Poor? Renting? Your energy options are limited. (Brainstorm)

[skids]

A point NNadir frequently makes when talking about PV needs more attention. That it's a "rich boys toy." Well, it isn't just PV. It also applies to conservation, which everyone here agrees is imperative at this point, regardless of what technology we get our electricity and heat from.

If you're poor, you can't shell out a thousand dollars to replace your 1960's refrigerator. You can't afford better insulation. Heck you can hardly afford to "invest" in a compact fluorescent lightbulb -- every dollar is stretched.

And, you don't have to be particularly poor to end up renting. Even if you have $400 or so, you aren't allowed to replace a window (and can only get the landlord to do it if it is badly damaged, and then only if you are lucky.) Most of the appliances are old, but you don't own them so if you use your own you have to stow them away and endure extra moving costs. Forget putting anything on the roof, and you cannot touch the plumbing. Plus you wouldn't want to anyway: you don't have an equity stake in the property. If you're lucky you have a sunlit lawn and no-one will complain if you set up a solar air heat unit. More likely you only have a few windows in an apartment.

While energy standards in new public housing builds may address some of the destitute -- the old ones stay in service for a good while with little improvement. And the huge number of renters in private units don't get helped by this.

Though it's hard to pin down, because per-capita energy use will be restricted by income, it's pretty much a no-brainer that per-capita energy efficiency for comparable uses of energy is lower for those with lower incomes. You can trounce around at your whim in the latest (2001) survey data here:

http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/recs/recs2001_hc/2001tblhp.html

While all the "home and garden" news and articles are great for homeowners, and homeowners should take heed and improve their own properties, there is simply no relief on the horizon for the poor or renting. That segment is stagnant.

Granted there are some negative feedback mechanisms -- save a guy $6 per month in electricity and he might turn up the thermostat a few degrees and use about as much energy. I don't think that quashes the general inclination to help our fellow man, though -- either we help him through an improved environment via reduced energy usage, or through an improved quality of life with the same energy usage.

So what can be done about conservation efforts here?

Lobby the landlords? Free appliance efficiency audits and microcredit for self-furnishers?

How to do it? Work through HFH? Through existing utility programs? Local governments? Use door-to-door canvassing? "bumvertising"?

I'd be interested to know, if you were able to set up one modest, local, charity-based program to address energy conservation in these sectors -- what would you do and how? Are there any existing programs you think are particularly outstanding?

[phantom power]

1. Seems as though building codes are the only answer.

That really applies to both rentals and owned homes. As long as it's a single nickel cheaper to build a less energy efficient home, then that's what will get built. Rental or otherwise. The main reason is that the builders have nothing to lose from inefficiency. They aren't the ones paying the heating bills, but they do pay for the building itself.

They will never be motivated to do it voluntarily, and so building codes must be the answer. Pretty much the same story with appliances. It's cheaper to make less efficient appliances. Hence energy-star regulations.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. I'd start with windows

Simply putting plastic over windows can cut down on cold coming in. It is relatively cheap and installation is something almost anyone can do.

My next step would be to make door stoppers. These are cloth tubes stuffed with either sand or a combination of sand and packing peanuts (recycled from packages, not purchased) and placed at the bottom of doors to stop air from coming in through the cracks. If there is a crack at the top of the door, stapling newspaper on the top will help. Of course, if there is a screen door, putting plastic on it will also help.

My third step would be to get blankets (they are $5 at the Dollar General store here-I don't shop Wal-Mart), fold in half, sew the bottom and halfway up the side; this becomes a sort of comforter you can wear as you watch TV. Velcro is better than sewing, but either will do.

I have used all these things myself, and know that they all help.

[Porcupine]

18. Plastic over windows promotes mold. Use row cover...

If you put regular plastic over your windows moisture will condense behind the plastic and proceed to mold the sills and paint. Use floating row covers made of microperforated plastic (found in garden sections of home improvement warehouses). Row covers prevent the quick flow of air that causes drafts but allow moisture to equalize on either side of the barrier.

Compact flourescents are cheap enough now that you can install them on all of your major lights at a few bucks per. Change them out for cheap bulbs when you move and take them with you.

Look for holes in your ceiling that might lead to attic spaces or outside. Swamp cooler vents and whole house fan vents are like big open windows even when they appear closed. Cover these with a pad of insulating material.

Turning a porch into a sunroom with furring strips and plastic sheeting can also help things out if the porch faces south or west.

Split your house or apartment into zones using blankets that are slit, hemmed and overlapped to form airlocks like you sometimes see on cold sections of stores.

Remember to be carefull to allow airflow and removal or rapid movement of water vapor from kitchens and bathrooms to prevent surprise mold growths in odd places.

Good luck.

[dcfirefighter]

3. Immediate solutions; fundamental solution

Immediate:
Clear plastic wrap, silicone sealer, weatherstripping for windows and doors.
Electric spot heating.
Bachelor-pad-esque carrying of one lightbulb (CFL) from fixture to fixture.
Rental Codes.

Fundamental:
It's my single issue, but I see it in everything:
Landlords get to keep the rental payments for the land the hold the title to. This is where they generally make their money, especially in the low-end of the housing market. They've provided very little (a 50 year old apartment). The building value of their 50 year-old apartment isnt much, it's depreciated over time, probably to less than $50 / s.f. - worth (building only) about $150/mo. for a typical 2 bedroom. Increasing the 'tax' on the land value of property would mean that the landlord would have to improve his buildings to earn money, economically speaking he'd be earning 'interest' on the 'capital' (building) he has leased out. Because the landlord already sets his price at what the market will bear, an increase on the land value will not increase the ability of the market to bear higher prices, and will not raise the tenant's rent.

Higher taxes on land values mean a higher carrying cost for underbuilt property. As such, in urban and suburban areas, landlords are incented to improve their property, providing more and better quality housing units for sale or rental. Underbuilt is a relative term: in a CBD, a single storey strip mall or a paved parking lot is probably underbuilt, in a more rural area, with lower land values, nothing might be considered underbuilt. Additionally, as more urban sites become available, sprawl pressure on rural sites is reduced.

Refitting, Renovating, or Replacing buildings is expensive, and is made more so by taxation, inflated inspection fees, etc. Reducing these taxes would increase the rate of building & renovation, increase the demand for building materials and components, and increase employment in manufacturing, delivery, construction, and installation.

Shifting local property taxes off of buildings and on to land means more buildings, lower housing costs, and more homeownership. In most jurisdictions, a shift might look something like a change from a 1% rate on all property to a 0.5% rate against buildings and a 3% rate against land.

[skids]

5. Landlords...

...some of them rent "utilities included." Maybe policy should encourage this, as it gives them additional incentive.

Perhaps reducing the tax on "rental income" and moving it to property might also make sense for the reasons you outlined. Or reducing "rental income" taxes when utilities are included.

[grasswire]

11. what do you mean by....

..."electric spot heating"?

Do you mean using a plug-in heater? Please explain.

[Porcupine]

17. Use electric mattress pads- cheap and effective.

These are pads that you put over your mattress and under your sheets. They cost very little on a per day cost. You can heat the bed and be comfortable sitting or laying on it in a cold room. It also allows you to turn the heat in the apartment down or off at night.

[skids]

4. Examples...

...tips for renters are good. But more what I meant is ideas for simple, self contained local initiatives. Here's a couple examples:

1) Partner with a local utility company to dollar-match private donations and coordinate adding a "home energy auditor/specialist" program to a local vocational school (a field which is in demand.)

2) Set up a fund that guarantees steady fallback work for home energy auditors during slow periods through a door-to-door canvassing campaign that offers on-the-spot audits and advice -- perhaps distributing CF bulbs and perhaps training a neighborhood-local apprentice.

3) Set up a microcredit operation with billing support from a local utility -- power savings from appliance improvements applied to the loan.

[Digit]

6. Ask your landlord to participate

If you are at all handy, asking your landlord to pay for materials to weatherstrip your doors, etc might be an option.
In return, they can write off the materials, and you as the tenant will reap the benefits of lower utility bills.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

7. There's a new group started

"Frugal and Energy Efficient Living Group".

Since it's a group you have to be a donor to post, but anyone can read the threads.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=353
best

[wwcsmd]

8. It's expensive to be poor

It's expensive to be poor.

(Energy costs being just one way it happens.)

Hi, poor renter here! I live in an older apartment with economical rent and crap energy efficiency. So the thread title caught my eye. I've been getting kinda worried about this winter, thinking about what I could do. The gas bills were already not pretty last winter. I thought about just heating one room, and started looking into space heaters, radiators. I even thought, hey, I don't really even have to heat a whole room, just me, I could just get an electric blanket and an extension cord and wear that around the house.

This summer, my electric bills hit an all-time high, $120 a month, oww. It's the south so yeah, I do use the AC. But, the apartment's not that big. Guess it didn't help that I've been unemployed so I was home a lot more than usual (heh, another way being poor can cost more.) But still, that's a crazy amount for a little apartment. (Admittedly, right now when I see a high bill the main thing I see is a high dollar amount I'm scared I won't be able to pay, but I do care that it also means too much energy was used.)

So, these are some of the (note: free) things I tried to lower my bills: Blankets hung over leaky windows; Closed the air ducts in and the doors to the bath and bedrooms so I was only cooling the main room; Lowered the temp of the water heater; Raised the temp of the fridge; Switched off circuit breakers when electricity was not actually needed (PS I have no idea if that one's actually a good idea or not.)

It was a friend who suggested turning down the water heater. I've been living here for 10 freakin years, living with (and paying for!) (um, and wasting energy to heat!) scalding hot water, and didn't know I could change it by just opening the utility door and turning a dial -- Doh! And I'm usually a tinkerer too, I mean, I've winged rewiring lamps and lightswitches even though I'd never studied electricity. I guess I never investigated the water heater because it kinda scared me. You say "gas-heated," I hear "potential to explode." While I'm admitting my Natural Gas Appliance Ignorance... I mainly only noticed the water heater when I'd hear it cranking up after hot water use. I'd said yes, it's a good thing we turned it down now, but then, it wasn't all that wasteful was it, since that meant I'd also had to use less hot water to make a warm bath, etc. My friend pointed out that not only did it have to heat the water scalding hot in the first place, it also had to *keep* heating it so that it stayed scalding hot. However long it sat there. Again, me, doh! (Yes, I have had a cup of coffee before and should have been able to extrapolate. :p)) Say, I didn't think I had any ideas regarding conservation programs for poor/renting people, but, here ya go -- Get the message out that people can turn down their hot water heaters! :) But, then, I may have been the only person who didn't already know that. :)

"Even if you have $400 or so, you aren't allowed to replace a window (and can only get the landlord to do it if it is badly damaged, and then only if you are lucky.)"

One of mine has had a (small) crack for months, I think a bird hit it. I mentioned it to the landlord at the time, but, oh well. I can put some tape on it.

"Heck you can hardly afford to "invest" in a compact fluorescent lightbulb -- every dollar is stretched."

Hey, I was thinking about that just recently, I planned that as soon as I have some money again I want to invest in compact fluorescents for the whole house.

But, yeah, poor people priority is more like 1) try to get X dollars by day Y so utility Z doesn't get cut off 2) try to make the $3 worth of gas you put in the car last all week by avoiding all unnecessary trips ("I know it's Bob's birthday party, but that's a TWO mile drive!") 3) hope to have enough grocery money this week so you can splurge and get a 2-liter soda too 4) Then, if you have another dollar left, you might buy a box of 4/$1 lightbulbs to replace the 3 in the den that are burnt out.

[skids]

9. Depending on the age of your AC...

...You might want to start a little piggybank now to replace it by next summer, if it is yours. At $120/mo for summer use of one apartment, I would bet that's the main user -- that's what we pay here on a bad month, in a house with 3 adults, a dehumidifier that runs too much, an old refrigerator, and a few always-on computers I've been meaning to replace with old laptops to save power -- though we don't use AC.

Try to figure out the SEER rating of your AC and compare with this chart to see how much you'd save:



...and add a fan to circulate the air indoors -- it will feel cooler.

[grasswire]

10. welcome to DU

...and thanks for the commentary. We're all in this together.

[LiberalEsto]

12. The US Dept. of Energy has a weatherization program

for low-income families. I am not sure if it includes renters as well as homeowners, but here is a link:

http://www.eere.energy.gov/weatherization/

[aztc]

13. Closely related thread

Save 20% to 50% right now!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x34641

[aztc]

14. Rubber Eggs

http://Drive55.org

[Dead_Parrot]

15. Buy a sweater? nt

[philb]

16. Personal weatherization & E. Eff. lights are cost effective for all

and go to the library and look through Mother EArth News for a lot of low cost, cost effective measures to save money , etc.