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Climate Buddies
empowering you to include Climate Change considerations in everyday decisions
Positive Climate & Energy Improvement Action Card - Template
Thank you for volunteering to fill out this form for each Energy Action your Household (or
your Congregation) decides to implement. Your contribution is significant!
Instructions for filling out the form:
1. Please fill out all the fields. Climate Buddies will help you with the questions
highlighted in blue. You first submission will be draft only.
2. Find a friend to look over your work to complete the card and compare perspectives
and experiences. This can be within your congregation, but if the friend has not
implemented this action, please find a buddy to interview who has, for example an
EAT member.
3. Please add as many photos and pictures as possible. List who to contact (for
example at the City), relevant phone numbers and email addresses, and any other
data you might need before you begin. List all contact persons that can coach from
EAT.
If you have questions: send your feedback or questions to [email protected] and
include your strategy card template “as-is” as an attachment. Thanks!
Energy Action Title and
Focus:
Energy Action Lead(s)
plus congregational
affiliation:
Most Recent Update:
Install on-site renewable energy generation
Household or
Congregation focus?
Estimated Impact:
Household and Congregation
Impact vs. Ease of
implementation
category (refer to
Definitions below):
Energy/Climate
Challenge Addressed:
Achieved Greenhouse
Gas reduction:
Joep Meijer
July 7, 2012
(Energy saved or added, stated in energy units per month
(year); kg CO2/year saved or offset)
A – 1 (based on rating in the Energy Audit Checklist)
Renewables
____ kg Carbon dioxide (CO2-) equivalents
Anywhere between 0% and 100% of all your energy needs.
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empowering you to include Climate Change considerations in everyday decisions
Ease of implementation:
a. How long to
implement?
b. Estimated cost?
3 months
Renewable energy breaks down to two techniques here in Austin.
Wind electricity is just not feasible. This leaves us with solar how
water and solar electricity using PV panels.
Water heaters
PV panels
Installing solar panels has a material cost of about $2.50 per
watt peak and a contractor cost of about $4-5.50 per watt peak.
How much you can be calculated roughly by using the following
formulas:
kWh needed / 1.3 = watt peak needed
watt peak needed * $4.50 = cost
Austin Energy provides a rebate for home owners that pays
$2.00 out of this budget and the IRS pays 30% of the remainder.
You will have to use a qualifying contractor (list) and get an
energy audit which may reveal additional improvements that you
have to pursue to be able to qualify. Upgrades options may
include weatherization, attic insulation and solar screens. More
information about the program and the rebates can be found
here. The rebate basically pays for all the labor, code
requirements, convenience etc. You pay the materials but do not
have to do the work to get everything spick and span. You can
get a solar loan through a credit union. Once you select a solar
contractor, they help you through the process and do most of the
paperwork. You can also earn money from the net metering if
you make more than you use.
Austin Energy provides a rebate to a commercial customer
that pays you for the amount of electricity that you produce. It
is currently $0.14 per kWh. They call it Performance Based
Incentive, PBI. You will have to use a qualifying contractor (list)
and get an energy audit which may reveal additional
improvements that you have to pursue to be able to qualify.
Upgrades options may include weatherization, attic insulation and
solar screens. More information about the program and the
rebates can be found here. You can get a solar loan through
Austin Energy. Once you select a solar contractor, they help you
through the process and do most of the paperwork.
?IRS?
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empowering you to include Climate Change considerations in everyday decisions
c.
Estimated Cost
Savings over x
months?
Energy Action
Description:
The return on investment is typically less than 5 years for home
owners. Research in California shows that the cost of your PV
installation adds just about as much value to your property. That
is a great added bonus when you decide to sell your house. For
commercial installation it can be from 5 to 20 years.
Homes
1. Make sure you have enough non-shaded roof space on the
South side
2. Decide on solar water or solar PV
3. Decide on a loan or whether you can pay out of pocket
(remember, the 30% from the IRS kicks in when you get
your 1040 return, which is not now, but later)
4. Contact 3 contractors
5. Select the one you like the best
6. Enjoy the ride, it will take about 2 months to go through
all the hoops but you will love the result.
Commercial
1. Make sure you have enough non-shaded roof space on the
South side
2. Get the necessary funding in place
3. Contact 3 contractors
4. Select the one you like the best
5. Enjoy the ride, it will take about 2 months to go through
all the hoops but you will love the result.
Lessons Learned While
Implementing; failures
& successes:
What/where the biggest
hurdles to overcome
and how were they
overcome? :
Specific tools Available
to Help:

It will take longer than you expect. The city has about 5
people that will have to take a look and sign off on
different steps.
 Consider hiring a small business local contractor that way
your $ will stay in the local economy.
 The more energy need you prevent from your efficiency
and conservation efforts, the smaller investment you need
for your solar PV system. That is a double return on
investment.
Getting the funding in place. This is a big investment.
Calculate how much roof space you need:
needed watt peak / watt peak per panel = number of panels
sqft per panel * number of panels = sqft needed
Tips for motivation:
You will see the benefits on your meter from day and one your
utility bill upon your next billing period! Wow, seeing your meter
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empowering you to include Climate Change considerations in everyday decisions
run backwards is a joy to the mind and the environment.
Web Sites Applicable:
Photos & Calculations:
Basic diagram for a grid–tied solar PV system
Basic diagram for a solar water heater
Both installed on a home
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empowering you to include Climate Change considerations in everyday decisions
Definitions
Each Energy Action is assigned a category, according to the following (intuitive estimates):
Cat.A: High impact and readily implemented
Cat.B: High Impact, but difficult (perhaps costly) to implement
Cat.C: Low Impact, but readily implemented
Cat.D: Low Impact and difficult (perhaps costly) to implement
[Optimum Order: All Cat.A’s, the best Cat.C’s, carefully analyzed & selected Cat.B’s]
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