. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Lighting for the Breakfast Area

It’s been a challenge finding lighting for the breakfast room. The outlet is centered on the windows and the lights running down the center of the kitchen, but the table will not be centered under the light. Damon Wright suggested this great solution which I purchased at Ylighting.com—the Real Simple Ceiling Boom. It will be installed in the center of the room as planned, but can be adjusted to accommodate any furniture arrangement. Besides, I’m not a fan of swagged lamps.

Dual joint functionality allows precise positioning.

Sourcing Electrical Switch Plates for the Kitchen Backsplash

It’s wonderful to have this glorious tile for the kitchen backsplash, but what to do about the outlets? I don’t want them to look like sore thumbs. The industry promises new solutions for the glass tiles but has not delivered as yet.

This might be the perfect color!

Since I’ve used Lutron Diva switches in the remodel, it would be great to continue with that theme. The issue is color. None of the colors seem right. Dark would be the best, but black is going too far. Satin colors look pastel and inappropriate against the shimmery glass tile. Next best might be the gloss brown color in the designer series. I’ve ordered one double gang switch plate from dimmers.net (found in a Google search) to check for color compatibility.

STATUS UPDATE: For those of you who’ve been wanting to ask, we are waiting for more tile to come in. The original order was a bit shy. Turns out that a square foot of tile may not really be a full square foot of tile.