Alternatives catch on like wildfire with Carbon customers
When Ranchers Supply in Rock River, Wyo., exploded and burned, owners Ted Nelson and Joe Bowers took advantage of various alternative energy options in the rebuilding process. Rock River is located northeast of Laramie along U.S. Highway 287, near the Medicine Bow River and has a population about 175.

Working with Carbon Power and Light's Director of Member Services and Marketing Gary Garber, Bowers became excited about the possibilities of rebuilding the business in an environmentally sound and energy efficient way.

Warmth just below the surface

Bowers said, "By installing a floor warming system that stores underground heat, a gentle curtain of warmth spreads evenly throughout the entire building. We can also take advantage of Carbon's off-peak rates.

"The system is completely concealed with electric panels imbedded in the concrete foundation. It eliminates cold and hot spots throughout the building so effectively that the temperature only varies about two degrees floor to ceiling, any time of day, night, or year—a variance so slight, we never feel it.

"By taking advantage of new technology, I was able to make the rebuilt structure as energy-efficient as possible. I'll recoup the expense of installing the system through monthly energy cost savings," Bowers explained.

Fire department convinced

Bowers' enthusiasm for his energy-conserving project is contagious. He's even convinced the Rock River Volunteer Fire Department to install a similar system in its facility.

Carbon also works with residential customers to achieve their energy conservation goals.

Sun and earth savings alternative

Carbon customers Joni Rio and husband Bill Crapser enjoy the comfort of their new, energy-efficient home south of Saratoga, Wyo. Their ground-source heat pump keeps their home a comfortable 75 degrees when the frigid Wyoming weather outside is minus 18.

While planning their new home, Rio and Crapser wanted to make it as energy-efficient as possible. For starters, they placed most windows on the south side of the structure, to take advantage of the abundant and free solar energy available throughout Wyoming. Rio said, "This alone provides adequate heat during the day.

"We settled on a ground source heat pump for our primary heating system. The equipment was only $1,000 more than the air-source system and the pellet stove we were originally going to purchase," she explained.

Extracting enough energy from the ground to provide adequate heating and cooling for the home required 5,000 feet of black poly-pipe "collection loops" buried in five 200-foot trenches. The trench work added another $2,000 to the cost of the system.

Rio said, "We did pay a little more up front, but we'll be paying a lot less in energy costs each month."

Rio and Crapser received a conservation credit of $600 from Carbon's power supplier Tri-State Generation and Transmission for installing the system.

Besides heating and cooling the home, the ground-source heat pump also helps the electric water heater by preheating the water.

The GSHP system is rated about 300-percent efficient, meaning that it will produce three times more energy in the form of heating and cooling than it consumes in electricity. For good measure, the couple installed a 10-kilowatt resistive heating strip as a GSHP system backup—though Rio doubts they'll ever need it.