Home Energy Makeover Contest

2007 Energy Makeover Contest In October, 2007 two Xcel Energy customers won Energy Makoever packages that included a free solar photovoltaic system for one. Meet Bill and Cherlyn Wildenberg, of Boulder; and Angie and Jeremy Golden, of Denver. Bill and Cherlyn Wildenberg, of Boulder The Golden Family, of Denver These winning homeowners have received: Before and after energy audits New energy efficient furnace and central air conditioning New appliances New windows Insulation Duct cleaning New window coverings (Story continued below) These energy efficiency upgrades are being made possible by the generous support and contributions of the following companies:     Energy Efficiency upgrades are generously provided by the following sponsors                                    Big Horn Builders     Climate Masters                                                                 The Wildenbergs This couple is not short of knowing others interested in wanting to have a lower impact on the plant. Bill works for a landscape architecture firm called Fletemeyer & Lee Associates Inc. and Cher works for the Rocky Mountain Institute. They entered the contest knowing they were living in poorly functioning home and were willing to do anything to win the contest. Once they were notified of being in the top 5 finalists and sponsors went over for a visit, they found out that their furnace was too big and old to remove from the basement. Bill stated that he would get the ancient furnace out himself by cutting it into pieces if they won. His pro-active behavior declared him the winner and they were ecstatic. Their home was built in 1902 and results of the energy audit were astounding. “This home turned out to be one of the worst leaking homes in the Front Range, 3.25 natural Air Changes/Hour!” Express Paul Kriesher of Lightly Treading who performed the energy audit. Bill & Cher were so thrilled to win that they held a pre-construction party for family and friends to talk about how their home is about to drastically change. It is predicted that the Wildenberg’s will cut their enormously high energy use by 65% or more.    The Wildenberg home, in Boulder, recieves a massive helping hand on its high energy costs: new blown-in insulation!   Cher Wildenberg compares the furnace filters. Keeping your filters clean can have an impact on your utility bill. The Golden’s This family is no stranger to loud noises with three youngsters that never seem to stop. Having their home overtaken by Energy Makeover Contest Sponsors for a few months was nothing they couldn’t handle. Angie is a stay at home mother while her husband, Jeremy, co-owns an IT support company. Before winning the contest Angie and  Jeremy complained of ice forming on the inside of their windows and the kids rooms, located in the corners of the house, always being cold. Angie felt that one of these days the windows were just going to blow in,literally. They had high utility bills throughout the year and knew they needed to do something. Thanks to the 2007 Energy Makeover Contest this family received all the upgrades including a 95% efficiency furnace and a solar system! As Angie explains “It’s been great, it’s amazing! It’s like a different house. All my neighbors know and friends have been coming by to see what’s going on here. Our November energy bill has already gone down compared from last November with only 1 degree in temperature difference between the month averages."  They are excited to get the solar panels up and running and see just how much energy they can receive from the sun. By donating a 1.05 kilowatt system, Simple Solar will help Jeremy and Angela Golden reduce their electric bill. This system will produce 119 kilowatt hours of electricity monthly, preventing almost a ton of CO2 from being emitted into the atmosphere each year - the equivalent of planting 23 trees every year for the life of the system. THE GOLDENS       Electricity Before After Percentage of Reduction Month kWh kWh   December 1007 890 12% January 900 867 4% February 958 734 23% March-April 1847 1312 17% May-June 2202 1251 43% Natural Gas Before After   Month Therms Therms   December 127 80 37% January 186 99 47% February 130 75 42% March-April 216 155 28% May-June 136 69 49% Actual Costs Before Improvements After Improvements Percentage of Reduction December $192.27 $150.12 21% January $258.23 $181.34 30% February $253.28 $151.77 40% March-April $420.02 $312.62 26% June-July $313.22 $237.27 24%   THE WILDENBERGS      Percentage of Reduction Electricity Before After   Month kWh kWh   December 348 409 -18% January 300 308 3% February 317 209 35% March-April 639 580 6% Natural Gas Before After   Month Therms Therms   December 193 131 32% January 275 89 68% February 364 57 84% March-April 289 107 63% Actual Savings Before Improvements After Improvements Percentage of Reduction December $198.29 $92.36 53% January $283.81 $149.41 53% February $232.61 $128.24 55% These two winning homeowners will enjoy: Lower energy bills Increased property values A more comfortable living space An environmentally friendly home         Check back frequently as we detail the story of these upgrades! Read about last years winners! *This contest is made possible by the generous support of its sponsors, who supply all of the equipment and services. Due to the limited work range of these companies, we are unable at this time to extend the contest beyond the Denver/Boulder area. We regret not be being able to include all of Xcel Energy's Colorado homeowners in the contest and hope to eventually extend the contest to include more homes.