Energy Savers Guide - 2010

“The voice of Interior Alaska since 1903”

Saturday, September 11, 2010Saturday, September 11, 2010

• Learn how to test home appliances for energy consumption

• Some quick and easy energy-saving tips

• Assess your boiler’s efficiency

• Get advice from the experts

newsminer.com

2 Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Saturday, September 11, 2010

Study looks at insulation practices for climates similar to Fairbanks Molly Rettig

[email protected]

There are many good rea-sons to retrofit your house, including saving energy, sav-ing money and adding com-fort. And a new building study tells you how much insulation you should add — and other factors you should consider — to increase energy efficiency and avoid molding walls.

The Cold Climate Hous-ing Research Center recently completed a report from a yearlong test of how various wall systems handle moisture in Fairbanks. The study test-ed whether the conventional ratio for insulation applied to the local climate.

“The rule of thumb is that two-thirds of the R-value (thermal insulation) should be outside the structure and one-third inside,” said Colin Cra-ven, product testing director at the research center. “What we found for the worst-case scenario is that this is defi-nitely true.”

Craven manages the Mobile Test Lab, a 100-square-foot

trailer containing a patchwork of nine walls, each with dif-ferent combinations of studs, insulation and vapor barriers. Last winter, Craven’s team simulated a worst-case sce-nario by setting an extreme indoor temperature 70-degree indoor temperature with 40 percent humidity (average is 25 percent).

Humidity is important because your walls need to dry in the summer by shed-ding moisture deposited in the wall cavity during the winter. When walls warm in the sun, built-up water vapor wants to go back outside where there’s less moisture.

“You want your walls to be able to breathe one way or the other,” Craven said.

Today, many homeowners add foam board outside their houses to save energy. But the side effects of this type of ret-rofit in Fairbanks have never been researched.

“We always thought, ‘Should we really do this?’ It seems to be working, but there’s no real data besides ‘We haven’t seen houses

fall down yet,’” said Terry Duszynski, a Fairbanks ener-gy rater who helped jumpstart the project.

During the winter, the lab not only exaggerated the heat and humidity but also punc-tured the vapor barrier with picture frames and windows and pressurized the interior to push air into the walls. The researchers wanted to know whether adding exterior foam would help walls by keeping them warmer or hurt them by encouraging condensation. It all depends on how much insulation you use.

A balancing act Water vapor, generated

by cooking, showering and breathing, permeates your walls from the inside through little leaks and seams in your vapor barrier, a polyethylene sheet directly behind your drywall (if you have one). Walls can handle a certain amount of vapor without growing mold, but problems develop gradually once they become moist enough.

Every summer, the water

vapor tries to escape, typi-cally through more-permeable outside walls but also through the same channels it entered.

But adding exterior foam blocks this escape route and creates a vapor barrier on each side. But would this double vapor barrier cause moisture problems?

Testing showed that add-ing enough insulation to the outside kept the walls warm enough to deter moisture problems, because the wall surfaces couldn’t get cold enough for water vapor to condense into liquid.

“It allows the water vapor to stay a vapor instead of let-ting it condense to a liquid that can then accumulate,” Craven said. “But (not every-one) does that. They’re put-ting a couple inches of foam on the outside, and that reverses the ratio.”

The recommended ratio usually translates into three or more inches of outer insu-lation, Craven said, but varies depending on your wall com-position.

“Insulation that was prob-

lematic was only a couple inches of foam on the outside, three inches or under,” he said.

While this research high-lights potential risks of insu-lating outside, retrofitters shouldn’t be deterred, said Craven and other local build-ing scientists.

“As an energy rater, I don’t hesitate to recommend an insulation to the outside for every house that hasn’t yet,” said energy rater and borough assemblyman Mike Musick, who helped create the trailer.

The trick is maintain-ing the thermal balance and vapor control of your walls.

“It’s a little bit of a tough message because insulation costs money. Because of the costs, people prefer to put a thinner layer on the outside,” Craven said. “If you’re com-mitting to do this, we want to make sure you do it right.”

Beginning this April, the research center will study the same walls under more realis-tic conditions.

“We anticipate that will be more forgiving,” Craven said.

3Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Saturday, September 11, 2010

AN INVESTMENT TO LAST A LIFETIME ! LIFETIME !

• 30 Minute ULC • 30 Minute ULC • 30 Minute ULC Certification Certification Certification

• Welded Seam • Welded Seam • Welded Seam • Lifetime Warranty • Lifetime Warranty • Lifetime Warranty

against defects, against defects, against defects, fire, and corrosion fire, and corrosion fire, and corrosion

EXCEL EXCEL EXCEL Chimneys Chimneys Chimneys The Technology The Technology The Technology

Leader. Leader. Leader.

BUILT FOR YEARS OF BUILT FOR YEARS OF RELIABLE SERVICE! RELIABLE SERVICE!

LET US PRICE A SYSTEM FOR YOU!

Experience the beauty Experience the beauty and security of an RSF and security of an RSF

Wood Fireplace. Wood Fireplace.

WOOD HEAT ... WOOD HEAT ... bringing the Alaskan lifestyle home.

The Woodway • Where: On College Road

next to Farmer's Market • Products: Wood and gas

stoves and fireplaces, Monitor and Kuma oil stoves, chimney and stovepipe, hearth accessories, chainsaws and accessories, lawn mowers and small engine products

• Services: Wood stove, fireplace and chimney installation, Monitor service, chainsaw and small engine service

• Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday

• Phone: 452-4002

AT A GLANCE

Unless You Own An Oil Well, You Had

Better Own A

TH

E WOODWAY On College Road next to the Farmers Market • 452-4002 • www.thewoodway.com

Warming the heart of Alaska since 1 9 78

Paid Advertising Content

12371266-9-11-10ET

Ask us about Tax Credits!

The Only

Authorized

Blaze King Dealer

in the Interior!

SAVE AN EXTRA

$150 OFF ANY BLAZE KING STOVE

(for a limited time only)

• Incredible Efficiency

• Long Burn Time • Available

w/Ash Drawer • Thermostat

Controlled

Open: Weekdays 9-6 Saturday 9-5

The Woodway would like to thank the Fairbanks, North Pole and surrounding communities for their continued loyalty over the last 32 years. The community has continued to grow and change over the past few decades, and The Woodway has striven to adapt, improve and diversify to meet our customer’s needs. In the last few years there have been all sorts of stores opening and closing that have sold different types of heating appliances. The Woodway welcomes competition as it helps us to assess what we do more critically and enables us to offer the community even more.

Stop by to see it burn!

This last year has offered us the opportunity to help people take advantage of the Federal Tax Credit which enables a homeowner the ability to save up to $1500.00 on a qualifying wood or pellet stove. On top of this, the Borough is spearheading a Woodstove Changeout Program by incentivizing eligible residents to upgrade their older woodstoves to cleaner burning appliances. These newer stoves not only assist in cleaning up our air, these units also help people to burn up to a third less firewood than their older stoves did. (For more information on the Borough program, please call 459-1312).

Another exciting opportunity that has made its way to Fairbanks is the opening of a local pellet mill. The mill enables The Woodway to offer appliances that use a locally made, renewable fuel as an economical alternative way to heat their homes. We are excited to introduce the Enviro pellet stoves that are not only extremely quiet, but they have the ability to burn lower grade pellets which cost less, allowing people to save even more money on their heating bills. The Woodway small engine shop has expanded to cover everything from lawn mowers and chainsaws to ice augers and snow blowers, and with an average turn around time of 3 days, we service what we sell! Don’t forget The Woodway also has local pottery and art that is displayed throughout the year and new artists are featured along with refreshments throughout the winter months on First Fridays. We also offer our “Light the Fire” classes free of charge on Saturday mornings where folks can come in and ask questions and learn how to start a fire properly and operate their stove as efficiently as they can. The Woodway would again like to thank the community for its trust over the years and look forward to keeping interior Alaska warm for many winters to come.

4 Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Saturday, September 11, 2010 18372287-9-11-10ET

Keith's Heating Service

Call before

this happens.

CALL 978-0059

or 389-3001 Tune-ups and inspections on

boilers and forced air furnaces. 1837

2284

-9-1

1-10

ES

NEW LOCATION at 2081 Van Horn Rd. #4 Visit us at the Winter Show at the Carlson Center

www.canvas AK .com 455-7722

12371289-9-11-10ES

Stoves & F irep lace Inserts

3410 College Road, Fairbanks

10% Discount

all in-stock stoves

Ask about $1500 Tax Rebate!

Heather BryantFor the News-Miner

With the cold Alaskan win-ter approaching, now is the time for many Fairbanksans to take stock of their energy consumption and budget for the winter. One way to start doing that is to find out what household appliances are the largest energy drains.

“The water heater and the dryer are the two top users mostly,” said Rich Seifert, Energy and Housing Special-ist with the Alaska Coopera-tive Extension. “Refrigerators now are twice as efficient as they were 20 years ago.”

Seifert suggests consumers be conscious of the labels on appliances. The estimates for energy costs and consump-tion are based on the national average. Due to the nature of Alaska, costs here are gener-ally twice that amount. Con-sumers should do their own testing in order to make a

realistic budget for their ener-gy consumption and costs.

One way to cut costs is by purchasing a chest freezer instead of upright or side-by-side models, according to Seif-ert. “Always buy a chest-type freezer if you have a choice. Upright freezers and side-by-side freezers are always less efficient because when you open the door, the cold air falls right out,” Seifert said.

Seifert also recommends self-testing appliances to verify the manufacturer’s measurements. The Kill A Watt energy meter is a device designed to monitor the ener-gy consumption of 120-volt appliances in kilowatt-hours. The device is available for checkout at local schools and public libraries.

Golden Valley Electric Association recommends using surge strips for appli-ances, such as computers and televisions, so they can be turned on and off easily. Such appliances draw energy even when not in use. Other tips include the use of countertop appliances because they use less electricity than an oven and using timers for vehicle plug-ins and holiday lighting.

Photo courtesy of Golden Valley Electric Association

Golden Valley Electric Association employee Sophie Tan demonstrates using the Kill A Watt energy meter

Photo courtesy of Golden Valley Electric Associa-tion

The Kill A Watt energy meter allows con-sumers to monitor the energy usage of their appli-ances

Keep a keen eye on energy


1837

2268

9-1

1-10

ES

NORDIC SMART Nokian has done one thing for over 70 years:

manufacture tires for people who live near the Arctic Circle. They have never branched out to find other markets.

They are at home, much like Interior Alaska, in the cold, dark and ice.

Made in Finland, Nokian Tires are one of the few things made specifically for

Fairbanks' climate.

455-7450 metropolitangarage.com

www.nokiantyres.com

17371567-9-11-10ES

4 5 1-0632

IF YOU WANT TO... • replace your cabinets

• remodel your kitchen or bathroom • replace inefficient windows & doors

• add custom built-ins to your home Call for your free in-home consultation.

Building Alaska since 1977 We’ll be here next year!

Heather BryantFor the News-Miner

The new rebate program for energy efficiency home modifi-cations has led many Alaskans to replace their boiler systems. Dave Bridges, owner of Altrol, said his company has done 275 system replacements this year.

“Like an old vehicle you like, at some point [the boiler] starts costing you more than it’s worth,” Bridges said. Reg-ular preventative maintenance can extend the life of most boilers to almost 20 years, however, longer than that can lead to more expensive main-tenance. Altrol recently held a contest for the oldest boiler. The winners, Patricia and Christy Stipe, had a boiler that was about 40 years old.

Rich Seifert, an Energy and Housing Specialist with the Alaska Cooperative Extension, recommends getting a tune-up once a year. He also recom-mends making sure consumers choose a boiler type that has

local service technicians.“Do not, in our climate,

choose a high-efficiency con-densing oil fired boiler, because the condensate is often acidic and can ruin a septic system. It’s a really bad idea from a maintenance and corrosion point-of-view,” Seifert said.

“Boilers have doubled in price since 2005,” Seifert said. Regular tune-ups, though not cheap, are far more affordable than a replacement.

Numerous service-calls dur-ing a year is an indication a boiler needs to be replaced.

Bridges recommends look-ing at fuel costs for the last year, and getting the efficiency of the unit tested. “If it’s run-ning at 75 percent efficiency and they get a new system at 87 percent efficiency, they can subtract 12 percent from the fuel bill for the next year. The fuel savings will pay for the system,” Bridges said. Bridges also recommends using pro-grammable thermostats to lower fuel use.

Photo courtesy of Altrol Heating & Cooling

Regular preventative maintenance can extend the life of most boilers to almost 20 years

Photo courtesy of Altrol Heating &

Cooling

Numerous service-

calls during a year is

an indica-tion a boil-

er needs to be

replaced.

Boilers: built to last


1637

2329

-9-1

1-10

ES

Blower Door Test Alaska Thermal Imaging’s (ATI) blower door test is used to measure and quantify the airtightness of a structure with a powerful, calibrated fan that is temporarily sealed into an exterior doorway. The fan depres- surizes the house

to create a slight pressure difference between inside and outside allowing areas of air leakage to be pinpointed and corrected.

Visit us at the WINTER SHOW!

Sept. 24,25,26

Alaska Thermal Imaging LLC Alaska Thermal Imaging LLC www.AlaskaThermalImaging.com www.AlaskaThermalImaging.com

Residential & Commercial Building Diagnostics Specialist BPI Certified Building Analyst

ITC Certified Thermographer • AHFC Certified Energy Rater Infrared Thermal Imaging Specialist

Paid Advertising Content

488-4332

Alaska Thermal Imaging LLC Has the Right Tools to Save You Time & Money

S AVE E NERGY

S AVE M ONEY

S AVE T IME

Is Your Residential or Commercial Structure Airtight? Where Are Your Leaks?

WHAT CAN ALASKA THERMAL IMAGING DO FOR YOU?

• Commercial & residential building diagnostics • Air leakage testing • Infrared inspections • Certified energy audit/ratings • Heat loss analysis • Insulation Assessment

• “Map” water damage in walls, ceilings & floors

• Locate radiant tubes and plumbing pipes • Improve the comfort, health & energy

efficiency of your home • Quality assurance

Get an Energy Rating Today & Start Saving Tomorrow! Infrared (IR) Thermal Imaging

ATI’s sophisticated and sensitive high- resolution IR camera can document your building’s thermal performance with unsurpassed accuracy and detail. The non-destructive diagnostic IR technology identifies patterns of heat loss that are invisible to the naked eye and, in many cases, can identify the correct manner in which to eliminate the heat loss.

The Leading Edge in Energy Auditing

Technology

-8.4°C

-23.7

134.4°F

80.4 Doorway

Calibrated Blower Door Test

Fan Blower Door

Gauge

Window

Outgoing Air

Outward Leaking Air

Inward Leaking Air

COMMON AIR LEAKS Air leaking into the house

Air leaking out of the house

Crawl Space

Sill Plate

Top Plate

Duct Register

Attic Hatch

Recessed Lighting

Plumbing Vent Stack

Dropped Soffit

Home Envelope

Dryer Vent

Outdoor Faucet

Source: U.S. EPA

Leaking heat

Outgoing air

Drawn-in cool air

Indicates Warm air leaks

Warm areas

Hot areas

Leaking heat

Calibrated Blower Door Test with

Thermographic inspection

Blower Door


HOME HEATING OIL

Products we deliver:

• Heating Oil • Diesel Fuel • Unleaded Fuel • Jet-A Fuel • Avgas

Aviation: • Off Airport Deliveries • Full into-plane service at Fairbanks International Airport • 24-hour self-serve Avgas Cardlock

"Fairbanks International Airport/Chena Marina Airport" • Full service FBO on West Ramp of Fairbanks

International Airport • Pilots' lounge on the East Ramp of Fairbanks

International Airport

Locally Owned and Operated Since 1982 Servicing Nenana, Salcha, Fox, North Pole and Fairbanks

P.O. Box 60669, Fairbanks, Alaska 99706 www.alaskaaerofuel.com • email: [email protected] 18372350 9-11-10E

S

Some of the services we provide:

• 4x4 fuel delivery trucks • Competitive pricing • Friendly staff • Budget Payment Plans • Auto-service available • Prompt payment discounts • Call-in delivery service • Environmentally conscious • 24-hour Emergency Service


Superior Pellet Fuels wood pellets will be available through local retailers soon

Call the plant at 488-6055 for more information.

Providing a renewable, affordable and environmentally friendly

Energy Source Alternative

Benefits of wood pellet fuel to Interior Alaska: • Significant heating cost savings

when compared to fuel oil • Approx. 500 tons of wood

pellets produced weekly provides a consistent and reliable pellet source to the Interior

• Reduces local forest waste by using wood materials from local sawmills, land clearing projects and fire breaks

• More than a dozen new jobs created • Cleanest burning solid fuel available

16372328-9-11-10EG

Alaska’s first large-scale producer of wood pellets

By CCHRC Staff

The new home construc-tion rebate and the retrofit rebate gives homeowners the opportunity for an hom-eowner, owner-builder or new homebuyer to offset a significant portion of the construction or retrofit costs and ultimately enjoy the long term financial and environ-mental benefits of building an energy efficient home.

At this point, the rebate program is being sustained by money that was set aside for homeowners, but never collected—perhaps they decided not to continue with the program, did not make their 18-month deadlines, or only collected $5,000 of the $10,000 the program set aside for them. In these cas-es, the money goes back into the pot and new participants are allowed in.

Homeowners can still get on the wait list for an energy rating and participate in the

program. When signing up, the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation will confirm there is funding available for your rebate. If there is, the homeowner will be assigned an energy rater. That person will come to the house and perform a blower door test to determine the efficiency of the home.

After receiving the report and required documents, the homeowner submits it to the corporation and the money will be set aside in the home-owner’s name.

As soon as the energy rat-ing done the homeowner can start making improvements.

The program for new construction is still active as well, although long-term funding is uncertain.

Any homeowner who builds a home that meets the Alaska Housing Finance Cor-poration’s 5-Star Plus energy standards is eligible for a $7,500 rebate, however there are some important details

that determine who qualifies and a specific process that must be followed.

The program operates from a statewide waiting list on a first-come, first-served basis. So the sooner owner-builder signs up, the better the chances are for benefit-ting from the program.

The first step is to get on the waiting list. Locally, the staff of CCHRC’s Portal on Retrofits Training and Loans can guide the owner-builder every step of the way. Call 455-HEAT (4328) or contact the AK Rebate Call Center toll-free at 1-877-AK-REBATE (1-877-257-3228).

Once the owner-builder’s name reaches the top of the list, the Alaska Hous-ing Finance Corporation sends out two forms: “5 Star Plus new construction energy rebate encumbrance request” and the “5 Star Plus new construction ener-gy rebate form.”

After submitting the

completed forms, the owner-builder must also include a copy of an energy rating tak-en from the building plans that validates that the home will meet 5 Star Plus stan-dards, which can be found on the corporation’s Web site: www.ahfc.state.ak.us.

Once the corporation receives and approves the forms, $7,500 is set aside for one year during which the house must be completed.

There are several criteria that must be met in order to be eligible for the program.

Only the original owner qualifies for the rebate, and the home must serve as the primary residence. If the home is purchased from a builder, it cannot be more than one year old at the time of the first sale.

Owner-builders can qual-ify too, however the home cannot be occupied for more than one year from the date of completion.

In order to qualify as an owner-builder, two forms must be submitted to the state once the home has been completed.

These forms include the “building energy effi-ciency standard certification

(BEES),” which certifies that the home was built to meet the 5 star Plus thermal and ventilation standards.

The form can be signed by a certified home inspec-tor, engineer, energy rater, architect or the builder if he or she is approved to certify and has met the current BEES training and testing requirements.

A “summary of building inspection” form also must be submitted, which vali-dates the home was built in compliance with local build-ing codes. This form must be signed by a state-certified building inspector who has conducted all the inspec-tions during the construction process, starting with the building’s footings.

For this reason, it is important to begin the rebate process and hire an inspector before breaking ground on the home.

Finally, the finished home must also have an energy audit. These three forms must be completed, signed by the appropriate authori-ties and submitted to the Alaska Housing Finance Cor-poration with the reimburse-ment form.

Funds available for making homes energy efficient


• Joshua Industries has been in business 25 years. • We installed more Energy Kinetics boilers and hot water heaters last year than any other dealer in town.

• Low overhead means savings to you. • Speedy installation, boiler usually operational in 12 hours with Joshua Industries.

• We will dispose of your old boiler and hot water heater free of charge.

Say so long to high fuel bills. Saves up to 30-40% off fuel! � Quieter than a microwave!

We'll upgrade your heating system to provide virtually unlimited hot water, silent operation and the lowest fuel bills possible. Call now! Free in-home estimates available.

18372274-9-11-10EG

If a smart man like Jim Whitaker chose the System 2000 boiler system from Joshua Industries, then maybe you should follow his lead and give us a call. Jim saved enough fuel in 3 years to pay fo r his installation.

Date Gallons 11/17/07 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164.0 12/11/07 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147.0 01/05/08 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232.5 01/30/08 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254.5 02/21/08 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244.2 03/21/08 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185.30 05/06/08 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208.8 08/07/08 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166.2 10/20/08 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156.8

Date Gallons 10/02/06 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384.4 11/22/06 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351.8 12/20/06 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350.4 01/14/07 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330.0 02/10/07 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263.0 03/10/07 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362.30 04/10/07 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271.60 07/10/07 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297.60 10/18/07 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199.9

former North Star Borough Mayor, chose the Energy Kinetics System 2000

for his home heating system in 2007. It was not an accident that Jim chose Energy Kinetics to lower his fuel

bill. Jim Whitaker has been heavily involved in energy concerns for Fairbanks and Alaska in general. He has been one of the principals in the move to get a natural gas pipeline to Fairbanks. He researches his options before making a decision. Here are the facts from his fuel records before and after the installation of his EK-2 New Frontier boiler.

Fuel delivery charges AFTER ENERGY KINETICS Boiler installed, 1,759.3 Gallons

Fuel delivery charges BEFORE ENERGY KINETICS boiler installed,2,810 Gallons

Jim Whitaker, Jim Whitaker,

As you can see below, he saved more than 37 percent on his heating fuel from 2007 to 2008. he saved more than 37 percent on his heating fuel from 2007 to 2008. After researching Energy Kinetics installers, he concluded that Joshua Industries, Inc., was the bes t for efficiency and price.

JOSHUA INDUSTRIES (907) 457-3832 • (907) 460-7523

STEW'S HEATING (907) 378-7467

We are now scheduling

installations

Installing Boilers and Heaters locally for over 25 years! Jaye Delbridge, President

SAVED 1050.7 gallons the first year

Energy Kinetics system was installed!

For Emergency Service Calls,

Call Any Number


HOME WEATHERIZATION

The weatherization program provides weatherization work on houses, apartments, &

mobile homes for qualified households.

Renters and homeowners with low to moderate income may be eligible for thermal doors, windows, insulation, air-sealing, weather-stripping and heating system repair at absolutely no cost. Save money on your fuel and electric bills! The paperwork is extremely simple!

Call Interior Weatherization, Inc .

today for details! 452-5323 or Long Distance 1-800-478-5323

713 15th Avenue Download application at: www.interiorwx.org

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

Funded by Alaska Housing Finance Corp., US Dept. of Energy, and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)

Income Guidelines 100% of Median Income: Household Size

1 2 3 4 5 6

Max Income $53,800 $61,500 $69,200 $76,800 $83,000 $89,100

18372291 9-11-10ES

A household is automatically eligible if any household resident documents receipt of SSI, Energy Assistance (LIHEAP), ATAP, TANF, Senior Care Benefits, APA/IA or Food Stamps. Homes weatherized before April 2008, are eligible to be re-weatherized.

OVER 20 YEARS COLD CLIMATE EXPERIENCE

• New Construction • Remodels • Roofing • Footings • Slabs • Sidewalks • Decks • V.A. Approved • A.D.A. • Light Commercial • Residential • Retaining Walls

D&G CONSTRUCTION Licensed – Bonded – Insured

488-4041 or 347-9074

18370736 9-11-10ES

By CCHRC Staff

The “Ask a Builder” series is dedicated to answering some of the many questions Fairbanks residents have about building, energy and the many other parts of home life.

Q: What’s an acceptable temperature to keep my garage at throughout the winter?

If the house is attached to the house, you will want to keep it a little warmer, about 50 degrees. In many cases, if you have a boiler and pipes in the garage, they may warm the garage more than you want just from the heat they give off, especially if your boiler is an older unit. Since it is not living space, if you have a garage that is 70 or 80 degrees, you may be using a lot of energy to heat that space. Also, that is a lot of heat that could be leaking out through the walls, which adds up to wasted energy. Don’t heat your garage anymore than you have to because it is a wasted expense.

A cooler garage is a good place to keep a refrigerator or freezer. Keep the tempera-ture at 60 to 40 degrees, or whatever your comfort zone is. On that note, if you are

seeing a lot of condensation in the garage, which can happen by parking a wet vehicle inside, you might want to keep the tempera-ture a little warmer or venti-late more.

Q: I’ve read LED lights perform well in cold tem-peratures. What about in Alaska?

Absolutely. LEDs are gen-erally pretty tough. They are shock and cold resistant. In fact the colder it gets, the better they perform. When it comes to outdoor lighting at extreme temperatures, some fluorescents can suffer from performance losses when compared to their use inside.

Currently, LEDs are popu-lar in low-light applications such as pathway lighting or for task lighting such as workbenches, nightlights, flashlights and other devices where incandescent bulbs have traditionally been used.

Because small incandes-cent bulbs are the least effi-cient, they are perfect to be replaced by an LED.

When it comes to the lighting industry in general, changes are coming along quickly. Prices are coming down on LEDs and fluores-cents, and they are being better designed to work in

different environments. If you are looking at buying an LED light for outdoor use, get one with a good warran-ty. The bulbs may last a long time, but there are other components in the light that may not fare as well.

Q: What is a heat recovery ventilator and what does it do?

A Heat Recovery Ventila-tor, or HRV, is designed to bring fresh air into your home. The “tighter” your home is (fewer leaks in insu-lation, doors and windows), the more essential an HRV is to the safety of the occu-pants.

The other important part of an HRV, heat recovery, means it captures as much of the heat that is leaving the building as possible. You have already heated the air in the house. To bring fresh air in, you are going to have to expel stale air, but that air has heat in it that you do not want to waste.

So the HRV acts as a heat exchanger. As cold fresh air moves in, the warm stale air moves out. When the two air flows pass by each other, the heat from the warm, stale

air is transferred to the cold, fresh air through a heat exchanger.

These devices will help keep your home warmer in the winter, while saving you energy and money because you do not have to reheat the air coming into your home quite as much.

Q: I heard that the con-densate produced by new oil-fired condensing boilers contains "strong acids" and they should be avoided for that reason. Any truth?

The CCHRC facility has a Monitor FCX oil-fired condensing boiler. We use a site-made trap of black ABS 3 inch drain fittings filled with limestone chips. This neutralizes the condensate before we discharge it to the sewage treatment plant that is in the basement of our facility.

We have had no problems at all with the condensate from our boiler.

The LifeWater Engineer-ing facility is heated by a Monitor FCX oil-fired con-densing unit with the con-densate drained directly into the sewage treatment plant the serves that facility.

They have not been able to detect any change in the ph of the waste water sys-tem with the addition of the acidic condensate.

The boiler itself uses a high grade of stainless steal and polypropylene exhaust components that can handle the acidity without any prob-lems.

The acidity of this conden-sate is around that of very

acidic wine. A ph test strip for pool water or hot tub water would give you some info on the acidity of the condensate from the fuel you are using.

Q: I heard that metal-framed windows are a bad choice for Alaska. Why and what should I do about it?

Most metal-framed win-dows are made from alumi-num which is a highly con-ductive material. The laws of physics dictate that heat will always move in the direction of cold.

When the temperatures drop outside, the aluminum acts as a pipeline, moving heat from inside to outside. Also, a colder window is more sensitive to moisture and will gather condensa-tion.

Replacing metal frames is the preferable thing to do, however, not always practi-cal. Fortunately, there are some other easy solutions. Covering the inside face of a window with a shrink wrap will create dead air space that will help keep the win-dow warmer. Curtains and shutters will help as well.

Q: My walls have black lines where dust has col-lected. What could cause dust to collect in this pat-tern?

One telltale sign that you have heat loss through the framing in your house is that the studs will be outlined in black lines on interior walls. This is what happens when moist indoor air condenses on the cooler portions of a wall where the studs are

Keep the garage at 40 degrees, other housing questions answeredASK A BUILDER

Please see BUILDER, Page 11


1337

2330

9-1

1-10

EG

The special stainless steel heat exchanger carries the highest efficiency code and 87.7% (AFUE) rating. It surpasses oil and gas systems and is much more efficient and economical than wood stoves and electric heat.

Fall is the time for • Kitchen & bath

remodels • Window & door

replacement

MIKE NESS • 451-0632 licensed • bonded • insured

17371566-9-11-10ES

located. Air carries tiny little dirt particles, so as moist air condenses on those studs, the particles accumulate on the wall and begin to show over time.

These black lines are a sign of significant heat loss in a building, but there are steps you can take to reduce this heat loss, including ret-rofitting your walls or reduc-ing the amount of moisture in your home.

Q: I have heard of the BEES regulations in Alaska, though I don’t know quite what they are. Is this some-thing I should know about if I am a homeowner or want to build a home?

The BEES (Building Energy Efficiency Standard) regulations are part of the compliance requirements for any home built to Alaska Housing Finance Corpora-tion’s (AHFC) cold climate construction standards. More recently, AHFC has adopted the International Energy Conservation Code and amended specific portions of it for construction in Alaska. Because we are a colder cli-mate, AHFC has set higher insulation values for win-dows, floors, roofs, walls, and other areas. There is also an energy credit for building a home that meets AHFC 5 star plus requirements. In addition, a mortgage rate reduction is possible through AHFC when purchasing a four or five-star home that meets current AHFC BEES standards. When consider-ing this credit, make sure to start the paperwork and have a state certified inspec-tor on board before breaking

ground. Also, local contrac-tors should be familiar with the AHFC requirements, so ask before you start build-ing.

The BEES regulations can be found on the AHFC website and are arranged by region. For each area of the state, the minimum insulation requirements are listed for windows, walls and other parts of a home. The statewide recommendations for ventilation are also cov-ered. What is important to remember, is that the BEES regulations are minimums and more insulation is still beneficial in many cases.

The current AHFC requirements can be found here: http://www.ahfc.state.ak.us/iceimages/reference/bees_amendments.pdf

Q: What is the relationship between boilers and com-bustion air?

Any appliance that expels air must have its own air supply, or one appliance could be drawing air through another. When a boiler expels gas out its flue, an equal amount of make-up air must be brought in. Similar-ly, any appliance that sends air out of the house needs to be supplied with intake air. If an appliance is not sup-plied with intake air, it may pull the air it needs down through the boiler’s chimney, thus “backdrafting” the boil-er and pushing combustion gasses into your home.

For example, in a “tight” home (one with sound insu-lation and well-sealed doors and windows), where a wood stove and a boiler both draw air, the boiler may get its air supply by backdrafting the wood stove. However, if you

have provided adequate air supplies for both appliances, both should operate with no problems.

Q: I have a concrete foun-dation. I heard insulating your foundation can save heat. How can I do that?

Concrete is very conduc-tive, and heat always goes to cold, so a foundation without insulation is basically a bot-tomless heat sink.

If the foundation is not insulated, there are defi-nitely opportunities to save some heat.

Current code requires an R-value of 15, which is about three inches of blue foam.

Ideally, digging out the outside of the foundation and insulating the outside will keep the foundation warmer but doing this type of work on the outside of a home is not always practical.

In such a situation, put foam on the interior of the home’s outside walls and tape the joints.

On a similar point, the rim joist area is prone to air leakage where the joists meet the outside wall.

Often fiberglass insulation is put into joist bays, but that is not enough to stop air leakage. A better choice is to install sheets of foam fitted

to each joist bay, then spray foam around the edges.

Another option is to hire a spray foam contractor to spray between the joists. These techniques will help stop air flow and heat loss through that part of the foundation.

Q: I have some foam board insulation I want to put on the outside of my house. Is it a problem that it’s wet?

Be cautious with wet foam board insulation. The more water in the foam, the less insulating value it has.

If you have a piece of foam that is so saturated it weighs a lot more than a dry piece, it will not have the same insulative value as the new, dry piece of foam.

Also, since the water got in, there is a good chance it will get out. If you have a wall that is susceptible to moisture damage, it is not a good idea to put wet foam on your structure.

Q: Is there any new, fasci-nating boiler technology in development?

They are making boil-ers out of different cast iron materials. Some of the boilers have what they call “eutectic cast iron,” which is a little more flexible and

a little more forgiving with temperature differences between the supply and return water, so they don’t suffer the temperature shock that older boilers do.

This iron prevents the return water from cracking the castings, which means the return water can come back into your boiler at a much lower temperature.

Another technology is the condensing boiler. This boil-er performs better because it extracts more heat from the flue gas than typical oil-fired boilers. Because more heat is pulled out, the gas gets significantly colder and condenses.

Propane and natural gas-fired units have offered condensing options for a long time, but now a condensing oil-fired boiler is an option.

With these new boilers, you don’t have to worry about the condensate caus-ing corrosion because they are mostly made of stainless steel and plastic parts.

These condensing boil-ers can run upwards of 90% efficiency, but do require a drain.

Q: I have a log home. Is there anything special or

BUILDER: Insulating concrete foundations can save heat, moneyContinued from Page 10



We Specialize in Woo

END OF END OF An Exclusi

M.P. 272 RICHARDSON (Located 3 miles south of the Pipeline

Ph. 907-895-5321 • Fx 9

“Drive a

P68 (0-68,000 BTUS)* P61

(0-61,000 BTUS)* Accentra

(0-40,000 BTUS) P43

(0-43,000 BTUS)*

When purchasing a "Pellet Stove", you immediately receive a $250

00 check from us!

P-43 $2,400.00 $ 720.00 $1,430.00 P-61A $3,200.00 $ 960.00 $1,990.00 ACCENTRA $3,130.00 $ 939.00 $1,941.00 P-68 $3,400.00 $1,020.00 $2,130.00 XXV $3,400.00 $1,020.00 $2,130.00 ADVANCE $3,320.00 $ 996.00 $2,074.00 PF100 $3,659.00 $1,095.00 $2,305.00 PB105 $5,850.00 $1,500.00 $4,100.00 TL300 $2,350.00 $ 705.00 $1,645.00 WOODSTOVE (not shown)

MODEL PURCHASE 30% FED FINAL PRICE TAX CREDIT COST*

• BOROUGH STOV • 30% FEDERAL TA • DEALER MANUF

THESE THESE STOVES STOVES QUALIFY QUALIFY

These prices can be REDUCED

EVEN MORE with "Borough

Change-Out" $$$

“THERE IS A D “THERE IS A D We encourage you to CALL and/or come see u

sets a Harman Pellet Stove apart, and wha Once you know, you can c

BURN POT CLEANING • ASH PAN AUTOMATICALLY BURNS “AL

AUTOMATICALLY CONTROLS TEMPERATUR AUTOMATIC SWITCHING INVERTER (OPTION) – KEEP

MOST USER-FRIENDLY STOVE

SEE ALL HARMAN ST

ALL PELLET STOVES & BOILERS IN STOCK

*After Federal Tax Credit & Promotions

13Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Saturday, September 11, 2010 18372344-9-11-10E

S

od Pellet Stoves, Fuel & Accessories

F THE ALCANF THE ALCANve Harman Stove Dealer

N HWY • BIG DELTA/DELTA JUNCTIONe Bridge, on river side of hwy, across from Big D Fire Station)907-895-2208 • [email protected]

a little - save a lot”

XXV Anniversary (0-50,000 BTUS)

Advance (0-48,000 BTUS)

HOT AIR PELLET FURNACE PF100 (112,000 BTUS)

INDOOR PELLET BOILER PB105

(113,900 BTUS)

* Stoves shown with trim - additional charge.

E TRADE-IN $$ (CHECK BOROUGH REQUIREMENTS)

AX CREDIT $$ (TAX CREDIT ENDS DEC. 31, 2010)

FACTURER PROMO $$ (THIS PROMO ENDS OCT. 2, 2010)

DIFFERENCE.”DIFFERENCE.”us. Operate our burn stoves and learn whatat makes them the best in the industry!

compare these features:N SIZE • HIGH BTU RATINGSLL GRADES” OF PELLETSRE • AUTOMATICALLY GOES OFF & ONPS STOVE OPERATING DURING POWER OUTAGESES FOR INTERIOR ALASKA

TOVE MODELS AT www.harmanstoves.com


Paid for by Hank Bartos for Assembly, 1427 Gillam Way, Fairbanks, AK 99701

HANK BARTOS ASSEMBLY for

Hank Bartos is working hard to bring low cost, clean energy to Fairbanks.

Natural gas will reduce our PM 2.5.

Vote for an experienced leader.

57372425-9-11-10ES

different I need to know about insulating around doors and windows?

When they are new, log homes typically leave four to six inches of space around doors and windows to account for settling. Gen-erally builders will stuff in some fiberglass and seal it with Visqueen or some other 6-mil. polyethelene product. If you don’t know for sure, take a look inside after the home has taken a few years to settle.

That space can be sealed with some compressible foam backer rod or spray foam.

In order to do that, take off some of the casings around the window. If you see just fiberglass, then you’ll want to make some other provisions to stop air leakage. Seals in this area are a common problem in older log homes that have air penetration problems.

Q: I am interested in put-ting up some solar technol-ogy, is this something I can do myself?

A lot of people can take a little solar panel, a DC motor and some wiring and make a little fan. However, when you get into home systems, solar power is much more complex. This being Alaska, home of the do-it-yourselfer, people tend to read an article and think they can do it themselves with a quick visit to the parts counter.

After purchasing some panels, batteries, controller and inverter, they may have a decent system. However, after some time they may notice their batteries are not charging as well and may be unusable, or something may have gotten fried.

Remember, a solar power project is a system and must be designed as such. The bottom line, if you are seri-ous about installing a solar

power system and you want to avoid trouble down the road, contact a professional.

Q: Is it really necessary to insulate my hot water tank?

The newer tanks have a high-density polyurethane foam insulation around them. But a lot of the older ones have a thin layer of fiberglass around the tank, and that results in lost heat called standby loss. The idea behind standby loss is that it takes energy to keep water warm.

Even if you aren’t using the water at the time, you are still using energy to keep it heated. If your tank is not insulated, you are losing heat and using more energy to keep it at temperature. Insulating the tank helps keep it warm and you end up using less energy and there-fore pay less as well.

You can also look up spe-cific information about your tank online by going to the

manufacturer’s website. There you can find out how it was made, and how it might already be insulated.

Q: What are the advantages and disadvantages of a pel-let stove?

There are a couple of big advantages. The pellet stove provides a very regulated and controlled burning envi-ronment with a high quality, uniform, combustible mate-rial. The pellet stove can regulate the rate at which the pellets are fed into the firebox, and it controls how much oxygen goes into the firebox. It creates an opti-mum burning environment for the pellets.

The pellets themselves are an evenly-sized product that looks a little like goose food except that it’s made from compressed wood rather than grain.

They get fed in by an auger, and are sized to run through the system for optimum burn efficiency. Pellet stoves are generally very easy to install. Often they can be direct vented through a wall, which is a lot easier than trying to place a chimney from a typical wood stove.

In an older wood stove, you lose heat from the chim-ney, but you lose a lot less with a pellet stove.

In terms of disadvantages, you have to buy the pellets. That makes you dependent on the market and who is importing the pellets. You also need electricity to run the auger that feeds the pel-lets and the fan. If you don’t have power, or suffer from an outage, your stove won’t function.

Q: What types of boilers are out there and what do I look at? How do I know which type of boiler is the right one to get, and what size?

Alaska is a cold and far-away place, but even way up here in Fairbanks, we have a wide variety of boil-ers. Some common brands include Weill Mclain, Burn-ham, Slantfin, Monitor FCX Condensing Boilers, Triangle

Tube, Viessman, Buderus, Energy Kenetics, Low Mass Boilers, Quietside and even direct vent hydronic hot water heaters are pressed into service as radiant heat-ers for the home. Look for the AFUE efficiency and get recommendations from mechanical contractor and homeowners.

The best way to find out what size boiler you need for your home is to look at a heat/loss calculation for your specific house. You can have this calculation done by a plumber or through a home energy rating among other places.

The calculation takes into account the R-values of walls, windows and roofs, and the exposed surface areas of each, then estimates how much heat will leave the building at a specific tem-perature. For Fairbanks, -40 F is often used.

The right size boiler will offset the heat that is expected to leave the build-ing. There’s an old rule of thumb that uses the square footage of your home to cal-culate the right boiler size. Unfortunately, this will often call for too large a boiler. A boiler that is too large for your home will operate inef-ficiently.

Q: Refrigerators are expen-sive to operate, how can I make sure mine is using less energy?

In terms of energy effi-ciency, refrigerators are, unfortunately, are often ignored. Typically, a new refrigerator, with automatic defrost and a top-mounted freezer, uses about half the energy of a 1990 version. So use that as a benchmark.

If your refrigerator is old and needs repairs, or is close to the end of its expected life, which could be around 15 years, then it makes good sense to replace it.

In terms of maintenance, check door seals. Sometimes the seals get brittle, or lose their compressive memory, which can cause small gaps. As a rule of thumb, you do not want to be able to take a

BUILDER: Vents from pellet stoves lose less heat than wood stove chimneysContinued from Page 11


15Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Saturday, September 11, 2010 13372325-9-11-10E

S

In

appreciation to our

Military Families ,

we offer a

5% discount

on all insulation

work.

Improving your home's energy efficiency now will lower your

heating cost this winter!

Alaska Quality Insulators, Inc.

Thank you, Fairbanks and North Pole, for the great response to our previous ads!

Need to Need to insulate? insulate?

488-3832 488-3832 Leave it to the pros! Leave it to the pros!

• Attic Insulation: Both blown-in fiberglass or cellulose insulation

• Batt insulation and vapor barriers • Exterior door weatherstripping • Urethane foam insulation: foundations,

rim joists, and hard-to-seal areas

Insulate now.

You can't

afford not to!

Think Think Green… Green…

$ave $ave Green Green

www.alaskaqualityinsulators.com

P43 (0-43,000 BTUS)

With the Weatherization and Energy Rebate Program well on its way and winter fast approaching it is not looking like fuel prices will be dropping soon. There is still plenty of time to improve the energy efficie ncy of your home before the high energy bills start arriving in the mail. After your energy rating is complete, give Alaska Quality Insulators, Inc., a call for an estimate or to schedule your work.

piece of paper and slide that between the seal.

Another method is close a flashlight inside the fridge. If you turn off the lights in the room and can still see light coming out of the fridge, then it’s probably time to replace the seals.

Also, the refrigerator com-partment should be between 36F and 38F, and the freezer should be between 0F and 5F.

You can’t always trust the dial in the fridge to do that, so if you really want to be sure, put a thermometer in there and use the dial set-ting as a point of reference to make sure everything is working as it should.

Another thing to look at is cleaning the condenser coils. Those coils are the back or bottom fridge. They collect dust and make the fridge work harder to do its cooling job.

The location of your fridge is also important. If the refrigerator is in the sun, next to the stove, or any other warm space, it will use more energy trying to stay cold.

A fridge in a cold space will work the opposite way and save energy as well.

When you’re preparing food to go into the fridge, let food cool down fully before storing it away. Remember, a refrigerator is a temperature regulating appliance.

Hot food will raise the temperature inside the com-partment and the fridge has to work harder to bring that temperature down to the level it is set for.

If you are looking into buying a new fridge, top and bottom units tend to be more efficient than side by side units.

However, the bottom line when buying a fridge, or any appliance, is to look at the yellow Energy Star tag. Energy Star information will tell you kilowatt hours per year for your model, which you can compare with other models.

Q: What is a heat pump and can it work in Fairbanks?

A heat pump is a mechan-ical system that uses a series of liquid-filled pipes or tubes run underground to heat (or cool) a building. The liquid captures the ground heat and uses it to heat your home.

You might think that our Fairbanks ground would be too cold to support such a system, but even at lower temperatures a heat pump can still function appropri-ately.

In Alaska, this tubing has antifreeze added. In Fair-banks, these tubes need to be buried below the frostline (about ten to twelve feet down) where the tempera-tures are fairly stable across the seasons.

Heat pumps use more electricity than the typical house, but the increased costs are offset by the sav-ings in fuel.

There is some concern that, depending on your site, the heat pump will take enough heat from the ground to cause freezing, however more research needs to be done on this question.

Locally, we’ll probably see more of these systems being installed in the next few years, but for now, it is an emerging technology for our area.

Q: Why is it beneficial to have south-facing windows on a home?

Due to the orientation with the sun, south-facing windows bring in both light and heat, which are very important for homes in our climate.

If you have a lot of north-facing windows, you’re going to lose a lot of heat with not a lot of heat gain. The amount of heat your home

gains from the sun should not be underestimated and sunlight is also good for your mood.

At the same time, some homes can become overheat-ed in months like March, when there is no vegetation to provide shade, and the sun comes directly through your windows.

Also, in the summer, the hot sun can overheat your home if your roof does not have enough overhang to shade your windows. Again, trees and other vegetation will help here as well.

Before you build your home, get a sense of where the sunlight falls in both the winter and the summer.

If you are a morning per-son and you need that morn-ing light to help wake you up, you’ll want to place your windows appropriately.

If you like to entertain

in the evening summer sun, then put windows in the appropriate place for that. It’s not just about getting light to see and heat your home, think about how light will affect your life in your home.

Q: I want to put a chimney in for a stove, but there are a bunch of things in the way, including a beam. How can I get around that?

It’s always frustrating when you’ve got the perfect place for a stove, but some-thing is in the way.

Ideally a chimney should be a straight shot for easy cleaning and proper drafting, but sometimes it just isn’t possible and you’ve got to put an elbow in the pipe.

The best place to put an elbow is at the bottom


Continued from Page 14

BUILDER: Increased energy usage from heat pumps offset by fuel cost savings


Major area of concern:

JOBS FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS! WE NEED: • Low cost energy • Low tax structure,

conservative values • Quality college prep and

vocational/technical education Paid for by Diane Hutchison for Borough Assembly, 140 Falcon Drive, Fairbanks, Alaska 99712

18372398 9/11/10Ener

BOROUGH ASSEMBLY SEAT B

• 20 year warranty on firebox refractory

• 85% Efficiency • Burns 60% less wood. • 2010 models use the original

Seton design but with an improved smoke bypass system.

• 2011 models will all be EPA & Borough certified.

The original downdraft high efficiency gasification indoor boiler.

2,500 sq. ft. home heated entirely with a W-90 Seton Boiler.

Woodhawk, Inc. • 388-7357 • 488-0139 www.setonboilersalaska.com

21370821-9-11-10ES

Wood Boilers Wood Boilers o f A L A S K A o f A L A S K A o f A L A S K A

CERTIFIED FOR $1500

FEDERAL TAX CREDIT!

because it allows you to scrub the chimney top to bottom when you clean it and you can still get inside the stove and vacuum out that elbow piece.

Sometimes you can run a stovepipe directly out the side of the house and up the exterior wall. How well this works is case dependent. If there is too much pipe in an uninsulated space, then the pipe can get cold and as a result, some of the smoke will get cold which can cause creosote build up and cre-ate a chimney fire hazard. Also, a fire started with a stovepipe that is cold may not draft properly so it may smoke and smolder and even introduce pollutants into your house if it’s not an air-tight stove.

Q: What are the advantages of LED lights over those spi-ral compact fluorescents?

LEDs use less power, have a longer life and are more durable than compact fluo-rescents. Initially there have been some costs that have kept them from reaching the broad market, but every year brings new innovations in LED technology, bringing the cost down and improving the quality of light they produce.

Compact fluorescents con-tain mercury, so disposing of them is a problem, while LEDs are fairly non-toxic. LEDs also work better than the average bulb in cold tem-

peratures, which is impor-tant in our climate.

Q: I have a wood stove, can I burn coal in it too?

Unless a wood stove has been specifically designed to burn coal too, I would not burn coal in it.

For starters, coal has the ability to burn much, much hotter than wood so it can damage the stove, or heat it up so much that it can be a fire hazard to nearby objects.

Also, burning coal in a stove that isn’t air tight or specifically designed for coal can be dangerous because there is no way to shut down the air supply if the fire gets too hot.

Add that to the fact that a coal fire takes a lot longer to go out, and you’re asking for trouble.

Q: What is a low e-coating?The low e-coating is a

metallic finish on one side of a window pane. This fin-ish will reflect radiant heat energy. Radiant heat is heat that passes through electro-magnetic waves, like sun-light.

If you have a multiple pane window with multiple coatings, the coating on the outside of the glass will reflect summer heat away from the building to keep it cool, and the coating on the inside of the glass will reflect indoor heat back into the house to keep it warm in the winter.

Here in Alaska we typi-

cally favor coatings that will reflect heat inside while also choosing a pane that has a high solar heat gain coeffi-cient. That means a window that allows more heat to pass through into the house, rather than reflect it.

Q: Is it worth the energy savings to put my computer to sleep, or to just shut it off every time I’m not using it?

That depends on how fre-quently you are using your computer. If you go back and forth to your computer with hours in between, then putting it to sleep is more beneficial.

However, if you only use your computer once per day, such as when you’re at work, or when you’re at home in the evening, then turning your computer off is more energy efficient.

Remember, keeping your computer on all day, even in sleep or standby mode, uses power that you have to pay for.

Also remember that com-puters, like cars and people, need a break from time to time. Turning your computer off will give it a rest and it will function better in the long run.

Q: Recently, I was scoffed at for wanting to insulate my septic tank when I install it next summer. How much insulation is neces-sary for a septic tank?

Septic tanks contain bac-

teria that will break down septic sludge. These organ-isms will do much better in a warm environment than a cold one.

There is some debate on how much insulation makes a difference when it comes to soil temperature and bac-teria performance. However, a bigger concern is a septic tank freezing because it was not buried deep enough, or does not have enough insula-tion to protect it from cold air.

A frozen septic is more likely in the winters of extreme cold with little snow. In that case, the ground freezes very hard and very deep.

When in doubt, it is cheap insurance to add a layer of rigid two-inch foam insula-tion on top of the tank and a few feet down on the sides. In fact, insulating a septic tank is a good way to use up all the damaged or left over pieces of foam from a job site.

Another alternative is to have the top of the tank sprayed with several inches of polyurethane foam.

Do not forget to consult with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conser-vation for the most recent codes for insulating a tank.

Q: Is there a way to tell if land is full of permafrost just by looking at it?

There are some visual indicators, but they are not 100% reliable when deter-mining whether or not land has permafrost. For starters, look at the other houses in the area and the types of foundations they have.

If there are a lot of houses on posts, or if houses with

conventional foundations are sagging, that could be a sign of permafrost.

If the land is down in the flats or on the north side of a hill and has mostly little black spruce trees and moss, that often indicates ice in the soil, because the land cannot support a big root structure.

Sometimes a piece of land can have good-look-ing ground but permafrost underneath at a low depth or ice lenses (pockets of ice) only under small areas.

Q: Not everywhere has a lot of wind, so when is putting up a wind turbine system practical?

You can still put up a tur-bine, but it is important to have a good wind resource. If you are connected to the electrical grid, you want to have average wind speed at about ten miles per hour or better. Of course the cost of electricity for your home will dramatically affect any pos-sible payback of putting in a wind system. If you are in a village and paying 60 cents a kilowatt hour for power, then having “enough’” wind is going to be different than if you are in Anchorage and paying eight cents a kilowatt hour for power. Look at how much energy you are likely to produce annually, how much money you will save, and the cost of installing a system – all before deciding if a wind system is cost-effec-tive.

Alaska HomeWise articles pro-mote home awareness for the Cold Climate Housing Research Center (CCHRC). If you have a question, e-mail us at [email protected]. You can also call the CCHRC at (907) 457-3454

BUILDER: Burning coal in wood stoves could do damage to the stoveContinued from Page 15


Servic

e

K L O NDIKE

K L O NDIKE “ The Door Store ”

DOOR MIKE TRAVERS

DOOR Serv

ice

C O M M E R C I A L & R E S I D E N T I A L

www.Klondikedoor.com

Call DR. DOOR

457-7221 Fax: 457-7211

2626 Phillips Field Rd. Fairbanks, AK 99709

Bonded & Insured Lic #23550

11372892-9-11-10ES

3740 Braddock St. Tel: 907-456-6200 Fax: 907-456-8295

1-800-478-6204 E-Mail:

[email protected] www.hoffer-glass.com

18372347-9-11-10ET

NOW AVAILABLE! Low-E

Storm Panels • Energy saving window inserts • Custom fabricated (white, bronze) • Save money • Save energy • Easy installation • Adds up to 1.6 R-Value to your

existing windows

Free Estimates

By CLIFFORD KRAUSSand JOHN M. BRODER

The New York Times

WASHINGTON — When the Obama administration called a halt to virtually all deepwater drilling activity in the Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater Horizon blowout and fire in April, oil execu-tives, economists and local officials complained that the six-month moratorium would cost thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in lost rev-enue.

Oil supply firms went to court to have the moratorium overturned, calling it illegal and warning that it would exacerbate the nation’s eco-nomic woes, lead to oil short-ages and cause an exodus of drilling rigs from the gulf to other fields around the world. Two federal courts agreed.

Yet the worst of those forecasts has failed to mate-rialize, as companies wait to see how long the morato-rium will last before making critical decisions on spending cuts and layoffs. Unemploy-ment claims related to the oil industry along the Gulf Coast have been in the hundreds, not the thousands, and while oil production from the gulf is down because of the drilling halt, supplies from the region are expected to rebound in future years. Only two of the 33 deepwater rigs operating in the gulf before the BP rig exploded have left for other fields.

While it is too early to gauge the long-term environ-mental or economic effects of the release of 4.9 million barrels of oil into the gulf, it now appears that the dir-est predictions about the moratorium will not be borne out. Even the government’s estimate of the impact of the drilling pause — 23,000 lost jobs and $10.2 billion in eco-nomic damage — is proving to be too pessimistic.

There are several reasons the suspension has not cut as deeply as anticipated.

Oil companies used the enforced suspension to service and upgrade their drilling equipment, keeping shipyards and service compa-nies busy. Drilling firms have kept most of their workers, knowing that if they let them go it will be hard to field experienced teams when the moratorium is lifted. Oil com-panies have shifted opera-tions to onshore wells, saving industry jobs.

And the administration has dropped repeated hints that the offshore drilling ban will be eased or removed before it is set to expire on Nov. 30.

Michael R. Bromwich, director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, the agency responsible for policing offshore drilling, said Monday in a letter to the presidential commission investigating the accident that it was possible that the

moratorium would be lifted before Nov. 30 for certain types of rigs.

Bromwich’s boss, Inte-rior Secretary Ken Salazar, said the agency was “ahead of schedule” in drawing up new rules to allow drilling to resume and suggested that the moratorium could be eased as early as next month.

Oil workers idled by the government-imposed drilling suspension are not eligible for BP money intended for people directly affected by the spill, like gulf shrimpers and charter-boat captains. But BP has set aside $100 mil-lion to compensate rig hands and support workers who lose their jobs because of the moratorium. The Rig Work-ers Assistance Fund has not started to make payments.

Oil companies continue to lobby for a lifting of the ban and warn that if it goes on much longer they will move their operations else-where. Yet they are hedging their bets by keeping crews and equipment on standby, expecting the pause to end well before the end of the year.

“It’s like a taxi that stops but the meter keeps going,” Ola Morten Aanestad, a vice president for Statoil, the Norwegian company that is a major producer in the gulf, said of its stranded rigs. Statoil has invested in a half-dozen drilling projects that

The Associated Press

Chipped trees, shown in this Aug. 31 photo, from the Pick-wick Creek restoration project will be used as an energy source near Pickwick, Minn. Workers cleared trees from a 66-foot stretch of Pickwick Creek as part of Trout Unlimit-ed’s plan to improve about 19 acres of trout habitat, one of the first “fuel for habitat” stream restorations in the state. Instead of being burned, the wood cleared for the project will be taken to wood-burning energy plants.

DEAR TROUT FISHING IN AMERICA

Impact of oil drilling moratorium

Please see OIL, Page 22


18372401-9-11-10ES

The most thorough service check in the North Star Borough

Locally owned & operated Serving FNSB for over 15 years

Licensed Bonded Insured

Offering our 28 Point Annual Service check!

We recommend an annual service maintenance of your heating

system to improve the efficiency of your unit.

We service all makes of Boilers and Forced Air Furnaces,

including TOYOSTOVE Lazer heating products.

Call to schedule your appointment today!

~ Service Heating ~

By JEFF [email protected]

The backers of a soon-to-open wood pellet factory are betting that Alaskans are ready to change the way they heat their homes.

Superior Pellet Fuels, located between Fairbanks and North Pole off the Rich-ardson Highway, is set to become Alaska’s first large-scale producer of wood pellets. Its new 12,000-square-foot factory plans to begin produc-ing the product, which is used to fuel wood-pellet stoves, on Aug. 23.

The plant is being launched with ambitious goals. Early plans call for four days per week of around-the-clock production, which will produce about 500 tons of pellets per week. The factory will have 14 employees when it opens, with as many as 20 workers planned if it ramps up to full-time production.

At that production rate, Superior Pellet Fuels General Manager Chad Schumacher said the factory will make

about four times as many pel-lets in per year as everyone in Alaska used in 2009.

He said the company is counting on that big growth in the use of pellet stoves will make demand keep up with the increase in supply. A local producer of pellets will help boost confidence among pellet stove buyers, he predicts.

“The biggest thing about having a pellet facility here is that it’s a consistent, reliable source,” Schumacher said.

Kent Severns, who sells stoves and woodcutting sup-plies at The Woodway, said pellet stoves have become a more popular option for customers in recent years, but agreed that inconsistent prices and supplies have lim-ited sales.

“Sometimes you can get (pellets) for 5 bucks a bag, and sometimes you can’t get it at any price,” he said.

Environmentally friendly fuel

Wood pellets are considered a clean fuel source, producing much less particulate pollu-tion than a typical wood stove. In a community like Fair-banks, which has struggled to meet federally mandated air quality standards, Schum-acher said a higher profile for pellet stoves could make a big difference. That factor, along with the Interior’s reliance on costly heating oil, is one rea-son to be optimistic about the growth of pellet stoves.

“It’s a huge selling point for us,” Schumacher said. “This could single-handedly solve the air pollution prob-lem we have in Fairbanks.”

The plant will be able to use a variety of trees — including cottonwood, aspen, spruce and birch — to make pellets. When they’re dried and compressed, Schumacher said the species all have simi-lar heating properties. The plant will use sawdust, wood chips and trees that aren’t a high enough grade to be used for lumber.

“We’re trying to find the lowest-quality wood in the industry,” he said.

Schumacher said he’s been working with state forestry

officials and local sawmills to find a wood supply for the plant. He said a portable wood chipper will be able to go to land clearings where trees would otherwise be burned or left on site.

Northland Wood will be providing its surplus sawdust to the plant, which will offer an estimated 8,000 cubic yards of material each year for pellet production.

Northland Wood man-ager Jason Knoles said the agreement will provide some financial benefit, but more importantly will allow the lumber company to operate without any waste of its forest products.

“From our standpoint, we want to have 100 percent usage of the trees we harvest, and this allows us to do that,” Knoles said.

The pellet processA tree goes through an

elaborate process to become a batch of pellets, starting with a shredder that tears it down to roughly half-inch chunks of wood.

The chips are moved to a 40-foot-long, 8-foot-diam-eter cylinder that evaporates the moisture out of the wet chips, fueled by a 24-million-BTU burner that operates at 1,200 degrees or more. After another round of pulverizing reduces the chips to an even smaller size, they enter one of two pressing units that squeezes out three-sixteenth inch pellets.

Those 180-degree chunks are funneled into a giant bin, where they’re air-cooled until they reach a temperature of about 100 degrees.

The pellet-making pro-cess is almost self-sufficient. Some of the wood material is too small to be turned into pellets, and those fines are burned to power the system. Schumacher said they’ll pro-vide 97 percent of the plant’s power needs.

The plant can process a vast amount of wood — about 12 tons of green material every hour. That will, in turn, make about 6 tons of pellets. The final product, with a

moisture level of 8-9 percent, looks a lot like processed rab-bit food.

Schumacher said a ton of premium pellets, which has the BTU equivalent of about 1 1/2 cords of moderately seasoned wood, is expected to sell for $295. Superior Pel-lets plans to sell the product statewide through retailers.

The new plant is expected to give a significant boost to the local economy. According to a study by the Fairbanks Economic Development Cor-poration, it will directly add $4 million to the local econ-omy, with another $4 million expected in indirect benefits.

Schumacher declined to say how much the 12,000-

square foot facility cost, but said it was a “sizable invest-ment.” A Tulsa, Okla., cou-ple, Dale and Debra Rich, are backing the project.

Severns said he’s thrilled with the project, since locally produced pellets are a stark contrast to the typical petro-leum-based fuels that heat Interior Alaska homes.

“It’s awesome that this money is staying here, and not going to Saudi Arabia or even Seattle,” he said.

Superior Pellet Fuels plans an open house of its new plant from 4-6:30 p.m. Sept. 8.

Contact staff writer Jeff Richard-son at 459-7518.

Owners counting on a change in the way Alaskans heat their homes

Eric Engman/News-Miner

A welder works under the drying tumbler as Chad Schum-acher gives a tour of the Superior Pellet Fuels pellet plant off of Cobb Road between Fairbanks and North Pole on Aug. 6.


C ALL T ODAY 452-8680 “THE COMPANY YOU CAN TRUST”

ALTROL’S “ENERGY SAVINGS CLUB”

MEMBERSHIP SAVES YOU $$ MONEY $$

18372362 9-11-10ES

What You Benefit By Becoming An Altrol Energy

Savings Club Member: • A s an ESC member you will receive a 20%

discount off the Standard Rate in the Customer Approved Pricing Book, on all tune-ups and service calls.

• ESC members are entitled to a 10% discount on a boiler of furnace replacement.

• Altrol will call all ESC members once per year to schedule their yearly tune-up, at the ESC member’s convenience.

• ESC members receive a 32 point service checklist, at each yearly visit, showing that a thorough inspection has been done. Efficiency of heating unit will be listed also.

• ESC members pay no overtime charges for after- hours, weekend, or holiday service calls.

• ESC members receive priority service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

• Scheduled maintenance keeps your equipment running at its highest efficiency, thereby saving breakdowns during extreme temperatures. Gives you peace of mind, knowing that your equipment is being maintained property, by a quality company.

SINCE

1982!!!


In English, “I care” refers to a person showing concern for others. Elsewhere, it refers to an attempt to escape.

Both definitions could be fitting to describe a trip being taken by Marc Muller, a 28-year-old native of Lausanne, Switzerland.

He is going around the world to conduct research about alternative forms of

energy through his “ICARE Project” and said the project represents his desire to escape from the oil system.

His 18-month journey started in May and brought him to Tiffin over the week-end. He is traveling in a car that uses solar and wind energy for power.

The 24-foot-long vehicle has a windmill and 33 solar panels, creates its own energy from the sun and stores the

energy in lithium batteries. Muller said it has a small elec-tric engine and a generator that uses biofuels in case of emergencies. It can travel 80 miles with its stored energy, and its maximum speed is 60 mph.

Goals of the global project are to visit alternative energy projects around the world and show what has happened in the world in relation to ener-gy and new forms of it.

Muller said he is not in the U.S. to sell a product or do marketing. Also, he is not making the trip to increase awareness. Instead, he is in the country to listen to people and create articles and reports.

He started his voyage in Switzerland in May and trav-eled to Italy, Tunisia and Morocco before he had his car shipped to New York. He said it took 50 days to have his car imported, and he arrived about a month ago.

Muller spent several days in Ohio and arrived in Tiffin Saturday night. When he is between cities, he camps or stays in hotels.

He planned to leave that night to head to a meeting with Ford engineers in Detroit Wednesday. He said from there, he will go to the Uni-versity of Michigan because it has a solar car. Then, he is to head to St. Louis and Dallas

before finishing his time in the United States in Califor-nia. His trip is to continue to South America, India and pos-sibly Russia.

Muller said he has to take the shortest path possible with his vehicle and tries to avoid cities and places where there are a lot of people. He said he spends four to five a hours a day traveling, and the rest of his time is spent talk-ing to people.“I take my time (traveling),” he said.

Muller, who created the car, said it took 14 months from the time the idea was born to the start of the trip in May. There are two engineers in the organization, and about 60 people spent thousands of hours building the vehicle.

The car, Muller said, has three functions. It must drive him around the world, offer him a place and the power to produce articles and reports, and serve as his house for 18 months. The car offers Muller space for equipment needed for cooking and camping.“It’s uncomfortable,” he said.

As Muller travels, he is interviewing people about sus-tainability.

In Morocco, people are involved and active in energy and alternative energy, while in Tunisia, the involvement is slightly less, he said. The United States, he said, is 20 years behind Europe.

He attributes it to three reasons. The first, he said, is Americans have a strong belief in independence and liberty. Second, the U.S. is large. Other countries, such as France, Germany and Swit-zerland, are developed, and generally, citizens know the environment is fragile because of the lack of space for devel-opment, he said.“It’s so big,” Muller said of the U.S.

Third, he said, is that the administration of former President George W. Bush didn’t sign the Kyoto Proto-col, which deals with decreas-ing carbon dioxide emissions.

Muller said he believes the world needs to hasten the transition to alternative energy. A push for alterna-tive energy would mean jobs would stay in the U.S., he said.

Swiss man travels around the world in solar, wind powered car


By JASON DEARENAssociated Press Writer

ROACH DRY LAKE, Nev. — Not a light bulb's worth of solar electricity has been produced on the millions of acres of public desert set aside for it. Not one project to build glimmering solar farms has even broken ground.

Instead, five years after federal land managers opened up stretches of the Southwest to developers, vast tracts still sit idle.

An Associated Press examination of U.S. Bureau of Land Management records and interviews with agency officials shows that the BLM operated a first-come, first-served leasing system that quickly overwhelmed its small staff and enabled companies, regardless of solar industry experience, to squat on land without any real plans to develop it.

At a time when the nation drills ever deeper for oil off its shores even as it tries to diversify its energy supply, the federal government has, so far, failed to use the land it already has — some of the world's best for solar — to produce renewable electricity.

Nowhere is this more evi-dent than in Nevada, where a Goldman Sachs & Co. subsid-iary with no solar background has claims with the BLM on nearly half the land for which applications have been filed, but no firm plan for any of the sites.

The Obama administration says it is expediting the most promising projects, with some approvals expected as soon as September. And yet, it will be years before the companies begin sending electricity to the Southwest's sprawling, energy-hungry cities.

"Clearly we spent a lot of time and effort on oil and gas, but those priorities have changed," Ray Brady, BLM's head of energy policy in Wash-ington, told the AP.

Congress in 2005 gave the Interior Department a dead-line: approve 10,000 mega-watts, or about five million homes' worth during peak hours, of renewable energy on public lands by 2015. Reach-ing that goal was left to the

BLM, which oversees federal land and knows oil, gas and mining leases but is new to solar.

The Bush administration, however, kept BLM's focus on oil. BLM's database of solar applications shows many lan-guished for years while the agency approved more than 73,000 oil and gas leases in the last five years. BLM has yet to give final approval to one solar lease.

BLM's solar leasing system ended up allowing develop-ers to lay claim to prime sites — many located in the deserts that span California, Nevada and Arizona. All develop-ers had to do was fill out an application, pay a fee and file development plans.

But many were so vague that it was difficult for BLM to separate the serious proj-ects from the speculative ones.

"People were making (solar) applications on federal lands not knowing what kind of technology to propose and ... how to develop the land," Brady said.

In the Southern California desert near Palm Springs, for example, San Diego-based LightSource Renewables filed an application in August 2008 for 2,500 acres, BLM records show. The small, two-per-son development firm knew enough to recognize the land's worth — it was close to trans-mission lines — but had no previous experience with such projects.

Co-founder Paul Whitworth said it is now focusing on get-ting private land, and is not pursuing plans for its BLM site. The agency, however, still considers the application active, meaning other inter-ested firms cannot access it.

"We don't know what tech-nology will win or lose, and certain sites cater to certain technologies, but a good site is a good site," Whitworth said when asked why they filed their application. The firm has never filed a development plan, records show.

While dozens of smaller firms like Lightsource joined in the rush, BLM records show two Goldman subsidiar-ies filed 52 of the 354 applica-tions throughout the region,

more than any other company."Those 52 applications are

an example of the problem of clogging up the system," said V. John White, execu-tive director the Sacramento, Calif.-based Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies, a clean-energy advocacy group, in an e-mail. The system has limited access by experienced solar develop-ers to the best sites.

"Some of these lease appli-cations tied up more land than would be needed for a real project," he said.

For example, records show Goldman-owned Cogentrix Solar Services, LLC, the sub-sidiary with no previous solar experience, has a pending application for 13,440 acres in Nevada for a 1,400-megawatt solar plant. Another claim on land nearby asks for 22,400 acres for the exact, same-sized plant.

BLM records show other companies proposing the same type of solar plants were ask-ing for 6,000-7,000 acres.

Over the years, BLM

rejected applications or com-panies withdrew them, bring-ing the total active applica-tions to 123.

Some of Goldman's Cali-fornia applications were with-drawn after U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein proposed last year that part of the Mojave Desert where some of the projects were proposed be declared a national monument. Now Goldman holds 10 of the 123, including eight that cover nearly half the land proposed for solar in Nevada.

An AP review of BLM's applications database found Cogentrix has staked more development claims in the Southwestern deserts than any other company. In Nevada alone, Cogentrix has applied for exclusive development rights on nearly as much federal land as all other com-panies combined. Its active lease applications cover about 120,000 acres — the equiva-lent of more than eight Man-hattans.

"Goldman Sachs was one of the first applicants to dot the

map with potential projects, and since then they haven't moved on any of them," said Gregory Helseth, the BLM's new renewable energy project manager in southern Nevada. "You can't hold the land for-ever. You can't be a prospector and hope somebody down the road wants to buy."

A Goldman representa-tive defended the firm's solar investments, saying the Wall Street titan has since gained experience through its 2009 purchase of an aged solar facility in San Bernardino, Calif., that it was moving forward in good faith and was not blocking anyone. The company also announced this month it had reached a deal to build a small, 250-acre project in Colorado on private land.

"While we continue to pur-sue development of projects utilizing public lands in the Southwest, we have not held land reservations if they are determined not to be viable for future solar development," company spokesman Ed Cana-day said in an e-mail.

The Obama Administration has identified 14 promising "fast-track" projects targeted for approval by year's end so they can qualify for stimulus funding. None of Goldman's claims are among them.

When completed, these facilities could generate 6,000 megawatts, enough electric-ity for several million homes during peak hours. There is a ready market for big plants, with California's strict climate change laws creating a huge demand among utilities for solar power.

Companies that hold BLM solar development applica-tions are prohibited from sell-ing them, but the companies themselves can be sold along with the potentially lucrative applications.

Tempe, Ariz.-based First Solar, an industry leader and a maker of solar panels, bought two smaller compa-nies, including the companies' land rights and power agree-ments with utility companies. First Solar paid about $400 million for OptiSolar and $285 million for NextLight. Analysts say the sale value of

Public land set aside for solar energy projects stands largely vacant


Electric towers and power lines cross the proposed site of a BrightSource Energy solar plant near Primm, Nev.

Please see SOLAR, Page 22


Christina Ashton Realtor Broker

YOUR Hometown professional REALTOR serving all your Real-Estate Needs!

VIEW MORE LISTINGS AT WWW.ALASKA-LAND.COM

Land - Commercial Residential - Recreational

907.456.8000

New! $228,000 Brand new and move in ready! Beautiful 1244 sq ft, 2 bedroom/1.5 bath log home, featuring a 5 star energy rating , open kitchen with stainless steel appliances, and main level bath/laundry area, with full size stackable washer/ dryer. The huge windows let in all the natural light and the vaulted tongue & groove ceilings add the feeling of spaciousness. This home is situated on a nicely wooded 1.14 acre lot, in the hills, off Farmers Loop, within the Pearl Creek school district! This home truly shines!

5 STAR ENERGY RATING

57372424-9-11-10EG

By JUDY DEMPSEYThe New York Times

BERLIN — The German government has decided to extend the life spans of the country’s 17 nuclear plants while alternative energy sources are devel-oped, a move that is also likely to create windfalls for both power companies and strained government cof-fers. The decision comes at a time when several European countries, including Italy and Sweden, are reconsider-ing long-held policies against nuclear power, not only to develop new sources of ener-gy but also to combat climate change.

New taxes levied on util-ity companies as part of the deal will be used in part to help develop renewable energy sources, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday. But she said Germany could not afford to get rid of nucle-ar power as planned because the amount of renewable energy available would not be sufficient to fill the gap.

“Nuclear energy is a bridge,” she said.

Under a German law, passed by a previous gov-ernment in 2002, the last nuclear power plant was to be shut by 2022. That deci-sion, bitterly resented by the nuclear energy companies, was largely supported by the German public, which has a deep aversion to anything nuclear, a sentiment that intensified after the nuclear accident at Chernobyl.

Recent polls have shown attitudes shifting, however. A survey by Forsa, an inde-pendent polling institute, in July found that 81 percent of Germans said the country could not do entirely without nuclear power, up from 59 percent five years ago.

The new accord, reached late Sunday night after months of wrangling inside Merkel’s coalition of con-servatives and the business-friendly Free Democrats, will prolong the life of the nuclear facilities an aver-age of 12 years. The oldest plants, built before 1980, will remain open for a fur-ther eight years. Newer ones

will be allowed to operate for up to 14 additional years.

Merkel, who was an envi-ronment minister in the 1990s, called the decision “a revolution for energy sup-plies,” and said Germany’s energy sector would be “one of the most environmen-tally friendly and efficient throughout the world.”

Shares in Germany’s big energy companies jumped Monday on the news of the extension. Shares in renew-able energy companies also rose, signaling market accep-tance of the government’s pledge to increase the share of renewable energy as a source of electricity to 20 percent by 2020, from 15.6 percent now.

Nuclear energy now

accounts for 22.6 percent of Germany’s net electricity consumption.

Compared with coal or natural gas plants, nuclear

plants are hugely expensive to build. But once up and running, they have been relatively inexpensive to operate.

According to a report published by the DIW, the German Institute for Eco-nomic Research, combined

Germany extends lifespan of nuclear plants, levies new utility taxes


A protester, wearing a giant mask depicting German Chancellor Angela Merkel, tries to catch “atomic balloons” during a demonstration against the extending of nuclear power plants operating time Sunday in Berlin. Posters read: ‘Nuclear power’s only safety is the risk.’

Please see NUCLEAR, Page 23

22 Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Saturday, September 11, 2010 17371565-9-11-10E

T Day Pass only $3.00 • 459-1011 • See our maps and schedules online at www.fnsb.us/macs/

Fairbanks MACS Transit Fairbanks MACS Transit Fairbanks MACS Transit

Save Gas , Save Money , Ride the Bus! Save Gas , Save Money , Ride the Bus! Save Gas , Save Money , Ride the Bus!

both companies likely was increased because they held BLM solar development appli-cations.

First Solar spokesman Alan Bernheimer said the acqui-sitions were valued on the companies' signed agreements with utilities not on their BLM land positions.

In September, at least two of the "fast-track" projects — by Oakland, Calif.-based Brightsource Energy and by First Solar-owned Nextlight — are expected to get the first solar permits issued by BLM. Bringing plants online how-ever will likely take years.

These fast-tracked sites are located on either side of the dormant Goldman lease near Roach Dry Lake, located about 35 miles south of Las Vegas, and will utilize the same Southern California Edison transmission lines that pass over Goldman's site.

Goldman spokesman Cana-day said the company is still trying to work out a deal with a utility.

And BLM's Helseth said he still is seeking final plans from Goldman and Cogentrix. He said the agency's main problem was that there were too few employees available to work on the applications.

Under Obama administra-

tion, more BLM staff like Helseth have been hired to help weed out dormant appli-cations so developers better suited for the job can be found. Officials say the administra-tion is trying to avoid future land rushes by identifying the best solar locations with the fewest environmental impacts, rather having a free-for-all.

Critics say BLM should have done this in the first place and help avoid years of delay.

"BLM let people file applica-tions willy nilly wherever they wanted," said Johanna Wald, a land-use attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Continued from Page 20

SOLAR: Bringing plants online to take years

are frozen by the morato-rium, including two in which it is the main operator.

“We are looking at what other alternatives there are elsewhere, but I can’t pre-dict what will come about,” Aanestad said.

But he added that Statoil had not laid off any gulf work-ers. “Our base assumption is we will be able to resume our activities and work with our deepwater leases,” he said.

Noble Corp., a major off-shore driller, had six rigs operating in the gulf before the BP accident and has since acquired a seventh. All

are now in limbo, said John Breed, a company spokesman, who added that the company was “looking at opportunities outside the United States.”

But Breed said the compa-ny had not let any rig workers go so far.

“Our goal has been to try to maintain the continuity of our work force, but how long that will go on we don’t know,” he said.

Breed said a long morato-rium would hurt not only the drillers but also the service companies that do the seismic work, the caterers who feed the thousands of rig workers and the sellers of uniforms and safety boots.

OIL: Some rigs now in limboContinued from Page 17


profits of the nuclear energy companies could grow by 6.4 billion euros, or $8.2 billion, for each year of additional life span.

As a result, the German government will impose a new tax starting next year on the four German nuclear companies — E.ON, RWE, EnBW Energie Baden-Wuert-temberg and Vattenfall. Esti-mates are it will bring in 2.3 billion euros a year until at least 2016, money that will go to the general budget.

The companies also will also pay 300 million euros in 2011 and 2012 and 200 million euros in subsequent years through 2016 into an investment fund for renew-able energy projects.

But at news conferences Monday, German officials sidestepped questions about the cost of bringing alter-native energy to the level needed.

It was also unclear how the funds will be invested. Alternative energy lobbies and analysts said it was essential that the electricity grids be expanded or new ones built to deliver renew-able energy to the consumer.

“If the government is committed to renewable energy, then the energy companies have to build more grids to meet grow-ing consumer demand,” said Claudia Kemfert, professor of environment at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin. Even if that were to be agreed, it takes several years to obtain permission to build new grids because of administrative procedures, she added.

Dietmar Schuetz, presi-dent of the German Renew-able Energy Federation, was pessimistic that this would happen. He also accused Merkel of caving into pres-sure from the nuclear lobby.

“By extending the life of the nuclear power plants, she has placed obstacles to the expansion of renewable energy,” he said in a state-ment. “The cat is now out of the bag.”

The nuclear energy com-panies had spent months

lobbying the government to reverse the closure decision that was made by the former Social Democratic-Green coalition, which governed from 1998 to 2005.

The companies also took out full-page advertisements in the main newspapers to convince a skeptical public that a prolongation of the nuclear power industry was needed for Germany’s energy security.

Complicating the debate, a recent government-commis-sioned report said that with-out nuclear power, Germany could not hope to reach its target of reducing carbon

dioxide emissions by 80 per-cent of 1990 levels by 2050.

A recent Forsa poll found Germans still split on the issue, with 56 percent favor-ing sticking to the phase-out schedule and 37 percent in favor of extending it. In 2007, the split was 47 per-cent to 31 percent, with 17 percent either undecided or in favor of immediate clo-sure.

Sigmar Gabriel, leader of the opposition Social Demo-crats, called the new exten-sion a “black day for energy policy.” Along with the opposition Greens, the Social Democrats have vowed to

annul it if the party returns to power in the next election, which is not due until 2013.

When Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union party and the Free Democrats were elected last September, they made no secret that they wanted to extend the life span of the nuclear industry; it was part of their election program.

Her coalition, as it turned out, was far from united on the issue. Norbert Roettgen, the Christian Democratic environment minister, had opposed extending the dead-line while Rainer Bruederle, the Free Democrat economy

minister, wanted the maxi-mum extension possible.

It is not certain the gov-ernment can implement the accord without going to the Bundesrat, the parliamenta-ry upper house where the 16 states are represented. The government no longer has a majority in the Bundesrat.

Merkel believes she will be able to bypass the Bundesrat because the accord prolongs the phase-out period, but does not overturn the 2002 law. Sev-eral states, however, have threatened to take the issue to the Constitutional Court, the country’s highest.

NUCLEAR: Critics say extension places obstacles in front of renewable energyContinued from Page 21


PRICES EFFECTIVE SEPTEMBER 9 – 29, 2010

SAVE ENERGYSAVE MONEY

13W Mini Spiral CompactFluorescent Bulbs

4 Pack

Soft White or Natural Light10,000 hours average lifetime

(23706235/7)

$499YOUR CHOICE

An LED light bulb can last up to 50,000 hours – that

averages out to 12 hours of

light per day for 10 years.

Triple Expanding Spray Foam

Fire retardant, water resistant and non-shrinking Fills larger holes and gaps

Minimal ExpandingSpray Foam

Less expansion for small gaps and cracks Cures in lower temperatures Interior / exterior use

12 oz. (16700082) $3.99

16 oz. (16964416) $6.99

12 oz. (16900031) $3.99

20 oz. (16900032) $5.99

Window & DoorNo-Warp Foam

Low pressure formula Fills and insulates better than fi berglass

12 oz. (16204000) $4.99

16 oz. (16964416) $6.99

Gun Foam II Fireblocking Foam Sealant

Fireblock penetration sealantClass I residential fi reblocking foam

(16429813)

$999

All-PurposeProfessional Sealant

24 oz.

(16902420)

$999

Window & DoorSealant

20 oz.

(16942012)

$899

Shrink and Seal®Window Insulation Kit

42" x 62" kit fi ts one standard windowPrevents cold drafts and heat loss through window panes

42" x 62"(4624201)

$399

84" x 110" (5899216) $8.99

62" x 210" (6434492) $9.99

6 ft. Pipe WrapFlexible pre-slit pipe jacket cuts heat loss, helps prevent freeze ups and stops cold pipe sweating

1/2"(9846825)

$129

3/4" (4009379) $1.49

1" (0679738) $1.79

Garage Door Insulation KitSingle car garage kitUse radiant foil insulation to help make your garage more comfort-able and reduce energy costs. Helps keep garage cooler by refl ecting 97 percent of the sun's radiant energy. In the winter, it helps protect radiant heat from escaping garage.

(1257807)

$3999

R-Tech InsulSnap Rigid Insulfoam

4' x 8' sheetsENERGY STAR® qualifi ed, Free of dyes, formaldehyde and HCFCs, Does not support mold or mildew growth.R-value – 12.60 per 1" thickness

(ISI34RT)

$4499

24 LED 50,000 HourPAR20 Bulb

72 lumens of light outputUses 1.5 watts of energy

(23762034)

$999


108 lumens of light outputUses 3 watts of energy

(23762035)

$1499


180 lumens of light outputUses 5 watts of energy

(23762036)

$1999

Before you bulk up with blankets, seal the leaks. Inexpensive caulking and spray foam can cut your heating andcooling bills up to 30%.

Documents

Energy Savers Guide - 2010