Dove Canyon Energy Use Rates Going up
Dove Canyon is a special and beautiful place to live. We also have our own climate system that is warmer than the surrounding areas. Not running the air conditioning to save electricity and possibly being uncomfortable in our homes is not the most desirable lifestyle choice for some
As the weather heats up here you might notice your electric bill rising along with the temperatures. The 2017 Southern California Edison rate increase came with some significant changes that may affect our community more than some others. Under the new rate changes if energy usage is excessive in relation to your baseline region, then you’ll be faced with a higher rate that month. Baseline regions are established to include areas with similar climate characteristics, as defined by the California Energy Commission. The base line regional zone for RSM and Trabuco is zone 8. This is significant because we share a region with cities that have a cooler climate such as Mission Viejo, Foothill Ranch, Irvine and even parts of Laguna Beach and Newport Beach are in Zone 8. The combination of our living in an area that is warmer and large homes built 15-20 years ago when we didn’t have as many hot days may mean a significant increase in our electric bills under the new rate program.
So what can we do?
A lot depends on your lifestyle. For example, if someone is gone all day and the home is empty then the effect of the rate changes could be minimal. If you have a pool there are ways to lower its impact on your electric bill.
Solar
There are a number of solar homes in Dove and we went that route ourselves. Solar companies are making it easy for homeowners to get in to solar and there is a 30% Federal Tax Credit and other incentives available to help make it affordable. Some are offering zero down and low monthly payments that are less than the electric bill. Even if you don’t know how long you might be in the home, the benefit of having lower power bills and increased value of a solar home could still be a plus.
AC
Many of the homes in Dove still have the original AC units from 20 years ago. These older units lack efficiency, use more power and are struggling to keep up as the climate gets warmer. One option is to update the air conditioning units and solar. The Federal Tax Credit could be used to buy new AC unit.
If you have an interest in learning more, my organization the Green Energy Project, will be providing a free educational seminar May 6th, 10 am til noon at the Dove Canyon Country Club. The focus of the event to help Dove homeowners lower their energy costs while also creating a greener lifestyle that may benefit the planet. Please RSVP with phone and email to Green Energy Project.
Mike Marable is the founder of the Green Energy Project, a non-profit with the mission to provide information and provide and incentive others to do what they can to help reduce our community’s carbon footprint and cutting home ownership cost. He chose to partner up with Solar-City (dba Tesla Energy) and is licensed to sell their home solar solutions to Trabuco and RSM residents. You can reach Mike at 949-434-3142-greenenergyproject1@gmail.com. The website is www.greenenergyproject.earth.