Montana Climate Matters
Lower your utility bills, help make Montana healthier
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Take charge and lower your utility bills by using energy and water more wisely and at the same time make Montana healthier. What’s the connection?
Most of the energy used in Montana is from fossil fuels (natural gas, coal, and oil) resulting in the release of pollution and greenhouse gases when the fuels are combusted to power our building, transportation, and industrial sectors. Thus, using less energy by using it more efficiently not only keeps money in your pocket, but also keeps our environment cleaner and healthier and lessens climate change impacts. Being efficient is easier than you think with many proven strategies and technologies. Whether buying a furnace or a faucet, it’s often as simple as looking for the Energy Star and WaterSense labels.
In most Montana code-built buildings, most of our energy bills are for space and water heating using natural gas. Natural gas is primarily composed of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. To reduce space heating costs, allow the lower-in-the-sky winter sun to enter south-facing windows for free heat and close window coverings at night to retain it. Seal air leaks and add insulation to reduce both heating and cooling costs. If you need a new furnace, buy one with the Energy Star label. But first, determine if a cold-climate heat pump will work for you because it is the most efficient technology available today and can provide both heating and cooling.
Most Montanans also use natural gas to heat water. Reduce this use by buying WaterSense- and Energy Star-labeled appliances, fixtures, and equipment. Energy Star clothes washers use 20% less energy and 33% less water than regular washers. The lifetime energy savings is about $530. Add the water savings and the washer pays for itself! Determine if a heat pump water heater will work for you. Look for WaterSense showerheads and faucets as well as toilets and irrigation equipment.
Using cold water inside and outside wisely also reduces energy use and costs. Your water bill includes energy costs for treatment and distribution. Sewer charges include the energy cost for post-use treatment before it goes downstream.
Next for highest energy use in Montana are refrigerators and cooling. When you need a new refrigerator, look for Energy Star labels, then compare the yellow EnergyGuide labels for energy cost comparisons. For natural cooling, block the summer sun from directly entering windows. Landscaping and awnings help. At my home, the roof overhang and a shrub shade south-facing windows, and an awning and lilac tree shade west-facing windows. Ceiling fans move air making us feel cooler. A whole-house fan quickly pulls heated air out of your home at night. Open windows at night to allow natural cooling or night flush a commercial building by letting cool night air circulate through.
We know how to design and build using an integrated, whole-systems approach where space conditioning and water heating are not the highest energy uses! Examples include Whitehall’s Mountain Horizons Solar subdivision and Bozeman’s Bridger View at Story Mill neighborhood. These homes are super-insulated and air-tight with balanced ventilation systems, heat pumps for space
conditioning and water heating, and efficient appliances and fixtures. Being efficient and all-electric, many are 100% powered by a solar electric system further reducing climate change impacts.
“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” -Walt Disney. Begin by taking just one step to reduce bills and fossil fuels burned. With over eight billion of us on this planet, what we do today is more important than ever to protect life on Earth.
Susan Bilo is an energy consultant with Green Compass Sustainability. She worked for the U.S. Dept. of Energy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and at Montana State University, conducting energy workshops and teaching energy courses.
