February - Oklahoma Electric Cooperative

The more things change . . .
. . . the more they remain the
same. Another year has passed
and Happy New Year—again.
As I was thinking about the ways
we can best help you in 2013, I
also reflected on the past; on the
many ways the world has changed
since I wrote my first column. Life
seems to be so much faster and
busier now with the technology
revolution. I thought about how
great is has been to help so many
people have more energy efficient
and affordable houses.
Just last evening a man said
to me, “Y’all have done a good
job teaching folks about energy
efficient construction. I walked
through several houses under
construction recently and all of
them were using Marathon water
heaters and cellulose insulation.
I believe they learned to do that
from y’all.”
I love to hear comments like
that and so does your co-op. What
we teach is good for the consumer,
the environment and our nation.
We will continue teaching in 2013
useing this column, how-to videos
and www.togetherwesave.com.
The more things change–more
electric appliances like computers
and TVs in the home–the more
things remain the same–energy
efficiency concerns in the home
are the same today as they were
30 years ago. If we made a list of
every item affecting the efficiency
of both a 30-year-old house and
a brand new house, the two lists
would be essentially the same.
Of course, we would expect the
new house to be the most energy
efficient of the two, In most cases,
it would be, but not always.
What we teach
is good for the
consumer, the
environment and
our nation.
If the owner of an older home
has corrected the house’s energy
inefficiency issues, it could easily
be more energy efficient than a
newer house. I often get calls in
which the caller starts by saying,
“I live in a 50-year-old house and
...” I can tell by the sound of the
caller’s voice he/she has doubts
as to if anything can be done to
make the older house more energy
efficient. The answer is nearly
always, yes.
And what is on this efficiency
to-do list? It needs to identify the
energy efficiency needs of your
house only and based on facts,
not guesses. In the 2013 columns,
we are going to do our best to
help you identify what needs to
be on your list and teach you
how to make improvements. We
encourage you to not only read
the columns, but to save them for
further references. So, since it is
already 2013, let’s get started.
Without a doubt, the best
way to know about the energy
efficiency of any house is to obtain
a detailed energy audit. I often tell
folks you will learn more about
your house in a couple of hours
with a good energy audit than you
will learn in years without one.
Ask around, there are bound to be
professional auditor's in your area.
You can also preform a self audit.
OEC has a downloadable energy
audit handbook at www.okcoop.
org (go to Energy Audit in the
Services menu).
If your house has comfort
problems or high utility bills,
you will almost certainly have
air infiltration problems which is
what we will cover in next month's
column.
Doug Rye, a licensed architect living in Saline County and the popular host of the “Home Remedies” radio show, works as a consultant for the
Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas to promote energy efficiency to cooperative members statewide. To ask energy efficiency-related questions,
call Doug at 501-653-7931. More energy-efficiency tips, as well as Doug’s columns, can also be found at www.SmartEnergyTips.org.
News Magazine 23