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Politics : Rat's Nest - Chronicles of Collapse -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (2038)	8/30/2005 11:39:40 PM
From: Wharf Rat	Respond to of 24213

If Your Home Utility Bill Is Zero, Is It Still a Bill? Barry Rehfeld COOKING with Larry Schlussler at his home in Arcata, Calif., is, if not quite cool, at least incredibly efficient in its use of energy. He takes fresh ingredients out of his Sun Frost, the refrigerator he developed and manufactures, which uses far less electricity than any other brand on the market. (Its largest model costs $2,500.) He fills an electric pot, with an insulated top he made, with tap water heated to 180 degrees by thermal solar panels outside the kitchen wall. After his mix comes to a boil, he turns off the electricity to let the trapped heat in the covered pot do its work. "Perfect soup every time," said Mr. Schlussler, a native New Yorker with a Ph.D. in engineering. "And I save energy. I like that, too." In the struggle against the rising cost of energy, Mr. Schlussler is way out front. His home is a model of efficiency, and his utility bill is zero. He uses so little energy that the small solar power system on his roof provides more than enough electricity to pay back the utility for the power he uses on cloudy days and cold nights. By comparison, the average American homeowner, according to the Energy Department, spends an average of $1,820 a year on energy. Perfection in energy-efficiency, or anything close, requires a substantial investment of time, expertise and capital, all of which may be out of reach for most Americans. Still, a growing number are taking up the challenge of finding ways to get more out of less. (28 August 2005) energybulletin.net