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Dear Sir,

Following up on your item in the BDA Sun this weekend (July 21), I would like to thank you for promoting solar panels by featuring the one on my roof - although sadly it was not a sparkling white roof at the time of the picture.

Solar thermal panels are already quite numerous and they have proved themselves to be a 'no-brainer', as they enable the sun to take over the job of heating water for every hour that the sun shines on them, which is almost every day of the year. Even through the winter months the sun is warm enough to heat water to a comfortable temperature.

This is one of the simple solutions for folks who own their own homes to reduce their monthly energy costs.

It simply needs a small consumer loan to finance the project and the solar thermal system once installed will normally last for more than 20 years with truly minimal maintenance - but it will only heat water. It does not generate electricity.

My experience has shown that such a system will save enough on the monthly Belco bills to pay for itself in savings within about 3 years. How is that for a high interest rate on your investment?

I am concerned today with the high cost of energy for folks who have no option but to rent and pay the bills for A/C, closet heaters, lighting and water heating.

There are ways to cut these costs, apart from sitting in the dark, taking cold showers and turning off the AC.

The following are proven ways to save energy costs:

Light Bulbs

Problem: Incandescent lamps burn at high temperatures to create light

Solution: Change over to compact fluorescent (CFL) medium base equivalents for the same light, less watts and less heat. Divide the watts of incandescent bulbs that you presently use by five then go out and buy CFL medium base lamps. Same light levels, 75 per cent less running costs. (e.g. 60watts of incandescent = 13 watts of CFL).

Closet Heaters

Problem: Closet Heaters guzzle energy. Anything that makes heat uses up a lot of watts.

Solution: Invest in a 120v timer, set it to be on for no more than six hours daily, plug your closet heater into it, plug into the receptacle and keep the closet door closed. This will save 75 per cent of the energy and still keep your closet dry.

Air Conditioning

Problem: Expensive.

Solution: Leave blinds closed on windows facing the sun to avoid heat loading. If you have cooled your home do not open the windows and let the ambient heat back in! Use the AC units only when you are in the room. Gently turning ceiling fans use little power but make the temperature seem cooler.

Water Heating

Problem: Expensive.

Solution: Set the thermostat to 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Hotter than that you need to add cold, so why use the watts to overheat the water? If the tank is warm to touch then it is not well insulated. A timer can reduce the hours of heat make up but will not make much difference to the overall cost of the water.

I hope these tips will be helpful to readers when they write their cheques for electricity this summer. Those who are interested are welcome to e-mail me at [email protected]

Margaret Forster

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