This Kauai Home Energy Savings Program is free for Kauai residents impacted by the COVID-19 economic crisis, to help reduce their cost of their electricity, gas and water bills every month. Simply complete the following home efficiency self-audit (HESA), and you will receive up to $150 worth of aesthetically beautiful, high function, and top quality Energy Star certified home improvement items. You'll also receive simple step-by-step instructions on installation. Our company (Pono Home) has been greening homes in Hawaii for 6 years, and all of our products carry 97% or greater customer satisfaction ratings. These upgrade items will generate immediate and permanent reductions on your utility bills. This limited program is paid for with a grant from Kauai County, and is offered on a first-come, first served basis while funds are available.
This program is free to Kauai residents who have experienced economic hardship. If you are interested in becoming more efficient, but do not qualify, please click here
This home efficiency self-audit (HESA) may take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour or more, depending on the size of your home. You can do it in parts - at any time, you can scroll to the bottom and hit "Save and Continue later", and you'll get a unique URL you can come back to to complete the audit. Just email that link to yourself, and when you want to start up again, just click and continue!
The expected savings of this program really add up - on average, we're seeing savings add up to $8,000 per household over a ten year period. Since that is "post-tax" money, it's equivalent to getting a $12,000 paycheck over that time. And thanks to the County of Kauai, it's 100% free for you!
Great! Let's begin. You can use this self-audit tally sheet as a guide.
You can print / use the tally sheet like this...
...and upload it at the bottom of this webpage (via photo, PDF, whatever). OR, you can just enter the data directly onto this webpage (you'll see prompts for each item pop up below). Either way, we will send you instructions on how to install everything!
Inefficient lights use 8-9 times more electricity than they need to, and get crazy hot - meaning your AC has to work harder than it should, AND you can burn your hands if you touch them. Replacing with LEDs will save you money very quickly, and keep your home cool.
Other considerations, like shape, size, and color, are detailed on the tally sheet. It should all start making sense as you dive in! All you need is a way to access your light bulbs, and a measuring device - tape measure or ruler or ruler app - whatever works best. You may also need a screwdriver or pliers to remove parts of light fixtures/lamp shades to access the bulb itself. If bulbs are turned on, or hot, do not try to remove them. So make sure the bulb is cool to the touch and electricity is off to the light fixture. Seriously. And again, of course, please do this only if you know you are fully physically and mentally capable, and at your own risk!
Here's a quick video to run through the types
What you're primarily looking for here is an opportunity to reduce wasted energy. "Vampire power" is the energy a device is using when not even turned on, but still plugged in. If you have a watt meter (like in the video below), you can be sure of this, but typically, if you look for lights, digital readouts, humming sounds, or warm devices that are not on, but still plugged in, you're seeing Vampire Power.
To reduce/eliminate this wasted energy, try one of these options: Unplug these devices, which may be inconvenient when you want to use them again.Put these devices on Advanced Power Strips (APS). APS are very useful for entertainment centers, and desktop computer setups. The idea here is that an APS will turn all Vampire Power off to your XBox and speakers after you turn off your TV. APS's can save you $40-100 per year in completely wasted energy.
Note on your audit paperwork or in the paragraph box below how many of each would be helpful in your home.
Indicate which of these you're going to do below, and we'll calculate your savings AND send you instructions! It's just the kind of nice people we are. 🙂
It should look something like this and be found inside the fridge.
From this, we can figure out how much energy it's using and how much money it's costing you per year (roughly), and then let you know if upgrading makes sense.
Check out this high efficiency, swivel head, multi-option addition to your kitchen sink - makes cleanup a breeze, has incredible pressure, AND can save you about $50 a year!
Fans use a fair bit of energy, AND make the room hotter. Here's a thermal image that shows that fans actually make your house hotter because of the motor inside. They don't "condition" the air and change its temperature like an AC. So turn them off when you're not there to enjoy the wind chill.
Tips: 1. Set a timer on your pumps - if they're running 24 hours a day you're wasting money. Check local resources and health code for pools / hot tubs the size you have, and set the pump schedule accordingly. 2. Cover your pool, especially if it's heated. Evaporating hot water is a tremendous waste of energy to refill and reheat more water. 3. If your pool pump is anything other than an Energy Star Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) pump, swapping it out for a VFD pump will likely save you a ton of money. Unsure? Just snap a picture of your pump and upload it below and we'll research it for you!
If you'd like, we can calculate your potential $ savings, carbon savings, and water savings, along with finding you rebates and analyzing the best return on investment you've got in your home, whether it's upgrading your water heater or fridge or HVAC... This section is totally optional, but keep in mind, we won't be able to send you much help without it! We respect your privacy and will only help you if you want us to. See our Privacy Policy, if you have any questions!