We keep a close eye on what we eat, knowing that whatever goes into our bodies has a direct effect on our health and how we feel.  We take care of our homes and may even try to influence the energy flow through color, feng shui, sage and candle burning and the like.  But what about literally bringing in clean energy through the circuit breaker?

The electricity we consume is an important part of our environmental footprint, because different ways of generating electricity have different impacts.  For example, currently about 72 percent of the electricity in the United States is generated from fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas and oil. But coal involves greenhouse gas emissions, pollutants and water use, and has a negative impact on the natural landscape.

With the disastrous Gulf oil spill at the forefront of our consciousness, it’s a good time to focus on ways that we can — right now — begin to tap into clean, renewable sources of energy already available.

Efficiency First

Of course, it’s always good to start with efficiency.  We know about purchasing energy efficient appliances and changing out incandescent lightbulbs, but is your home well insulated and sealed?  Home Energy Audits are a good way to reduce monthly energy consumption.  Companies like The Building Doctors in Los Angeles come to your home and perform comprehensive assessment of your home’s window, doors, insulation and equipment. You can get federal and state tax incentives of up to $1,500 for upgrading your home’s insulation, windows, sealing and heating/cooling equipment.

Clean and Green from the Utility

Many utilities in California offer the option of purchasing “green” energy for your home in a way that doesn’t require upgrades or installations.  LADWP, for example, allows customers to indicate what percentage of their electricity usage will come from green energy. Burbank, Pasadena and Anaheim all have similar programs that generate green energy from wind, solar, and even landfill gases.

You may have to pay a premium for salving your conscience and helping the environment.  LADWP adds 3 cents per kilowatt hour for green energy; for a moderate-sized apartment, that works out to about $3.50 more per month for 100 percent green electricity.  That’s less than the cost of one latté, and well worth the satisfaction.

Deep Green — Generating your own clean energy

Here are some generous tax incentives to help you harness the power of the sun and the wind right on your own property . . . It doesn’t get more local than this!

Solar

• Federal tax credits for 30 percent of the cost of qualified solar water heating and photovoltaic systems.
• California Solar Initiative offers a state property tax exclusion for solar systems, and cash rebates up to $1,875 for qualifying solar water heating systems (PG&E, SCE, SoCalGas, SDG&E customers).
• California has $3 billion budgeted to incentivize solar panel installation.  Most of the money has already been allocated, so don’t delay on this one.
• On the local level, some cities, like Santa Monica, will waive permitting fees and expedite the permitting process for the installation of solar systems.  Others, like Long Beach, will give up to $500 rebate for solar power water heaters, and waive the permit fees.

Wind

• Federal tax credit for 30 percent of the total installed cost of small wind systems.
• California’s Self-Generation Incentive Program provides a one-time, upfront incentive for wind systems at $1.50/watt generation capability (PG&E, SCE, SoCalGas, SDG&E customers).
• Combining federal and state incentives, the cost of installing a wind system may be offset by 60 percent — not including the savings on your energy bill.
• Turbines connected to the utility grid can take advantage of “net metering,” a credit for the electricity you generate.

From House to Home

The word “eco” — as in “eco-friendly” — comes from the Greek oikos, meaning home or dwelling.  So, it is intuitive and logical that the energy we use to sustain our houses can also sustain — or destroy — our collective home.  Let’s heed this as a call to action that moves us toward clean, renewable sources of energy.

—Elif Beall

Elif Beall is an eco-sustainability consultant living and working in Los Angeles and Hawaii.

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