Welcome to the new online edi-tion of the Solar Reflector. This is an exciting time for TXSES as we move to a paperless newsletter. The change is pretty dramatic for me, as I am a paper holding, paper reading kind of guy. However, we recycle paper at home and with the junk mail and magazines (who can read Home Power online?), we have a lot of paper going to the recycler. No, I do not throw away my Home Power magazines! So, it is important for the organization to make this move and for me to just get over it.

TXSES held their 2009 annual membership meeting December 13th at the Industrial Country Mar-ket near Columbus, Texas. Owner and operator, Dan Bretch, has developed a unique commercial and educational facility that runs completely off grid on a track-ing solar PV system with battery backup and rainwater harvesting. Executive Director Natalie Marquis provided a summary of 2009, a fan-tastic year highlighting the Austin

Cool House Tour, the Renewable Energy Roundup in Fredericksburg and the ASES Solar Tours in Hous-ton and San Antonio. Those same events are on the TXSES agenda for 2010, with a new venue, The Re-newable Energy Stampede, April 17 & 18th, in Salado. And our North Texas chapter, NTREG, will join the ASES Solar Tour on October 2. I want to thank those who drove to Columbus, braved the mud and enjoyed the fantastic BBQ. The board appreciates all the members who year in and year out support our activities and mission.

We welcome three incoming mem-bers to the TXSES Board of Direc-tors: Ti Mounge, Neal Turley and Leslie Shaffer, while we say thank you to departing members Brigid Shea, Jackie O’Keefe and Heidi Schrab for their generous donation of time and energy.

It is not too early to start talking to your state representatives about renewable friendly legislation for the 2011 session, coming soon

to a capital near you. Send your cards and letters to your local and regional politicos and remind them how important it is for Texas and how important it is for you. We especially need a bill that prevents homeowner associations from us-ing their architectural review com-mittees to block solar installations.

Thanks for being a member and friend of the Texas Solar Energy Society,

John GardnerTXSES Board Chairman

Chair’s Corner

Renewable Energy Stampede and Green Living Fair-Salado, TX April 17 & 18 By Laura Rice

March 2010

John Gardner, center, chats with TXSES members at the annual meeting.

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Solar ReflectorThe

The Texas Solar Energy Society and Texas Renewable Energy Industries Association are pleased to bring you the Renewable Energy Stam-pede and Green Living Fair. TXSES and TREIA are partnering with The Texas Organic Farmers and Grow-ers Association, and The Village of Salado to produce this two-day event April 17 and 18, 2010 in

Salado, TX.The Stampede will feature speak-ers, exhibits, presentations, and demonstrations, all showcasing the latest in renewable energy and green technologies. Saturdays’s keynote speaker is LaVerne Wil-liams, an architect and building ecologist from Houston. For de-cades, Mr. Williams has worked to

find better siting, design, and ma-terials in order to facilitate residen-tial building with reduced energy, lowered water consumption, more renewable resources, less toxic exposure with reduced upfront cost and long-term durability. Sunday will feature a panel discus-sion on Smart Grid federal, state, and local rebates. Both days will

TXSES is a Chapter of the American Solar Energy Society

have numerous opportunities to observe and learn about greener lifestyle choices and re-newable energy options. Look

for over 40 talks on green transporta-tion, solar PV, solar hot water, residen-tial and community wind systems, rain water collection, and organic growing and cooking demonstra-tions. Vendors in renewable energy, green building and energy efficiency fields will be there to answer your questions. The Stampede is organized by the same folks who have successfully pro-

duced 10 years of the Renewable En-ergy Roundup in Fredericksburg, TX . It is the goal of everyone involved to reach more citizens and expand the knowledge and application of renew-able resources and a green lifestyle. The beautiful and historic village of Salado, TX is proud to host this fun and informative event, which will be the largest of its kind in Central Texas. Salado, situated between Austin and Waco on I-35, is a small, easygoing town with a refreshing progressive and artistic atmosphere. There are plenty of bed and breakfasts, restau-rants, parks, art galleries, and shop-ping opportunities for patrons to enjoy during the weekend. Salado is an ideal tourist destination and visi-

tors are sure to be enchanted.The Stampede will be a family-friend-ly event with abundant learning op-portunities and activities for kids . The fair will also feature music, eco-friend-ly products, and organic food. There will definitely be something for every-one so make plans to visit Salado, TX and the Renewable Energy Stampede and Green Living Fair, April 17 and 18, 2010. For more information, contact Laura Rice at 877-376-8638 or info@renewablestampede.org. and visit www.RenewableStampede.org. We look forward to seeing you there!

Laura Rice is Co-organizer for the Salado Stampede

Stampede continued

Dear TXSES Members and Friends,

We are proud to announce the selec-tion of 13 exciting projects for the 2010 Austin Cool House Tour, June 6th, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Although it has long been our goal to find the most interesting and educational homes for our tour, this year we have reached a new pinnacle: we have a potential net zero energy home among our mix of affordable houses, remodels, and middle and high end new construction. All of them come with their own unique story. You’ll have to wait for the guidebook to read up on them and to smile as you think “that’s what I’d do, or wish I’d done.” Another change we are making is to add a “Lessons Learned” section so that homeowners can share what they would change given another chance. We hope you all will learn from their stories and advice. We look forward to another great tour and to seeing you all on June 6th.

The $15 guidebook is your ticket to the tour and will go on sale the beginning of May at the information desks of both Austin Central Markets and online at our website www.txses.org. You will also be able to preview the tour online. A limited number of guidebooks will be available at the houses on June 6th, and for those wanting to share a book, companion tickets will be on sale at the individual houses. As always, we will try to host a memorable and zero-waste event, encouraging you to bring your own water bottles to fill up at the homes, and to carpool or use bikes and buses to get from home to home. We will post the bus routes in the guidebook and on our website as soon as pos-sible. We look forward to sharing a day of learning and celebration with those who are making a real difference in the Austin community, leading by example and opening their homes for this tour. None of this would be pos-

sible without the generous support and assistance provided by our co-host, Austin Energy Green Building. Not only do they have a nationally recognized, award-winning program for educating the public at large, they also provide knowledgeable staff to help us select the best projects and stellar marketing and public relations departments to promote the tour.As always, we welcome your ques-tions, feedback and suggestions for improvement. Please e-mail us at solar@txses.org and let us know what’s on your mind!Powered by hope and sunshine,

Natalie Marquis/Executive Director TXSES

TXSES Executive Director Announces the2010 Austin Cool House Tour

2 The Solar Reflector March 2010

702-B Crestland Dr., Austin, TX

As the link crystallizes between indi-vidual energy use and its cumulative contribution to resource depletion and global warming, it is incumbent upon each of us to reshape the way we think about and use “our” electric-ity. The invisible voltages of energy careening silently through our homes daily now reveal themselves to be the environmentally costly, finite resource that they are.

New tools have appeared on the landscape to improve our energy literacy. Smart meters and social science studies now drive efforts by retail, utility, government, and academic players to bend social consciousness in new directions. Just as gasoline was taken for granted until recent price hikes, Americans are starting to rethink electricity as more than just another gift taken for granted.

As Karen Ehrhardt-Martinez of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) points out, energy savings from conservation and efficiency are now being factored by the feds and utilities into business equations as a resource, as if they were an oil reserve or coal deposit. But as with any major social transi-tion, the question is, how do people change from being passive, relatively ignorant energy consumers to active, conscientious users?

Technology Influences Consumer Needs and Behaviors

In the last 20 years, a parade of so-phisticated electronic technologies has emerged on the scene, transform-ing the way people interact with their

world. By now these devices and software - Internet, email, cable and satellite TV, cell phones and text messaging - are so commonplace they barely raise an eyebrow. We adopted the new technologies and the choices that went with them fairly seamlessly. They are easy to use and the payoff is immediate and significant. Unfortunately, prevent-ing rising sea levels, species extinc-tion, and lung disease don’t deliver the instant sense of gratification that logging on to the Internet does, so changing energy use habits doesn’t trigger that quick fulfillment.

But in the not-too-distant future, home energy management systems, so called digital energy dashboards will be so ubiquitous that we will likewise barely remember life before their arrival. Turn on the washer and your digital dashboard will display its electric use and cost. Login through your cell phone to your personal energy grid and will remotely adjust your home thermostat or turn up the refrigerator. Indeed, the new systems are largely woven into the first wave of hi-tech communication platforms.With smart meters and home energy management systems proliferating globally, much more interactive pos-sibilities exist between the consumer and utilities, in what one official calls the emergence of the “participatory energy consumer.”

Energy Consumer Awareness

Electricity has flowed so freely and cheaply for so long that it largely escapes our attention. But how many of us know the average number of kilowatt-hours of electricity we use monthly? What about the amount of electricity our clothes washer uses in a given cycle, and how much does that cycle cost? And how about the electric rate we pay, usually in cents per kilowatt-hour, for the electricity we use? Do we know if our electric rates vary throughout the day? “Time of use” electricity charges are stan-dard in many European countries, but U.S. consumers appear to be largely oblivious to fluctuations in whole-sale and retail electric costs. In short, many of us remain in the Dark Ages when it comes to how we use elec-tricity.

This is not entirely our fault. Until recently, utility bills provided a bare minimum of information. Most bills show only the number of kilowatt-hours (kWh) used, the rate per kWh, and various service fees. With de-tailed usage information limited or nonexistent, conceptualizing, much less managing, how we use electricity

Transforming the Way We Think About and Use Energy By Michael G. Albrecht

3 The Solar Reflector March 2010

has been difficult.But public awareness is growing. Information on Energy Use as a Catalyst for Consumer Change

Today, the energy information dam has burst. On one side of the electric meter, utilities are providing more de-tailed bills and energy usage services to customers. On the homeowner side, the customer can purchase rela-tively inexpensive in-home devices that display real-time electric use information for specific appliances and the cost to run them. Hardware packages include the Kill-A-Watt En-ergy Monitor or the online The Energy Detective (TED). Microsoft’s Hohm or Google’s PowerMeter software appli-cations are available free for down-load. Google is collaborating with TED to provide a package monitoring system. Energy product companies Greenbox, Tendril, and Agilewaves are raking in investor dollars, a sure sign that business is going mainstream.

At the utility level, efforts to change residential and industrial usage patterns have become big business. Prodded by state regulatory commis-sions, utilities nationwide are jockey-ing to reduce emissions by trying to motivate their customers. Tim Stout, VP of Energy Efficiency at utility giant National Grid, states that “changing consumer behavior is the next wave of savings.” Behavioral studies con-ducted by private research firms and university programs suggest that the more information energy users have about their use patterns, the less energy they consume. More dramati-cally, consumers appear likely to re-duce energy use when their behavior is laid out in print beside neighbors who use less than they do.

Capitalizing on that premise, Opower, an Arlington,Va. based software com-pany, takes behavioral research to the marketplace. Applying the findings of social scientist Richard Cialdini, the company contracts with utilities to send customers highly detailed bills, complete with spreadsheets and graphs. Customers receiving the comparative Opower bills have reduced their electricity usage 2-3% below previous billing periods. Peer pressure and anonymous social rec-ognition appear to motivate people to turn off the lights when they leave the room. While a 2% reduction may seem small, when spread across a utility service area it adds up to sig-nificant resource and emission reduc-tions and contributes to grid stability in the face of growing demand.

Governmental Policy and Academic Research Focuses on Behavioral Change

Recent Congressional legislation provides further evidence that behavioral research is influencing energy policy as well as utility strat-egy. Rep. Brian Baird introduced H.R. 3247 in July 2009 to “establish a social and behavioral research program at the Department of Energy (DOE) and to integrate the results into other programs at the DOE.” Currently neutralized by concerns about “mind control,” that bill is languishing in the House Committee on Science and Technology. Rep. Baird draws direct links between individual energy behaviors and global warming. As a former social studies professor, Baird says, “We have a responsibility as sci-entists to be more affirmative about this [global warming] and speak in language that gets people motivated. So I speak of lethal overheating and

ocean acidification.”

In the world of academia, Stanford University’s Precourt Energy Effi-ciency Center (PEEC) hosts the annual Behavior, Energy and Climate Change Conference. The purpose of these widely attended meetings is “under-standing the nature of individual and organizational behavior and decision making, and using that knowledge to accelerate our transition to an ener-gy-efficient and low carbon econ-omy.” Across the continent, George Mason University outside Washing-ton, D. C., hosts the Center for Climate Change Communication program. Their mission is to “conduct public engagement and behavior change research to improve climate change communication and social marketing programs.”

Addressing the disconnect between science and public perception and behavior, the Yale Project on Climate Change at Yale University’s School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, headed by Anthony Leiserowitz, in-vestigates the psychological, cultural, political, and geographic factors that drive public environmental percep-tion and behavior. Not content to simply academize the debate, the Yale project aims to close the gap between science and action by an ongoing rigorous blitz of public/pri-vate initiatives.

Finally, demonstrating the global scope of the current effort, at Aachen University in Aschen, Germany, the Institute for Future Energy Consumer Needs and Behavior produces re-search papers to guide individuals, utilities, and governments in plan-ning their energy usage.

Transforming the Way Think About and Use Energy continued

4 The Solar Reflector March 2010

The bottom line is that when people realize that electric generation is choking the thin membrane of the earth’s atmosphere as much as fos-sil fuel emissions from cars, trucks, and chemical refineries, they may be more inclined to turn off unused lights, turn up the thermostat in the summer, caulk the windows and doors, lay in some extra insulation,

and maybe even install a solar water heater or photovoltaic system. And as Cialdini’s research at Opower sug-gests, we might be more inclined to use less electricity when we see our neighbors taking the same steps.Whether this realization and action arrives through an advertisement for a home energy monitor, a jazzy utility bill, a government outreach program,

or simple word of mouth, the cumula-tive global effect will be significant: a clearing of the air, atmosphere and oceans that currently absorb tons of toxic waste produced daily, unintend-ed consequences of our high mainte-nance modern lifestyle.

Michael Albrecht is a TXSES Board Member

Transforming the Way Think About and Use Energy continued

The Houston Renewable Energy Group (HREG) had their first meeting of 2010 on January 31 at the lecture hall of the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture on the University of Houston campus, with 40 attendees. Officers for this year were elected as follows:President - Mike Ewert V P/Technical - Chris Boyer V P/ Outreach - Suresh Balachandran Secretary/Treasurer - Ed Wanat

Local renewable energy vendors introduced their companies and products, and representatives from EnvironmentTexas.org shared current activities. Guest speaker, Joe Mep-pelink, Adjunct Assistant Professor and Director of Applied Research at U of H and principal of METALAB, talked about SPACE (Solar Power Adaptive Container For Everyone) and the exciting new U of H Green Build-ing Components program(UHGBC). UHGBC is the university’s research initiative to design, develop and

implement sustainable, renewable building components for the archi-tecture, engineering and construc-tion industries.HREG members have voted to make the University of Houston College of Architecture the new venue for quar-terly meetings. Thanks to the gener-osity of U of H! This cooperation will strengthen our relationship and also increase participation in HREG by U of H faculty and students and further promote renewable energy in Houston.

Houston Renewable Energy Group (HREG) Now Meets at the University of Houston College of Architecture

AROUND THE STATE

A Transition to Solar By Paul BoyntonIn Anna, Texas, half an hour north of Plano and one hour south of the Oklahoma border, one 2.4kW wind turbine, three 1.8kW pole-mount photovoltaic arrays, and two solar hot water panels provide 100% of Bob and Yvonne Kendricks’ energy needs. Three stately looking dual axis track-ing pole-mounted arrays capture the most attention, while the slender and unobtrusive wind turbine qui-etly spins out power. But it is the two

humble solar hot water panels that provide the most for the least amount of money. Bob shuts off his electric water heater for seven months out of the year. Amazing how much free-dom can come from two inconspicu-ous panels on a roof. Electrical contractors since 1988, this transition to renewable energy inspired the Kendricks, with their sons Derik and Michael, to create Plano based Axium Solar, a turnkey renew-

able energy solutions integrator. Bob takes a no-nonsense approach to solar. Asked why he decided to hook up to the sun, Bob replied, “Because I could. Texans can afford to go solar more than they think. The best thing about solar is the independence. It’s one thing to own your own property; it’s another to have it power itself with the sun.”

5 The Solar Reflector March 2010

The Kendrick’s three 1.8kWpole-mount PV arrays

Individuals who have contributed at the $100 or higher level: Liz Penniman, Robert Wray, Natalie Marquis, Chris Chandler, Carol Harwell, Lorin and Mary Vant-Hull, Heidi Schrab, Robert Foster, Effie Brunson, Charles McLellan, Diane Saltus, Jane Pulaski, Charles Schneider, Vaughn Nelson, John Gardner

Business members: Green Light Lubbock, Pierce Energy, Solar Insure, Jim Rush Green Builder, Diez Energy Solutions, Venti Energy, Carroll Payne-Architect, ImagineSolar, Techsun Solar, Ross Tedter Architect , Imperial Electric, Solarplex of Texas, Alternative Energy Institute, South Texas Renewable, Border States Supply Chain Solutions, Emerald Natural Resources, Ontility, Nihil Ultra, Go Bright Leaf, New Path Consulting, Texas Responsible Energy & Efficiency, Solar Fanatics, Images Of…, Randall Electric, Tom Norrell Master Electrician, Maxcom Solar, Sunergy Texas, Solar Energy Applications of Texas, The Warner Company, Premier Siding and Roofing, Tesla Electric, Mike Doherty Homes, Hill Country Eco Power, Nathan Doxsey-E3 Properties

Special thanks to these business members who have joined at the highest level of support:Habitat Suites, Texas Solar Power Company, Meridian Solar, Kyocera Solar Inc., Austin Energy Green Building, Standard Renewable Energy, Z Works Design Build, Environment Associates-Architects and Consultants, Industrial Country Market, Partners Commercial Roofing, Downunda Pools & Outdoors, Axium Solar, Amperage Electric, Barley & Pfeiffer Architects, Eco Direct

Please consider joining the TXSES at the individual, joint chapter or business member level at www.txses.org. Your dollars help us spread the good word of solar and other renewable energy applications and promote the wise use of sustainable and non-polluting resources.

The Texas Solar Energy Society is a 501 (c ) (3)

Texas Solar Energy Society thanks the following for supporting us in our efforts to promote the message of solar energy, energy efficiency and the thoughtful use of our resources:

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