Go Green: Energy Efficiency
Save energy, save money, save the environment
Reducing energy consumption at home and in the workplace decreases the cost of the electric bill each month, but it also reduces air and water pollution, as well as greenhouse gas emissions. Energy efficiency improvements are a key part of emissions reductions strategies.
Where does electricity come from?
Homeowners and businesses rely on electricity to power lights, electronics, and appliances, and often hot water heaters, and air conditioners. It can be generated from a variety of sources, such as fossil fuels (for example, coal, natural gas, and oil), solar panels, wind turbines, geothermal sources, and nuclear power. Although the least expensive method of generating electricity is through burning fossil fuels, it is often the most harmful to the environment. Burning fossil fuels releases many pollutants and greenhouse gases into the air, which are harmful to health and may contribute to the warming of the planet.
Save energy at home
There are many small things that can be done around the house to help save money and improve energy efficiency, like turning off the lights and adjusting the thermostat. However, one of the more effective methods of saving energy is through weatherization. This means "weatherproofing" your home to decrease indoor exposure to temperature changes, precipitation, and wind. Energize Delaware provides home energy audits to help you understand what kinds of improvements can be made in your home, as well as a number of rebates for energy efficiency upgrades to aid in this process.
Delaware's Weatherization Assistance Program has provided services that reduce energy costs by improving the energy efficiency of homes while ensuring the health and safety of families for over 40 years. This improved efficiency can reduce energy bills by up to 30%, resulting in an average household savings of $437 per year. It is estimated that for every $1 invested in weatherization, $2.50 is returned to the household and society.
Weatherization services through this program are available to low-income families, particularly those with children, elderly, disabled, and Native American occupants. The demographic information in the chart below cannot be taken as percentages because a person with disabilities may be representative of a child, elderly person, Native American, or other person under the age of 60, meaning they could be double counted and bring the total to over 100%.
Weatherization Assistance Provided
In 2017, the Weatherization Assistance Program estimated energy savings specific to Delaware homes weatherized through this program based on how the homes are heated. According to this specific method, approximately 5,086 million Btu were saved through weatherization in the 2017 program year, which is equivalent to removing 81 cars from the road.
Commercial and Industrial Savings
DNREC offers grants and low-interest loans to support non-residential energy efficiency projects through the Energy Efficiency Investment Fund (EEIF) and Energy Efficiency Industrial (E2I) Program. EEIF provides grant money and offers loans to businesses, non-profits, local governments, and state agencies to make facility upgrades that lower their energy use and costs. E2I is a new program geared toward large-scale energy consumers to encourage non-standard, full-facility energy efficiency upgrades to maximize energy savings and cost effectiveness. Improving the energy efficiency of a business helps decrease operating costs while simultaneously decreasing its carbon footprint.
The map below shows the completed EEIF grants throughout the state by senate district (teal), representative district (gold), and zip code (blue) from Fiscal Year 2017 to the present. Check a box under the layer list for the geographic distribution you want to see, then select a place on the map to see the total number of grants that have been awarded in that area as well as the amount of money this adds up to. Visit the Delaware Open Data Portal to view the Energy Efficiency Investment Fund (EEIF) Grants, FY 2017 to Present data.
In 2014, an Energy Efficiency Potential Study concluded that every $1 invested in energy efficiency could return $2.40 to Delaware’s economy. For every $1 invested in energy efficiency through EEIF in Fiscal Year 2017, $2.34 was returned to the economy in savings, aligning with the study and showing that energy efficiency is a valuable investment.
The EEIF projects at the Delaware State Fair grounds have a combined estimated electricity savings of 140,201 kilowatt hours per year and are estimated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 103.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e). To put this in more understandable terms, approximately 12 homes could be powered for an entire year with these energy and greenhouse gas emissions savings, according to EPA's Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator.
Delaware State Fair EEIF Projects
Testimonial
We noticed a substantial money and energy savings when we did the exterior lights alone... By going with the LED lights, it has helped us on our demand usage as well as helped our customers that rent our facility by reducing their electric cost, so it is a win-win for all of us. We are going to continue to use the EEIF program to try and get the rest of our buildings fitted with LED fixtures.- George Scuse, Facilities Manager, Delaware State Fair grounds
More data about EEIF projects, like those at the State Fair grounds, can be found in the Delaware Open Data Portal.
Page reviewed 5/14/19