Almost every product and service we rely on today is manufactured with or transported by some amount of fossil fuels. Of course, the most important thing we can do to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels is to use less. However, when you do make a purchase, we encourage you to shop for energy-smart products that use less energy.

Here at CEC, we're all about energy-smart products that help us move towards a fossil-free lifestyle and a fossil-free future for Santa Barbara.

Last time, you heard about Michael's favorite LED lightbulb and today, we're hearing from Eileen Daley, CEC's Accounting Specialist and lifelong clothesline owner.

Favorite eco-product: Brabantia Lift-O-Matic All Weather Rotary Dryer – clothesline for outdoor air-drying
Price: $149.97
Owned it for: 5 months

I've been hanging my clothes on a clothesline to dry for years. Clothes dryers are one of the most energy intensive appliances in a household, and all that energy's not cheap or environmentally responsible. Not only that, but I like to air dry my clothes because they smell fresh from the breeze without having to use dryer sheets. Nothing quite beats sliding into sheets that have been hung in the sun!

Recently, my trusty clothesline of 22 years came apart and I needed a new one. I enlisted some help from my friend Mike, a retired engineer and all-around genius who likes to build things.

My favorite part of the old line was that it had two straight lines close enough together that you could hang items on both lines for maximum drying. I was hoping he could build a similar one for me. A couple of days later Mike brought me the "plans" for my new clothesline. I was expecting some sketches, but instead he brought me a print out from Amazon for an "umbrella like clothesline".

Needless to say, I was skeptical. I've used clotheslines my entire life and have never used one like this. But I trust him, so I went for it. The install went faster than I would have ever imagined – all it took was a couple of hits with a sledgehammer and POOF it was up and running.

Now that I have been using this clothesline for the last 5 months I have to admit it has surpassed anything I could have asked for or thought possible in a clothesline.

It holds just as much as my old lines did and the rotation component really dries things faster with a little breeze. The best part is I can collapse the line (like an umbrella) and bring it inside when I'm not using it. This has opened up the backyard in a way I never would have expected. I no longer have to remind my tall friends at a BBQ to duck under the lines, and can enjoy my cup of tea and look into the backyard with an unobstructed view.

I have since called Mike and thanked him profusely for convincing me that this is the next big thing! I am happy to once again be living my simple life. Now, maybe I can get Mike to build me a new fence....

You can get a clothesline of your own at CEC's Amazon Store in the Gadgets section. We hope you'll find an idea to inspire you.

Did you miss one of our favorite things? Catch up and read them all in Our Favorite Things blog category.

Stay tuned to hear from our next CEC staffer, Kathi King, about her favorite energy-smart product.

CEC's annual Solar SUNday event is this weekend – Sunday, July 17, from 11 am to 4 pm at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. Why should you add it to your calendar?

1. Tons of solar information, all in one spot.
   With energy prices continuing to rise, the time to go solar is now. You don't have to go hunting around Santa Barbara for the information you need. It all comes together for you at Solar SUNday. Attend a workshop, talk to some installers and ask the experts all your questions.
   
   
2. Electric vehicles are making an appearance.
   The new Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf will be at Solar SUNday. Some Santa Barbara residents are plugging their electric vehicles into their home solar panels and are driving on sunshine – imagine the possibilities!
   
   
3. Kids love this event.
   We're offering two art projects and a Chumash storyteller, who will be telling Sun Stories throughout the day.
   
   
4. Museum is FREE all day, and the butterflies are back!
   Admission to the Museum is free all day, thanks to the CEC and our sponsors. Solar SUNday is the perfect opportunity to visit the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History's "Butterflies Alive!" exhibit – one of the most popular exhibits. Visitors stroll through a beautiful atrium with more than 1,000 free-flying butterflies fluttering around.

CEC's Solar SUNday introduces our community to the resources and experts in Santa Barbara that can help make our buildings, and lives, healthier and prosperous.

RSVP to the event on Facebook...

Watch this video from Solar SUNday 2009:

Cynthia Copeland is a dentist who attended Earth Day 2011 as an exhibitor. Her practice, Whole Health Dentistry, uses an amalgam separator to remove up to 98% of the mercury from their water waste, which prevents contaminating waste water systems that would be re-consumed through our drinking water, air, and soil.

During the festival, Cynthia took a break from her booth to walk around, and met up with some exhibitors who were encouraging about eating local foods. As the mother of two growing girls, her family goes through a lot of fresh veggies. Although she typically attended the Saturday farmer’s market to buy produce for the weekend, she still needed to make several trips to the store during the week.

Could organic vegetables last as long as conventionally grown produce? She was skeptical, but decided to experiment.  On her next trip to the Saturday market, she took three bags instead of one. Her objective was to buy for the whole week and spend close to what she normally would at the grocery store - but buying fresh and local instead.

When she got there, she took the opportunity to talk to the farmers who grew the food. She asked them specifically about how to purchase fruits and vegetables in the right stage so they would ripen throughout the week. She bought dairy, fruits and vegetables, and learned how to best store her purchases to keep them fresh longer. Rinse or no?  Refrigerate or no?

Cynthia and her family made it all the way to Thursday with her purchases from Saturday – success!

The produce from the farmer’s market lasted even longer than the conventional produce, and everything she purchased from the local vendors was crisp, tasty, and fresh with little effort. Plus, she didn’t need to drive back and forth to the store multiple times a week.

Conventionally grown produce can travel across many countries, states, and cities before finally arriving in Santa Barbara. That travel consumes a lot of energy. Not only that, but shopping farmer’s markets helps support our own local economy.  Join Cynthia and try it out for yourself!

Find the schedule and seasonal recipies on the Santa Barbara Farmer's Market Website or connect with them on their Facebook Page.

Almost every product and service we rely on today is manufactured with or transported by some amount of fossil fuels. Of course, the most important thing we can do to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels is to use less. However, when you do make a purchase, we encourage you to shop for energy-smart products that use less energy.

Here at CEC, we're all about energy-smart products that help us move towards a fossil-free lifestyle and a fossil-free future for Santa Barbara.

Last time, you heard about Michelle’s favorite reusable bags, and today, we're hearing from Michael Chiacos, CEC's Transportation Specialist. We hope you'll find an idea to inspire you.

Favorite eco-product: Pharox LED Bulb
Price: $29.99
Owned it for: 8 months

Some of you may have heard about LED light bulbs, which are the most efficient lighting available (twice as efficient as a CFL, around 10 times more efficient than an incandescent). The problem is that they’ve been quite expensive, and light quality wasn’t as good as incandescent bulbs.

Now there is a new generation of LED light bulbs just hitting the market that are less expensive. I’ve been trying out a few of them and have been quite impressed with the Pharox line of LED bulbs, which dim smoothly and have a color rendering quite similar to an incandescent. They only use 6 watts to light an area comparable to a 60 watt incandescent, and are just slightly warm to the touch. Apparently they last 35 times as long as an incandescent, so if you have any light bulbs that you need to get a ladder out to change, this bulb might be what you are looking for.

I also have their Pharox Flame bulb, which produces a very yellow/orange light. On the reviews many people didn’t like this, but I find it makes a great ambient light to put in a bedroom or any other table lamp where you just want enough light to see, but not to read by.

In my mind, LED bulbs are now ready for primetime, though they are pretty expensive at $29/bulb. If the bulb does really last 35 times longer than an incandescent, there is quite a bit of savings - you could save $200-$300 over the decades. They also make a great house “cooling” gift. A friend gave me one 8 months ago upon moving into my new place and now I have a bunch of them!

Stay tuned to hear from our next CEC staffer, Eileen Daley, about her favorite energy-smart product.

Almost every product and service we rely on today is manufactured with or transported by some amount of fossil fuels. Of course, the most important thing we can do to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels is to use less. However, when you do make a purchase, we encourage you to shop for energy-smart products that use less energy.

Here at CEC, we're all about energy-smart products that help us move towards a fossil-free lifestyle and a fossil-free future for Santa Barbara.

Last time, you heard about Sigrid's favorite water bottle and today, we're hearing from Michelle Kitson, CEC's Online Marketing Coordinator. We hope you'll find an idea to inspire you.

Favorite eco-product: Chico Bag - It’s a reusable bag that stuffs into a 3”x 4” pouch.
Price: $5.99 each
Owned it for: 3 years

I love my Chico Bags.

I bought my first Chico Bag with the intention of using it for grocery shopping. I was frustrated with the amount of plastic bags I would carry home from the store every week and wanted to make a change. Before the Chico Bag, I was using ~720 plastic bags every year. Here's the math:

Grocery Bags = 6 bags/week (double-bagged) = 12 bags/week
                          + Miscellaneous Bags = 3 bags/week                       

Total of 15 bags/week, 60 bags/month, 720 bags/year. Yowza!

Although I knew reusable bags would displace much of my plastic bag use, I dreaded having to remember my bags. What if I forgot them and what if I didn’t have enough? As it turns out, all the benefits outweighed my worries. Making that small change was way better than I thought.

• You can carry a ton of groceries (25 pound capacity!) in just one bag. I live in an upstairs apartment so I used to get everything double bagged to prevent a torn bag disaster. Now I just need one bag and it’s not plastic.
• The polyester fabric handles are much more comfortable than plastic bag handles cutting into your fingers.
• They are super compact so I can carry them everywhere.
• I ended up using them for everything. Grocery stores aren’t the only places that give you plastic bags. I use them for clothes shopping, the drug store, the copy shop, carrying my yarn to craft night… everything.

I’m definitely a reusable bag convert.

You can get a Chico Bag of your own or a different type of reusable bag at CEC’s Amazon Store in the Reusable Bag section. If you find something you like, a percentage of your purchase comes back to CEC.

Stay tuned to hear from our next CEC staffer, Michael Chiacos, about his favorite light bulb.

This month marks our one year solar power anniversary. Am I still a happy solar camper? You betcha!

Based on my calculations from the last year, we generated 555 kWh more than what we used. That's right -- we generated an extra half a megawatt hour. In the previous year we consumed 8,561 kWh. The year before that, 9,260 and before that, 9,779 (so year over year our consumption was decreasing as we became more energy conscious). For more information on kWh check out: http://www.carbonlighthouse.com/2010/08/kwh-vs-kw/

Enough KWH... How much money did I save?

We saved $1,357 dollars in the last year on electricity. Yes, we "paid" less than 20 bucks for electricity for the entire year. ("Paid" because our last bill ended up becoming a credit so we've been working off that credit.) We're now down to -$117, i.e. at 2 bucks or less we might not be paying a bill for a long while.

And guess what? The California Assembly passed a bill which was signed in 2009 (AB920) where we're going to be paid BACK by the Electric company for that extra 555 kWh we generated. Yep, we're going to bill the electric company! We just got a letter this week saying they are trying to figure this out... so we're not running off to Vegas with our extra cash just yet.

Upfront and Ongoing Costs

Upfront cost was $29K. After a $6.5k rebate from SoCal Edison we paid $23K out of pocket. This year we filed for our energy tax credit, which went smooth as silk. A 30% credit on the cost of the panels and installation (after the rebate from SCE).

$29,000 (Upfront Cost) - $6,500 (SCE Rebate) - $7,000 (energy tax credit) = $16,100 end cost

And an important point is we own these panels. They are ours forever. If we move, we can take them with us. Also, since we own them, they are officially an asset and increase the value of the house a good deal (either when sold or if we ever rent it out).

The only future project cost is that the inverter (which converts the DC from the panels into AC for the house) will need to be replaced in 10 years or so. Currently those run a couple grand. Who knows how much they'll cost in 10 years - hopefully less given that there should be a high volume.

Lessons Learned

In the end, it looks like we may have over-provisioned (i.e. got too many panels). Our installer offered a number of options (14, 16, 18 panels, etc.) and great guidance, but in the end it was up to me and I erred on the side of over vs. under and picked 18.

The goal is not to generate more. Or even 100%. The goal is to generate 80-90%. To generate enough to keep you in Tier 1, or worse case, Tier 2. Look at my bills below. You can see that I actually was charged less during months when we didn't over generate (by a dollar... but still). And fewer panels means much faster ROI.

Other tidbits

• We got a recall notice from SunPower (the Solar Panel manufacture/provider) for an inverter. That freaked me out and so I contacted our installer and they were Johnny-on the-spot. They replied right back that it wasn't actually my inverter, that SunPower sent a blanket letter to everyone of their customers, no matter what inverter they had. And they gave me the tips to prove that to my own satisfaction.
• We continued to have a great relationship with our installer, Sun Pacific Solar Electric, Inc. These guys kept in touch, checking in every so often and responding very quickly to any questions I had. And their work has so far stood the test of time.
• Keeping the panels clean is a little bit of a chore. Given our semi-arid environment, with constant winds, the panels get dusty during the summer/fall. All it takes is a quick spray every couple weeks to clean them, but still a little bit of pain. (Lucky they are uber-easy for us to get at)'
• After a session of some heavy rain and serious winds, there's no leaks, drips or roof issues. Yeah! :)

Now some eye candy.

This is from the solar panel company for the past year. Kind of neat that you can watch how much you generate over the day/week/year. If you're a new solar panel owner, you hit this site about every 10 minutes or so! But once the blush wears off, we've been checking it out every couple weeks. And what's nice is that if "something happens" like a sudden drop off in generation, they will send an email to our installers to let them know something is up. Like a tree grows and begins to shadow the panels, etc.

Here's our electric bill from the year before our panels (2009-2010); And this past year (2010-2011);

(See where the months we didn't over generate we were actually charged less? I had to laugh at that...)

So in the end would I do it again? In a minute. Even with all the credits, savings, rebates, etc, payback is still 7-10 years, so they are not a short term investment. If you plan to keep the property, they will pay off nicely in the long term. Think about how great they would be when on a fixed income/retirement!

We've been nothing but happy and the future is looking even brighter...

Read more about the Duncan Family's solar installation on Greg's blog:

• Solar Panel Installation - We're cooking with Solar!
• Solar Panel Installation Update - The Two-Dollar Electric Bill
• Solar Panel Update - Solar Power in the Southern California Winter - the $1 electric bill
• Our year in the sun... with solar power... (Original version of this post)

For more information on how you can go solar this summer, read more about Solarize Santa Barbara.

Almost every product and service we rely on today is manufactured with or transported by some amount of fossil fuels. Of course, the most important thing we can do to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels is to use less. However, when you do make a purchase, we encourage you to shop for energy-smart products that use less energy to produce.

Here at CEC, we're all about energy-smart products that help us move towards a fossil-free lifestyle and a fossil-free future for Santa Barbara. This is the first in a series of blog posts from CEC staff and supporters about their favorite eco-smart products and we hope you'll find an idea to inspire you.

Today, we're hearing from Sigrid Wright, CEC's Assistant Director.

There are very few "things" in the world that I would say I love, but this Lifefactory bottle is one of them. In the process of trying to solve one problem that had been bugging me for a while, this product helped me resolve a whole other issue.

My original problem was that I wanted to get away from plastic water bottles as much as possible. There's just so much wrong with them (e.g. that we use 17 million barrels of oil a year in the U.S. just to transport water bottles from one place to the next).

However, I don't like the taste of drinking out of stainless steel containers, or even reusable BP-free plastic bottles -- so I would fill various glass bottles that had originally contained tea or Pelligrino. These worked all right, but they were hard to clean and the caps weren't very durable so half the time I wasn't motivated to carry them around. As a result I often ended up not having water when I needed it.

When a friend brought one of these Lifefactory bottles to a meeting, I immediately bought one. It has a wide mouth so it's easy to clean and add ice, and a durable screw cap with a handle. It also has a silicone protective sleeve, so I'm not afraid it will break tumbling around in my bag. (Although I did drop one full force on pavement and had to replace it.)

But the reason I love it (and why I want to put three little hearts after this post) is that I drink much more water than I did before. It's always with me, and I now drink about three full 22 oz. bottles a day. The Lifefactory bottle has now become one of my favorite presents to give friends.

You can get a Lifefactory water bottle of your own or a different type of reusable water bottle at CEC's Amazon Store in the Reusable Water Bottle section. If you find something you like, a percentage of your purchase comes back to CEC.

Stay tuned to hear from our next CEC staffer, Michelle Kitson, about her favorite reusable bag.

We’re half way through May, which means we’re half way through National Bike Month! It also means we’re well into CycleMAYnia – a month-long celebration of bicycling events in our community. Check out the CycleMAYnia event page for the events going on through the end of the month.

CEC is celebrating by participating in Traffic Solutions’ Bike Challenge -- a friendly competition with five-member teams making round-trips by bike instead of by car. Team members log the days they bike on their online Commute Calendar. Each team must have two “converts” to qualify for prizes (a convert is someone who doesn’t normally bike for transportation). Each team gets a chance to win prizes and the highly sought-after title of Bike Challenge Champs.

This sort of thing is right up CEC’s alley. We gathered 5 CEC staffers to form an unstoppable team – the Clean Energy Crusaders. We’ve got:

• Megan “cute cruiser” Birney [Advocate]
• Michael “I do this for a living” Chiacos [Advocate]
• Eileen “lifelong biker” Daley [Advocate]
• Christa “mighty Mom” Backson [Convert]
• Michelle “I’m new here” Kitson [Convert]

Together, we’re a force to be reckoned with. At the close of week 1, we logged over 100 miles of bike commutes!

If you’re bike commuting to celebrate Bike Month too, check out CEC’s Amazon Store. We’ve packed it full of the type of bike accessories that we love. Plus, if you see something you like and you buy it through CEC’s Amazon site, a percentage of your purchase will come back to CEC – quite an earth friendly purchase.

We’ll see you out in the bike lanes!

Solarize Santa Barbara makes it easier and cheaper to go solar. CEC’s Solarize Santa Barbara is a new group-purchasing discount program for homeowners who want to go solar – kind of like a “Groupon” for solar panels. CEC does all the up-front work and makes it easy for you to go solar. When you participate in Solarize Santa Barbara, CEC will connect you with a pre-approved solar contractor who will give you a great value for a great solar power system.

Get started by attending an introductory workshop.

We’ll explain the benefits of buying in bulk with your neighbors, describe how to participate, and provide an introduction to the Solarize Santa Barbara program. Workshops will cover the basics of energy efficiency and solar, with plenty of time for you to ask questions.

Highlights include:

• Introduction to Energy Efficiency
• Basics of Solar Energy
• Financing Solar

RSVP on Facebook for the Santa Barbara Workshop and follow our Facebook Page for program updates.

If you are one of the 38,000 people who attended Earth Day 2011 or one of the hundreds of exhibitors/sponsors, we want to hear from you! What were the highlights? Do you have any suggestions for next year?

The results for this survey get entered into our report and are used in the planning of Earth Day 2012. Once you've finished the survey, forward it along to your friends too! Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

During Earth Day this year we launched a text donation campaign to raise money for the Earth Day Festival. Each person who texted a donation was entered into a drawing for a stylin' beach cruiser. In fact, if you were one of the 38,000 people who had a blast at the festival this year you can still text a donation to support it for next year - text "Earth" to 50555 to make a $10 donation.

Now that the Earth Day dust has settled, we randomly drew our lucky winner. Congratulations to Kelly Cote from Montecito! Not only did he support CEC with a text donation but Kelly was also one of our hard-working volunteers at Earth Day this year.

Plus, he is a student at Santa Barbara High School and loves to refill his reusable water bottle at the refilling stations there. Those refilling stations are part of a CEC project called "Rethink the Drink" which aims to reduce consumption of plastic water bottles by 75% during this school year.

Kelly is certainly doing his part - keep it up and enjoy your new cruiser!

Many thanks go out to Isla Vista Bike Boutique who generously donated a bike from their shop.

And most of all, many many thanks go out to all of you who texted a donation this year. The Earth Day Festival would certainly not be possible year after year without your support - Powered by the People!

Spend an exciting evening with celebrities, fellow filmmakers and fans at the Green Shorts Film Festival – Thurday, April 14, 6 – 9p.m. at the Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido. Come for the door prizes, stay for the after party. Tickets are $10 for the film screening and $20 for films plus the reception party – buy online at lobero.com or at the door.

This year’s film festival – and Earth Day Festival – theme is Powered by the People. Catch short films produced by talented locals – compelling and pragmatic solutions, and entertaining commentaries, on energy independence, sustainability, and a green future.

Check out the best of last year’s Green Shorts on Facebook. If you can’t make the Green Carpet, see a selection of Green Shorts at the Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival next weekend, April 16 & 17 at Alameda Park.