Energy efficiency saves power, money

Oct 15 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Amelia Veneziano Moscow-Pullman Daily News, Moscow, Idaho

Tough times can sometimes call for a new approach to an old problem.

That's the message that some businesses in the area are hearing, anyway.

Businesses across the region are revamping how they use power, from replacing old lightbulbs with new, energy-efficient ones to adding insulation, solar lights and low-capacity water heaters.

Dissmore's owner Archie McGregor began making the transition to energy efficiency when he bought the business in 2006.

He spent about $25,000 retrofitting the store, replacing the freezer cases and installing LED lighting.

The energy savings paid for themselves in less than two years, at an estimated $16,799 a year savings, McGregor said.

"Most of these were improvements that I'd seen needed to be done to start with," he said. "Avista had rebates that made it affordable, in a lot of cases, and then there were more long-term savings on those improvements and I could do other things I wanted do with that money."

In straight energy terms, it's also paid off. McGregor says the changes have helped save Dissmore's 758,772 kilowatt hours per year.

That energy-saving also makes the company more planet-friendly.

That's an important factor for Moscow's Natural Abode owner David Wilder.

Although a business like Dissmore's -- a large, free-standing building -- has a different footprint than a downtown storefront, the owners at both had some of the same ideas.

"I've always been interested in natural resource conservation," Wilder said.

His store specializes in eco-friendly products, ranging from dual-flush toilets to cleaning materials.

The Natural Abode uses its own products. It has all energy-efficient CFL bulbs, which are also cooler than other bulbs, and the ceiling has been super-insulated with a spray foam, he said. Wilder installed a programmable digital thermostat that keeps the temperature lower in off-hours in the winter, and warmer in the summer.

He also installed a two-gallon water heater for the sink, instead of using a larger heater for unnecessary water and energy output.

Even for businesses more interested in budget bottom lines, going green can be a good solution.

"Tubular skylights bring more light into a home or business for low cost, conserving water saves money and point-of-contact water heaters save money," Wilder said. "We actually have customers who are just looking to save money, and that's a positive approach for a lot of these appliances."

Although the Natural Abode has been open since 2004 and quickly moved toward energy efficiency, some organizations in the area are eyeing much longer payback timetables.

The University of Idaho spent about $29 million to retrofit buildings, said Richard Nagy, resource conservation manager for the school. They had $1.34 million in Avista incentives and have a projected savings of $1.372 million, but the projected payback timetable is 21.8 years.

"Our goals ranged from pure savings to pure infrastructure improvement," Nagy said at an Avista event earlier this month.

Avista, for its part, offers energy incentives that can pair with those from the states of Washington and Idaho, and there are also federal incentives and rebates available.

Lighting rebates with Avista have a payback of fewer than eight years, and nonlighting -- such as HVAC, windows and insulation -- have projected paybacks of 13 years. Incentives need to fall into those ranges to qualify, according to Avista's Demand Side Management Program Manager Chris Drake.

Possible incentives relate to vending machine controller rebates to multifamily development.

Avista customers need to contact the power company first, Drake said.

"It is important that our programs influence the customer to act and so prior notification is important," Drake said.

Most businesses are interested in what they can do to both save money economize their energy use, Drake said.

"Businesses have been very receptive to our programs and offerings," he said. "We offer both prescriptive incentives that have set measures and incentive amounts and also custom or site-specific projects that evaluate very specific measures or processes and calculate an incentive."

Working with the Avista representative was key of McGregor's decision to retrofit.

"That was key," he said.

More information is available online at avistautilities.com/business.

Amelia Veneziano can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 233, or by email to aveneziano@dnews.com.