Author Archives: kthomas

Heating with Wood – Space Heating

BY: Dave Misiuk, Cold Climate Housing Research Center
Energy Focus: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner August 28th, 2008, Section A3

There are basically four different wood burning appliance types available that are considered “space heating” appliances. These are units which produce direct convective and/or radiant heat that can be used to heat a room, a house or other “space” and include woodstoves, pellet stoves, fireplace inserts and masonry heaters. Many people ask me, “Which ones are approved?” Continue reading →

Energy Savings Pays

BY: John Davies, Cold Climate Housing Research Center
Energy Focus: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner August 21st, 2008, Section A3

Is your head swimming with all the talk about energy costs, weatherization, and energy rebates? Are you looking for a good, comprehensive source of information that explains the basics of energy use in your home and what steps you can take to save energy? If so, I recommend the Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings published by New Society Publishers for the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). Continue reading →

Solar-powered car driver tries to draw attention to alternative energy

From the Fairbanks Daily Newsminer August 15, 2008.

“What I’m trying to do is save the planet in my own way,” da Luz said before an audience of a few dozen people who assembled at the Cold Climate Housing Research Center for a demonstration.

Click here to read the full article.

Solar-powered car arrives in Fairbanks en route to record

From the Fairbanks Daily Newsminer August 14, 2008.

A solar-powered car on three wheels arrived in Fairbanks on Wednesday evening, creating a spectacle as the spaceship-like vehicle made its way down the Johansen Expressway to the Cold Climate Housing Research Center.

Click here to read the full article.

Heating with wood – economic considerations

BY: Dave Misiuk, Cold Climate Housing Research Center
Energy Focus: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner August 14th, 2008, Section A3

This is the second article in a series on residential wood heating. The series will include information about firewood, different heating appliance options, applications, installations and other aspects that will hopefully help us conserve our resources, keep our environment healthy and…keep us warm. Continue reading →

Save a little energy by choosing the right lights

From the Fairbanks Daily Newsminer August 11, 2008.

Here’s an amazing fact: About 10 percent of the energy used by a regular incandescent light bulb goes to produce light. The rest is wasted as heat. Though heat is always nice in our cold winters, it is very inefficient heat at a very high cost.

Energy-efficient lights produce more light than heat with the electricity they use. As a result, they can provide the same amount of light as a standard bulb while using less energy. Since lighting can make up as much as 20 percent of the house energy bill, conservation here can amount to considerable savings.

Click here to read the full article.

Heating With wood

BY: Dave Misiuk, Cold Climate Housing Research Center
Energy Focus: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner July 31, 2008, Section A3

As fuel prices continue to climb, more interior Alaska residents are making the commitment to heat their homes with wood. New homes are being furnished with masonry heaters, pellet stoves and wood boilers. Residents with existing homes are adding these supplemental heating systems and those with existing wood heat systems are planning to use them more. While solar and wind energy are on the horizon as hopeful technologies for some residential applications, the obvious near-term solution is to burn wood to displace heating oil.

Continue reading →

New energy-saving appliances may pay off in long run

From the Fairbanks Daily News Miner June 16, 2008.

We’ve been seeing great information in the newspaper on saving energy by caulking, insulating and tightening up the house. All of these articles have given us great advice, but what else can you do?

Let’s take a quick look at what we do inside the house that uses energy. One of the major users of energy is the appliances in the house. By reducing your energy consumption on appliances, you save money. Most families expend about 12 percent of their energy dollars on cooking. Knowing where those dollars are going will help you make the most of your energy dollars.

Click here to read the full article.

Don't let phantom power haunt your home

BY: Kristen Thomas, Cold Climate Housing Research Center
Energy Focus: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner July 24, 2008, Section A3

When you’re finished using an electronic device you turn it off and you’re done. The power is off and the device is no longer using electricity, right? Wrong. A large majority of electronics, even when powered off, are still drawing a phantom load which is costing you money. While this small amount of power may seem insignificant when looking at a single device, which could use as little as 0-1 Watts, if you take a step back and look at everything you have plugged in, the energy usage and cost becomes more substantial. According to the Associated Press, 2007 estimates show that phantom loads accounted for about five percent of household energy bills in the US.

The average Fairbanks household uses roughly 760 kWh per month. Five percent of the average amount comes to around 38 kWh used to power phantom loads. At today’s GVEA rates with the included fuel adjustment, that’s $7.70 a month or almost $100 per year to power electronics that aren’t in use. Continue reading →

What you can do for under $100 to lower your energy costs

BY: Karl Monetti, Northern Alaska Environmental Center
Energy Focus: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner July 16, 2008, Section A3

Have you noticed the “fuel surcharge” on your electric bill lately? I am sure you have. Have you also noticed, and read, the little colored inserts in your electric bill each month? My first tip is to not complain about the surcharge without first taking the advice of those flyers. Almost every month GVEA gives us helpful hints on how to lower our electric bill. Continue reading →