September 2024
by Drew Francisco
Hello again everyone!
Summer is fading way too fast. I hope all of you have gotten out and enjoyed the amazing weather we have had. I have spent a lot of frustrating time on the golf course in my free time; not improving and can’t wait to play again!
Over the last month I have been around the great areas North Itasca Electric serves, meeting and trying my best to help membership by providing insight on potential energy saving measures and preventative maintenance homeowners can add to the honey do list.
I thought it’d be a good idea to share some of the things I would be looking for if I were to come do an evaluation. In a perfectworld, purchasing and installing high efficiency equipment would be great! But it’s not always possible with personal budget constraints or other aspects taking priority. Your home’s energy efficiency can improve by doing some low to no cost maintenance.
The first place I look is up. What are the lighting sources? Are there LED lights installed in your home? What about the porch light you leave on like most of us do; is that LED?
For example, my porch light bulb was a 60-watt incandescent bulb left on for 24 hours a day because I’m forgetful. 60-watts in a 24-hour period is equal to 1.44 kilowatt-hours. If I leave my porch light on 24 hours a day for 7 days, my energy usage would go up by 10.08 kilowatt-hours. 10.08 multiplied by your energy rate (0.13) is equal to $1.31. If I change that to a 7-watt LED bulb, in the same scenario I’d be spending $0.15. Doesn’t seem like much, but add 15 bulbs to that and your usage starts to climb without realizing it. Some of the newer bulbs are expensive, but we do offer rebates on bulbs when you change them out!
Another thing I am looking for is the condition of the furnace. It may be an older unit that runs great, but a few things can make your furnace run longer to meet your desired set point.
How often do you change your furnace filter? Is one time a year enough? Bigger homes with more air flow may need to be changed more frequently; add some pets to the mix and the filter gets dirty more often.
Another thing to look at is visible connections. There could be air loss around the duct work
needing some attention. Add some vent tape to keep air flow moving to the conditioned areas of the home. The outdoor condenser is often forgotten about but heavily relied on with the humid summer days. Keeping the coils clean, providing proper air flow, will keep the unit running more efficiently.
Refrigerator coils should also be cleaned. Grab a vacuum and get all the dust bunnies out of there; You might even find some hidden gems under there that your kids “lost.”
We all want our homes to smell good. But have you ever thought about the usage your “fall colors” wax warmer is costing you to run? Most of the units have a 20-to-25-watt bulb inside to melt the wax; little amounts of usage add up!
As I’ve mentioned before, I am here to help. If you as members have any questions or want some input on anything related to energy efficiency, please reach out! I’m more than happy to help in any way possible.
I hope the next month brings more good weather and all of you get to enjoy it.
Until next time!
Drew Francisco
August 2026
Hello again everyone!
Hope you all are enjoying these summer days that seem to be absolutely flying by! I have been able to get out and visit a lot of wonderful areas of our membership over the last 3 weeks. In doing so, I’m reminded how much our local communities have to offer.
While meeting with members regarding load control, home / business evaluations or other various programs we have to offer here at North Itasca Electric, I get to see opportunities that I feel are too good not to share! This got me thinking of ways to communicate all the cool things I have been seeing to other members who (like me) had no idea what is available just a few miles down the road. If you are a business owner in North Itasca’s service territory and want to share what you have to offer, feel free to reach out to me so we can help educate all parts of our membership.
It seems a lot of people I’ve been working with thus far have made great strides in becoming more energy efficient, which is great! Not only is it going to help you as the consumer save money on your energy bills, but also help the co-op lower its costs during high demand periods; ultimately helping the membership in its entirety. If you have plans to update or upgrade your home’s equipment, giving us a call beforehand may be beneficial in multiple ways. You may be able to utilize one of the programs we have to offer here like dual fuel or storage heating/water to lower your kWh charges. Another thing to consider is the co-op’s equipment that may already be installed on your property. If you’re going to utilize load management that is great! If not, it would be better for us to get this equipment off the site so we can utilize it in other areas.
Also, we have rebates! All our rebates are listed on our website, but if you have any questions regarding the forms or type of equipment that qualifies, I can guide you through it.
With that said, I’m here to help you the member in any way I can. If you have a project coming up that you’d like some input on or need help identifying ways to save on energy usage, let me know! I may not have all the answers, but I do have access to great local contractors and information that could benefit you.
Hope you all enjoy the remainder of July, until next time!
Drew Francisco
July 2026
Hello again Everyone!
Time seems to be flying by as we cruise into the summer months of 2024. I’ve been busy meeting with members of
North Itasca Electric and I have to say, living in the area my entire life I didn’t realize how much is left to discover!
Over the last month I’ve tried to get out into the field helping membership understand what is available to them, including load management programs, emergency backup generators, electrical heating solutions, home evaluations and mini split air source heat pumps (which I’ll get into here in a second). I have to say it’s been a great experience thus far meeting people I wouldn’t have necessarily run into unless I was in this position – all with great stories and work histories varying between different fields: psychologists, local business owners, fellow firefighters, antique collectors, teachers and many more. Pretty amazing to see our area houses so many unique individuals.
As I said before, North Itasca Electric is now able to offer mini split solutions for your homes, summer cabins,
workspaces or wherever you see fit. The Cooper & Hunter brand offers an arctic unit which not only cools the area but is able to heat the same space down to a balmy -22 degrees Fahrenheit. Air source is very efficient, and when paired with the correct alternative heating source for our area, energy savings is very easily obtainable. These units come ready to install for the people who can manage it on their own, but we also have contractors lined up and ready to assist our members get their homes conditioned!
There will be some information on the units available in the WATTS News, but if you’re interested in learning more,
please reach out to me so I can get you more information or schedule some time to go over the process!
I’m looking forward to opportunity, change and continued research of ways to support our membership and local
communities. Be sure to follow our Facebook page to see upcoming sales discounts or events that may be happening
throughout our service area. I hope all of you have a fantastic month and I can’t wait to see what we can accomplish!
Until next time, Drew
Drew Francisco
