Irene M. Stillings CCSE Executive Director

From the Director's Desk:
Fire Recovery

Only four years after the devastating Cedar and Paradise fires, once again wildfires in San Diego County have destroyed several thousand homes and businesses, leaving thousands homeless and many without any income as well. These survivors of the Witch and Harris fires of 2007 are stunned and bewildered. Many lost not only their homes, but also their means of transportation and of communication. They are faced with the daunting task of rebuilding their lives and then rebuilding their homes. They need help.

We assisted those who were affected by the fires in 2003, and we’re here to help again! After the 2003 Cedar fires, the California Center for Sustainable Energy ( CCSE) successfully coordinated efforts to utilize existing and new programs to help rebuild a greener San Diego. Our hearts go out to those who have been negatively affected by this year’s fires. We are dedicated to offering our support, knowledge, and compassion yet again. Please help us to pass this message on to members of the community who have been affected by this tragic event.

We have formed a consortium of nonprofit organizations with the intention to establish “Rebuild Central” at CCSE. We will provide a “one stop” source for integrated, complete, unbiased information and assistance to these fire survivors as they start to rebuild their lives. Stay tuned for more details. While we are still developing the exact details of the program, we have many existing ways to lend a helping hand.

In an effort to support our community in a time of need, the staff at CCSE decided to redirect funds intended for the CCSE Holiday Party to contribute financial assistance to fire survivors. In addition, CCSE staff is donating to low-income families during the holiday season who might otherwise receive less attention this year.

CCSE has a lot to offer through existing programs. One of the most valuable ways we can support those affected is by offering unbiased, technical assistance. When rebuilding a home, technical advice can help save money! CCSE team of experts can provide free guidance about fire resistant building materials and landscaping, green technologies and techniques, home design, lighting, durability, passive solar strategies, financing, and much more! To schedule an appointment, call our toll free number, 1-866-SDENERGY, to speak to an energy expert, or you can email questions to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Through the California Solar Initiative ( CSI), CCSE staff is able to guide San Diegians in optimizing the potential for using solar panels to power a home. It is important to take steps in the early stages of design to take full advantage of using solar energy. Our experts can assist in early construction details, landscaping strategies, funding opportunities through incentives, and simple cost justifications based on expected electric bills.

In addition to these programs, CCSE has many resources to offer through the San Diego Energy Resource Center ( ERC). The community is encouraged to take advantage of our multitude of educational workshops, the ERC Lending Library, the online Vendor Database, and more!

Workshops are given by leading industry experts provide a forum in which homeowners can come and learn everything they need to know about select topics. Visit our calendar of events and workshops to find a workshop that interests you.

The Lending Library offers a large collection of the latest publications, reference guides, books, journals, and videos. This unique resource also offers instantaneous reading and data-logging instruments that can help to determine performance and savings potentials. Be sure to search the Resource Library Catalog (Excel file) and the Energy Related Software Tools Document (PDF) and borrow any of these resources for free!

The Vendor Database can help with the selection of a vendor, contractor, or supplier that can help you identify, evaluate, and install energy efficiency technologies.

Click here to explore an entire collection of invaluable resources available through the ERC.

We welcome fire survivors to utilize our meeting space. If there is any way we can help to facilitate community collaboration, we are here to help with open arms.

Give Yourself the Gift of Energy Efficiency

With the holiday season rapidly approaching it’s easy to forget about being energy efficient when decorating with holiday lights. Most people still use standard C-7 incandescent lights or mini-lights to decorate their homes and trees. However, there are other options that are more efficient, longer-lasting, and safer. Why not try using energy efficiency light emitting diode (LED) holiday lights or a fiber optic tree this year?

Compare incandescent bulbs to light emitting diode (LED) bulbs in a typical string of holiday lights. Traditional C-7 incandescent lights use 6 watts of energy while C-7 LED lights use only 0.08 watts! The savings are even more significant when comparing mini-ice lights. Incandescent mini-ice lights use 0.48 watts and while LED ice lights use only 0.05 watts. That is nearly ten times the amount of electricity!

Now consider the cost savings for lighting an 8-foot Christmas tree for 5 hours a day during one month (assuming an electric rate of $0.13 per Kilowatt-hour). Using incandescent C-7 bulbs, it would cost approximately $14.63. Compare that to the cost of using LED C-7 bulbs at $0.47. Using incandescent mini-lights would cost nearly $2.81 while LED mini-ice lights would cost only $0.27. By using less energy, LEDs help to save money during the holiday season [source: Alliance to Save Energy].

In addition to the cost savings, the life-span of an LED is approximately 100 times longer than an incandescent light. This means fewer trips to the store to replace broken lights and more time spent partaking in holiday fun. Unlike incandescent holiday lights, if an LED bulb does burn out, the other lights will stay lit, making it easier to find the broken bulb. LEDs are also safer than incandescent bulbs. LEDs burn much cooler, making them easier to handle when lit (especially little hands!) and eliminating fire concerns on dry, flammable Christmas trees.

Another great way to save energy and avoid fire hazards is to choose a fiber optic Christmas tree this year. These artificial trees use one bulb that distributes light to the tips of branches on a tree. They can save up to ten times the energy of an average tree adorned with incandescent lights. When the light burns out, there is only one bulb to replace. This eco-friendly alternative is available in a variety of options spanning from 2 to 10 feet in height with multiple widths, costs, and colors.

Whether using C-7 LEDs, mini-ice LEDs, or LED fiber optic trees, there is a wide array of energy efficient sources for your holiday trimming needs!

Free Shade Trees…Now That’s Cool

A new tree planting program guide is available for those interested in taking advantage of the Cool Communities Free Shade Trees Program. The program offers free trees to homes, K-12 schools, government agencies, and non-profit organizations to help cut energy usage and costs. The new program guide includes information about how strategically planting shade trees helps consumers conserve energy, save money on energy bills, and enhance their environment. The new guide explains important information regarding program eligibility, as well as planning and planting strategies to maximize energy savings. Also included in the booklet are helpful growing tips, an updated tree selection chart, and the required program application.

Interested in planting free shade trees? Go to the Free Shade Trees Program page to check if you are eligible to participate in the Cool Communities Free Shade Tree Program.

Learn more about how shade trees can help you save energy while improving your property value. Explore all the guide has to offer by visiting the free Tree Planting Guide (PDF file).

To complement the release of new guide, be sure to view CCSE’s Tree Hugger Video.

Solar Energy Week 2007

In the face of devastation caused by raging wildfires across San Diego County, the California Center for Sustainable Energy’s ( CCSE) 3rd Annual Solar Energy Week was threatened with cancellation. CCSE was on target to attracting the largest crowd ever - before the fires. Although attendance was smaller than initially expected, Solar Energy Week’s Family Solar Day and Solar Energy Conference managed to attract a relatively huge turnout, proving solar energy is an important issue for Californians -- even during times of hardship. The Solar Homes Tour and Commercial Solar Tour were postponed to November 10 and November 15 respectively.

The week kicked off on Sunday, October 21, with Family Solar Energy Day sponsored by QUALCOMM. Family Solar Day was just starting when the winds and the smoke from the Witch Fire started to drift over the park. None-the-less, approximately 300 kids and parents enjoyed the solar powered mini car races, face painting, educational presentations, solar demos, and the ever popular Sun Drawing Contest. You can see the award winning drawings (Peter Vo and Debbie Vo)from the Sun Drawing Contest. CCSE looks forward to offering even more fun activities during next year’s Family Solar Energy Day!

Complimenting the success of Family Solar Energy Day, the Solar Energy Conference on October 25 attracted over 500 attendees despite the fires. After much discussion, CCSE was unable to cancel the conference, but was pleasently surprised by the tremendous attendance. Sponsored by Independent Energy Solutions, the day began with two high profile speakers, Paul Clanon, Executive Director of the California Public Utilities Commission, and Bradley D. Collins, Executive Director of American Solar Energy Society. Following these speakers, the conference broke into three concurrent sessions focused on Technology, Markets & Financing and Policy & Planning featuring local and national solar experts. The presentations are available for viewing on CCSE’s Web site. The conference concluded with a solar powered wine-tasting reception sponsored by SolarCity which allowed attendees to network while enjoying carbon-neutral, solar powered wine made with organic grapes from Parducci Winery.

CCSE would like to thank all of our sponsors including Independent Energy Solutions, QUALCOMM, Inc., Pardee Homes, SunPower, San Diego Electric Training Center (IBEW), SunEdison, Clean Power Systems, SunTech, BP Solar, Kyocera Solar, SolarCity, Mitsubishi Electric, RSI Solutions, Solar Plus, Unisolar, and SPG Solar for supporting Solar Energy Week with their generous support. CCSE would also like to thank those who donated to the San Diego Foundation’s After-the-Fires Fund 2007.

Solar Technology Shines on Water Heaters

California’s state-wide effort to utilize solar energy gained momentum on October 12, 2007 when Governor Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill 1470 ( AB 1470), creating the Solar Water Heating and Efficiency Act of 2007. The act calls for $250 million to be spent over the next 10 years on incentives to attain the goal of installing 200,000 solar water heating systems throughout the state by 2017.

The California Public Utilities Commission ( CPUC) will design the new program which aims to reduce the amount of natural gas and electricity used to heat homes and businesses. Reduced natural gas and electricity usage subsequently reduces the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere.

To provide a framework for the program’s design, the CPUC selected the California Center for Sustainable Energy ( CCSE) to develop and administer the San Diego Solar Water Heating Pilot Program. The pilot program was created in July 2007 under the California Solar Initiative and offers up to $1,500 in incentives to homeowners who install solar water heating systems. The data from CCSE’s pilot program will be used to establish the details of the state-wide program.

Solar water heating systems convert the sun’s energy into heat which can be used as an alternative to natural gas or electricity to warm water in homes or businesses. The average system costs between $5,500 and $6,500 before incentives or federal tax credits. The incentives are intended to cover 20 to 25 percent of the equipment and installation costs associated with the solar water heating system. The money for incentives will come from a fee on customers’ natural gas bills. In addition to the incentive, residential customers will receive a 30 percent federal tax credit capped at $2,000. There is no cap for the tax credits awarded to commercial installations.

Got to the Solar Water Heating Pilot Program page to learn how to receive incentives for installing a water heating system on your home or business!

The San Diego Ecosystem, Wildfires, and Climate Change

By Andrea Cook, Ph.D. Project Manager of Climate Change, CCSE
Anne Fefe, Ph.D. San Diego Museum of Natural History

Fires in San Diego’s native ecosystems are a normal part of the natural process. Many native plants in Mediterranean ecosystems, like ours, are adapted to fire and regenerate naturally after wildfires. Humans have been managing fire for thousands of years, and fires have been suppressed in southern California since the settlers arrived. We have built homes and cities in this fire-adapted ecosystem, and we have increased wildfire starts by arson, downed power lines, and other human sources. Great strides have been made in building ignition-resistant houses, planting and maintaining landscapes that reduce fuel around houses, and thinning the natural vegetation at the edges of developments.

The coastal sage scrub and chaparral vegetation will naturally re-sprout and grow from seeds after wildfires. Yet in areas that burn too frequently, that is, in both 2003 and 2007, invasive weeds may replace some of these plants. We are “between wildfires” and the Santa Ana winds will come again and maybe even more frequently with future climate changes.

In the past few years, we have been experiencing severe drought. This weakens and dries the plants, making them more flammable when they are ignited. In the backcountry, we have been taking water from the ground through wells for our homes and developments, deepening the water table, and making it even harder for plant roots to get to the water they need. Some of the 100-200 year old coastal live oak trees are starting to die in many of the wooded inland areas of the county, likely due to this extended drought.

Now consider some of the predicted effects of climate change in California - warmer temperatures, longer droughts, sea level rise, and more erratic weather events. This is not good news for native San Diego ecosystems, which are recognized internationally as a biodiversity hotspot. For our precious ecosystems, these changes mean increased water scarcity, stronger Santa Ana weather conditions, longer fire seasons, greater competition from invasive non-native species, and greater risk of extinction of rare and endangered species.

It is time to take action. Get involved in local ecosystem and biodiversity efforts, and take time to remove invasive species from your backyards. Your individual choices matter to our local ecosystems. Post fire recovery patterns matter. Land management matters. Species matter. And, of course, help to lessen the possible effects of climate change by becoming more energy efficient, recycling, driving less, and reducing your overall greenhouse gas emissions. Our local ecosystems are stressed and in need of your support!