For decades, people have been reducing the average energy needed to heat, cool, and light their homes. Often this has been unintentional as a result of buying ENERGY STAR program compliant appliances. Other times people have been motivated by steadily rising energy costs. Finding ways to be more energy efficient helps to save while still living comfortably and without too much sacrifice. In Pennsylvania and New Jersey, there continue to be many opportunities for homeowners to become more energy efficient.
Why Energy Efficiency Matters
In 2018, the two primary energy expenses for families are electricity for the home and fuel for their cars. In most parts of the U.S. people tend to drive further than they did years ago, but still want comfort and space to haul both people and “things”. Over the past decade or two, buyers have given manufacturers the incentive to make cars, trucks, and SUVs, more fuel efficient without sacrificing comfort or space.
Likewise, families have become more dependent on appliances and electronics, fully embracing the digital age. Few are willing to give up comfort and convenience as long as there are ways to keep electricity consumption and therefore costs manageable. A conscious effort to stop wasting power and be more efficient with how you use electricity is just as smart as shopping for a more fuel efficient car or perhaps even a hybrid or fully electric vehicle.
Most importantly, an energy efficient home is less expensive to power and ultimately safer and more comfortable.
The Benefits of Being Energy Efficient
Health
There have been studies over the years which uniformly confirm that older homes retrofitted to modern standards are almost always healthier homes, too. Organizations such as the National Center for Healthy Housing (NCHH) report key health benefits from improved structures:
- Respiratory illnesses drop. Commonly thermal insulation is added or upgraded to reduce heating and cooling costs . Better ventilation systems may be installed. Chronic problems like asthma and periodic or seasonal problems such as colds and allergies improve. Better temperature control in addition to better moisture control are leading factors.
- General well-being indicators improve. In some cases reported incidences of hypertension and headaches decreased once homes were made more comfortable and efficient. In extreme cases, trace pollutants and irritants may be reduced.
Financial
Pennsylvania and New Jersey have long recognized the need for citizens and businesses to use less electricity in their homes and buildings. Programs and incentives have generated a lot of activity in recent years. There are certainly health reasons as noted above. The financial benefits are significant as well:
- More energy efficient buildings demanding less electricity on average help relieve stress on the supply grid. It can result in reduced investments in traditional generator capacity and change the investments needed to maintain a reliable grid.
- The reduced utility expenses realized by each homeowner and business is money that is often spent in other ways, benefiting the local economies.
Security
As more buildings use less energy, the stress on the power grid is usually reduced:
- A key part of keeping the electricity supply stable is making it “resilient”, or better able to deal with upsets and to recover quickly. Brown outs and loss of power from unplanned events like downed trees during storms cannot be avoided. But, when buildings and entire zones and regions require less energy, speedier recoveries are possible.
- As distributed solar grows – or solar on more rooftops and in more fields – the grid can be made even more secure.
- Efficient energy usage plus large amounts of distributed energy can even improve a region’s resistance to sabotage and other bad intentions.
Energy Efficiency in Pennsylvania and New Jersey
Recent analyses from the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) and its National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) division put numbers on the significant opportunities that exist in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Pennsylvania
Click on the images for more details and information.
Learn more about the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) energy efficiency programs and incentives.
Click on the images for more details and information.
Learn more about the New Jersey Clean Energy Program (NJCEP) energy efficiency assistance and incentives.
Tips and Recommendations
We’ve accumulated some ideas for how a typical family might reduce the costs of some individual energy users. Follow our tips and recommendations here and to find links for additional information.
