December 2008 Power Lines Newsletter

Download a PDF file of the newsletter

In this issue

• Keep Winter Heating Bills in Check
• Simple, Free Ways to Lower Energy Bills
• Marathon Water Heaters
• Generator Transfer Switches
• No Power?
• How Efficient is Your Home?
• Rebates, Tax Credits for ENERGY STAR Qualified Appliances

Keep Winter Heating Bills In Check

As the temperature drops, heating costs rise. Our Energy Experts are here to help you find ways to reduce your heating costs by making energy efficiency  improvements to your home. Here are a few examples:

• Increasing the amount of insulation in your attic, walls and floor can greatly decrease heat loss.
• Upgrading to energy efficient windows can reduce your heating and cooling bill by as much as 15%
• Caulking and weather stripping around doors and windows, and sealing around plumbing penetrations can minimize heat loss.
• Having your central heating system’s duct work tested and sealed can reduce heat loss by as much as 30%.
• Installing a heat pump system will lower winter heating bills and provide summer air conditioning.

Loans & rebates available

We offer rebates for qualifying efficiency improvements, including insulation
upgrades, window replacement, duct sealing and heat pump installations. Our Community Partners Loan Program provides low-interst loans for qualifying
energy efficiency improvements.

For more information

To learn more, call our Energy Experts at (503) 366-5470 or visit www.crpud.net.

Simple, Free Ways to Lower Your Energy Bills

• Turn your thermostat down a few degrees. Set it even lower when you are away or asleep.
• Set your water heater at 120° (140° if you have a dishwasher without a heating unit).
• Take shorter showers. Showers can account for 2/3 of your water heating costs.
• Only run your dishwasher when it’s full. Use the ‘energy-saver’ mode if there is one.
• Turn the lights off when you leave a room.
•  Replace burned out light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs, which use much less electricity.
• Caulk or weather-strip around all exterior openings.
• Keep drapes closed at night to keep heat in.
• Keep your fireplace damper closed when your fireplace is not in use. (Wait several hours after the fire dies.)

Get Into Hot Water...  and Stay There for a Lifetime!

Ordinary water heaters last 10 to 15 years. Their metal tanks corrode over time and
eventually leak, leaving you with a messy cleanup.

That’s why you should choose a lifetime warrantied Marathon® water heater. Marathon water heaters have durable plastic tanks and will never corrode, rust or leak. They also have extra insulation, making them the most energy-efficient water heaters on the market.

We offer $250 rebates and 0% financing on Marathon water heaters. To learn more, contact our Energy Experts at (503) 366-5470 or visit www.crpud.net.

No Power?

1. Check your electric meter.  If there are numbers on the display, then the problem is within your home.  If the display is blank, your power is out and you should contact us to report it.  
2. Call our Outage Hotline to report the outage: (503) 397-1844
3. Turn off all electric heaters, water heaters and cooking equipment at the breaker or fuse panel.  When power is restored, you can turn these back on one at a time, in 15-minute intervals. 
4.  Unplug sensitive electronic equipment such as computers, TVs & stereos to prevent damage from voltage surges or spikes when power is restored.

Generator Transfer Switches - Convenient & Safe

If you own a standby generator, always connect it to your home’s wiring with a properly installed transfer switch.

Standby generators make life easier during power outages, but if used improperly, they can be deadly. During an outage, electricity from your generator can back feed the power lines, killing or seriously injuring our line crews who are working to repair the lines.

A transfer switch stops back feeding, and also makes using your generator much more convenient, allowing appliances to be operated much like when the power is turned on.

We offer GenerLink Transfer Switch Service for $7.95 a month. GenerLink can be
installed by a PUD service man in about an hour.

If you have questions or would like more information about GenerLink Transfer
Switches, contact our Energy Experts at (503) 366-5470 or experts@crpud.org,
or visit www.crpud.net and click on Safety & Outages.

How Efficient is Your Home?

Is your home an energy hog? You can find out by taking the free home energy evaluation on our website. This simple questionnaire takes about 20 minutes to complete and identifies potential energy-saving opportunities in
your home. Visit www.crpud.net to take the evaluation.

If you’d like a more thorough review of your home’s energy use, you may also request a free in-home energy evaluation. Your heating fuel determines which
organization will provide the evaluation:

If you heat with electricity:

We offer free in-home energy evaluations and a variety of rebate programs for efficiency improvements.
Phone: (503) 366-5470
Web: www.crpud.net

If you heat with gas:

The Energy Trust of Oregon offers free home energy reviews and cash incentives for efficiency improvements.
Phone: (866) 368-7878
Web: www.energytrust.org

If you heat with other fuels:

The Oregon Department of Energy offers efficiency improvement rebates for oil, propane, kerosene, butane, or wood-heated homes.
Phone: (800) 221-8035
Web: www.oregon.gov/energy

Rebates, Tax Credits for ENERGY STAR Qualified Appliances

We offer rebates for ENERGY STAR qualified clothes washers, dishwashers and refrigerators. Rebate amounts are as follows:

• Clothes washer with electric hot water heater - $75
• Clothes washer with gas, propane or oil hot water heater - $25
• Dishwasher - $25
• Refrigerator or Freezer - $25

To learn more, contact our Energy Experts at (503) 366-5470 or experts@crpud.org.

Tax credits also available

The state of Oregon also offers tax credits on energy-efficient appliances ranging from $60 to $180. Their qualification standards differ slightly from ours - for more information visit http://www.oregon.gov/energy.