The Key to Energy Efficiency

I am often asked what it is that I think is the most important part of designing energy efficient homes? The first thing that comes to mind is that you need to educate the building owner and occupants about energy conservation. This is a no brainer, consider the graph at the top of the page. Danny Parker gives a presentation where he talks about a housing development in Sacramento by Beazer homes. The homes are designed to be Zero Energy Homes (net energy of course). The homes are designed to perform identically, if the owners used them identically then the orange bars would all read the same. Obviously they don't.
So what is it about how we live in a house that can create a spread of over $1200 ? In theory, if the owner of house number 6 lived more like the owner of house 8, that would be $14200 per year in their pocket! The thing you should take away from the graph is that turning off lights, unplugging electronics that aren't in use, and probably setting the AC lower can have a sizeable effect on your bottom line.
As always, this doesn't only apply to energy. Similar graphs could be made with regards to water consumption and waste management. Our behavior is the number one thing that will effect the end performance of the building. Remember that in the graph above, all of the houses are designed to use the same or less energy than they produce. Two of the homes used more energy than your usual non-solar home, can you imagine how much their living habits would have cost in a conventional home?
The key to energy efficiency is you, and the way that you wisely manage the building you are in.