I arrived at the Green Building by 9:30 so I could attend the first round of presentations at 10 AM. It was a good thing - they were letting anyone in on a first come, first served basis regardless of whether that person had preregistered. After signing in at the front desk, I made my way to the brunch tables in the back of the building. There was quite a bit of nice food, including bagels with various toppings, but I was only interested in the coffee. I grabbed a cup of Heine Bros and took a seat in the meeting room.
Claude Stephens, of Generation 14 & Bernheim, began the presentations. His main message was that as a society we need to change our bad habits. He distributed index cards with a nickel taped on each to visually represent the 5% of change he challenged us to make in the next year. That 5% could mean anything each attendee wished - from 5% less gasoline used to 5% more letters written to Congress.
Gary Watrous, of Watrous Associates, discussed passive solar energy. A car sitting in the sun on a cold day is one example of passive solar. The car will heat up on the inside even if the air is cold outside.
He and his company design homes that cost the same to build as conventional buildings, but less to heat and cool. The homes are super-insulated. They are made to be as tight as possible and then the homes are insulated more than the industry standard. The homes are designed so that all the major rooms are on the South side and less used areas like hallways go on the North. Radiant floors are used to store the energy and delivered via ductwork to the rest of the home.
Jeremy Coxon, of SunWind Power Systems, Inc., stressed that before a home owner thinks about solar panels, he or she should think about making the house more efficient. For each dollar spent on efficiency, you will save $3 on the cost of a system from SunWind Power Systems.
Solar water heaters are the best return on investment for a home owner. They cost between $4,000 and $8,000. These s ystems work almost too well. They can heat the water up to 180 degrees and anti scald guards need to be installed. A solar water heater reduces utility bills by 21% on average. All the systems are freeze proof and have a life expectancy of 40 years.
Photovoltaic systems can be either off grid, where no outside power is provided to the house, or grid tied, where LG&E acts as the battery. The power company then gives you a credit for energy you don't use. KY has about 2 times the solar resources of Germany and Germany is leading the world in solar investments.
He recommended participants take a look at dsireusa.org for up to date information on state incentives for alternative energies.
Since time was short, the last speaker Tom Fitzgerald, from the KY Resources Council, made only a few comments. He said that KY believes good environmental policies mean a weak economy. To help change this there are two things participants can do to help: 1. Join the Kentucky Solar Energy Society. 2. Keep in touch with the KY Sustainable Energy Alliance. Some 98% of energy in KY is based on coal and petrol.