Author: Tom Barrett

Infiltration Reduction Act Residential Energy Tax Credits and Rebates

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The Infiltration Reduction Act (IRA) residential energy tax credits and rebates is/was supposed to go into effect this year (2023). Where are we with it?

The incentives available to the average homeowner (and vehicle owner) are split between tax credits and rebate programs. The IRS has provided the regulatory framework on tax credits and the Department of Energy (DOE) will provide each state with rebate funding and guidance. California is currently waiting on the DOE’s guidance before they can implement the State’s rebate program and it should be available in 2024. 

California Energy Commission

California Energy Commission is developing two programs: the Homeowner Managing Energy Savings (HOMES) rebate program and point-of-sale High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate (HEEHRA) program.

The CEC expects rebates will become available in 2024. Until the DOE issues guidance to states, the CEC will not have California-specific information to share; however, the CEC is open to receiving written input through the docket.

Homeowner Managing Energy Savings (HOMES) Rebate Program

The HOMES program will provide performance-based rebates for whole-house energy saving retrofits. The amount of the rebate varies by the amount of energy savings. For eligible LMI (Low to Moderate Income) households, the rebate level is higher.

  • About $292 million to be allocated for California.
  • Performance-based rebates for whole-house energy efficiency upgrades for single-family homes and multifamily buildings.
  • Up to $8,000 ($400,000 for a multifamily building) depending on energy savings and household income.
  • Eligible applicants: homeowners or aggregators

High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate (HEEHRA) Program

The HEEHRA program will provide point-of-sale rebates for qualified electrification projects in LMI households. Example projects include the purchase and installation of electric heat pumps and electric stoves certified by the Energy Star program.

  • About $290 million to be allocated for California.
  • Point-of-sale rebates for purchase and installation of qualified Energy Star appliances such as electric heat pumps for space heating and cooling. Includes rebates for panel upgrades, wiring, and insulation.
  • Up to $14,000.
  • Limited to households below 150% of area median income.
  • Eligible applicants:
    • Low- or moderate-income (LMI) households.
    • Owners of eligible LMI multifamily buildings.
    • Governmental, commercial, or nonprofit entity carrying out a project for an eligible household or an owner of an eligible multifamily building.

Timelines for the California IRA (Inflation Reduction Act) Residential Energy Rebate Programs

2022 (December): U.S. DOE issued a Request for Information for Contractor Training

2023 (January): U.S. DOE issued a Request for Information for HOMES and HEEHRA

2023 (Q1/Q2/Q3): CEC workshops & program development 

2023 (Spring): Guidance and funding available to States and Tribes for Contractor Training

2023 (Summer): Guidance and funding available to States and Tribes for Rebates

2024: Programs launched; rebates available to the public

Federal Tax Credits

The IRA legislation established tax credits for electric vehicles and residential energy improvements. Many of these are available for 2022 but are limited. 

Let’s say you want to improve the energy efficiency of your home and you think changing out the windows will help (for most places in California this is NOT a cost-effective energy upgrade). The tax credit in 2022 is 10% of the cost, so a $10,000 window upgrade will get you 1,000 in tax credits (unless you have used this before in the past few years up to a maximum of credit limit) and if you have you will get nothing.

Starting in 2023 your window retrofit will get you a 30% tax credit up to $600. A $10,000 window upgrade would get you $3,000 at the 30% but it is limited to only $600 or 6%. There is a work around for some of these projects as there is a tax credit cap of $1,200 per year so don’t upgrade all your windows in the same year. Install $1,800 worth of windows (approximately the cost of 2 windows) each year until your house is retrofitted. That way you will get a $600 tax credit each year for the windows.

Other tax credits include 30% for heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, and biomass stoves up to $2,000 per year. See the list below for the complete list. You might want to wait on a heat pump water heater because there is supposed to be a rebate available for them up to $2,500. You will probably notice the prices of all these tax creditable and rebatable items will go up once the incentives go into effect as retails tax advantage of consumers getting the rebates and tax credits.

Electric Vehicles

If you buy a new plug-in electric vehicle (EV) or fuel cell vehicle (FCV) in 2023 or after, you may qualify for a clean vehicle tax credit. 

Who Qualifies

  • You may qualify for a credit up to $7,500 under Internal Revenue Code Section 30D if you buy a new, qualified plug-in EV or fuel cell electric vehicle (FCV). The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 changed the rules for this credit for vehicles purchased from 2023 to 2032.
  • The credit is available to individuals and their businesses.
  • To qualify, you must:
  • Buy it for your own use, not for resale
  • Use it primarily in the U.S.
  • In addition, your modified adjusted gross income (AGI) may not exceed:

$300,000 for married couples filing jointly 

$225,000 for heads of households

$150,000 for all other filers

The credit is nonrefundable, so you can’t get back more on the credit than you owe in taxes. You can’t apply any excess credit to future tax years.

Qualified Vehicles

To qualify, a vehicle must:

  • Have a battery capacity of at least 7 kilowatt hours
  • Have a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 14,000 pounds
  • Be made by a qualified manufacturer. 
  • FCVs do not need to be made by a qualified manufacturer to be eligible. 
  • Undergo final assembly in North America

The sale qualifies only if:

  • You buy the vehicle new
  • The seller reports required information to you at the time of sale and to the IRS.
  • Sellers are required to report your name and taxpayer identification number to the IRS for you to be eligible to claim the credit.
  • In addition, the vehicle’s manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) can’t exceed:

$80,000 for vans, sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks

$55,000 for other vehicles

How to Claim the Credit

To claim the credit, file IRS Form 8936 with your tax return

Tom’s Top Ten Tips – Winter Energy Savings

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  1. Insulate and weatherize – if you haven’t done this to your home over the past 50 years since the first energy crisis then you deserve high bills. This is step one in saving energy and being comfortable.
  2. Thermostat settings – modern digital and smart thermostat comfort settings – 68 degrees “Home” setting; 55 or OFF “Sleep” setting; and 50 or OFF “Away” setting. A thermostat is not like an accelerator pedal, the higher you set it doesn’t make it get hot faster, it makes it run longer!
  3. Keep heating supply registers and doors open if you have a central return – Forced-air or central air heating systems need to circulate the air in your house. If you close doors or block the gap under the door, the system will draw in air from outside (infiltration). Keep registers and doors open in unused rooms to prevent mold from growing and improve air circulation.
  4. Wear winter clothes – lower your thermostat or turn it off and wear warm clothing.
  5. Let the Sun in – open curtains on the sunny side of your house during the day and let it warm up your house. Close the curtains at night to keep the heat in.
  6. Don’t use your dryer’s exhaust or your oven to heat your home. It will put warm moist air into the house which will cause mold to grow. Your gas dryer or oven you can poison your family with carbon monoxide. 
  7. Tune-up your heating system to make sure it is operating properly. You don’t need this every year but should be done every 5 – 10 years depending on your heating system’s age. Older units should be checked more often. If anyone in your home gets headaches when the heating system runs call your gas utility company to test your system for carbon monoxide.
  8. Heat pump users – heat pumps need to run full time because their temperature output isn’t as hot as a gas furnace. They can be turned down at night but have a long reheat time. 
  9. Ceiling fans – if you use a ceiling fan to move warm air off of your ceiling reverse the direction (all ceiling fans are reversable) so that the fan blows upward, not down. Air blowing on you will cool you off even if it is warm air.
  10. Take advantage of President Biden’s energy rebates and tax incentives starting in 2023 to upgrade the efficiency of your home. 

Tom’s Bonus Tip: Use other people’s/places heat. There are plenty of places you can go to that are heated and open to the public – coffee shops, restaurants, libraries, indoor malls, etc. Instead of spending your money on heating use the free heat available in these places.

Electrification 101 – Cost of Residential Energy

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As we move towards electrification of our homes and businesses one of the things we need to worry about is the cost of this transition. Documents such as the City of Chico’s 2021 Climate Action Plan and statements made by pro-electrification groups claim that transitioning from natural gas appliances to electric ones is cost effective. Is it? 

Converting Electricity and Natural Gas to Heat Energy

We use natural gas and propane in our homes to provide thermal (heat) energy to heat air, water, and our food as well as dry our clothes. In the hierarchy of energy forms thermal energy is considered the lowest form of energy. When energy is converted from one form to another, to get work done, thermal energy is always produced, typically as a waste product. For example, when we eat food (chemical energy) our bodies convert it to mechanical energy (to move our limbs) and electrical energy (to power our thinking, senses, and metabolism) in a series of steps known as the “Krebs cycle”. The Krebs cycle takes sugar molecules and converts them with the help of oxygen into energy, heat, and carbon dioxide. We end up generating a tremendous amount of heat as a waste product that we need to get rid of by evaporating water from our skin and radiating heat so we can function at a relatively constant temperature (97 to 99 degrees).

Converting natural gas and propane into heat energy is a very simple process. Natural gas, or methane (a one-carbon molecule, CH4) and propane (a three-carbon molecule, C3H8) is combined with oxygen in the presence of a flame (oxidized or burned) to produce carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O). This process gives off a tremendous amount of heat energy. It is the heat energy we want in this process and the carbon dioxide and water are the waste products. This conversion process is much more efficient than the standard (fossil fuel) electrical production process.

Producing electricity, on the other hand, is a multi-step process requiring many conversions of different forms of energy, which gives off heat energy as a waste product with each step. The exception here is solar energy, which is one of the most direct methods of producing electricity. Other renewable electrical sources are multi-step processes; however, there are fewer steps and losses with these production methods than the typical thermal electrical method.

The primary way we produce electricity is known as thermal electricity production. A combustible material such as coal, natural gas, and/or wood is mined, pumped, or cut down and burned to heat water to make steam. A lot of energy and multiple transitions went into making fossil fuels, of which only a small portion ends up producing electricity. Steam energy is spins a generator that produces electricity. The waste heat has to be ejected into the atmosphere to cool the steam so that it can be heated again to make steam. According to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Energy Information Agency (EIA) about 60% of the energy content of fossil fuels is wasted in generation process.

This wasted heat can be used to provide thermal energy for industrial processes, heating communities, and homes. Known as co-generation or CHP (combined heat and power), the waste heat is actually a valuable byproduct of fossil fuel electrical production. Fortunately, or unfortunately, we don’t locate homes next to power plants, or do we?

Electricity produced by a generator at a power plant must be transported to our homes. To do that without wasting a lot of electricity as heat because of the resistance in the power lines, the electricity has to be transformed to a very-high voltage, that is unusable at those voltages. Electricity flows through the power lines to substations where the super-high transmission voltage is reduced (stepped down) to a lower, but still a high, unusable voltage for distribution throughout a city or an area. High voltage electricity then enters transformers on power poles or underground, next to our homes and transform the high voltage electricity to a lower voltage (120/240 volts) that we can use in our homes. At each step of the process energy is lost. According to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Energy Information Agency (EIA) roughly 5% of the energy is lost during the transmission and distribution of electricity from the power plant to the end uses.

Hydroelectric electricity is a little more direct, there is no combustion process. Gravity in the form of falling water turns a generator that produces electricity that is transformed, transmitted, and distributed. Much less wasted energy in this process even though generators are not 100% efficient in converting mechanical energy to electrical energy.

Solar electric is even more direct. Sunlight falling on a solar panel produces electrons (direct current DC) which are then transformed to alternating current (AC) for use in your home. Even though solar panels convert only 15 – 22 percent of the sunlight falling on the panel it is a more direct way to produce electricity.

Now let’s look at natural gas (or propane). Gas is piped into a home where it is burned in a furnace, stove, oven, or water heater. Heat from the combustion process heats the air, water, or food directly. There is no transformation of different energy forms but, energy is used to extract natural gas and transport it in pipelines to our power stations and homes.

Electrical energy is considered to be a high-value energy source. It is very useful for lighting, electronics, motors, and other high-value uses. Heat energy is a low-value energy and while extremely necessary, on the scale of energy values it is pretty low.

If we look at the Laws of Thermodynamics we see that the First Law states that energy cannot be created nor destroyed, it can only be transformed from one form to another. We follow the first law when we transform from natural gas (chemical energy) to steam (thermal energy) to electrical energy. At the same time the Second Law of Thermodynamics states that whenever we convert or transform one form of energy to another some is lost from the system to the environment. In other words, the law of diminishing returns. Every conversion from one form of energy to another is always less than 100%. 

The more steps or conversions an energy form to make it useful the more the available energy is lost to the system. Using coal to make electricity is a huge waste in energy. It took a massive amount of energy to make coal, petroleum, and natural gas and millions of years to do it. Then 60% or more of it’s available energy is used to mine, process, transport, convert (generation) to electricity, transmit and distribute it. Then we use this electrical energy to heat air, water, and food which wastes even more of the available energy as it is converted back to heat energy. Each step in the process incurs a cost, the more steps the more it costs to use it.

As we’ve seen all the steps it takes to convert an unusable energy source to a usable one adds to the cost. Solar electric and wind electric are the most direct ways to produce and utilize electricity, and theoretically the cheapest way to produce electricity.

Cost of Electricity vs Natural Gas

The cost of energy depends on a number of factors, many of which were discussed above. The amount you pay for it, once the electricity is in an electric utility’s system is a whole other process. Utility tariffs (rate schedules) are complicated and trying to understand them is very involved. I will address energy bills in another blog. This blog post will focus on the cost of converting energy from one form to another in our homes.

Electrical Costs

Electrical energy (power) is measured in watts. Watts are a very small unit of energy and not useful for billing purposes, so we gather watts into billable amounts, kilowatts. A kilowatt is 1,000 watts. When we use electricity, we use it for a period of time, so there is a time component to electrical power. Hours are more convenient for billing purposes than minutes, so we get billed in kilowatt hours (kWhs). 

What do we pay for a kWh?

In Pacific Gas and Electric’s territory we are currently (Oct. 6, 2022) paying almost $.50 a kWh (peak rate is $0.49 and off-peak is $0.43). These rates will drop significantly during the winter (winter peak rate is $0.39 and off-peak is $0.37). These rates have more than doubled over the past five years and PG&E is now one of the highest cost utility companies in the US.

PG&E Electric Rates (October 2022)

ElectricitySummer RatesWinter Rates
PeakOff-PeakPeakOff-Peak
kWh Cost$0.49$0.43$0.39$0.37
Baseline Cost/kWh$0.40$0.34$0.30$0.28

When PG&E changed to a Time-of-Use Rate Schedule they kept the Tiered Rate Schedule as part of the TOU rates. Once you exceed your baseline electrical consumption you will be charged at the “normal” rate for peak and off-peak. These rates are not static and seem to change rather frequently.

Natural Gas Costs

Natural gas is metered at our homes in cubic feet (cu.ft.) but we are billed by the “therm”. One therm is 100,000 BTUs (British Thermal Units) of heat energy. One cubic foot of natural gas is approximately 1,037 BTUs of heat energy. The heat energy content of natural gas varies requiring PG&E to use a multiplier that is based on the energy content of natural gas as tested by the utility company. If you look at a portion of my most recent gas bill you will see the cubic feet to therm multiplication factor is 1.028263. A cubic foot of natural gas in this case is equal to 1,028 BTUs.

What does a therm of Natural Gas cost?

Like electricity the price of natural gas is a combination of a number of factors. The greatest of which is the cost to purchase it, which varies throughout the year. The price also varies by season. In the past summer gas prices are much higher and winter prices lower; however, because of shortages in availability in the winter, winter prices are much higher than summer prices. 

One therm of natural gas is priced at $2.12 for tier one rates on October 6, 2022, and is supposed to be close to $3.00 a therm by January.

The Cost per BTU for Electricity and Natural Gas

We need a common value to compare to determine the “cost effectiveness” of changing out natural gas appliances with electric ones. Since heat energy in the US is measured in British Thermal Units or BTUs so we need convert the costs per unit of electricity (kWhs) with the equivalent amount of natural gas (therms) per BTU. To do this we will determine the cost per million BTUs (one million BTUs is 10 therms or 293 kWhs).

Heat Energy Equivalents of Common Heating Fuels

  • Electricity = 3,412 BTUs/kWh 
  • Natural Gas = 100,000 BTUs/therm 
  • Propane = 91,500 BTUs/gallon
  • Heating Oil = 138,500 BTUs/gallon
  • Wood = 200,000 BTUs/cord (average, actual depends on species and water content)
  • Pellets = 8,250 BTUs/pound (dry)

If we compare the different residential energy sources used for space heating (water heating and cooking fuels are limited to natural gas, propane, and electricity) the lowest cost for heating energy (per therm or BTU) is firewood, followed by heating oil, and propane while electricity is the highest. Because of the way PG&E’s rates are scheduled a customer may have four different prices (Baseline Peak, Baseline Off-Peak, Peak, and Off-Peak rates) for electricity in a single billing period. During the summer electricity may be 5 to 7 times more costly per BTU than natural gas, while in the winter because of higher natural gas prices and lower electrical costs, electricity is only 3 to 4 times more costly on a BTU basis. 

Using electricity for heating (electrical resistance heaters) ranges from 3 to 7 times more costly than natural gas on a BTU (or therm) basis. However, using an electric heat pump, because of its high COP (coefficient of performance) or efficiency the cost to provide heat is almost the same as for a 80% efficient natural gas furnace.  

In the winter, for PG&E service, the cost difference for heat energy equivalents between electricity and natural gas decreases because the price of natural gas increases (from $2.16 to $2.76) while the price of electricity decreases (from $0.49 to $0.39 peak).

Electrification 101

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California and many other are moving towards electrifying all or as much residential energy use as possible in an effort to curb greenhouse gas production and slow down global climatic change. Even the City of Chico has jumped on board of the electrification train with its latest Climate Action Plan. While it is a valiant effort, it is too late, and maybe too little. Scientists made it clear back in the 1970’s that once the greenhouse effect gets moving the flywheel effect will keep it going even if greenhouse gas production was eliminated.

Residential energy use is not the leading cause of greenhouse gas production, our transportation systems are. The biggest reductions in greenhouse gasses (GHGs) will happen with transportation and not by replacing our gas stoves, furnaces, and water heaters with electric ones. Despite the late start, electrifying all of our appliances may help, and it can’t hurt, right? 

Electrification is the process of replacing natural gas and propane fueled appliances and replacing them with their electrical counterparts. Gas appliances are dedicated to producing heat, so all these appliances have to be replaced with electric heat producing appliances. In the thermodynamic world converting electrical energy to heat energy (thermal electricity) is the worst use and the highest cost way to produce useable heat unless 100% of the electrical source is with renewable technologies.  

The 1960’s was the heyday of electricity. Builders promoted “All Electric Gold Medallion Homes” in their sales pitches and proudly placarded homes with golden medallions. Utility companies bragged that electricity was “too cheap to meter” and electric rates went down the more you used. Global warming was over the horizon. 

Back in the 1960’s to my family’s modest three-bedroom home had several electrical devices (actually five (5) electrical appliances and nine (9) electrical devices) besides electric light bulbs (20 lamps total). Our home’s electrical appliances included a refrigerator, washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, and forced-air furnace. In the kitchen electrical devices included the a garbage disposal, toaster, and the heavy duty mixer my mother used for all kinds of things. A blender showed up on the counter one day that allowed us to make blended Ovaltine milk drinks.

Growing up in the 60’s we all took turns washing the dishes by hand. As my family grew to eleven my mother insisted on having a dishwasher. There was no room for a built-in dishwasher in our kitchen cabinetry because they weren’t a common appliance, so the one we had was portable and rolled around so that it could be hooked up to the sink when needed. That was it for electric appliances in the kitchen.

Entertainment centers were non-existent or extremely simple. We had a HiFi Stereo AM/FM/Turntable counsel on which my mother listened to big band music during the day and occasionally played one of her ten LP records (musicals such as My Fair Lady, the Music Man, the Sound of Music, and Mary Poppins). A black and white TV graced our living room and we children were plopped down in front of it (the youngest were housed in a playpen) after we got home from school to give my mother the space she needed to get dinner ready. My parents didn’t get a color TV until the mid 70’s after I no longer lived at home. One of my father’s dreams was to be able to watch the Rose Parade on New Years Day in color. 

Other electrical appliances in our home included the clothes washer and gas dryer (electric motor); two electric alarm clocks (my parents had one and I had the other one since I had to get up earlier than anyone else (5:30 AM) to ride my bike to church to be an altar boy by for the 6:00 AM morning mass). As my sisters became teenagers, hair dryers and curling irons were purchased but not much else in terms of electrical appliances.

Air conditioning nonexistent in track homes in Southern California. Only the the most expensive custom-built homes had them. Our uninsulated house was equipped with a forced-air gas furnace that my father didn’t turn on until Thanksgiving every year and shut off by Valentine’s Day. The climate in Southern California didn’t require much heating and we got used to hot summer days and cool summer nights when the ocean breeze blew the smog and fog in from Los Angeles.

In all there was a little more than a dozen electrical appliances (14 devices) and 20 light bulbs (incandescent lamps) in our home. Today I have more electrical devices just in my home office than there was in my home when I was growing up. They include the desktop computer/monitor, two printers (one photo quality and the other a general printer for documents), flat-bed scanner, four back-up hard drives (to back up my more than 250,000 digital images and videos), charging station with chargers for my camera batteries, drone batteries, my iPhone, my iPad, document shredder, mesh router, clock radio, desk lamp, ceiling fan/light.

My kitchen today is not overly endowed with gadgets, yet it has a refrigerator/freezer, blender, food processor, hand-held mixer, Bullet blender, electric induction tea kettle, coffee maker, undercabinet clock radio, toaster oven, microwave oven, gas convection oven, pressure cooker, dishwasher, and ceiling fan.

Instead of my parents’ HiFi and Black & White TV my entertainment system includes a 48” color LED TV, CD/DVD player, tuner/amp, VHS/DVD player, powered sound bar and subwoofer, an Apple TV, cable set-top box, and two Apple Home Pod speakers. Where the HiFi had one plug to power the entire system my system requires 8 plug-ins. 

Below is an inventory of electrical appliances, devices, and lighting that were in my home in 1970 when I lived with my family of eleven (nine children and two adults) compared to the electrical appliances and devices present in the home I lived in today (2022) with just one person

1972 Residential Electric Appliances, Devices, and Lighting Inventory

Kitchen 1972

  • Refrigerator/freezer
  • Dishwasher (portable)
  • Garbage disposal
  • Toaster
  • Mixer
  • Blender
  • Exhaust fan (ceiling)
  • Ceiling fixture (2-lamp, 100 watts ea)
  • Over-sink fixture (1-lamp, 100 watt)
  • Dining area fixture (2- lamp, 100 watts ea)

HVAC 1972

  • Forced-air Gas Furnace (100,000 BTUs with fan)

Home Office 1972

  • Non-existent

Living Room 1972

  • B&W TV
  • HiFi Stereo/turntable/AM-FM counsel radio
  • Table lamp
  • Ceiling fixture (2 lamps)

Bedroom Main 1972

  • Clock
  • Ceiling fixture (two lamps)

Bedrooms 1972 (2)

  • Clock radio (1)
  • Ceiling fixtures (2, 2-lamp)

Bathrooms 1972 (2)

  • Vanity fixtures (2, 2-lamp)

Garage 1972

  • Washing Machine
  • Gas Dryer
  • Wall fixture (1 lamp)

Outdoors 1972

  • Front porch light (incandescent)
  • Back porch light (incandescent)

1970 Totals

  • 5 electric appliances (refrigerator, washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, and forced-air furnace)
  • 9 electric/electronic devices
  • 20 electric lamps

2022 Residential Electric Appliances, Devices, and Lighting Inventory

Kitchen 2022

  • Refrigerator/freezer
  • Dishwasher (built-in)
  • Garbage disposal
  • Toaster oven
  • Hand-held mixer 
  • Blender
  • Range hood (exhaust fan and 2 LED lights)
  • Ceiling fixture (1 LED)
  • Over-sink fixture (1 LED) 
  • Dining area ceiling fan/4-CFLs
  • Food processor 
  • Bullet blender
  • Electric induction tea kettle 
  • Coffee grinder
  • Coffee maker
  • Espresso maker
  • Undercabinet clock radio
  • Microwave oven
  • Gas convection oven (fan)
  • Pressure cooker

HVAC 2022

  • Gas forced-air furnace (fan)
  • DX Cooling (compressor)
  • Whole House Fan
  • Portable fans (2)

Home Office 2022

  • Desktop computer/monitor
  • Laptop computer
  • One photo quality printer
  • General printer 
  • Flat-bed scanner
  • Four back-up hard drives 
  • Charging station with multiple chargers (for camera batteries, drone batteries, iPhone, iPad, recorders, video recorders, etc.)
  • Document shredder
  • Mesh router
  • Clock radio
  • Desk lamp
  • Ceiling fan/light

Living Room 2022

  • LCD TV 48”
  • Sound bar
  • Subwoofer
  • CD/DVD player
  • Tuner
  • VCR/DVD/CD recorder
  • Set-top cable box
  • Apple TV device
  • Apple Home Pod (2)
  • Echo Spot
  • Bluetooth speaker
  • Charging station (multiple chargers)
  • LED light strips (2)
  • Fluorescent torchiere
  • Compact fluorescent reading lamp
  • Table lamp (LED)
  • TV backlight (2 LEDs)
  • Ceiling fan with 4 LED lamps
  • WiFi Cable Router
  • Mesh Router
  • Apple Air Talk router
  • 6 “nodes” for electronic devices

Bedroom Main 2022

  • Echo Spot
  • Mini Home Pod
  • Ceiling fan with LED light
  • LED reading lamp
  • CFL reading lamp
  • Watch and phone charging station

Bedrooms 2022 (2)

  • Clock radio (1)
  • Ceiling fan fixture (2, 1-lamp)
  • Reading lamp

Bathrooms 2022 (2)

  • Vanity fixtures (2, 2-lamp)
  • Shaver charger (1)
  • Hair dryer (1)
  • Tooth cleaner pic (1)
  • Bath exhaust fan (1-lamp)

Garage 2022

  • Washing machine
  • Gas Dryer
  • Drill press
  • Router
  • Skill saw
  • Reciprocating saw
  • Plainer
  • Joiner
  • Battery chargers for portable equipment
  • 4 LED hanging fixtures
  • Garage door opener

Outdoors 2022

  • Front porch light (LED)
  • Back porch light (LED)
  • Sprinkle controller
  • Hot Tub
  • Patio Lights (LEDs)
  • Battery powered lawn care equipment (mower, string trimmer, edger, and chainsaw)

Miscellaneous – 2022

  • Boom box

2022 Totals

  • 7 electric appliances (refrigerator, washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, forced-air furnace, air conditioner, hot tub)
  • 90 electric/electronic devices
  • 44 electric lamps

In the past 50 years American homeowners greatly increased the number and type of electrical devices used in their homes. My own personal inventory of electrical appliances, devices, and lighting increased fivefold between 1972 and 2022. from less than 15 electric devices in 1970 to almost 100 devices in 2020. While the number of electric lights doubled from 20 to 40 their combined energy consumption greatly decreased due to improvement in lighting efficiency.

Based on my experience in conducting energy audits in people’s homes I would say that my electrical device inventory is probably a pretty typical. This same thing has happened on the commercial side too. In the early 1980’s offices had typewriters (mostly on the desks of secretaries) and by the late 1990s every desk had a computer on it. The future holds more electrical devices and appliances as new electronic gadgets are developed and as we convert gas-fired devices to electrical devices.

Instead of reducing our energy utilizing appliances and devices to save energy we are greatly increasing them. To reduce greenhouse gases and electrical consumption we need fewer electrical devices, not more, and those that we do use need to be as efficient as possible.

Gas Saving Tip #11 – Car Warm-up

/ Tom Barrett / Leave a comment

Don’t know how I missed this one in the Top 10 list but it is an important thing to minimize, idling and warm-ups.

Idling Wastes Gas

Idling wastes gas and does nothing for your car, you are going no where but sucking down gasoline. Don’t let your car idle for extended periods of time, it is a waste of gas. New cars are now programmed to turn off at stop signs and stop lights and restart when you release the brake pedal. This is one way car makers get to higher vehicle mileage numbers. The first rental car I drove with this feature surprised me when the car died at a stop light. Car rental companies should inform you about this feature when you rent a car.

Car Warm-Up Myth

I’m surrounded by the “I have to warm up my SUV and large truck” crowd, my neighbors. I’m unpleasantly woken up every morning by my neighbor warming up his SUV at 4:45 AM. He lets it run for at least 15 minutes and sometimes for a half hour on cold mornings, less than 10 feet from my bedroom window. The glass pack exhaust makes a rumbling sound that even with the sound-proof windows I just had installed still wakes me up. Just after 6:30 AM my neighbors across the street start up their F-250 and Suburban and let them warm up for 15 – 20 minutes before rushing off to work. A couple blocks away, on my morning walk, I pass by a Prius sitting at the curb in front of a house warming up every morning. The driver is nowhere to be seen and is probably sitting in his warm house finishing a second cup of coffee waiting for the heater to warm the car up so he can drive to work in comfort. California isn’t that cold!

When asked why they warm up their cars most folks will tell you that it will run better and last longer if it is warm. But the reality is probably that they want a warm car to sit in on a cold morning for their two-mile drive into work (the average distance most commuters drive is 2 miles to and from work). On start-up an engine only needs to get the oil pressure up to ensure lubrication, at that point it can be driven and that only takes a few seconds, unless there is something wrong with the engine. It takes 15 to 20 minutes of driving to get a vehicle warm, which is often the length of time of a commute in a small town.

An engine doesn’t need to get hot to run properly and the only way to warm up a vehicle is to drive it because you have to warm up the transmission, rear end, drive train, wheel bearings, and tires. All these components need to move to warm up and that only happens while the car is driven. Guess what? The efficiency of the vehicle will increase as the whole vehicle warms up and that can only happen when it is driven.

What about Diesel engines? They operate on heat and are supposed to warmed up before you drive them. Yes, this was true 30 years ago. In the good old days Diesel engines needed to be warmed up or else they knocked like heck and had little power. Today’s Diesel engines are much more sophisticated and computer controlled to operate without running the engine for a half hour before driving it to warm it up. They also don’t need to sit idling. Once the oil pressure is established drive the vehicle!

Cold Climates

If you live in a cold climate you need to pay attention to your vehicle when it is cold, as you well know. Gasoline and diesel fuel will get thick (jellify) below certain temperatures so fuel additives are necessary. Low viscosity oil is also necessary to get the oil moving in a really cold engine. If you run only water as the coolant in your engine the water can freeze and damage your engine, that is why antifreeze is necessary. Most people in really cold climates utilize block heaters to keep their engines warm so that they will start and run easier. Some people even store their vehicles in heated garages. But warming them up for extended periods of time only serves to heat the interior of the vehicle.

10 Tips to Reduce Gas Use, Save Money, and Clear the Air

/ Tom Barrett / Leave a comment
Gas and Diesel Prices – Valero Station, Chico, CA – March 6, 2022

What you can do – 10 Gas Saving Tips.

Back in the 1970’s, after the second energy crisis (1978) when gas prices rose to $0.65/gallon and we thought it was outrageous, I became a DOE-certified GasCAP (Gas Conservation Awareness Program) trainer. I taught people how to drive fuel-efficiently through a short classroom seminar and then behind-the-wheel driver’s training. Some of the tips I shared then are just as appropriate now even with the much higher mileage cars and hybrids we have to day. With these tips you can save even more and reduce costs, smog, and greenhouse gasses.

10 Stages of Mindfulness Driving

  1. Drive less – ask yourself, “Do I really need to drive somewhere?” If you, don’t don’t! If you do, do it mindfully.
  2. Stop driving. Walk, ride a bike, or use mass transit. Great benefits, it more healthy, reduces greenhouses gases, and saves you money, and besides your friends are doing it too.
  3. Work from home, telecommute. Most of us are used to this now because of Covid. Now we might be doing this to reduce gasoline consumption.
  4. Carpool – use other people’s energy. Talk to your co-workers can you share rides and costs to work or school?
  5. Mindful driving. Pretend like there is an egg between your foot and the gas pedal, press too hard and you will crush it, keep it easy and you won’t waste energy.
  6. Accelerate less and coast more. Stop and go driving is a fuel sucker. Accelerate gradually and coast as far as you can. This will increase your mileage and get you to where you are going in the same amount of time.
  7. Facetime/Zoom your friends. Electrons are cheaper than gasoline. Things we learned how to do to social distance will work on saving energy and reduce driving.
  8. Drive energy-efficient vehicles. We have better choices of vehicles today in terms of fuel efficiency than we have ever had, yet the number of gas consuming trucks and SUVs are astounding. Think about buying an electric vehicle, especially if all your driving in local.
  9. Inflate tires to their proper level. Harder tires reduces rolling resistance, low tires increases it.
  10. Don’t waste gas warming your car up or letting it idle. Cars warm up better when they are moving and don’t need to be warmed up before you drive them.

This We Know – Chief Si’ahl

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This we know.

The earth does not belong to us: we belong to the earth.

This we know.

All things are connected, like the blood that unites one family.

Wate’er befalls the earth, befalls the children of earth.

This we know.

We did not weave the web of life, we are merely a strand in it.

Whatever we do to the earth, we do to ourselves.

This we know.

— Chief Si’ahl

Chief Si’ahl is also know as Chief Sealth or Seattle.

Safer Consumer Products – DTSC

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Screen shot 2014-03-14 at 10.55.06 AM

SACRAMENTO –The Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) is challenging manufacturers to make their products safer and dramatically changing the way consumers are protected from potential toxic harm. This initiative fosters safe environment and healthy economy.

As a key step in its Safer Consumer Products regulations, DTSC is announced three draft “Priority Products” – consumer goods sold in California that each contain at least one toxic chemical. DTSC is asking manufacturers to figure out if there’s a safer alternative. Publication of this draft list of products imposes no new regulatory requirements on manufacturers until DTSC finalizes it by adopting regulations.

The first three Priority Products announced by DTSC are:

  • Children’s foam padded sleeping products containing TDCPP (chlorinated TRIS), a flame retardant and probable carcinogen that can also cause chronic health effects.
  • Spray Polyurethane Foam (SPF) systems containing unreacted di-isocyanates. SPF systems are used for home and building insulation, weatherization, sealing and roofing. Di-isocyanates can irritate the respiratory tract, cause asthma and cancer and are known skin irritants.
  • Paint stripper containing Methylene Chloride, a known carcinogen and neurotoxin.

DTSC is not banning these products. It is starting a process, requiring manufacturers who want to sell them in California to conduct an “Alternatives Analysis” to determine if feasible safer ingredients are available. The final list of Priority Products won’t be official until a rule-making process is complete, which could take up to a year. After that, manufacturers will begin the Alternative Analysis process.

“People want safer consumer products, and this innovative program establishes a process by which government and businesses can work together to meet this public demand.” said Matt Rodriquez, California Secretary for Environmental Protection. “Many companies already understand that looking for product alternatives to reduce consumer risk is a sound business practice. The eyes of the world will be watching us as we progress in this new, collective effort to protect public health and preserve our environment.”

DTSC’s landmark Safer Consumer Products regulations, which took effect Oct.1, 2013, represent a significant shift toward a more protective, economically viable approach to how California ensures the safety of consumer products. The regulations provide an opportunity for innovative industries to capitalize on the growing consumer demand for products that are safer and better for the environment.

Screen shot 2014-03-14 at 10.59.12 AM

DTSC selected these priority products because they contain at least one of more than 1,100 toxic chemicals that the Department identified as having the potential to cause significant harm to people or the environment. The products also are widely used and create the potential for significant public exposure to these chemicals.

“The impact of this initiative will be significant,” said DTSC Director Debbie Raphael. “Not only is DTSC asking that these three products be made safer, it is signaling to manufacturers to examine their products and find safer alternative ingredients whenever any of the more than 1,100 chemicals identified by this program are used.”

“This approach will also protect California workers, who can be exposed to high levels of hazardous chemicals in paint stripping and insulating products, especially when the products are used in confined spaces,” said Christine Baker, Director of California’s Department of Industrial Relations, which oversees the state’s worker safety program, Cal/OSHA. “DTSC’s new regulations will motivate investment in safer alternatives; we see that as a smart strategy to prevent on-the-job injuries and illnesses.

Visit the Safer Consumer Product website for more information:

https://dtsc.ca.gov/SCP/index.cfm

Safer Consumer Products Process

Safer Consumer Products Process

 

 

Earth Day – US Census Facts

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Profile America Facts for Features — Earth Day: April 22, 2014

Census Bulletin CB14-FF.06; March 12, 2014

 

Earth Day: April 22, 2014

April 22, 2014, marks the 44th anniversary of Earth Day ― a day intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s natural environment. The day came from reaction to a massive oil spill in waters near Santa Barbara, Calif., in 1969. In honor of Earth Day ― and Earth Week (April 16-22) ― this edition of Profile America Facts for Features includes examples of Census Bureau statistics pertaining to energy and the environment.

Heating and Cooling the Home

2.4 million: Estimated number of occupied housing units across the country heated by wood in 2012, which is 2.1 percent of all homes.

42,747: Estimated number of occupied housing units across the country totally heated by solar energy in 2012.

57.0 million: Estimated number of occupied housing units across the country heated by utility gas in 2012, which is 49.4 percent of all homes. (Source: 2008-2012 American Community Survey five-year estimates, Table B25040.)

89%: Estimated percent of newly built single-family homes across the country with air-conditioning in 2012. In 1973, it was 49 percent. (Source: 2012 Characteristics of New Housing)

Commuting to Work

25.7 minutes: Estimated average time for workers age 16 and older across the country spent getting to work in 2012, up from 25.5 minutes in 2011 and 25.3 minutes in 2010.

31.9 and 31.8 minutes: Estimated average time for workers age 16 and older in Maryland and New York spent getting to work in 2012, the longest commute time in the nation. (The two times are not statistically different.) Maryland’s time is down from 32.2 minutes in 2011.

16.7 and 17.4 minutes: Estimated average time workers age 16 and older in South Dakota and North Dakota spent getting to work in 2012, the shortest one-way commute times in the nation. (The two times are not statistically different.)

864,883: Estimated number of people who rode a bicycle to work in 2012. This comes out to about 0.6 percent of the American workforce.

3,969,058: Estimated number of people who walked to work in 2012. This comes out to about 2.8 percent of the American workforce.

Using Energy

18,817 trillion BTUs: The energy consumption in the U.S. manufacturing sector in 2010, down 17 percent from the 22,576 trillion Btu (British thermal units) consumed in 2002.

-32%: The drop in the consumption of coal in the U.S. manufacturing sector from 2002 to 2010, going from 1,956 trillion Btu in 2002 down to 1,328 trillion Btu consumed in 2010.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2010 Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey

Building a House

2,505 square feet: The average size of a single-family home completed in 2012; 63,000 had two or fewer bedrooms and 198,000 had four bedrooms or more.

1,660 square feet: The average size of a single-family home completed in 1973

$292,200: The average sales price of a new single-family home sold in 2012. In 2011, the average sales price of a single-family home sold was $267,900.

Source: 2012 Characteristics of New Housing

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

$7.6 billion: Product shipments value of recycled paperboard in 2011. This is up from $7.2 billion in 2010.

Source: 2010 and 2011 Annual Survey of Manufactures

Collecting Revenue

$1.2 billion: Estimated revenue for “waste collection – hazardous waste management collection services” in 2012 for estimated sources of revenue for U.S. employer firms. This was down 13.1 percent from 2011.

$5.7 billion: Estimated revenue for “waste treatment and disposal – hazardous waste treatment and disposal services” in 2012 for estimated sources of revenue for U.S. employer firms. This was down 5.1 percent from 2011.

Livable Wages for Chico

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The California Budget Project’s (CPB, http://www.cpb.org) December, 2013 report, “Making Ends Meet: How Much Does It Cost to Support a Family in California?” analyzed the cost to live in California and each of its counties.  The CBP analyzed the following basic living needs: housing and utilities, child care, transportation, food, health care, miscellaneous expenses (including telephone service, housekeeping supplies, and other basic costs), and taxes.

Livable Wage in Chico/Butte County

  • A single adult needs an annual income of $26,615, or $12.80/hour.
  • A single-parent family with two children needs an annual income of $61,605, or $29.62/hour.
  • A two-parent family with one parent working and two children needs an annual income of $53,138, or $25.57/hour.
  • A family with two working parents and two children needs an annual income of $69,480, or $16.70/hour for each working parent.

How much do people in Chico make? According the latest Census information, American Community Survey (ACS) reports that in Chico:

  • The median household income is $42,896/year, or $20.62/hour.
  • The median family income is $56,301/year, or $27.07/hour.
  • The per capita income is $23,573, or $11.33/hour.

The US Census reports that 23% of the population in Chico is below poverty level.

California Budget Project – Dec. 2013 Annual Costs Butte Co.
Single Adult Single-Parent Family Two-Parent Family (One working) Two-Working Parent Family
Housing/Utilities $532 $878 $878 $878
Child Care $0 $892 $0 $892
Transportation $309 $309 $309 $538
Food $293 $627 $866 $866
Health Care $484 $1,350 $1,411 $1,411
Miscellaneous $212 $439 $509 $509
Taxes $388 $639 $460 $697
MONTHLY TOTAL $2,218 $5,134 $4,432 $5,790
ANNUAL TOTAL $26,615 $61,605 $53,183 $69,480
HOURLY WAGE $12.80 $29.62 $25.57 $33.40

Livable Wage for the State of California (statewide average)

  • A single adult needs an annual income of $32,625, or $15.69/hour.
  • A single-parent family with two children needs an annual income of $74,477, or $35.81/hour.
  • A two-parent family with one parent working and two children needs an annual income of $60,771, or $29.22/hour.
  • A family with two working parents and two children needs an annual income of $81,553, $19.61/hour per each working parent.

HUD Low-Income Status – Butte County

HUD Income Limits – Butte Co, 2014
Persons in Family Extremely Low Income (30%) $/Hour Very Low Income (50%) $/Hour Low Income (80%) $/Hour
1 $11,500 $5.53 $19,150 $9.21 $30,650 $14.74
2 $13,150 $6.32 $21,900 $10.53 $35,000 $16.83
3 $14,800 $7.12 $24,650 $11.85 $39,400 $18.94
4 $16,400 $7.88 $27,350 $13.15 $43,750 $21.03
5 $17,750 $8.53 $29,550 $14.21 $47,250 $22.72
6 $19,050 $9.16 $31,750 $15.26 $50,750 $24.40
7 $20,350 $9.78 $33,950 $16.32 $54,250 $26.08
8 $21,650 $10.41 $36,150 $17.38 $57,750 $27.76
Median Income $54,000

Chico Jobs that Pay Less Than a Livable Wage

The following list of wages in Chico comes from the Employment Development Department’s California Labor Market data for Chico (http://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov). Seven of the top-ten, high hourly wage jobs are medical (dentists, doctors, pharmacists, physician assistants, etc.) while police supervisors (ranked #6) make more than PAs, chief executives, and architects/engineers.

At the other end of the scale the ten, lowest wage jobs in Chico include primarily restaurant workers (6 out of the bottom 10), home health aides, community and social service specialists, tree trimmers, and amusement and recreation attendees. Waiters and waitresses were the lowest, hourly wage workers in Chico.

  • Livable Wage for a Single Person in Chico = $12.80/hr., 21% of all occupations in Chico pay less than the Livable Wage for a single person.
  • Livable Wage for a One-Worker Family in Chico is $29.62/hr., 77% of all occupations in Chico have a median wage that is less than the Livable Wage for Chico.
High Wage Occupations in Chico MSA, California Labor Market Info 2013 Median Hourly Wage 2013 Average Hourly Wage
Dentists, General $0.00 $115.23
Pediatricians, General $0.00 $113.76
Physicians and Surgeons, All Other $0.00 $106.91
Internists, General $0.00 $102.85
Pharmacists $69.14 $69.50
Family and General Practitioners $61.65 $70.81
Police and Detective Supervisors $59.97 $57.27
Physician Assistants $52.79 $51.29
Chief Executives $51.47 $65.99
Architectural and Engineering Managers $50.61 $69.79
Nurse Practitioners $50.04 $50.73
Lawyers $48.73 $45.22
Sales Managers $48.05 $52.41
Purchasing Managers $47.29 $44.50
Computer and Information Systems Managers $46.01 $47.41
Occupational Therapists $44.40 $45.20
Registered Nurses $44.28 $44.28
Medical and Health Services Managers $44.24 $45.98
Human Resources Managers $44.09 $51.57
Speech-Language Pathologists $43.90 $45.27
Dental Hygienists $43.73 $45.43
Optometrists $43.71 $43.95
Construction Managers $43.38 $42.81
Engineers, All Other $43.22 $43.15
Physical Therapists $42.82 $44.59
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists $41.98 $41.28
Industrial Engineers $40.90 $39.76
Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents $40.10 $38.77
Marketing Managers $39.76 $41.92
Sales Representatives, Technical and Scientific $39.61 $47.08
Industrial Production Managers $39.53 $38.25
Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technicians $39.00 $35.16
Financial Managers $38.99 $44.66
Electronics Engineers $38.83 $38.35
Surveyors $38.76 $35.49
Power Plant Operators $38.35 $38.89
Management Occupations $38.12 $45.16
Information Security Analysts $38.12 $37.24
Veterinarians $37.98 $40.30
General and Operations Managers $37.05 $47.04
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations $37.05 $39.42
Diagnostic Medical Sonographers $36.61 $38.42
Urban and Regional Planners $36.37 $37.85
Civil Engineers $36.36 $36.05
Software Developers, Applications $36.33 $39.42
Hydrologists $36.19 $40.34
Vocational Education Teachers, Postsecondary $35.83 $32.62
Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers $34.98 $35.74
Financial Analysts $34.93 $38.66
Social and Community Service Managers $34.72 $32.67
Detectives and Criminal Investigators $34.60 $33.13
Budget Analysts $34.37 $34.66
Soil and Plant Scientists $33.90 $36.42
Construction Trades and Extraction Supervisors $33.82 $34.08
Respiratory Therapists $33.64 $33.51
Police and Sheriff Patrol Officers $33.60 $35.07
Education Administrators, All Other $33.17 $40.47
Network and Computer Systems Administrators $32.94 $35.61
Administrative Services Managers $32.69 $37.99
Clinical, Counseling, and School Psychologists $32.36 $31.51
Water and Liquid Waste Treatment Plant Workers $32.21 $31.66
Meter Readers, Utilities $31.89 $29.93
Computer Systems Analysts $31.64 $33.02
Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators $31.60 $30.45
Database Administrators $31.20 $29.78
Architecture and Engineering Occupations $31.05 $32.39
Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other $30.77 $32.00
Postmasters and Mail Superintendents $30.63 $33.12
Computer Network Architects* $30.61 $34.94
Personal Financial Advisors $30.58 $42.91
Computer and Mathematical Occupations $30.02 $31.67
Construction and Building Inspectors $30.00 $30.41
Radiologic Technologists $29.96 $30.08
Accountants and Auditors $29.75 $31.46
Industrial Machinery Mechanics $29.62 $33.15
Occupations Paying less than Livable Wages in Butte County for One-Worker Families 2013 Median Hourly Wage 2013 Average Hourly Wage
Labor Relations Specialists $29.28 $29.16
Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists $29.09 $32.69
Mechanics, Installers, and Repair Supervisors $28.95 $31.84
Management Analysts $28.89 $30.27
Physical Therapist Assistants $28.86 $30.17
Librarians $28.83 $28.96
Mechanical Engineers $28.35 $31.87
Business Operations Specialists, All Other $28.19 $34.06
Environmental Scientists, Including Health $27.98 $26.68
Instructional Coordinators $27.79 $29.32
Surgical Technologists $27.66 $28.38
Legal Occupations $27.35 $35.64
Civil Engineering Technicians $27.35 $27.32
Postal Service Mail Carriers $27.09 $25.18
Environmental Technicians, Including Health $27.03 $27.27
Business and Financial Operations Occupations $26.92 $29.72
Occupational Therapy Assistants $26.82 $24.64
Transportation and Material-Moving Supervisors $26.72 $26.70
Educational, Guidance, School, and Vocational Counselors $26.60 $29.61
Fire Fighting and Prevention Workers Supervisors $26.49 $28.19
Environmental Engineers $26.48 $30.22
Social Workers, All Other $26.41 $24.92
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Supervisors $26.37 $29.98
Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists* $26.27 $29.56
Education, Training, and Library Occupations $26.11 $28.86
Postal Service Clerks $25.87 $23.80
Postal Service Mail Processors $25.87 $21.31
Industrial Engineering Technicians $25.86 $26.80
Healthcare Social Workers $25.85 $26.17
Computer User Support Specialists $25.82 $25.19
Financial Services Sales Agents $25.74 $30.66
Computer Programmers $25.71 $27.61
Dietitians and Nutritionists $25.47 $25.27
Heating/Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Workers $25.08 $24.46
Loan Officers $25.02 $26.80
Cost Estimators $24.70 $29.03
Real Estate Appraisers and Assessors $24.66 $25.41
Excavating and Loading Machine Operators $24.64 $27.25
Public Safety Dispatchers $24.55 $23.71
Landscaping and Groundskeeping Supervisors $24.50 $24.09
Mental Health Counselors $24.39 $23.70
Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines $24.29 $24.11
Licensed Vocational Nurses $24.20 $24.40
Non-Retail Sales Supervisors $23.88 $25.28
Human Resources Specialists* $23.82 $24.93
Electricians $23.81 $24.25
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers $23.80 $20.82
Machinists $23.77 $22.65
Child, Family, and School Social Workers $23.72 $22.54
Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers $23.21 $22.99
Compliance Officers $23.18 $25.09
Protective Service Occupations $23.07 $24.07
Fire Inspectors and Investigators $23.07 $23.38
Purchasing Agents $23.01 $24.37
Public Relations Specialists $22.95 $25.34
Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations $22.89 $26.01
Production and Operating Supervisors $22.83 $24.60
Office and Administrative Support Supervisors $22.80 $23.98
Food Service Managers $22.54 $23.53
Architectural and Civil Drafters $22.54 $23.09
Chefs and Head Cooks $22.52 $24.07
Mechanical Drafters $22.30 $22.97
Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians $22.27 $25.44
Sales Representatives, Except Technical $22.09 $29.49
Separating and Filtering Machine Workers $22.09 $23.51
Roofers $22.07 $21.28
Real Estate Sales Agents $22.05 $22.62
Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters $21.97 $21.80
Procurement Clerks $21.71 $21.23
Automotive Body and Related Repairers $21.58 $21.84
Painters, Transportation Equipment $21.57 $26.16
Operating Engineers $21.49 $23.42
Highway Maintenance Workers $21.36 $21.41
Computer Network Support Specialists $21.24 $20.92
Construction and Extraction Occupations $21.22 $23.14
Education Administrators, Preschool and Child Care Center/Program $21.20 $21.75
Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial $21.18 $23.34
Training and Development Specialists $21.09 $22.48
Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers $20.99 $24.37
Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products $20.77 $23.77
Advertising Sales Agents $20.66 $25.28
Lodging Managers $20.61 $22.09
Legal Support Workers, All Other $20.47 $23.73
Editors $20.36 $22.88
Helpers, Laborers, and Material-Moving Supervisors $20.33 $21.17
Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs $20.31 $19.86
Fitness Trainers and Aerobics Instructors $20.26 $19.64
Executive Secretaries $20.02 $20.63
Heavy Truck Drivers $20.00 $21.15
Property and Community Association Managers $19.93 $20.71
Fire Fighters $19.84 $21.36
Sales Representatives, Services, All Other $19.70 $22.51
Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics $19.63 $20.41
Paralegals and Legal Assistants* $19.52 $21.69
Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks $19.36 $20.82
Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks $19.35 $20.04
Education/Training/Library Workers, All Other $19.33 $21.82
Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders $19.20 $17.68
Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers $18.95 $18.36
Pharmacy Technicians $18.78 $19.76
Self-Enrichment Education Teachers $18.74 $20.91
Health Technologists and Technicians, All Other $18.58 $18.92
Construction Laborers $18.57 $22.42
Court, Municipal, and License Clerks $18.57 $19.39
Counselors, All Other $18.56 $22.21
Financial Specialists, All Other $18.55 $20.89
Writers and Authors $18.36 $18.72
Web Developers $18.31 $22.14
Marriage and Family Therapists $18.26 $20.50
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations $18.20 $20.40
Medical Transcriptionists $18.17 $19.54
Community and Social Services Occupations $18.16 $19.77
Carpenters $18.00 $25.37
Bus and Truck Mechanics $17.98 $19.28
Butchers and Meat Cutters $17.94 $17.33
Loan Interviewers and Clerks $17.92 $17.82
Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, and Weighers $17.81 $19.49
Interpreters and Translators $17.79 $20.31
Housekeeping and Janitorial Supervisors $17.70 $19.52
Farm Equipment Mechanics $17.60 $18.58
Graphic Designers $17.53 $18.67
Retail Sales Supervisors $17.49 $18.84
Maintenance Workers, Machinery $17.39 $18.30
Library Technicians $17.39 $18.20
Opticians, Dispensing $17.18 $17.99
Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians $17.17 $17.20
Producers and Directors $17.16 $19.19
Dental Assistants $17.11 $16.80
Phlebotomists $17.09 $17.24
Pipelayers $17.03 $18.06
Bill and Account Collectors $16.92 $16.82
Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners* $16.89 $16.72
Prepress Technicians and Workers $16.81 $16.66
Helpers, Electricians $16.76 $17.44
Computer-Controlled Machine Tool Operators $16.74 $16.79
Word Processors and Typists $16.72 $17.02
Library Assistants, Clerical $16.71 $17.35
Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks $16.70 $17.31
Interviewers, Except Eligibility and Loan $16.64 $17.07
Printing Press Operators $16.63 $15.99
Veterinary Technologists and Technicians $16.62 $15.99
Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors $16.59 $17.84
Human Resources Assistants $16.46 $17.25
Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors $16.36 $15.16
Painters, Construction and Maintenance $16.34 $18.39
Information and Record Clerks, All Other $16.32 $16.73
Healthcare Support Workers, All Other $16.20 $17.09
Bus Drivers, School or Special Client $16.19 $16.18
Health Information Technicians $16.18 $17.11
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media $16.15 $19.00
Medical Equipment Preparers $15.86 $15.92
Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance $15.85 $16.18
Personal Service Worker Supervisors $15.82 $16.50
Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators $15.78 $16.52
Medical Secretaries $15.71 $15.52
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers, All Other $15.70 $18.23
Insurance Claims and Policy Processing Clerks $15.67 $16.20
Billing and Posting Clerks $15.67 $15.89
Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers $15.49 $15.90
Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters $15.43 $15.79
Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics $15.28 $15.85
Total, All Occupations $15.26 $20.43
Life and Social Science Technicians, All Other $15.26 $16.69
Production Occupations $15.05 $17.31
Maintenance and Repair Workers, General $15.03 $16.48
Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Workers $15.03 $16.27
Electronic Home Entertainment Equipment Workers $14.97 $15.15
Shipping, Receiving, and Traffic Clerks $14.86 $16.03
Pest Control Workers $14.86 $15.47
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers $14.81 $15.96
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians $14.73 $19.02
Animal Control Workers $14.70 $16.22
Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Workers $14.68 $15.98
Secretaries, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive $14.64 $15.29
Office and Administrative Support Occupations $14.54 $15.55
Protective Service Workers, All Other $14.53 $16.38
Weighers, Measurers, Checkers, and Samplers $14.44 $14.89
Legal Secretaries $14.34 $14.81
Motorcycle Mechanics $14.26 $16.27
Agricultural and Food Science Technicians $14.19 $15.61
Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters $14.00 $14.72
Pharmacy Aides $13.92 $15.50
Light Truck Drivers $13.75 $17.78
Transportation and Material-Moving Occupations $13.65 $15.59
Office Machine Operators, Except Computer $13.65 $15.00
Forest and Conservation Technicians $13.64 $16.17
Sheet Metal Workers $13.63 $14.91
Tax Preparers $13.62 $14.46
Packaging and Filling Machine Workers $13.61 $13.77
Merchandise Displayers and Window Trimmers $13.55 $13.62
Computer and Office Machine Repairers $13.46 $13.71
Order Clerks $13.46 $13.38
Outdoor Power Equipment Mechanics $13.45 $16.16
Medical Equipment Repairers $13.29 $14.08
Medical Assistants $13.29 $13.60
Reporters and Correspondents $13.15 $14.56
Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria $13.13 $13.92
Assemblers and Fabricators, All Other $12.97 $13.12
Veterinary Assistants/Laboratory Animal Caretakers $12.90 $13.13
Occupations Paying less than Livable Wages in Butte County for a Single Person 2013 Median Hourly Wage 2013 Average Hourly Wage
Tellers $12.76 $12.62
Mail Workers, Except Postal Service $12.61 $12.54
Parts Salespersons $12.47 $13.46
Food Preparation and Serving Workers Supervisors $12.44 $13.43
Laborers and Material Movers $12.38 $12.50
Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education $12.26 $14.05
Receptionists and Information Clerks $12.03 $13.09
Helpers, Construction Trades, All Other $11.99 $12.80
Nursing Assistants $11.99 $12.79
Healthcare Support Occupations $11.97 $13.05
File Clerks $11.95 $14.10
Service Station Attendants $11.87 $11.67
Grinding, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Workers $11.85 $12.80
Counter and Rental Clerks $11.70 $13.52
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids/Housekeeping $11.60 $12.71
Bakers $11.57 $12.44
Recreation Workers $11.55 $13.15
Stock Clerks and Order Fillers $11.48 $12.74
Dietetic Technicians $11.40 $12.14
Building, Grounds, and Maintenance Occupations $11.34 $12.88
Woodworking Machine Workers, Except Sawing $11.31 $12.70
Team Assemblers $11.29 $12.45
Sales and Related Occupations $11.25 $15.33
Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Workers $11.18 $12.12
Office Clerks, General $11.13 $12.25
Sales and Related Workers, All Other $11.07 $12.98
Switchboard Operators $11.07 $11.47
Demonstrators and Product Promoters $10.96 $11.08
Residential Advisors $10.95 $12.16
Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers $10.89 $12.37
Driver/Sales Workers $10.76 $13.83
Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners $10.68 $11.42
Social and Human Service Assistants $10.58 $12.46
Helpers, Installation and Repair Workers $10.57 $11.10
Helpers, Roofers $10.55 $10.93
Physical Therapist Aides $10.52 $11.90
Taxi Drivers and Chauffeurs $10.48 $10.43
Cooks, Restaurant $10.45 $10.79
Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers $10.44 $10.52
Security Guards $10.40 $11.68
Cooks, All Other $10.33 $10.50
Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment $10.32 $11.40
Childcare Workers $10.23 $10.77
Data Entry Keyers $10.21 $12.04
Transportation Workers, All Other $10.16 $11.75
Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks $10.13 $10.71
Nonfarm Animal Caretakers $10.12 $11.31
Food Preparation Workers $10.10 $11.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations $9.88 $11.74
Office and Administrative Support Workers, All Other $9.75 $10.98
Packers and Packagers $9.69 $10.07
Retail Salespersons $9.64 $11.61
Food Servers, Nonrestaurant $9.64 $9.66
Personal Care and Service Occupations $9.56 $11.70
Cashiers $9.54 $10.99
Cutting and Slicing Machine Workers $9.48 $11.98
Motor Vehicle Operators, All Other $9.47 $10.72
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop and Nursery $9.40 $9.87
Tire Repairers and Changers $9.37 $10.42
Broadcast Technicians $9.30 $10.99
Sewing Machine Operators $9.24 $9.97
Cooks, Short Order $9.22 $9.81
Personal Care Aides $9.21 $9.43
Bartenders $9.21 $9.33
Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations $9.19 $9.89
Counter Attendants, Concession, and Coffee Shop $9.16 $9.56
Helpers, Production Workers $9.14 $9.93
Home Health Aides $9.14 $9.31
Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other $9.10 $12.60
Combined Food Preparation and Serving Workers $9.09 $9.50
Tree Trimmers and Pruners $9.06 $10.38
Cooks, Fast Food $9.06 $9.07
Amusement and Recreation Attendants $9.05 $9.35
Dining Room, Cafeteria, and Bartender Helpers $9.02 $9.37
Dishwashers $8.95 $8.91
Hosts, Hostesses, Restaurant, and Coffee Shop $8.93 $8.75
Waiters and Waitresses $8.88 $8.78

Source: California Labor Market Information