29:31, hosted by Mark Sommer, produced by Chuck Rogers.
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ARCATA EYE, August 5, 2003
By REBECCA BENDER
From the outside, Michael Winkler's home at the corner of 12th and K streets looks much like any other Arcata house. Several solar panels - a common-enough sight - line the roofs of the house and garage. An unremarkable blue shell on the side of the house covers a ground-source heat pump, identifiable as such only by a colorful sign on the fence. But unobtrusive though they may be, the panels and pump represent a remarkable level of energy efficiency and low-impact living.
"I want to use the most renewable, sustainable, energy efficient sources I can," Winkler explained. "Sources more secure than fighting for them in the Middle East." With his recent addition of eight more solar panels and a ground-source heat pump to his home, he's taken one more step towards that goal.
Though Arcata's sunlight can be sporadic, solar panels take advantage of the sun whenever it is out, sending excess electricity back to Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E). "Basically it runs the meter backwards," Winkler said, creating a credit with PG&E which can be used as needed.
The addition of eight solar panels brings the total number of panels in use at Winkler's home to 16. The original eight have been in use for two years, with four producing all the house's electricity and four running the water heater, which draws heat out of the air and works about four times as efficiently as a regular water heater.
The newest eight solar panels, installed by local energy technician Roger, provide the electricity to run the geothermal heat pump.
The ground-source pump, like most heat pumps, works simply by pulling heat out of one source --in this case, the earth--and pumping it into another area--Winkler's home. "It's much more efficient to move heat around than it is to create it," Winkler said.
Crystal Air, a plumbing, heating and air conditioning contractor in Weaverville, installed the pump. "The ground-source pump's applications are pretty much unlimited," explained Reno McFadden of Crystal Air. "The technology has been around since 1940--it's a proven technology." Pumps can be installed as indoor or outdoor units, with vertical of horizontal pipes. The pipes' life expectancy of about 150 years means that once a pump is installed, very little maintenance is needed.
Winkler's geothermal pump uses a standard compressor and two polyethylene pipes drilled down to a depth of 150 feet. The need for such a depth is dictated by the small size of Winkler's yard, which limits the available space from which to draw heat and have it replaced efficiently. In a more roomy setting, shallower pipes would work just as well.
About eight feet below the earth's surface, the heat is relatively constant, making the ground an excellent source for consistent heat energy. On a night when the temperature drops to 32 degrees, for example, the ground will remain right around 58 degrees.
The geothermal pump compressor also works in reverse as an air conditioner, making it an especially cost effective device in a climate with extreme heat and cold fluctuations. "There's no place that a pump won't fit, from the Arctic Circle to the tropics," McFadden said. "After the initial installation, it pays for itself."
At a cost of approximately $12,000 to install, the initial outlay for a ground-source heat pump is a daunting prospect for many, especially in comparison to a regular furnace, which may cost $3,000 to $4,000. The long-term savings add up, however and for Winkler, the desire to use the most sound energy sources made the investment worthwhile, and the combination of energy-efficient measures already in use in his house made it practical.
"In the back of my mind, I'd been aware these existed for years," Winkler said. After doing some research, he decided that it was an option he'd like to explore. "For each form of energy I use," he explained, "I look at every available, feasible option."
Winkler's fascination with renewable resources started with recycling. "In the late '80's I got the bug," he said. From recycling, he found it was an easy transition into exploring energy sources.
In the March 1998 issue of Scientific American, an article called, "The End of Cheap Oil," predicting a worldwide decline in oil production, caught Winkler's eye. "This was really a pivotal article," he said. "Carter's idea of living within limits wasn't very popular, but he was right: We just can't continue the wasteful ways we have now."
Winkler has worked at Humboldt State University's Schatz Energy Research Lab sin 1997. He's currently working with HSU students on the Energy Independence Fund, a plan to produce all electricity from renewable sources.
Winkler estimates he's spent about $32,000 altogether on solar panels, double-paned windows, insulation and other preparation and installation costs in the three years he's owned his house. "It saves about $600 a year on the electrical bill," he said. Laughing, he added, "So it's about a 50-year investment."
In addition to the personal benefits, however, Winkler's sustainable lifestyle makes an invaluable contribution on a local, community level and ultimately, on a global scale. He produces only one can of trash per year uses a solar cooker and retained heat cookers (which, incidentally keep his gas costs down to about $4 per year) and is a member of Redwood Roots Farm, a community supported agriculture collective.
Of course, he continues to explore additional use of renewable energy, from heat pump dryers to transportation. Among other projects always in the works, he's "mulling over" the possibility of a battery electric car that could even derive its battery energy from solar power.
Roger commented, "This is probably one of the most diversified households in the area in terms of its energy-efficiency measures." Winkler emphasizes that being energy efficient is something everyone can achieve without making drastic changes or compromises in comfort.
"What I want is to be a model," Winkler explained. "Yes, one way of saving energy is to be uncomfortable. But it isn't necessary. I want to be an example of a comfortable, middle-class life existing within the limitations of local, renewable resources."