Summer blackouts beware: Cars can be turned into backup generators

Summer is almost here and with it, the high temperatures and cranked air conditioning that often lead to power outages. Some Angelenos may have considered a costly gas-powered generator for backup power, but another option is already sitting in their driveways: cars.

Power inverters on the market connect to car batteries to keep home appliances running. Just pop the hood, connect the inverter directly to the battery of a running car and thread the power cord from the inverter into the house. A refrigerator, television, lights or other devices that usually plug into a wall outlet would instead connect to the inverter power cord.

The inverter, similar in size to a hardcover book, converts direct current, or DC power, coming from the car battery into alternating current, or AC, used in most homes.

PowerBright, based in Coral Springs, Fla., makes inverters in a variety of power configurations. A 900-watt version, costing about $60, is strong enough to run a sump pump, freezer or refrigerator, and it can handle the peak power surge from first plugging in a refrigerator, Chief Executive Gil Hetzroni said. A 2,300-watt version, Hetzroni said, can power many appliances at the same time.

Power inverters work with gas-powered cars as well as electric vehicles, but Nissan Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. have both developed equipment specifically for electric cars. The bi-directional electric vehicle charger, which Nissan calls the Leaf to Home electricity supply system and Toyota dubs V2H for vehicle-to-home charging system, can reverse the flow of electricity from electric car to house in case of blackouts.

At Coyote House, every day is an Earth Day

Oh, how far we've come from Earth Days past — when the phrase “green home” conjured images of straw-bale structures, when solar panels seemed like such an earnest novelty, when “LEED certified” hadn't yet crept into public consciousness.

With Earth Day 2012 almost upon us, nearly 60,000 homes in the United States are in the process of being certified in the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Education and Environmental Design program, according to Nate Kredich, the organization's vice president of residential market development. Need more convincing proof of just how far we've come? Take a peek at the new home of architect Ken Radtkey and landscape architect Susan Van Atta.

PHOTO GALLERY: 26-picture tour of Coyote House

INFOGRAPHIC: How the garden roofs, cisterns and other green elements work

The husband and wife's three-bedroom house nestled into a Montecito hillside is dubbed the Coyote House, partly after the name of the couple's street, partly after the howling critters in the area. Beyond its abundance of energy- and water-saving features, however, the house is notable for its utter normality: On the most basic level, it is simply a comfortable and beautiful family home.

“Designing sustainably was a given for us,” says Radtkey, founder of Blackbird Architects, a Santa Barbara firm with an emphasis on sustainable design. “But the most important goal was to make a great home.”

To that end, the house starts with a modern take on the veranda, right. A covered room overlooking the front garden has a sliding screen and front and back sets of glass pocket doors that can open to the outdoors or seal it off in various ways, depending on the season and weather.

A dozen highly flammable eucalyptus trees — by coincidence, cut down just months before the November 2008 Tea fire that swept through the region — were used to build the front door, kitchen table, bookcases, stairs and banister. Other materials used for interior appointments were sustainable too: Cabinets are bamboo, the floors are cork or salvaged stone, most of the walls unpainted plaster.

SolarCity launches loan program for energy efficiency upgrades

Owners who want to make their homes more energy efficient but can't pay for improvements up front have a new option: The Home Energy Loan program from SolarCity introduced Monday allows homeowners to finance energy efficiency upgrades through 10-, three- or one-year loans, the last of which comes with no interest.

An average U.S. homeowner spends about $1,900 annually on utilities, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. SolarCity estimates that 40% of the money homeowners spend to heat and cool their homes is wasted through duct and air leakage.

The San Mateo-based company can audit home energy consumption, recommend ways to reduce usage and identify rebates. The evaluation uses 3-D software with detailed information about window types, insulation, water heaters, even light bulbs. Energy use is modeled for a calendar year, the recommendations can be as specific as changing a 100-watt incandescent bulb.

"If you replace it with a CFL," said Levi Blankenship, SolarCity's energy efficiency manager, "the software not only knows the light bulb will consume less energy but it will also know how many more BTUs the furnace needs to produce to account for the fact that the new light bulb puts off less heat."

Architects recycle truck trailer into lofty tower

Mexican architects Alejandro D'Acosta and Claudia Turrent have turned a priest's 19th century adobe house into a 21st century residence, rejiggered a hotel of ill repute into their architecture office and built a rammed-earth dwelling into a seaside cliff in Ensenada. But it's their off-grid country home in the Valle de Guadalupe wine region that may be their most unusual project to date: The house is partially built from an abandoned refrigerator truck trailer, but unlike the converted shipping container projects that have been so fashionable in architecture, this one is flipped up on its end — a tower with rooms stacked vertically.

PHOTO GALLERY: Truck trailer remade as loft tower

Dubbed El Granito for the elephantine granite boulders that surround the property, the 50-acre parcel was the discovery of D'Acosta's brother, winemaker Hugo D'Acosta, and a friend while they were looking for land to plant more vines. In a rocky plain where hawks soar on thermals by day and coyotes call to the moon by night, they came upon the truck trailer lying on its side next to a cinder block shack. Barrels smelling of chemicals filled the trailer.

“It was an abandoned meth lab — more el gramito than El Granito,” said a chuckling D'Acosta, referring to the term for a gram of drugs. “We liked the idea of taking a place that was used for making something bad and turning it into a creative place to cook up some good ideas.”

EnergyGlass: Windows that make solar electricity

Almost 90% of electricity generated from the sun comes courtesy of roof-mounted panels made with silicon, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo. But new technology using clear glass offers another option.

EnergyGlass, based in Riviera Beach, Fla., sandwiches a sheet of polycarbonate laminate infused with nanoparticles between two pieces of optically clear glass. When it comes into contact with various types of light, the light is directed to the pane's perimeter, where it's converted into electricity in the frame of a window or door.

The glass can convert sunlight, ambient light and artificial light into electricity, according to Saf-Glas, a 15-year-old manufacturer of bullet- and blast-resistant safety glass. The company introduced EnergyGlass last year for commercial projects, such as high-rise office buildings and hotels, that are already using significant amounts of clear plate glass.

Vertically mounted EnergyGlass generates about a third as much power per square foot as traditional photovoltaics, the company said. The advantage of EnergyGlass is that it generates electricity in spaces that otherwise wouldn't.

"Architects and designers and construction managers can use this like any other piece of glass. We can make this any size or shape, and it goes where regular glass would've gone anyway," said Steve Coonen, EnergyGlass chief technology officer. "We're taking advantage of the cost of the glass already going in and the labor to put it in. You don't need a rack to hold the solar panels because it's already part of the building."

The technology used in EnergyGlass is known as a luminescent concentrator, so called because "small particles in the glass absorb the light and reluminesce," said Sarah Kurtz, a spokeswoman for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Kurtz said the efficiency of luminiscent concentrators still has a ways to go before they are as efficient as silicon and cadmium telluride photovoltaics. It's a "difficult technology" that will take a few years to develop to become cost effective, she said, but "if you can take light that would otherwise result in heat load from the building and turn that into electricity, that's a win-win for everybody."

Coonen said a 30% federal tax credit and the fact that EnergyGlass simply substitutes for another type of glass make the product competitive in price to standard rooftop photovoltaics. So far, the company has installed the glass in two buildings: a government building in Taiwan and an office building in Delray Beach, Fla. A few other projects are slated for completion in South Florida.

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-- Susan Carpenter

Photo: A buildling in Taiwan outfitted with electricity-generating EnergyGlass. Credit: Saf-Glas.

Solar Decathlon will move to Orange County in 2013

The U.S. Department of Energy's worldwide competition to build solar-powered, highly energy-efficient homes will move to Orange County in 2013. The biennial Solar Decathlon had been held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., since its inception in 2002. 

"We wanted to find a way to extend the competition’s reach beyond D.C. and showcase energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies across the country," DOE spokeswoman Jen Stutsman said. By moving it to Orange County Great Park, in Irvine, "we’ll be able to reach millions of Southern Californians and demonstrate for a new audience the benefits that come with energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies."

The DOE selected Orange County Great Park through a national competition. The site was chosen for its ability to accommodate 20 houses, its visitor parking and easy freeway access, as well as favorable weather conditions.

"California has been at the forefront in leading America toward a clean energy future, developing and showcasing energy efficiency and renewable technologies like solar energy for many years," Stutsman said. "We’re excited to have the state once again play a role in building an American clean energy future that will create new jobs and help America to compete in the global clean energy race.”

For the Solar Decathlon, 20 teams from colleges and universities across the United States and the world spend two years designing, constructing and testing home designs that combine affordability, consumer appeal and design excellence, according to the DOE.

The announcement about the Solar Decathlon's move to Southern California in 2013 came on the same day that the DOE announced that three universities from Southern California had been selected to compete, including the Southern California Institute of Architecture, the California Institute of Technology and the University of Southern California. In 2011, Caltech and SCI-Arc competed as a single team -- the first time a So Cal entry had been accepted in the Solar Decathlon. SCI-Arc and Caltech will collaborate again for the 2013 competition.

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Photo: A rendering of 2013 Solar Decathlon Solar Village at Orange County Great Park. Credit: Orange County Great Park Corp.

 

Air pollution control agency increases gas log rebate

The Air Quality Management District is increasing its rebate for gas log sets from $125 to as much as $200. The rebates are for homeowners who convert their existing wood-burning fireplaces to log sets fueled with natural gas, which radically reduce fine particulate emissions.

The air pollution control agency for Orange County and the non-desert portions of L.A., San Bernardino and Riverside counties says that fireplaces and other wood-burning devices are used in 1.2 million homes in the South Coast Air Basin. Collectively, they emit more than five tons of PM2.5 emissions per day, which is four times the amount of PM2.5 emitted from all Southland power plants, the agency said.

The AQMD cited studies released by the California Air Resources Board earlier this month that showed that exposure to PM2.5 elevates the risk of premature death from heart disease in older adults and elevates the likelihood of strokes in post-menopausal women.

The rebates are available at 60 participating retailers through the Healthy Hearths initiative launched by the AQMD in 2008. A total of $500,000 in rebates is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Residents must purchase the gas logs from a participating retailer who applies the discount to the purchase and installation of the logs.

-- Susan Carpenter

Photo: R.H. Peterson gas log. Credit: R.H. Peterson

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Four is the magic number for energy efficiency improvements to pay off

Homeowners need to complete an average of four energy efficiency upgrades, such as insulation or high-efficiency windows, to see their utility bills decrease, according to a new survey released Tuesday. Homeowners who completed only 2.3 improvements actually saw their bills increase 10% to 30%, according to the 2011 Energy Pulse Survey by the Shelton Group, a Tennessee-based marketing group focused on sustainability that polled 1,502 Americans. 

"[M]ost homeowners are more likely to start with a low-risk, low-investment improvement such as CFLs or programmable thermostats that create a 'quick win' — fast results with minimal effort. Since quick wins reduce resistance and increase motivation, this should put them on the path to additional behaviors," the study says. "However ... many homeowners start and end with CFLs. The motivation to move on to the next activity doesn’t seem to occur naturally."

Just 42% of the survey's respondents had installed high-efficiency windows, 39% had added extra insulation, 37% had installed a higher-efficiency heating or cooling system and 24% had upgraded to a higher-efficiency water heater.

The No. 1 reason homeowners make energy-efficient improvements is to reduce their utility bills, the survey found. Yet the high cost and slow return on investment of the most valuable improvements has been a stumbling block. Replacing old, inefficient windows can lower energy bills 7% to 15%, but the payback period is between 10 years and 30 years, according to the study, citing Department of Energy research. Improving insulation can save 10% on an annual energy bill, but the payback period is 12 years to 26 years.

"The top energy-saving driver for the vast majority of Americans continues to be about dollars and cents," said Suzanne Shelton, president of the Shelton Group. "It's a green decision to save energy -- but for consumers, it's the green in their wallets that matters most."

The highest-income and best educated Americans were most sensitive to utility bill increases and likely to take action. Those earning $100,000 or more annually said their monthly bills would need to increase an average of $113 to prompt an energy-efficient home improvement such as window replacement, whereas those earning less than $25,000 said their monthly bills would need to increase $120. Those with graduate degrees said it would take a $98 increase to trigger an energy-efficient upgrade, whereas those with a high school degree or less said the bill would need to increase $122, the study found.

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-- Susan Carpenter

Photo: Solar film is installed on the window of a Culver City Home. Credit: Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times

Swap incandescents for LEDs at Christmas light trade-in

Home Depot sold 40,000 miles of Christmas light strings last year. That's enough to circle the globe one and a half times, according to a company spokeswoman.

While most of those light strings were outfitted with incandescent bulbs, the world's largest home improvement specialty retailer is encouraging customers to upgrade to more energy-efficient LED strings with its fourth annual Eco Options Christmas Light Trade-in, kicking off Thursday and running through Nov. 13 at all of Home Depot's 1,961 U.S. retail locations.

LED holiday lights are up to 80% more efficient than incandescent holiday lights, according to Home Depot holiday decor merchant, Brad Whited. LED lights do, however, tend to cost significantly more than their incandescent counterparts. To help offset the price difference, Home Depot is offering $3 to $5 coupons to customers who trade in their old Christmas light strings (either working or non-working). Customers are limited to five trade-ins.

The old light strings are then recycled through the retailer, which has partnered with a zero-landfill processor that separates the strings into their component parts and recycles them as glass, HDPE plastic, copper and tin steel.

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Photo: Christmas light bouquet. Credit: Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times

61% of Americans unaware of energy efficiency rebates, incentives

Whether it's a $60 utility rebate on a new refrigerator, a $500 federal tax credit for upgraded insulation or $1,875 from the state for replacing a natural gas water heater with a solar model, Southern California homeowners are eligible for dozens of financial incentives when they make energy-efficient upgrades.

But according to a new survey conducted for National Energy Awareness Month (October), few Americans are taking advantage of such incentives. Although half of the survey's respondents said they had made home improvements to save energy and money, 71% said they didn't take advantage of rebates, tax holidays or other incentives, and 61% said they were unaware such incentives even existed, according to the survey, conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of climate technologies supplier Emerson. 

"Consumers are more interested in improving their consumption than reducing it," said Rusty Haynes, project manager for DSIREUSA.org, an online database that lists 2,750 policies and programs for rebates and incentives across the U.S., including 155 in California. "By reducing energy consumption, you have more money on hand to do other things, but I think a lot of consumers view that as work."

The database was founded by the U.S. Department of Energy in 1995 and is managed by the North Carolina Solar Center at North Carolina State University. Database users can search for eligible incentives in their area with the site's search tool, which allows them to filter searches by state, specific technology, type of incentive and whether the incentive is for a home, business, school or government entity.

-- Susan Carpenter

Photo: A geothermal heat pump and hot water heater. Credit: WaterFurnace International