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Equipment Loan tools star in 'The Great Refrigerator Robbery'
Working in Western's Energy Services is a constant education—every day we learn about new technologies and ideas utilities can use to manage their energy resources more effectively. Getting the information to our customers is a non-stop job, too. It may involve a one-on-one meeting with a power provider or answering a question through our Energy Experts Hotline or writing a story about a utility's innovative program. In the case of "The Great Refrigerator Robbery," we become part of the story. "We" refers here to Western's Corporate Energy Services team: Manager Ron Horstman, Equipment Loan Manager Gary Hoffmann and me, Kevon Storie, Energy Services Bulletin editor and marketing coordinator. Call us the True Believers—in energy efficiency, conservation, planning and, above all, education. We love our work and never tire of sharing what we learn with Western customers (and anyone else who will listen). Because sharing is our business—and passion—Energy Services has sponsored several Utility Exchanges, including the 2009 Colorado Utility Efficiency Exchange (CUE). A new event to the CUE this year was a poster session held during the Wednesday night reception. The opportunityA poster session is a little like turning PowerPoint slides from a short presentation into one display. Attendees stroll through the session (often with a snack and beverage in hand), study the posters and ask presenters questions. It is a relaxed, informal way to show off a case study or pet program, and an excellent fit for the utility exchange format. The event was also a great chance to remind Colorado customers about all the handy tools they can borrow from the Equipment Loan Program. The popular program has been adding new, user-friendly diagnostic equipment to help customers keep up with consumers' growing interest in home and business energy audits. "If you want to be popular in a roomful of member services representatives and engineers, just demonstrate a piece of diagnostic equipment," said Gary. But we really wanted to show the tools in action, so "The Great Refrigerator Robbery" was hatched. There's a good reason why utilities like Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Sacramento Municipal Utility District sponsor refrigerator exchange programs. Appliances account for about 17 percent of household energy use, and refrigerators are among the top three users (with high-definition TVs gaining fast). According to a story in American Public Power Association's October Public Power magazine, getting rid of these silent Energy Hogs offers utilities a "triple bang for the buck." But first you have to convince customers that their refrigerators are stealing them blind. The suspectsTo that end, the True Believers volunteered our own refrigerators as "suspects" for the poster caper. Our jobs have made us very aware of our energy use at home, but like most people, our appliances, houses, and occasionally, our habits fall short. Wouldn't it be fun to learn more about our home energy consumption and find out if some of the Equipment Loan tools are as easy to use as advertised? Well, maybe… The lineup included:
According to Energy Star, 16 to 20 cubic feet is the most energy-efficient size, and top-mounted freezers use 10 to 25 percent less energy than bottom-mount or side-by-side models. Also, in-door icemakers are real energy vampires, noted Ron. "The chilled air inside escapes through the icemaker, causing the refrigerator to cycle on more often to maintain its temperature," he explained. "If you have kids who get in and out of the freezer often to get ice, then it might save a little energy." Clearly, the man has done his research. Speaking of kids, none of us have any at home. Our households all have one to three adults, so we use our respective refrigerators in similar ways. Also, our "investigation" does not target any particular brand, but looks at how features, size and especially age affect appliance performance. Most utility recycling programs aim to remove refrigerators of early '90s vintage or older from service. The investigation
On a Friday night, we each took home a Watt's Up power meter Gary had pre-programmed to simplify things…mostly for me; I am a writer, not an engineer! However, I looked at the accompanying manual and was able to mostly understand it. Around 5 p.m., everyone plugged the meters into the wall and plugged their refrigerators into the meters to collect energy-use data for the entire weekend. The game was afoot! We used a FLIR T360 infrared (IR) camera to snap a few pictures of the suspect. The FLIR T360 can be set to simultaneously take digital pictures while the user is taking IR shots, a convenient feature for reports. The viewfinder displays the temperature range within the picture, too. What Gary saw when he pointed the camera at his old appliance was alarming. "The heating strip in the door, which prevents condensation and door freeze-up, was 25 degrees hotter than the coolest part of the picture," he recalled. "The temperature ranged from 62 degrees to 87 degrees." My photo showed a range of only 67 to 77 degrees, and in Ron's, it was 52 to 59 degrees. The suspects' MO was taking shape. Curious to know more, Gary took a picture of the wall against the back of his refrigerator from the other side, in his living room. "It was very warm," he said. Much of the energy the refrigerator was using was being given off in the form of heat. "The best I can say about it is that it will save on heating my living room this winter," Gary joked. As Ron predicted, the IR picture shows cold air pouring from Gary's in-door icemaker. My refrigerator fared better, but both top and bottom doors appear much colder than the surroundings, suggesting that they are not well-insulated. Ron's picture shows a uniform color with only a ridge of cold showing between the freezer and refrigerator doors, and the heat strip appearing as warm. The verdictThe data downloaded from the power meters painted an even more detailed picture. The software for producing graphs of the data comes with Watt's Up and is compatible with most personal computers. Users can print out graphs showing 18 different data sets, such as watt use, monthly average kilowatt-hour (kWh) use and monthly average cost. We chose the watt use graph to show the refrigerators' day-to-day performance, and included monthly kWh use and cost in the poster copy. Ron's refrigerator was the upright citizen of the group with consistent, well-spaced on/off cycling which spiked around 180 watts, and three defrost cycles that spiked around 400. It uses an average 33.48 kWh monthly for a cost of about $3.68 on his electric bill. "Not quite as efficient as the manufacturer promises," Ron admitted. "Buyers need to keep in mind that makers' efficiency figures come from lab tests. Real world performance rarely matches up." My refrigerator was released on good behavior for using only 46.61 kWh per month at a cost of $5.13. The four defrost cycles spiked around 420 watts, and the on/off cycles topped out at about 160. Ron noted, however, that the refrigerator cycled on and off a lot. "It might need more Freon, or the thermostat could be malfunctioning. Have it checked, and its performance might improve," he advised. Gary's refrigerator was every inch the hardened criminal the IR pictures suggested. It ran almost constantly, and defrosted three times more often than Ron's, often spiking over 750 watts. Gary is spending $25.07 each month to feed his ravenous refrigerator more than 227 kWh! The Watt's Up software calculated that replacing it with an Energy Star model will repay Gary's investment in less than three years. EpilogueThe seasoned energy professionals at the CUE Exchange pronounced the Great Refrigerator Robbery a success. The data-gathering capabilities of the Watt's Up particularly impressed them. Gary took the poster to the Delta-Montrose Energy Fair the following weekend where even school children understood the message. "They were actually surprised that you could save so much money from replacing a refrigerator," he recalled. Better yet, a new employee from San Miguel Power Association took a great interest in the auditing tools. Looks like Gary can expect some loan requests from this caper, though he added, "The Watt's Up is so versatile and inexpensive; once utilities borrow one from Western, they often decide to buy their own for energy audits and demonstrations." And for catching Energy Hogs red-handed. Our work is finished—for now. I'm off to call a refrigerator repairman.
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Previous issues
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ResourcesLos Angeles Department of Water and Power |
PeopleKevon Storie |
Related articlesEnergy Services Bulletin, November 2009 Energy Services Bulletin, December 2008 Energy Services Bulletin, October 2009 Energy Services Bulletin, November 2008 |
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