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CNN Saturday Morning News
Personal Energy Generation can Ease Electricity Troubles
Aired May 19, 2001 - 09:16 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: As power problems continue, many people are taking a closer look at some cheaper ways to generate electricity, and that's led some folks to create their own personal power supply.
Don Wall of CNN affiliate WFAA in Dallas has one family's story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DON WALL, WFAA REPORTER (voice-over): Woody and Dee Harnell are known around Johnson County as the couple with the windmill. Actually, there are lots of windmills in the country, but not like this one. It's a 10-kilowatt, 23-foot-diameter, three-blade wind turbine. It stands 100 feet tall on a tower Woody welded himself.
The wind turbine is the Harnells' personal power plant.
WOODY HARNELL, WIND TURBINE OWNER: It provides my house with all the power I need and then some. I'm creating clean electricity, clean energy. I'm doing our -- we're doing our part for the environment.
WALL: Take a look at these electric bills, $2.81 one month, $3.41 for another. Here's one where the power company paid the Harnells $10.44.
(on camera): One month, the Harnells got an electric bill for 8 cents, and they figured they'd just pay it the following month. But then they got a disconnect notice for nonpayment of the 8 cents. So they put a nickel, three pennies in an envelope and mailed it in, with a dollar's worth of postage to make sure it got there.
All you need is wind.
WOODY HARNELL: All you need is wind, that's right, and we've got lots of that in this area of Texas.
WALL (voice-over): We first met Woody and his wind turbine seven years ago when it was first installed. The Harnells' electric bills immediately dropped from $250 a month to less than $20. They've paid off the $21,000 investment in just seven years.
(on camera): So I guess it's gravy from here on in, huh?
WOODY HARNELL: Yes, I'm spoilt. We're both spoilt. We're not going to live anywhere without one. If we move, it moves with us, or we get another one. Yes, it's that successful.
DEE HARNELL, WIND TURBINE OWNER: I have a son that's about to go to college, so that helps out in that respect.
WALL: When more power is generated than the Harnells need, the electricity meter actually runs backwards. The juice goes into the electrical grid and is sold by the power company to the rest of us. The Harnells get credit, and that helps to offset their bills in the hot summer months when the wind doesn't blow.
The Harnells believe more people would own wind turbines but are afraid of the up-front costs. For this couple, investing in wind power has paid off better than the stock market.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: All right. That came from Don Wall of our CNN affiliate WFAA.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, if you don't have a spare $20,000 around for a windmill, there are probably a number of other ways homeowners can conserve energy. They're contained in this "Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings." Jennifer Thorne is co-author of the publication. She's also research associate with the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
Jennifer joins us from Washington. Good to see you, Jennifer.
JENNIFER THORNE, HOME ENERGY SPECIALIST: Good morning.
PHILLIPS: Wow, 8 cents bill, it makes me want to go out and build a windmill.
THORNE: Yes.
PHILLIPS: Not such a bad deal. Are you...
THORNE: Not at all.
PHILLIPS: You have a couple ideas for us. Let's start with the basics here with regard to heating...
THORNE: OK.
PHILLIPS: ... and our cooling systems. What can we do right away?
THORNE: Right. Right away, I would suggest calling your contractor and having them come out and take a look at your system, tune up your cooling system just as we're getting into the summer months. Check out your duct system, repair any leaks in the system, clean it out, get you some new filters. And that can really save you money and make you more comfortable as the summer moves on.
PHILLIPS: You talk about installing a certain kind of thermostat also, I was reading. THORNE: Yes, a programmable thermostat. This way, you don't have to worry about setting back the temperature on your cooling system yourself. You can, for $50 to $100, buy a programmable thermostat, set it up. When you leave the house in the morning it'll turn back the cooling, and about a half hour before you get home, it'll turn it back on again so you have a nice comfortable home.
And you save $50 to $100 a year, so it pays for itself within the first year.
PHILLIPS: What kind of impact does a water heater blanket do? Is that worth the money?
THORNE: Yes, oh, definitely. A water heater blanket is something you can grab from your local hardware store for a $5 or $10 purchase, and it'll pay for itself within the first year as well.
PHILLIPS: Halogen lamps, do those make a difference?
THORNE: Oh, yes. One of the largest energy users that we see in a lot of homes are the halogen torch lamps, which have become quite popular in the recent years. And these lamps can cost more to operate in a single year than they do to purchase, around $20. And they're also a fire hazard, and they add heat to the room, because they burn at very high temperatures.
There are now compact fluorescent alternatives on the market, labeled with the EnergyStar label, and those will only cost you $5 or so a year to run. Keep your house cooler, and they don't pose any threat of fire.
PHILLIPS: Well, I've noticed something too with my home, the windows. And it's very expensive to replace all the windows when you actually think about something like this. Is there something else you can do to your windows?
THORNE: In the short term, if you live in a very sunny climate, a hot climate, you can consider putting solar film on the windows that get the most heat gain through them. You can also make sure you don't have any leaks around your windows. And during the day, if possible, keep the blinds drawn, and that'll help reduce the amount of heat you get in through your windows.
PHILLIPS: And, of course, like my dad always told me, turn off the lights when you leave the room, it really does make a difference.
THORNE: Right, true.
PHILLIPS: All right, I have to ask you about this with regard to billing. All of us here have experienced really high bills, whether it's heating or air conditioning. Is there a way to sort of scrutinize our bills that normally we don't think about? Because I've heard stories that they don't always come out and check the meter, they sort of give you an average from year to year, so really when you're not using it, they sometimes bill you.
Is this true? What are the myths, and what is true?
THORNE: OK. Sometimes your power company will, if they're unable to get to your meter, they will give you an estimated billing. But typically they don't estimate more than a few months at a time. There are some ways that you can take a look at your bill. There are a number of services available on the Internet and other places that will allow you to put in your energy costs, see how they compare to others in your region.
So you can get a sense of whether you're paying more or less than you should, and it'll also help you identify the top investments that you can make in your home to reduce those bills.
PHILLIPS: Jennifer Thorne, great tips. American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. Great efficient-type tips. Thanks a lot, Jennifer.
THORNE: OK, thanks.
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