VOLUSIA COUNTY TALKS ABOUT

WHAT'S AT STAKE FOR

MUNICIPALITIES WHEN IT

COMES TO ENERGY CONSERVATION

>>WHEN YOU LOOK

AT THE GREEN

PRACTICES, YOU KNOW

IDENTIFY THOSE PRACTICES,

IT MAKES SENSE

>>THEN WE'LL SPEAK WITH THE

ORLANDO UTILITIES

COMMISSION ABOUT WHY

THEY'RE ENCOURAGING

PEOPLE TO USE LESS ENERGY.

>>WE'RE A PUBLIC SERVICE

AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE

THAT OUR CUSTOMERS GET

WHAT THEY NEED.

>>BUT FIRST, WE'LL HEAR ABOUT

THE SOLAR ENERGY RESEARCH

BEING DONE IN BREVARD COUNTY.

>>I COMMENTED TO A

LOT OF PEOPLE. WE ALL KNOW

THE PRICE OF A GALLON OF

GASOLINE, BUT WE ARE

CLUELESS TO HOW MUCH WE

PAY FOR ELECTRICITY.

>>THREE CENTRAL FLORIDIANS

TALK ABOUT ENERGY AND WAYS

IN WHICH IT CAN BE CONSERVED.

NEXT ON METRO CENTER OUTLOOK.

[[MUSIC]]

HELLO I'M DIANE TREES.

ALTHOUGH FLORIDA HAS ONE

OF THE HIGHEST RATES OF

HOME ELECTRICITY

CONSUMPTION IN THE

COUNTRY, IT'S ALSO HOME

TO SUNSHINE, A LEADING

SOURCE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY.

TODAY, WE'LL TAKE

A CLOSER LOOK AT THE

ALTERNATE ENERGIES BEING

USED IN CENTRAL FLORIDA

AND THE ROLE OF

CONSERVATION IN OUR REGION.

DR. JIM FENTON IS

THE DIRECTOR OF THE

FLORIDA SOLAR ENERGY CENTER,

A INSTITUTE IN BREVARD COUNTY

THAT RESEARCHES AND

DEVELOPS ENERGY

TECHNOLOGIES.

JIM WELCOME TO THE SHOW.

>>IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE HERE.

>>WHAT KINDS OF RESEARCH

ARE YOU DOING AT F-SEC?

>>WELL CLEARLY THE

FLORIDA SOLAR ENERGY CENTER,

WE'RE WORKING ON SOLAR,

BUT MOST PEOPLE

AREN'T AWARE OF THE FACT

THAT WE DO A LOT IN ENERGY

EFFICIENT BUILDINGS.

AND SO I HAVE FORTY

PROFESSIONALS THAT WORK ON

RETRO FITTING HOMES AND MAKING

THEM MORE ENERGY EFFICIENT.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

IS THE CHEAPEST

ENERGY YOU CAN GET,

BEST NOT TO USE IT AT ALL.

AND THEN CLEARLY WE DO A LOT

OF WORK IN SOLAR THERMAL

HOT WATER FOR THE HOME.

THE FOLDABLE TAEK, THE

SOLAR TO ELECTRIC THAT CAN

OFFSET SOME OF YOUR

ELECTRIC BILLS AND WE'RE

EVEN GETTING TO THE POINT

NOW IN FLORIDA WHERE YOU

CAN BUY NEW HOMES THAT ARE

NET ZERO ENERGY HOMES.

SUPER ENERGY EFFICIENT,

GOT THE ENERGY STAR

APPLIANCES, LOTS OF

INSULATION, LOW FLOW

SHOWER NOZZLES AND WHATNOT.

AND THEN ALSO THEN A

SOLAR HOT WATER HEATER ON

THE ROOF AND THE FOLDABLE TAEKS.

AND OVER THE COURSE

OF THE DAY,

YOU'RE ACTUALLY NET

USING ZERO ENERGY.

BUT WE ALSO WORK ON ALTERNATIVE

FUELS, BIOMASS TO GASOHOL

AND THINGS ALONG THOSE LINES.

AND THEN WE HAVE FIVE

FOLKS ARE TIED INTO K THROUGH 12

ENERGY EDUCATION,

ACTUALLY GETTING THIS

INTO THE CURRICULUM

AND THE CLASSROOMS

IN FLORIDA.

>>ONE OF THE PRODUCTS COME

OUT OF THIS RESEARCH WAS

THE GOSSAMER WIND FAN. HOW

DOES THAT HELP CONSUMERS?

>>YEAH WELL YOU CAN GO BUY

THE GOSSAMER WINDWARD FAN

AT HOME DEPOT. WE'VE

SOLD OVER 2 MILLION OF

THOSE NOW IN FLORIDA.

AND EACH CEILING FAN ACTUALLY

SAVES YOU ABOUT TEN

DOLLARS A YEAR ON YOUR

ELECTRIC BILL.

DOESN'T SOUND LIKE MUCH BUT WHEN

YOU'VE SOLD OVER 2

MILLION, IT'S ON THE

ORDER OF 20 TO 40 MILLION

DOLLARS A YEAR IN ENERGY

SAVINGS. THE INTERESTING

STORY BEHIND THAT FAN IS

THAT THE BLADE DESIGN WAS

BORROWED AFTER THE HUMAN

POWERED AIRCRAFTS THAT

WERE DEVELOPED TO ACTUALLY

GO ACROSS THE ENGLISH CHANNEL.

AND SO THEY VERY

EFFICIENTLY REMOVED AIR

MORESO THAN THE

TRADITIONAL FLAT PANELS

THAT WE'RE ALL LOOKING

AT ON THE CEILING FANS.

AND SO IT ACTUALLY SAVES A

LOT OF THE MONEY ON THE ENERGY.

>>WHAT ARE SOME

COMMON USES FOR SOLAR ENERGY?

>>WELL AS WE'RE AWARE,

MOST OF US IN

FLORIDA ENJOY THE HEAT

THAT'S GENERATED BY THAT

SUN AND SO YOU CAN HEAT

WATER. THAT'S A BIG

ADVANTAGE. 15 PERCENT OF

YOUR ENERGY IS TYPICALLY

USED IN YOUR HOME TO MAKE

HOT WATER. SO IF YOU CAN

USE THE FREE SUN YOU CAN

GO AHEAD AND GET THAT DONE

WISELY. AND WE'RE

STARTING TO SEE THE PRICES

FOR THE FOLDABLE TAEK OR

THE SOLAR ELECTRIC PANELS

TO SUBSTANTIALLY DROP.

WE'RE GETTING TO THE

POINT NOW WHERE YOU CAN GO

AHEAD AND PUT P-V PANELS

ON YOUR ROOF AND PAY

COMPARABLE PRICES TO WHAT

YOU'RE GETTING OUT OF THE WALL.

>>NOW WHEN YOU

SAY P-V WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?

>>SO THAT'S A FOLDABLE

TAEK. SO THAT'S

WHERE WE TAKE THE ENERGY

NOT IN THE FORM OF HEAT

FROM THE SUN, PHOTONS, AND

DIRECTLY TURN THOSE INTO

ELECTRONS, WHICH IS THE

THINGS THAT CARRY THE

CURRENT THROUGH YOUR

ELECTRIC LINES.

>>IF YOU LOOK ACROSS CENTRAL

FLORIDA, WHO DO YOU THINK'S

DOING A GOOD JOB UTILIZING

SOLAR ENERGY RIGHT NOW?

>>WELL YOU'LL FIND

THAT A LOT OF THE