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| December 2004 | Home · Event Calendar · Getting Here · Contact Us | ||||
Happy Holidays from SDREO!
Upcoming EventsLighting & Appliances (For those rebuilding from the October 2003 Wildfires) Date: 1/13/2005 To view a complete calendar of upcoming events, click here. News BitsNow Hiring SDREO is now accepting applications for a Marketing Assistant.
There's still time to make nominations for the 1st Annual San Diego Excellence in Energy Awards. Click here for more information. New Hire SDREO welcomes Annika Moman to our Team as an energy engineer. Annika received her BS in Mechanical Engineering from the US Naval Academy and served in the US Marine Corps as a Logistics Officer. She is completing her Masters Thesis with SDSU, where she also worked in the Industrial Assessment Center conducting energy audits. Holiday News Toy Drive SDREO, through BOMA, is sponsoring a toy drive to help less fortunate children around San Diego have a better holiday. If you are planning a visit to our office this month or would just like to do a good deed, please bring a toy and drop it in the bin located in the front lobby of our building. Energy-Saving Holiday Lights
Recycling Your Tree After you're done with your Christmas tree, cut up the branches and place them around the trees in your yard for mulch. As with other types of mulch, be sure not to pile it against the tree trunk—leave a clear space of several inches around the base of the trunk. Or take your Christmas tree to a chipping location and have it chipped into mulch to use in your yard. This is a great way to recycle your Christmas tree while caring for your landscape.
Tech TipCaring for Young Trees in Winter San Diego weather remains temperate enough to continue planting trees through the winter months. Even though it isn’t hot outside, new trees still need to be watered once to twice a week, as tree roots will be growing, slowly but surely. With winter being the rainy season, nature may take care of the watering for you. If you just planted a tree in the past few months and it has now lost its leaves, don’t panic. Most likely you planted a deciduous tree, meaning it loses its leaves in the fall and then regrows them in the spring. This does not mean the tree is dead; it is dormant. The tree is storing food in preparation for the spring season. Once the weather starts to warm up again, you will see new buds forming on your tree. Soon your tree will again be full of green leaves, soaking up the sun’s rays. For more information, visit the People for Trees website.
Quotables"A great deal of new technology is available for buildings. The labels 'smart buildings' and 'intelligent buildings' have been around for years. Unfortunately, this wealth of new technology for buildings exists in pieces and products from many different companies, and virtually no newly constructed building utilizes a significant amount of this new technology. The operation of most buildings today is essentially identical to that of buildings of the 1970's.
What is the potential for using reliable, comprehensive, integrated, and inexpensive components for our buildings to create a transparent and efficient information and control system? Clearly, progress in adapting and implementing technology for new buildings has a long way to go. Nonetheless, we should demand more technology - a lot more. Technological improvements should be standard features that come with every new building, without question, rather than options that add significant cost to the building." - "If Buildings Were Built Like Cars - The Potential for Information and Control Systems Technology in New Buildings," Stategic Planning for Energy and the Environment, Vol 24, No.2; Barney Capehart, Harry Indig and Lynne Capehart.
Speak OutEnergy Connection is a monthly publication of the San Diego Regional Energy Office. We welcome your feedback and would like to hear from you. To submit comments, questions or suggestions, please This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
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ONE DAY LEFT! SANDEE Award Nominations close Dec. 9th
Come see our LED "candy cane" lights in the San Diego Energy Resource Center! LED holiday lights save up to 88% energy compared to super bright mini sets. These ultra-low power consumption LED bulbs are now available in many stores. 
Keep your Home Warm this Winter
Energy Future to Focus on Efficiency and Renewables| Inside the San Diego Energy Resource Center |
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| Energy Policies, Regulations & Legislative Updates |
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Dept. of Water Resources contract cost shift to SDG&E (A.00-11-038): On 12/2/04, the CPUC decided to shift additional costs to SDG&E ratepayers for the DWR contracts that the state of California entered into during the electricity crisis in 2001. SDG&E, UCAN, and local stakeholders fought this measure. Businesses are expected to be most impacted. Natural gas market manipulation investigation (I.02-11-040): On 11/16/04, the CPUC released a draft decision stating that SoCalGas manipulated California's natural gas market during winter 2000, which in turn drove up prices. The draft also cleared SDG&E of any wrongdoing. Energy-efficiency policies, administration, and programs (R.01-08-028): The CPUC released an Interim Opinion on the Administrative Structure for Energy Efficiency regarding Threshold Issues. Comments on the Opinion are due to the CPUC by 12/20/04 and reply comments by 12/28/04. The opinion states that the IOUs will assume program choice and portfolio management functions for post-2005 energy efficiency programs. It also calls for the formation of regional Program Advisory Groups that will assist the utilities in determining energy efficiency programs and implementers for the region. Self-Generation Incentive Program ( SGIP) (R.04-03-017): A decision by the CPUC was expected that would finalize changes to the SGIP program extending from 2005-2007. On 11/29/04, the CPUC released an additional ruling soliciting comments regarding the Governor’s Solar Roofs Initiative and how it, the SGIP, and the CEC’s solar homes program could best work together. Comments on the Commissioner’s ruling are due by 12/15/04. Revised Draft Decision (12/2/04) Utility long-term resource planning (R.04-04-003): The CPUC released its draft opinion accepting the utilities long-term resource plans. The decision contains aggressive targets for energy efficiency and renewable energy. Comments on the draft decision are due to the CPUC on 12/10/04. - TOP - |
Energy Saving Tips for Winter... (cont.)
The cold snap in San Diego has put a chill in the air. SDREO offers some tips to make your home more comfortable and save energy in the process.
- Simply closing your curtains and shades at night and opening them during the sunny day can keep rooms warm.
- Keep the heat where you want it: close doors to rooms not in use, close heating vents to rooms rarely used.
- When you’re not staying warm by the fire, don’t forget to close the chimney flue. Closing the flue-or fireplace damper- keeps your warm indoor air from going up the chimney.
- Be careful about using gas-log fireplaces. Depending on the design, these can actually pull more heat out of your home than they generate.
- Kitchen and bath-ventilating fans can suck the heated air out of your home if inadvertently left on. Be sure to turn them off once they’ve done their job.
- Weatherstripping or caulking leaky doors and windows is a relatively simple, cheap, and not very time consuming way to cut the draft, keep in warmth and reduce your energy bills.
- A programmable thermostat can be a great help in controlling your home temperature. You can set it to turn down the heat when you leave for work or school and warm up your home again before you return.
For more information on energy saving ways to make your home more comfortable, visit the California Energy Commission’s website.
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Energy Future to Focus on Efficiency and Renewables... (cont.)
Last month, the California Public Utilities Commission ( CPUC) released a draft decision approving the investor-owned utilities’ long-term resource plans, directing them to follow the state’s preferences for meeting future power resource needs. When soliciting new power resources, the IOUs must first procure the maximum amount of cost-effective energy efficiency and demand-side resources followed by renewable generation. If they choose fossil fuels over renewable resources, they must be prepared to defend their selection. This “loading order” as it is referred to, was first outlined in the state’s Energy Action Plan and it supports the power preferences listed in San Diego’s Regional Energy Strategy.
The energy food pyramid,* so to speak, illustrates this changing power dynamic. Energy efficiency and demand response comprise the primary tier, followed by renewable resources, and lastly fossil fuel resources.
The CPUC also took a stand on climate change in its draft decision, stating that California will be a pacesetter in this arena. When a utility evaluates bids for new fossil generation, the Commission will now require a greenhouse gas adder to be included to better account for the negative impacts of these emissions. Traditionally, climate change emissions were one of many environmental externalities to utility procurement decisions.
In addition, the decision stated that utilities should meet a minimum 20% Renewable Portfolio Standard ( RPS) by 2010, instead of 2017. Plus, in their next plans, utilities will need to include transmission planning for renewable resources. Distributed generation will also play an important role, fitting between renewables and fossil generation in the loading order. IOUs are required to evaluate DG as an alternative to distribution system upgrades.
* Energy pyramid concept obtained from California Energy Markets.
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Program Spotlight: B.E.S.T. (cont.)
The Business Energy Services Team (B.E.S.T.) Program is offered by SDREO in partnership with KEMA, Inc. The B.E.S.T. staff will evaluate your business energy usage, provide a customized analysis, and even install high-quality, efficient equipment, if needed.
Businesses participating in the B.E.S.T. Program receive the following:
- A no-cost facility assessment conducted by a B.E.S.T. Program Inspector or Contractor to identify potential energy-saving equipment opportunities.
- A detailed proposal that includes a list of recommendations and estimates of energy savings, project cost, payback period, and the rebate amount to be paid by the B.E.S.T. Program.
- Installation of the approved energy-saving equipment by a pre-qualified contractor.
- Pre- and post-installation inspections to assure quality and verify energy savings.
- Minimum hassle or time required of participating businesses.
- Energy bill cost reductions!
Eligible equipment includes indoor and outdoor lighting, heating and AC system controls, window film, and other proven technologies. The program pays for all professional services and up to 100% of the total project cost! Businesses located in the County of San Diego with a maximum annual average electric demand between 20 kW and 100 kW are eligible to participate. Businesses must also be non-residential SDG&E electric customers and not on Schedule A.
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Copyright 2004, San Diego Regional Energy Office
