Environmental Law
Hogan & Hartson Lawyer Saves Electricity with Solar Panels, Clothesline
Posted Apr 30, 2009, 09:27 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A Hogan & Hartson environmental lawyer has cut back on his electricity consumption with the help of a solar panel, a clothesline and a so-called smart meter.
The New York Times writes about lawyer Dennis Arfmann, who works in Hartson’s Boulder, Colo., office, in a story about companies offering smart meters that allow customers to monitor their energy consumption.
A smart meter in Arfmann’s home installed as part of a pilot program allows him to see how much electricity he uses in every 15-minute period. He bought a separate smart meter for appliances so he can see how much electricity each one uses.
Arfmann’s solar panels allow him to sell electricity to Xcel Energy during the day. At night he buys it back. He hopes to cut his electricity use to fewer than 4,000 kilowatt-hours a year, and toward that end he opted for a clothesline instead of a dryer. He also unplugged a 35-year-old freezer.
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