Building Efficiency First - Renewable Energy Second

Renewable Energy is slowly gaining ground as the cost of the systems start to come down which is a wonderful thing, but in a number of installations I have seen the solar generation (which is still costly to install) is wasted since the building or home that it was installed on are still highly inefficient. So you have to ask if solar energy is being applied in an effective manner.

In my opinion, the first step for anyone looking at applying renewable energy is to first assess the building and home that the renewable energy will be applied to and make sure there isn't any low hanging fruit available to save energy. For those who don't know, low hanging fruit are items that are low cost with large energy reduction impacts. An example would be upgrading lighting from fluorescent/incandescent to LED. Doing this will result in a 50% reduction in lighting load and LED lighting is cheaper to install and the cost of product has reduced significantly. So before investing in Renewable Energy it would be best to invest in LED lighting or an upgraded air conditioning unit.

To apply renewable energy sources on an inefficient building seems counterproductive since that energy production is only offsetting a poorly operating building/home. Once those low cost, high impact items are complete the required size of the renewable energy grid or turbine can be reassessed and sized to the needs of an efficient building. This will result in reduced cost for installation and greater impact as you strive for a net zero outcome.

So if you have installed or are looking to install renewable energy make sure you have taken advantage of those low cost high impact energy saving items first. Once you reduce your base load you can then properly size the renewable energy plant for the greatest benefit.