Residential Brown Bag - Home Energy Monitoring

We use speedometers so we don't get a ticket. We use thermometers so we don't burn food in the oven We use watches so we don't miss a meeting. All of these devices are used for monitoring our daily lives. So, why don't we monitor our home's energy usage so we don't get surprised with an expensive electric bill at the end of the month? Well, I do - and so do many other homeowners who are recognizing the benefits of being able to view their energy use (and cost) in real-time with power cost monitoring systems. This workshop will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of home energy monitoring, costs of the options available on the market today and what works best for your home.

Presenters

Eric Van Orden
Eric Van Orden is an expert at showing home and business owners how they can lower their energy bills, improve comfort & productivity while also benefiting from reduced carbon emissions. Eric has managed and performed more than 1,500 commercial and residential energy audits, while facilitating the installation of more than 2MW of solar photovoltaic installatons.

With a Bachelor's of Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts, a a minor in sociology and information technology specialization, Eric is LEED AP Certified, a AEE Certified Energy Auditor and RESNET trained.

As a member of the Colorado Governor's Energy Office Retrofit Rampup Working Group, Eric has assisted in the development of energy saving initiatives such as Boulder's EnergySmart, GreenPrint Denver and Arvada's Sustainability programs. Eric has also developed numerous trade partnerships with progressive utilities including Xcel Energy, Ft. Collins Utlity.

Eric is a firm believer that creating energy efficient buildings are the solution for making smart financial decisions, reducing environmental impact and achieving energy independence.

Stephen Kane - Service Director
Stephen joined Namaste Solar in the beginning of 2006. He currently handles Namaste Solar's after-sales service. He is also the data monitoring specialist having designed and installed well over 2 MW of PV monitoring systems. He had a previous career as a network engineer for several large Internet providers. He maintains all of Namaste Solar's PV installations and the Operation and Maintenance contracts for several large commercial arrays. He gained his PV experience living off grid in Oregon and working for Gaiam Real Goods catalog division designing mostly off grid systems. With Namaste Solar he has held varied titles including Sales and Design, Permitting Manager and Installer. He is NABCEP and CoSEIA certified in PV installation.