Podcast transcript: ENERGY STAR @ Home

November 15, 2007

INTRODUCTION: Welcome to the ENERGY STAR podcast, brought to you by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Thank you for joining us for this episode of our 2007 series dedicated to energy-efficient products and practices. For more information, please visit us on the Internet at EnergyStar.gov. That's EnergyStar.gov.

DENISE DURRETT: Welcome to the latest ENERGY STAR podcast. I'm Denise Durrett with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ENERGY STAR program. Today we will talk about ways we can all help protect the environment through being more energy efficient at home. Americans now consider global climate change to be our country's biggest environmental concern, and many people are now looking for ways to make a difference. We know that the average family spends nearly $2,000 a year on energy costs. But what may be surprising to some is that the average home can be responsible for twice as many greenhouse gas emissions as the average car.

So what can you do to reduce your impact on the planet? It's easier than you may think. My guests today have all been involved one way or another with helping consumers to learn about ways they can reduce their footprints on the environment. Joining me today are Tom Watson, who writes the EcoConsumer monthly column for The Seattle Times, which helps the residents and businesses of King County learn ways to reduce their impact on the environment. Tom, welcome.

TOM WATSON: Thank you.

DENISE DURRETT: Kitty Morgan is the executive editor of Better Homes and Gardens. She is also the lead editor for Better Homes and Gardens' new green section called Living Green, which helps readers make smart, informed decisions for their homes that will help protect the environment. Kitty, welcome.

KITTY MORGAN: Hi, Denise.

DENISE DURRETT: Finally, Ken Sheinkopf is the public affairs director for the Florida Solar Energy Center, which conducts research and tests to certify solar systems and develop educational programs. He also writes a nationally syndicated weekly column on home energy and answers questions from his readers on how to maximize their energy efficiency. Welcome, Ken.

KEN SHEINKOPF: Thanks, Denise. Glad to be here.

DENISE DURRETT: So let's start off by taking a broader look at the increase in energy use in our homes and how this has sparked a growing interest in finding ways to make our homes more energy efficient, and also learning about how to be greener in our daily lives. Kitty, your magazine is dedicated to making our homes and gardens a better place to be. But tell us about how you are now helping homeowners make our planet a better place to live with the new Living Green section.

KITTY MORGAN: Well, thanks, Denise. We have just launched this section in response to our understanding that our readers are very hungry for information, and they're confused about what to do. We have recently conducted a survey on our BHG.com site, and we had 14,000 respondents. Of course these are people who selected or chose to take a green survey, so they obviously had some interest. But we learned a lot of different things from that survey, that the most important aspect of living green for our readers all — the most important things were around energy conservation. They viewed finding ways to conserve energy in their homes as very important. 75 percent of our respondents said that was important. Although 78 percent said seeing the ENERGY STAR label on a new appliance purchase was very important to them.

Then there was a big drop-off between — for our respondents about whether driving an energy-efficient vehicle or using green products in their home or in their garden, the importance of those areas dropped off significantly. So we realize that this is a big area of concern. But we also have found that readers don't know where to start. And that's what we're trying to do is give them some very simple, convenient starting points so they can save energy.

DENISE DURRETT: Absolutely. A question I'd like to ask the group, and everyone can weigh in, is do you all, from the perspective of what you do in terms of outreach to consumers or homeowners, do you sense that consumers are more concerned about saving money on energy bills as a result of rising energy prices or rising gas prices? Or is the concern more about global warming in terms of the impact that is being seen on our environment? Or do you feel that the concern is equal?

TOM WATSON: This is Tom out in Seattle. I would say that it is fairly equal in general. Right now there is such a huge media push and public interest in the environment, essentially global warming. I really think it's unprecedented that the people are hearing about these business initiative and church groups with environmental programs and almost all sectors of society so that consumer interest is reflected in that. But saving money is always a concern. Prices are going up all over, including gas prices. And so they're both very high in consumers' minds.

KEN SHEINKOPF: This is Ken. I'd like to echo what was just said. Clearly the economics are a major factor to homeowners. And they often immediately think, what does this mean to me? How much money can I save? What can we do? But there's been a tremendous growing awareness in recent years of the environmental impact. And that also translates at a personal level, what does a changing environment, what do world problems, what do the various other problems mean to me and my family? So the thing about it is that the issue in general has really gotten personal on both how much money can I save and how much of a better life can we all live if we do these things. And that's been a real stimulus, I think, to increase interest in energy efficiency.

KITTY MORGAN: And this is Kitty. And I would say that we're — we understand that we need to give our readers lots of explanations. They do know about the concerns over global warming. But they're not going to take action unless they can see what's in it for themselves. And we're trying to do this, that two-pronged approach that we see are giving recommendations, very simple everyday practices that they can take, that they can put into their lives. We're trying to translate that message into, well, how — what the benefit is. And then also point out how this is going to affect their larger community and planet itself.

TOM WATSON: This is Tom again. And in addition to writing the EcoConsumer column for The Seattle Times, I actually do that as part of my job for King County government. So I work for local government and talk to groups and the public a lot. And what I love about the ENERGY STAR program is that it really is a great bridge between the environment and saving money. And so people are looking for examples of ways to save money and help the environment. And ENERGY STAR is one of the main examples we can give, the great website and the resources and the logos on the appliances. So that's something we can really send people to that they appreciate.

DENISE DURRETT: Yes, and we have seen great success with the ENERGY STAR program over the years in terms of the number of people who are recognizing the label as, you know, the symbol for energy efficiency. And we've been told that it makes it easy for the consumers to actually find products that they know are going to use less energy and help them do a good thing for the environment in addition to saving money. So that's a very interesting perspective.

Ken, a question for you. How do you feel home energy efficiency has changed since you started writing about ENERGY STAR? Are you seeing a vast change in what people are interested in? Or, you know, are they very baseline-type questions that you receive?

KEN SHEINKOPF: Actually, the interesting thing about that question is I can answer it vastly different ways based upon the feedback I get. I've been writing the column for almost 22 years now. And it amazes me is that I'll get some of the most fascinating letters from people who clearly are aware of the impact of energy use on their lives and on the environment, who clearly want to do something, who are aware of the ENERGY STAR label, aware of the ENERGY GUIDE labels on appliances, are aware of all of the ways that they can tell what makes a difference. And then the same day I'll get a handful of emails or letters from people who are, like, at the starting point. Gee, my power bill was really high last month. Is there anything I can do about it?

And so I think what we've got is an audience out there of homeowners and renters, you know, just every consumer. And many people really get it and really see what it means to them. And we still have people who are at the base level of education. And it's an effort that we just can't slow down on. I'm convinced that we've got to keep telling the story because it really has such an impact on everyone that it's too important not to keep telling it.

DENISE DURRETT: Absolutely. Tom, kind of the same question for you, but a little twist on it. I know you write several different topics, on several different topics for your columns. Which...

TOM WATSON: Yes.

DENISE DURRETT: Which one of your topics gets the most coverage? Is it energy efficiency? Is it a recycling thing? Do you — what do your readers seem to be more interested in?

TOM WATSON: I do all variety of topics in the EcoConsumer column. Right now it's running every two weeks in the Seattle Times Home and Garden section on this. And it's covered from waste reduction to fair trade issues, solar panels. The other day I wrote about what to do with old leftover medicines and drugs. I've done maybe 30 or 40 different columns over the past couple years. And the one that I had the highest interest in was just a few weeks ago, and it was CFL bulbs. It was the compact fluorescent bulbs. I had more emails — my email address and phone number is at the end of each column. And I had more consumer response from this column about energy-efficient lighting, these CFL bulbs, many of them which have the ENERGY STAR logo, than anything else. People are fascinated by these bulbs. Some of them have some issues with the bulbs, and they wanted to share those. Some wanted to know, well, are there three-way bulbs, are there dimmable bulbs. And some of them I've covered in a story; others there have been individual responses. There's a lot of interest in energy. And that was the number one column topic that had the most interest, and I thought that was real interesting, was CFL bulbs.

DENISE DURRETT: Yes, that's a very famous tip that we use here at ENERGY STAR is to change five lights, so for people to replace their five most frequently used lights or the bulbs in them with ones that have earned the ENERGY STAR. So that's good that that word is getting around.

KITTY MORGAN: This is Kitty. About the CFLs, we had an interesting little tidbit of we got a number of letters of readers concerned about the mercury in CFLs, and how to dispose of them once they were used up. And of course there's a very tiny amount of mercury in — of course it has to be disposed of correctly. But what that said to me was there's still — there's so much educating, what both Ken and Tom are saying, there's so much education that has to go on. But also in this is a vacuum of information when consumers and when our readers don't know the answer. They almost come up with reasons not to do something. You know, we were telling them, use these bulbs, you're going to be, you know, saving this amount of energy yourself, all this tons of carbon emissions out of the air, blah blah. And they're, like, concerned over this little bit of mercury and what are they going to do about it? Maybe we shouldn't do it if there's mercury in it. So there's a lot, there's still a lot of clarity and a lot of context that has to be relayed to consumers before they actually buy in.

KEN SHEINKOPF: This is Ken. I just — I have to agree that, of everything I write, which also, you know, covers the whole spectrum, nothing draws as much interest as when you talk about CFLs. And the biggest change that I see these days is that years ago most of the comments, most of the things readers asked about or questioned was the high price of the product. It's very clear to me that the prices of compact fluorescents have dropped so much that price is not a barrier anymore. It's really become much more accepted. What I find more of an initial barrier is the question that I get so frequently, is that everybody seems to picture, or many people seem to picture energy efficiency as big ticket items, replacing the air conditioner or the furnace or their new roof or whatever they're talking about. And what's interesting is that a fairly inexpensive light bulb, because you have so many in a house, really can add up as one of the major energy users.

And I would like to remind people, if you don't think your lighting bill makes much of an impact on your overall utility costs, take a walk around your house today and count how many light bulbs you have. And people, you know, it's not unusual to have people tell me it was 30 or 40 or 50 of them. I mean, the numbers are staggering. And what's happened is the old barrier of high price, I think, is really pretty much gone. And now people realize it's cost competitive. And now you see it's accepted and viewed, CFLs are a whole different type of product these days than they were just a few years ago.

DENISE DURRETT: Great. Kitty, you mentioned that, in a lot of the research that you did, your respond- the readers responded that they wanted to do this, but they didn't know exactly where to begin. As you are developing this Living Green section, how do you plan to guide them, so to speak, on, you know, the best process to — the best way to approach beginning the energy efficiency channels?

KITTY MORGAN: We're trying to break — we're breaking the home down into small pieces. Our July issue we're covering green practices in your kitchen, so very, very basic things that people can do within their kitchen — run their dishwasher when it's fully loaded, use glass containers instead of plastic for storing food, I mean, there's a number of different things which are energy related, and some are which are about using resources. And in that we're trying to give people lots of options because that's something we heard from the research very strongly, that people felt, well, there's not enough — either things cost too much, or I can't find the things you're telling, you know, that I should be doing. It's vague to them. Though, you know, it's not like they haven't been to a, you know, Home Depot or Lowe's recently, just because they're loaded with green products for their gardens and for their homes.

But so we're looking to add lots of options, to name products, but always with a view of that there's value involved, that it's not something that's going to be a $400 composter, but something that's a very basic thing that isn't going to cost them a lot. And we think over time we're going to be proving to readers that there are options out there. And we're going to be building resources that we can put online and such that can actually serve the reader. I mean, I think one of the other gentlemen mentioned that getting those resources out there and helping people, helping consumers see those resources will make — will also add to their comfort level.

DENISE DURRETT: Absolutely. Tom, in your outreach to consumers...

TOM WATSON: Yes.

DENISE DURRETT: ...have you found that any of the incentives that are out now, that many utilities offer incentives for purchasing energy-efficient products for your homes, there's a federal tax incentive, those types of, you know, manufacturer and utility rebates and so forth for things, are those good tools, things that we should try to increase more so that we're bringing more people into the fold of energy efficiency? Do those help?

TOM WATSON: I definitely think those should be increased more on every level, from the utilities to anything that the federal and state governments can do, because all of that just makes it more affordable for the public. Here in the Seattle area our utilities, Seattle City Light and Puget Sound Energy, have various rebate programs. They've had different ones in the past, different ones now on energy-efficient lighting fixtures, and sometimes on CFL bulbs, sometimes on appliances, for both energy and water efficiency. And those really make a difference. My wife and I bought a front-loading washing machine with a rebate through one of those local programs. And that's — that helped make the difference in us wanting to buy that appliance. So I would really encourage that because that's going to help people make these changes.

DENISE DURRETT: Uh-huh.

KEN SHEINKOPF: This is Ken. A quick comment there to follow up. I think that anybody who has wanted to make their home more energy efficient and has not taken this — any actions, really, in the last few years, needs to know that there's no time like today. We have such wonderful incentives. The federal tax credit, which pays up to 10 percent to a certain maximum on many products and appliances you buy for your home. There are all kinds of state tax credits and incentives and rebates. There are many, there are literally several hundred utility company rebate programs around the country, everything from paying for up to a certain amount for compact fluorescent lights, up to paying toward insulation. There are other incentives, as well. There are property tax exemptions, and there are sales tax exemptions on products dealing with efficiency. It's very hard almost to find a place in the country where there aren't local or regional incentives. I can't ever recall a time when we've had as many as we have right now. So anybody who's been delaying really needs to know, this is a wonderful time to take advantage of it all

.

DENISE DURRETT: Great. I'd like to cover a couple of simple things that people can do at home. Now, we've talked about changing out light bulbs from incandescents to CFLs. We've talked about upgrading certain appliances in the home, the larger ticket items. One of the things that I talk about a lot, running the cooling and heating campaigns that I do with ENERGY STAR, are the heating and cooling systems in our homes that, as I said before, our home energy bills average about $2,000 a year. And most people may not recognize that nearly half of that annual bill is attributed to either heating in the winter or cooling in the summer. One of the major tips that I give people is to make sure that their systems are well maintained, that they get annual and seasonal checkups of their equipment and make sure that those air filters are changed because dirt and neglect are often the number one causes of system failure. What are some of your favorite tips to give people, kind of the quick and easy tips that you give out?

TOM WATSON: This is Tom. One would be to clean your furnace filter regularly. That will improve the efficiency of the furnace. And also to check ductwork and make sure there are not gaps in the ducts, which there's different ways you can patch those ducts. Ironically, duct tape is not considered a good way to patch ducts. But there's other, there's this stuff called mastic, or there's certain kinds of treatments you can use to patch those ducts. So those are two examples that I like to use that I think we all can implement to have a major effect sometimes.

KEN SHEINKOPF: This is Ken. This actually ties in with, I think, a belated point that I'm not sure people really give enough thought to. And it's very simply that there are so many appliances in the average home today, the lifestyle of people has changed so much to large, you know, toward larger houses and more tangible items, more electronics, that people aren't aware of the fact that I believe the single biggest growth area in energy use right now is this whole area of miscellaneous energy. And it gets into the fact that, you know, we have products that are on standby mode constantly, the flashing lights on the DVD, VCR, TV, microwave oven, stove, whatever. There are things people have in their homes, from waterbed heaters to aquariums, that we have more TVs in the houses. It's hard to believe how many products people own, electric toothbrushes, home computers, microwave ovens, all of these things, that people need to think about the fact that, even though they're doing some of the big things and buying energy-efficient appliances, buying energy-efficient heating and cooling systems, yet they're using energy in so many things, in so many ways that they live at home that controlling that energy use really can have an effect. As much as 20 percent of home energy might be attributed to these miscellaneous users.

DENISE DURRETT: Yes, that is often a startling fact when I'm talking to consumers in general. My family knows that I actually patrol my house for any power supplies that are plugged into the wall with nothing attached to them. That is a major pet peeve of mine. And they don't understand, you know, that these products are — these little blocks that are plugged into your wall are still drawing some sort of power, even when they're not powering anything. So that's a very good point.

TOM WATSON: Well, this is Tom again. I think that issue of standby power or vampire power can really be resolved on the manufacturer's end in a lot of cases. I think they have made equipment that sucks up this power even when it's not being used, when it's just on standby. And a lot of the ENERGY STAR requirements are that they have much less or even no standby power so that's the ENERGY STAR certification levels that they have. And also I believe in California there is legislation, I'm not sure of the cap yet, that would require much less standby power. So I'm saying I would really like to see the manufacturers do more on that end. But in the meantime, the public needs to do the kind of things that you're doing, Denise, at home.

KITTY MORGAN: This is Kitty. In our survey, again, not a highly scientific survey, but certainly gave us a sense of what people were thinking, 93 percent of respondents said a key action they would take in their homes was to turn off appliances and electronics when they weren't using them. And, I mean, it was beyond using energy-efficient appliances. It was the top, the top thing that they said they would do. Virtually everyone said that. And I think to your point, manufacturers, like you could — I would think they'd be cashing in on this by promoting products that are turning themselves off, that are not sucking energy, that in fact that's a real plus, because in fact I'm confused about what I can turn off. Can I really unplug my VCR, TV thing, is that going to screw everything up? I think a lot of people might not know exactly what is taking up energy. And I think some manufacturers could really sort of play into that. Might be, you know, might be an opportunity.

DENISE DURRETT: That's true. EPA and ENERGY STAR are closely looking at, and we've actually revised specifications for, many of our products that use the standby energy so that they're using less. I mean, there are going to be some. But we're making it so that the spec is as tight as possible, and they're using the least amount to do the same job. So in conjunction with working with industry we are trying to address this problem. And hopefully, you know, we'll get to a place where none of these products are using energy like that.

But that speaks again to some of the argument I got from people, well, I don't want to have to unplug everything because I don't want to have to reset those clocks and what have you. And honestly, I don't either. So, you know, we do tell them maybe use a power strip to plug everything, for example your computer and your monitor and your printer, all these things are plugged in. Just use a power strip so that they're shutting everything down when they're done with it. And it's really about making smart choices when we're purchasing products and smarter choices when we're using them and when we're done using them.

Let's talk about what we think home energy use and home energy efficiency is going to look like, say within the next three to five years. Any ideas?

KEN SHEINKOPF: This is Ken. I think there's going to be a bigger change in just sort of the design and construction of new homes. I'm very encouraged by the number of builders and architects and designers all over the country who clearly are building homes that meet and exceed, greatly exceed standards in their areas. And I must again give credit to ENERGY STAR, the ENERGY STAR New Homes program that has really helped show people what you can do to make a house more efficient through the insulation, the construction, the ductwork. What people don't realize, or what they're starting to realize, I ought to say, is when you buy a house today, it's sort of your conventional, typical house that meets code, you're actually buying the least efficient home on the market because the code is the minimum that home builders have to start with. So when people start looking more for ENERGY STAR New Homes and other homes that builders and architects are giving them that have the better windows, that have the adequate insulation, that have the roof overhangs, the proper color walls for the climate, all of the things that go into making a house, I think we'll not only see products that are more efficient, but in general we're going to see homes, commercial buildings, all kinds of structures that are better made and better built for their climates.

KITTY MORGAN: This is Kitty. I would like to think that consumers will get smarter, well, not even necessarily smarter, but they'll begin to ask a different set of questions that, as gas prices rise, as their heating bills continue to rise, as, you know, reliance on foreign oil becomes more of an, you know, increasingly an issue, that the consumers begin to connect dots and ask their questions and look for those products.

But I'm also so aware of how much people are trying to cash in on this and how much green washing, if you will, certainly green products that are being touted as green in a variety of ways, how trendy that's become, you know, certainly the trendiness right now. How that lasts or how that lines out, I'm not sure. But that's an act of confusion for, and almost a fatigue, a green fatigue for readers, fatigue for, well, the consumers, readers. And that's a concern of mine is that, you know, is that there would be so much out there, just an explosion of choices, that what really counts and what really is worthwhile and really makes a difference can — that whole area could get cloudy. Someone buying, you know, a towel because it's green and thinking that they're saving the earth, at the same time they're leaving the refrigerator open all day long, you know, there's a lot of balance I think that's going to have to be struck. And it's going to take, you know, the journalists and the EPA and such really pointing out what matters to the consumer.

DENISE DURRETT: One of the areas that we are concerned with here is raising the energy IQ of the consumer because we feel that it's very important that consumers understand how their daily activities impact the environment. And most people think, okay, I drive my car, I know there's pollution that comes from my car, and that impacts the environment. And I've actually had to spell out for people that if, when you tell them that their home can pollute twice as much as a car, they don't grasp that concept right away. And you almost have to go step by step. You turn on a light in your home. Energy is used to make that light work. Where is that energy coming from? A power plant somewhere is burning fossil fuels that are going into the environment. And we have to lay it out for them. And I feel like once I've made that connection in talking to someone, then they start to understand, okay, so this is why I need to change the way that I use energy in my home. So now I understand why my mother tells me turn out the light when you're leaving the room. And I think that, you know, the responsibility is on us to continue raising the IQ so that people can make a lifestyle change and do better, not just to save money on energy bills, but to lessen their overall impact on the environment.

KEN SHEINKOPF: This is Ken. I guess we've come back almost full circle with the education idea here. People really haven't, I think, made the firm connection that, when you look at your lifestyle, there are so many things that you spend money on that you really can't control. Your house taxes are probably going to go up every year. Food costs are probably going to go up on a regular basis. The price at the pump has certainly been going up on a regular basis. There are a lot of things we really can't control. But we can control our home energy use. And if we take that as something that we can make a difference, it's one of the few things we spend a lot of money on that we really have a fair amount of control if we choose to exercise it.

DENISE DURRETT: That's a really good point. Great. I'd like to thank all of my guests today — Tom Watson, the EcoConsumer from Seattle; Kitty Morgan, the executive editor of Better Homes and Gardens from Des Moines, Iowa; and Ken Sheinkopf from the Florida Solar Energy Center — for sharing your insight and advice on how homeowners can be more energy efficient in their homes and reduce their footprints on the environment. Raising our energy IQ and making wise decisions about how we use energy in our homes are important steps in reducing the impacts of global warming.

To comment on this podcast and to learn about ways you can be more energy efficient in your home, visit us at EnergyStar.gov and take a tour of the interactive ENERGY STAR @ HOME tool which gives you room-by-room advice.

Thanks for joining us today. And be sure to stay tuned for more ENERGY STAR podcasts. We'll keep you informed on the latest in energy efficiency and help you find ways to make a positive difference for our planet. I'm Denise Durrett with the EPA's ENERGY STAR program. Thank you for listening.