Energy Update in Highlands Ranch Colorado
Friday, July 11, 2008
Here’s an update on the City of Highlands Ranch energy incorporation and household energy/water usage
INCORPORATE HIGHLANDS RANCH ON AN ENERGY PLATFORM
1. The next step will be to change the Colorado Constitution to allow a community to incorporate offering just one service - energy
2. An auto compressed natural gas home fueling station pilot will be launched
HOUSEHOLD ENERGY
1. 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid — it’s been a year since operating the Escape Hybrid. Timing is everything because last July we traded in our 2004 Explorer Limited and received about $18,000 in trade in value. Today, trade in value is about $11,000. Our cost of buying the Escape Hybrid is basically the same as buying a regular Hybrid when you factor in the tax credit subsidies. Cost of Ownership has been very positive. If we kept the Explorer, our annual gasoline cost was $3,500 (12,000 miles, $3.75 per gallon, 13 MPG). The Escape annual gasoline cost was $1,600. That’s an annual savings of $1,900. The truck will have paid for itself (Explorer vs Escape transaction) by the end of year two.
We have achieved high MPG when using hypermiling around Highlands Ranch. We drove 9 miles during the summer and achieved a 37 MPG and that’s with hills too.
The Ford Escape Hybrid shuts the internal combustion engine (ICE) off stoplights and you can double-tap the brake to trick the ICE to shut down and cruise on a battery when possible. When feasible, we try to drive at the limit less 5-10% on the freeway and try and keep the RPM less than 1,800. The only annoyance I see on the local streets are some people coasting to a red light 1/4 mile away which slows up traffic behind them and now some people drive too slow when leaving a red light. I guess doing this will increase your average MPG from 17 to 19 so I can understand why it’s done
2. Toto Toilets — not a very attractive subject to talk about but our entire house has been converted to Toto UltraMax. Not only does it look nice but it saves a lot more water because no more multiple flushes to remove waste.
