Saving money on energy

LIHU‘E — Installing two windmills on his property last year has really paid off, said business owner Steve Frailey.

The Noni Fruit Leather entrepreneur claims his electric bill was slashed from $1,100 to $275 after the first month of installation and has consistently ranged from $300 to $500 each month since.

“It’s extremely efficient,” he said about his use of wind as a renewable energy source. “I’m very, very happy with it.”

This is just one of the ways Kaua‘i residents have adapted to rising oil prices and the financially and environmentally expensive cost of burning fossil fuels. Another even more viable option for residents is solar panels, said Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative Energy Services Supervisor Raymond Mierta.

More than a third of single family residences on Kaua‘i currently have their water heated by the sun, he said.

“Because we have a history of higher electrical rates than other islands, Kaua‘i adopted solar water heating earlier,” Mierta said.

If it’s not financially feasible, there are several opportunities for tax rebates and KIUC will work with the cost barrier by even going so far as offering a zero percent interest loan.

“It will pay off,” Mierta said, adding that he recommends installation “100 percent.”

Since 40 to 50 percent of electrical expense is used to heat water and solar can reduce this cost by 90 percent, it makes “perfect social and economic sense,” he said.

Not to be confused with photovoltaic — which is more costly because it provides entire electrical needs — solar is purely for heating water. It’s an effective strategy to saving money and increasing efficiency and electricity is still used as back-up if the sun happens to shy away behind the clouds.

Another misconception is the possible danger in having solar panels installed on a roof, but Mierta said there is “absolutely nothing” to be concerned about. The equipment is relatively light and has a low profile.

Perhaps a road less traveled as far as alternative energy options are concerned is the use of propane. A little over 4,000 residents on the island currently have gas water heaters installed, according to Mierta.

The Gas Company’s Kaua‘i Branch Manager Glen Takenouchi said using propane is less expensive than electricity and his customer base has been steadily growing because of it.

“It’s probably the most readily available and most efficient as far as heating is concerned,” he said, regarding the energy source which is used for activities such as cooking and drying clothes.

It’s used for “basic things people take for granted,” said The Gas Company’s spokesperson Shelcie Takenouchi of Russell Communications Group.

But there is a difference between cost and energy efficiency, Mierta said.

“A gas water heater is less efficient than electricity, but the price of propane is less expensive,” he said.

For example, only around 10 percent of gas in a car is actually used to move it, but 90 percent creates emissions. When you have a gas appliance, the ratio is similar, Mierta said. But, if people are looking to save money, then gas paired with electricity can help ease one’s pocketbook, he added, as well as an incorporation of as many renewable energy sources as possible in the home.

In the big picture though it’s really about learning to become efficient no matter what a person’s energy of choice is, Mierta said.

One suggestion he offers is converting to newer appliances. There are also several other ways to keep energy flowing as effectively as possible in order to save money and the planet. For instance, turning off fans and lights when not in use, cleaning coils in the back of a refrigerator, hanging clothes out to dry and reducing the use of air conditioning.

These practices can go a long way, he said.

For more information visit www.kiuc.coop.

• Coco Zickos, business and environmental writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or czickos@kauaipubco.com.