TURNING SOLAR CONSUMERS INTO SOLAR CITIZENS: STRATEGIES FOR WISE ENERGY USE

Kathryn Janda Environmental Studies Program Oberlin College 122 Elm Street Oberlin, OH 44074 e-mail: Kjanda@oberlin.edu ABSTRACT Adding photovoltaics should be the final step in a coordinated strategy to reduce building demand. If new solar installations are not always tied to decreases in energy use, however, are we are solving our existing energy problem or creating a new one? This paper compares and contrasts two different ways of moving toward a solar-oriented future. It uses examples from government-sponsored solar housing demonstration programs (e.g., the U.S. Department of EnergyOs Zero Energy Home program) and private solar initiatives (e.g., owner retrofits) to consider whether we are pursuing a path that leads us to consume more solar rather than one that helps us use energy wisely. The paper argues that foregrounding more solar and backgrounding how energy is used could lead to lower levels of overall environmental improvement than an approach that integrates solar and wise use. This paper concludes with examples of a particular form of wise use: direct feedback systems to convey resource use in real time to residents. 1. IS MORE SOLAR ALWAYS BETTER? Grid-connected solar is the fastest growing power generation technology in the world, with cumulative installed capacity growing 55% in 2004-05 alone. [1] But is more solar always better? Solar advocates know that the best way to get to zero energy use in the building sector is by adding solar photovoltaics as the last step in a coordinated strategy to reduce demand. If new solar installations are not necessarily tied to decreases in energy use, however, are we are solving our existing energy problem or creating a new one? This paper compares and contrasts two different ways of moving toward a solar-oriented future. It uses examples from government-sponsored solar housing demonstration programs (e.g., the U.S. Department of EnergyOs Zero Energy Home program and the Solar Decathlon) and private solar initiatives (e.g., owner retrofits) to consider whether we are pursuing a path that leads us to consume more solar rather than one that helps us use energy wisely. 2. MORE IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER Government-sponsored solar demonstration programs play an explicit role in shaping social and professional expectations of solar technologies and advances in building design. For example, such programs promote technical change by showcasing solar houses instead of non-solar houses. They also implicitly promote certain lifestyles and social arrangements either by holding housing size and function relatively constant, or by concentrating on homes that are at particular places (usually the high end) of the size and quality spectrum. 2.1. Size Matters Since the 1970s, the U.S. economy has become more efficient in its use of resources. Better use of resources is not in itself a sustainable path, however, as it is possible to use ever greater levels of resources in relatively more efficient and OgreenO ways. For example, a large new house may use energy efficiently and be constructed with healthy materials, but it will often consume more energy and resources than a smaller OinefficientO home. The general trend in American building has been to consume more and more energy and resources in the name of making life Janda, K. 2007. Turning Solar Consumers Into Solar Citizens: Strategies For Wise Energy Use.  In Solar 2007, Proceedings of the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) Annual Meeting, July 8-13, 2007. (Cleveland, OH)