Energy Efficiency

Comprehensive Home Energy Saving Solutions (CHESS) Information (PDF)

“I thought we were doing pretty good, but I learned that there is a lot more we can do to save energy in our home. The benefits we received were amazing. I was surprised to learn our cooperative is offering such a wonderful service to help us use our energy more wisely.”

– Al and Vicky Wright

Save Money on Your Energy Bills

Common improvements made are duct sealing, air sealing, A/C cleaning, water heater adjustments and attic insulation adjustments.

Once these issues are finalized, the technician will present a written report of the homes energy usage with key findings, a list of improvements that were made and suggestions to further increase the efficiency of your home.

Before leaving your home the technician will provide a package of energy efficient products valued at more than $40 for your home, including LED bulbs, LED night-lights, an advanced power strip and more.

Duct Sealing

Duct leakage into your attic or crawlspace is more common than you might think.

Small gaps in your ducts connections, as well as holes or more severe issues could be siphoning conditioned air out of your home. This leads to higher utility bills and uncomfortable rooms.

Duct sealing helps keep more of that comfortable air inside your home.

Air Sealing

Sometimes seemingly insignificant cracks, holes and gaps in your home could add up to the size of a window, one that stays open year-round!

An experienced technician knows where to look for these issues and will reduce the amount of air leaking in and out of the home.

A/C Cleaning

A dirty cooling system can struggle to move air and cool your home.

A technician will clean the accessible components of your unit to improve its function.

Other Improvements

Attic Insulation Adjustments:

Fill in spots with extremely low insulation levels

Address issues with attic doors or attic fans

WaterHeater Adjustments:

Check and adjust temperature

Insulate pipes

Energy Efficient Product Package

LED light bulbs and night-lights use much less energy and last much longer than traditional bulbs.

Advanced power strip help eliminate standby power of certain devices.

Water saving shower heads and faucet aerators help reduce hot water usage, saving money on both electricity and water.

Plug-In Electric Vehicles

A plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) is a vehicle that can be recharged from an external source of electricity, store electricity in the rechargeable batteries and use the stored energy to power the vehicle.

It can also be considered a vehicle that uses electricity as its primary fuel or uses electricity in collaboration with a conventional engine to improve efficiency.

PEVs come in 2 primary configurations:

battery-powered electric vehicles

plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVS)

Battery Duration

Charging an Electric Vehicle

Today, 80% of charging is completed at residential locations and 20% at other locations.

An AC level 2 charging station is recommended for residential usage with a 240-volt circuit.

Typical charging rates are up to 25 electric miles per hour. DC fast-charging stations, found at non-residential locations, can provide fast and convenient charging with the ability to charge a vehicle’s battery to 80% capacity in 30 minutes or less, depending on the size of the EVs battery.

Electric Vehicle Advantages

If you drive 12,000 miles in a year, an all-electric vehicle could save you more than $700 in fuel savings!

Much quieter to operate, many electric vehicles have a gearless or single gear design that eliminates gear shifting, thus providing .smoother acceleration and braking.