By J. Everett
In a world full of throw-aways, three artists prove that one person’s trash is someone else’s treasure. Emily Allison, Mark Lammie, and Kenny Hays find beauty and humor in the discarded. Their imaginative works fill Gallery Fifty Six with “trashy art” for the September show, Recycle!
Emily Allison loves junk. You may call it garbage, but in Emily’s hands those tin cans become finely beaten silver and those bits of glass transform into enamel mosaics. Throwing her offbeat sense of humor into her shake and bake creations, she serves up sculptures and collages that are beautiful, yet quietly humorous.
Mark Lammie gathers previously used materials like cans, wood, dirt, and bark for his work. “The materials I use have all been discovered along my art making road and get used, discarded, and reused constantly…every work I create is an act of discovery as well as a repeat of a previous act, just like life.” His creations will lure you in as his stories unfold.
Kenny Hays has always been a railroad man, which means lots of down time waiting for that next train. That’s when he hits the tracks and picks up stuff. Lots of stuff! His found-object mobiles hang from Memphis overpasses, and his lone pipe and pliers saxophone player is soon joined by an entire scrap-metal orchestra. You’ll be delighted with his repertoire.
Everyone is invited to the artist’s reception, Friday, September 10, from 5-8pm, at Gallery Fifty Six, 2256 Central Avenue. Wear your garage sale bargains and enjoy seeing what really happened to all that stuff you’ve thrown away! For more information go online to galleryfiftysix.com or call (901) 276-1251.

By Emily Bishop
The city plans to repave Cooper Street in spring 2011 and hopefully the repaving will include bike lanes and redesigning Cooper Street to make it safer. There are two plans being discussed, one from the CY Business Association and one from Revolutions Bike Shop. The CYCA wants to hear from residents and visitors about the redesign of Cooper Street and where the bike lanes should go.
The CY Business Association has been working on a plan to redesign Cooper Street for a couple of years. In the CY Business Association plan, Cooper Street would be reduced to one lane of traffic in each direction with a designated turn lane in the middle. Bike lanes would be on both sides of the street from Central to Young Avenue. The stretch of Cooper Street from Young to Southern would have no bike lanes but would only have “Share the Road” signs, and parking would remain on both sides of the street.
A new plan by Revolutions Bike Shop was presented to CY business leaders at a meeting on August 9 at Tsunami. The purpose of the meeting was to present new information about a safer design option for bike lanes and to come to a consensus on a recommendation to the city for when it repaves Cooper Street.
The Revolutions plan also reduces the traffic lanes on Cooper Street to one lane in each direction with a designated turn lane from Central to Young Avenue. The location of the bike lane on this stretch is the big difference. Instead of being next to the moving traffic, the bike lanes would be next to the sidewalk with the row of parallel-parked cars protecting it from the moving traffic. This model of “protected” bike lanes has not been done before in Memphis but it has been successful in other cities. The bicyclist will still have to be careful of opening passenger doors but they will be safe from driver doors and moving traffic.
Charlie Ryan with the CY Business Association stated that “while the business association is pro both pedestrian, parking, and bicycles, we are still far apart …” Ryan does not see room for a compromise and added, “We need to come to an understanding that we just don’t agree.” The reason Ryan gives for not wanting the protected bike lanes is that he doesn’t want drivers who park on the street to have to open their doors next to the lane of traffic. Currently, parked cars do just that.
The new plan from Revolutions also includes protected bike lanes on both sides of the street on Cooper from Young to Southern. The four parking spaces on the west side of Cooper in front of the upholstery shop would be removed. All of the parking on the east side of Cooper in front of First Congregational Church would remain.
Street parking is important to both business owners and residents. Businesses want their customers to be able to safely park close to their businesses. Residents want the businesses to thrive but also want to minimize the traffic, trash, and temptation to would-be criminals that parking in front of their homes invites. The loss of four spaces on Cooper Street would allow bike lanes to continue from Young to Southern.
The CY Business Association has stated their opposition to any loss of on street parking to bike lanes. Individual business owners have voiced their support for the new plan. In an email to the Mayor’s office, Tiger Bryant, owner of the Young Avenue Deli and Soul Fish wrote, “While maintaining as much on street parking is of great importance to me, the safety of my customers and the community at large are equally important. I support the bike lanes being put as far away from traffic as possible, which lends me to supporting putting them between the parked cars and curbs NOT running along traffic.”
The CYCA would very much like to hear from you about this important issue. Please go to
cooperyoung.org and click on the post about the bike lanes and then the link to the discussion forum. You can mail your comments to The Cooper-Young Community Association, 2298 Young Avenue, Memphis, TN 38104. You can also send your comments to the Mayor directly at Mayor@memphistn.gov or to his assistant, Kerry Hayes, at kerry.hayes@memphistn.gov.
Editors note: Articles about the bike lanes are available in the June, July, and August LampLighter. They can be found online at lamplighter.cooperyoung.org.

By June Hurt and Susan Roakes
The CY Community Association has joined forces with the Vollintine Evergreen Community Association (VECA), as well as the Evergreen, Central Gardens, and Hein Park neighborhoods to investigate sanitary sewer problems in Midtown. An increasing number of residents have reported that clear water and sewage are backing up into their basements through their sanitary sewer drains during heavy rainstorms. This is a sign of system cross-contamination, which so far the city has denied is occurring.
The City of Memphis has two public drainage systems. One system drains the sanitary sewer lines, which carry wastewater from sinks, showers, toilets, and washers. Sanitary Sewer lines go to treatment facilities for the wastewater to be cleaned before it is released back into the Mississippi River. The other system drains storm water, or the excess water that runs off into storm drains when it rains. Creeks, streams, and rivers are Mother Nature’s storm water drainage system. Before the 20th century, most cities in the US used the creeks, streams, and rivers as their storm water and wastewater systems too. But as early as 1880, Memphis built separate systems to carry wastewater and storm water. Meanwhile, most cities in the US built combined wastewater and storm water systems, which means they clean both storm water and wastewater.
While Memphis’ separate wastewater and storm water systems mean that we spend less on treatment than other cities, the sanitary sewer and storm water systems in Midtown are eighty to a hundred years old. There is evidence that storm water and wastewater from these two systems are mixing, which is called cross-contamination. This mixing occurs as a result of breaks in the lines of both systems. Entry of storm water into the sanitary sewer system overloads this system. This overload is why basements are backing up through sanitary drains during heavy rains. Wastewater backing up through basement drains is a violation of the Federal Clean Water Act and a reportable event. If you have experienced one of these events at your property,
report it to the City of Memphis Public Works by calling (901) 576-6742 or emailing pubworks@
memphistn.gov.
The City of Memphis tracked these cross-contamination events up until 1996. The current National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit does not require the City of Memphis to report these backups to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC). This has allowed the City of Memphis to ignore requests to look into this problem. They have also indicated that they do not have information about these backups. The EPA had told the City of Memphis that the current policy of not reporting cross-contamination must change before their permit will be renewed. During this permit renewal process, Cooper-Young, along with other Midtown neighborhoods, need to make their voices heard.
On Thursday, August 26, a public meeting was held to discuss the growing sanitary sewer problems in Midtown. Dwan Gilliam, Memphis Director of Public Works, as well as representatives from related sub-departments, answered questions about the sanitary sewer system, and addressed the causes and solutions to the problems that residents are experiencing. They also explained how our sanitary sewer rates are determined and how the low rates that we have enjoyed for years have created budget shortfalls. The residents of Midtown were able to present the information gathered from online surveys in the form of a work-in-progress map of Midtown, showing clusters of problem areas. The city was very impressed and excited about the survey information and has requested that we share updated maps with them as more data is collected. This was a great step in the right direction, but another meeting with the city is being planned. Stay tuned to cooperyoung.org for more details.
Even if you weren’t able to make it to the meeting, you can still make your voice heard. If you have had wastewater backup in your basement or crawl space or have had other flooding issues, please take our short online survey, which you can access through cooperyoung.org. Many residents have spent a lot of money trying to fix this problem on their own. We need to work together to resolve this problem and hold the City accountable for failing to maintain these important systems. If you or someone you know is unable to take the online survey, please email cyca.june@att.net, and we will get a printed version of the survey to whoever needs one.

By Bill Bullock
Most of us don’t give a lot of thought to what fuels power the energy using devices in our homes. It may not seem like it, but we actually have some energy fuel choices. Some options, such as lighting your house with natural gas, heating your home with electric resistance heat, or cooling your home with natural gas absorption cooling, have gone by the way side because of inefficiency and cost. There are some options, however, where the wise choice is not so clear cut. In these cases, to determine the best choice, it is important to understand what energy source is optimal for the desired outcome.
Except for a small percentage derived from solar, wind, or hydro power, the first step in generating electricity is generating heat. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) generates most of its heat by burning coal or developing a nuclear reaction. Steam is then created to drive a turbine that turns a generator. Generated electricity travels through the grid, across wires, to get to you.
Creating Heat
If you use an electric water heater in your home, this heat was originally created at a generating plant, converted to mechanical energy, then into electrical energy, transmitted over power lines, and then transformed to a lower voltage. In each stage there are losses, so that the amount of heat you get from a kilowatt-hour is a fraction of what is originally burned at the power plant.  If you have a natural gas water heater, you are generating heat and heating the water in one step. At current pricing it is more than twice as expensive in Memphis to operate a traditional electric water heater than a traditional gas water heater.
Therefore, if you are creating heat it makes more sense to burn a fuel (natural gas) at home than to use electricity generated far away to do the same thing. That is why most homes are heated by burning natural gas.
Moving Heat
An air conditioner moves heat. In the summertime we want to move heat from indoors to outdoors. Through the process of a hot, high-pressure refrigerant, we can actually move heat from a 70 degree house to the outside on a 90 degree day.
The same process in reverse can take heat from 40 degree outside air and move it to a 70 degree house. The device that does this is merely an air conditioner with a reversing valve or a heat pump. Heat pumps have been around for decades but did not gain a lot of traction in cold climates or where natural gas is readily available. Heat pumps put out colder air than a traditional gas furnace, and they do not deliver enough heat to a house when temperatures are colder than freezing. Heat pumps need an auxiliary heat source, and that source has traditionally been a very expensive electric resistance heat. This design did not lend itself well for energy conservation strategies involving thermostat set-backs.
In recent years heat pumps have become more efficient. Now you can get a hybrid variety that uses electricity to move heat when temperatures allow, and when auxiliary heat is needed, an efficient natural gas furnace kicks in. While capital costs are higher, operating costs are lower. You can also achieve a reasonable payback in many circumstances, especially if you already need to replace an air conditioner.
Wise Choices
If you have an electric water heater and you have natural gas available to your home, strongly consider switching to natural gas. You will need to hire a plumber to do piping and venting, but in virtually all cases where chimney work is not needed, there is a very reasonable return on investment. If you have an air conditioning system, you have the backbone for a heat pump installation. You’ve already got a ducted system and a gas furnace/blower unit. When it is time to replace your unit, go with high efficiency and strongly consider a heat pump. In whatever decision you are making, do your homework on what is available. Talk with neighbors to find reputable contractors and get several quotes for similar work. There is no better time to make these decisions, because they are harder to make after the water heater or air conditioner has stopped working.
Bill Bullock has been working in the energy field for over 25 years and is a long-time resident of Midtown. If you have questions regarding this information or energy use in general, contact him at bbullock@mlgw.org.

By Bill Bullock

The electricity network, all the way from generation to a customer’s meter, is similar to a highway system. If roads are built to handle all traffic smoothly during the few hours per week of rush hour then they are significantly over-built for the rest of the time. Often, there is a compromise in road building where there are bottlenecks and delays at times, but vehicles eventually get where they are going.

In distributing electricity, such compromise is not a good option. A bottle neck at any point in the process, whether a lack of generation or too small of a wire or transformer on a pole, can result in an outage. For this reason, infrastructure is built to handle peak load conditions.

Peak load conditions on an electric grid in the southeast US typically occur on hot summer weekday afternoons, between about 4 and 8 pm. During this time many businesses are still open, many residents are returning to their homes, and energy intensive air conditioning load is the most significant contributor to setting the peak. Power demand during those few hours per week can be significantly higher than demand for the rest of the week. There must be enough generation plants on line to handle that load, and even the least efficient and most costly plants must be operated to meet electricity demand at the peak.

Most electric consumers in Memphis are not aware of this because there is no residential time differentiated electric metering. The electric meters currently used act like odometers. They accurately measure usage over time and a meter reader reads them once per month. Monthly bills merely take the kilowatt-hours used during the month and multiply that number by an average rate. During peak periods, this average rate does not cover the actual cost of generation. During off peak periods, the average rate exceeds the actual cost of generation.

The industry is quickly moving towards giving customers information and price signals to encourage moving load off the peak. If you know you are paying a lot for electricity during a few hours of operation during system peaks, you may change your habits. Perhaps you would delay starting a dishwasher or electric clothes dryer. You may switch your pool pump off during that time. Perhaps you would even pre-cool your house so your air conditioner compressor would not come on very long during that period.

Activities like that, done by many people, will lower the cost of electricity. Fewer generation plants would need to be built, reducing capital expenditures. Additionally, the most inefficient plants would be used less, lowering operating costs.

However, turning things on and off, delaying start times, and other strategies for moving load off peak can be tough to accomplish. What if you forget? What if you are not home? When are the peak times?

This is where the Smart Grid comes into play. Smart Grid is a combination of equipment, communications, and processes that utilities use to provide enhanced operations. Under the umbrella of Smart Grid are smart meters, switches, monitors, analysis software, distribution system automation, demand response and communications equipment between the utility and customers. The basic concept of Smart Grid is to add monitoring, analysis, and communication capabilities to the national electrical delivery system to maximize its capabilities while simultaneously helping consumers to reduce their energy consumption.

A traffic engineer could lower road building costs if he could get commuters on a staggered schedule so they are not all on the road at the same time. Likewise, a utility system operator could lower electrical costs by mandating when you can turn on appliances. Neither will occur, but on the electric side, the Smart Grid will be able to give customers knowledge and tools to shape their load and save energy and money if they choose. Many people making small adjustments can have significant impact.

For example, if every household in the Tennessee Valley was able to shed the equivalent of two 100 watt light bulbs at system peak, this would eliminate the need for a generation facility the size of the Allen Generating Plant in Memphis. That is significant!

In addition to reducing the costs associated with generating electricity, the Smart Grid would allow MLGW to reduce its operating expenses. Meter readers will become a thing of the past, reducing staff. Additionally, misread or estimated meters would be virtually eliminated, reducing the need to staff for issues caused by those circumstances. MLGW would immediately know when a house or business has suffered a power outage, reducing the need for troubleshooting. Utility theft, an issue larger than most realize, would be much easier to prevent and catch because when meters are removed, MLGW would know it immediately.

It will be a while before all of Memphis is on the Smart Grid. In the mean time, however, know that your personal choices have an impact not only on how much electricity you consume, but on the cost to generate and distribute that electricity as well.

Log on to mlgw.com and click on “Smart Grid” for answers to frequently asked questions and MLGW’s progress on this topic. Go to “In Home Evaluation Program” to learn of MLGW/TVA incentives for making energy improvements and investments. Look at “Energy Tax Incentives” to see how some of these improvements qualify for Federal Tax Credits. Use “My Account” to track your energy use, get energy conservation tips, view and pay your bill, or sign up for paperless billing.

Bill Bullock has been working in the energy field for over 25 years, and is a long-time resident of Midtown Memphis. If you have questions regarding this information or energy use in general, contact him at bbullock@mlgw.org.

By Rodney Nash

Recently I was asked why I participate in community activities and, specifically, why I am working with the City of Memphis’ Storm Water Program in Cooper-Young. My reasons are varied and numerous. It has taken me some time to dig and to get to the core of it.

I spent many wonderful days as a boy out in nature in the Michigan countryside. We lived outside of a small town and we had no trash pickup. Once a week we hauled our entire accumulation of household waste to the local dump. Over several years the size of that dump never seemed to grow. The man who ran it, along with his family, culled what could be reused and recycled, like scrap metal, and pushed the garbage and yard waste to the back, covering it with dirt to decompose. This proved to be a fairly sustainable system before the advent of mass consumption.

Although I saw images of landfills over the years after that, it wasn’t until I started restoring an old home here in Midtown that I actually had reason to visit one. A friend and I took a load of roofing to dispose of and, once inside the gate, we pulled up to the edge of a hole in the ground the size of the Liberty Bowl Stadium. It was freshly dug and being filled with trash. The dump trucks and bulldozer working down at the bottom looked like toys. I was in shock. Something shifted inside of me. That experience stayed with me until I eventually decided I had to do something.

Not long after I was encouraged to learn that the city was starting a curbside recycling program. A group of us worked quickly to ensure that one of the first routes to be established would be in Cooper-Young. The recycling program helped our city slow the pace at which the land was being filled with refuse. This convinced me that there are solutions and that there are ways that our increasing populations can live more in harmony with nature.

The only thing that gives me any peace of mind about the oil spill in the gulf is thinking that there will be some positive outcome from it. It may prevent a larger disaster later and possibly push us into alternative energy more quickly. I know it will inspire many to start living differently and motivate some of us into taking action now.

By the time this issue is out the Storm Water Program will be underway in our community. We will be labeling and adopting storm drains and working to raise awareness about groundwater issues in general. This will be an ongoing process that you can participate in, as there are over 200 storm drains in our area. Contact me at rnash57@yahoo.com or the CYCA at (901)272-2922 if you have identified one near you to adopt and/or label, if it hasn’t already been done.

Some other things you can do right now:

• Participate in curbside recycling
• Reduce consumption, packaging and transportation in consumer purchases
• Buy locally grown, healthier food at the Memphis or Cooper-Young Farmers Markets, on Saturdays, or the Trolley Stop Market at Madison & Manassas
• Donate reusable items to the many organizations that collect them or place them at the curb the day after your trash pickup to give them a chance to be reclaimed before they are hauled away by the city
• Compost
• Collect pet waste and flush it
• Take metal, paper, electronics, and other items to reclamation sites listed in the yellow pages or online, such as 5rprocessors.com
• Be conscientious in the use of anything that might end up in the groundwater system
• Keep the storm drains clear
• Contact me at rnash57@yahoo.com for more information on how to live a greener life

By Rodney Nash

I love water. There’s almost nothing I love more than jumping into a cool, clear lake or river on a hot summer day. I will even swim in the muddy Mississippi. That’s why I hope that the folks upstream have a Stormwater Program like the City of Memphis, to ensure runoff is clear and uncontaminated as it flows out to our surrounding bodies of water. We were the first city in the country to have a stormwater collection system installed after the Yellow Fever epidemic of the 1800’s. We are now initiating this citywide program to deal with groundwater issues. The rainfall, in our immediate area, flows into the storm drain system that feeds into three main tributaries to the Mississippi River, the Gulf of Mexico, or it collects in the sand aquifers and goes back underground. Therefore, it is crucial that we keep the flow unimpeded and keep groundwater pollution to a minimum, or ideally, eliminate it altogether.

Your CYCA needs volunteers to help label and maintain the neighborhood storm drains. The curbside inlets and grates get clogged with too much debris, both natural and manmade, for them to collect and drain all of the runoff, especially during periods of heavy rainfall. Ordinarily, there are city crews that work to keep them clear and fully functional, but they are overtaxed. According to Sharon Gordon, Storm Water Projects Coordinator for the city’s Division of Public Works, the majority of street flooding during the recent heavy rains is due to clogged storm drains!

CYCA representatives, with Sharon, recently mapped some of the more than 200 storm drains in the neighborhood, and assessed their condition and functionality. On Saturday, June 26 at 9 am, we will meet at the Gazebo at Cooper and Young to begin the process of labeling them. Our goal is to get as many identified as possible to increase awareness of their location, and stress the importance of the issues around maintaining them and preserving groundwater quality. Please join us and help us reach our goal. We are also seeking residents to participate in an “Adopt a Storm Drain” program. If you would be willing to contribute to this effort, or already do and would like to notify us, we are attempting to get every drain in every location in the community adopted.

To reduce or eliminate groundwater contamination:

• NEVER pour anything harmful on the ground, into the gutters, or the storm drains!
• RECYCLE or dispose chemicals and paint properly on hazardous waste collection day, or at the city’s designated HWC site. Businesses such as AutoZone and JiffyLube collect motor oil, as well.
• COMPOST or mulch leaves, clippings, and other yard waste.
• CLEAN loose dirt, sand, rubble, litter, or any other material out of the gutters and drain openings.
• REDUCE the amounts of chemicals used on lawns, eliminate the phosphorous in fertilizers (most soil has enough), and sweep any excess off walks and driveways. Remember compost and manure contain phosphorous, too. It feeds algae blooms and reduces the amount of oxygen in fish habitats.
• AVOID excess watering and runoff.
• REMOVE pet waste and dispose properly. The best method is flushing.
• WASH vehicles in a car wash that treats or recycles wastewater, or wash cars on the lawn where greywater can be absorbed into the ground.
• USE common sense and be conscious of the fact that anything that washes down a storm drain is ultimately discharged into the groundwater system.
• HELP us label the storm drains on Saturday, June 26th. See you there!

Next in this column: Increasing participation in curbside recycling, and expanding recycling efforts in plastics, scrap metal (Airways Iron & Metal, 2103 Person, west off Airways south), electronics (www.5processors.com), household goods (Goodwill, Salvation Army, Amvets on Summer), etc.

Search online or consult the yellow pages for scrapyards and other locations that take recyclables.

If you have information on more specialized and thorough methods of recycling that can be included, please email me: rnash57@yahoo.com.

By Bill Bullock

This is the fourth in a series of articles on energy use and practical information to help a resident of Memphis make wise decisions regarding ways to lower energy consumption and overall utility costs.

Previous articles have dealt with heating, water use, and air conditioning – some of your largest energy users. Depending upon your lifestyle and equipment, however, you may be wasting a lot of energy in other areas.

Refrigeration can account for a significant amount of energy use depending upon how many refrigerators and freezers you have, how old they are, how well they are maintained, where they are located, and their temperature setting. Similarly, you can spend a good bit of energy on lighting depending upon the number of lights you use, the type of lights, and how often they are used. Lighting accounts for 11 percent of a typical household’s energy expenditure. This can easily be cut in half.

Gaining ground, as a contributor to electricity usage, is electronic equipment. We have more and more things that are plugged and use a good bit of energy when in use, and more than we might suspect when they are “off.”

Here are some specific tips to help you in using less electricity:

Refrigeration – Vacuum the coils under or behind your refrigerator or freezer. If you haven’t done this before, you may also find that earring you lost years ago. Keep the freezer portion at around 5 degrees. long-term storage, stand alone freezers should be at about zero degrees. New refrigerators use a lot less energy than old ones. If it’s time for a new one, choose an Energy Star model, and try to resist the temptation of keeping your old one plugged in on the back porch for cooling your beer.

Lighting – There are two ways to reduce the amount of energy you use when lighting your home: reducing wattage and hours of operation. You can reduce wattage by replacing incandescent lights with something that gives out more lumens per watt such as a compact fluorescent (CFL). You can reduce hours by using programmable or automatic switches, timers, motion detectors, and photocells. For outdoor lights that you need on all night long, utilize a programmable timer or a photocell. For outdoor lighting that is geared toward security, use a photocell with motion sensor. Some evidence shows that lights on motion sensors are more efficient at curbing crime than those left on all night. Additionally, they can save energy and reduce light pollution. For the basement, attic, or closet light you sometimes forget to turn off, consider a twist timer or a switch with an occupancy sensor.

Plug Load – Computers, monitors, flat screen TVs, and other audio/video equipment can use a good bit of energy in the “standby” mode. Turn them off at the switch when they are not in use. Consider putting some of that equipment on a power strip that can be manually or automatically turned off. Activate “power management” on your computer or other devices if so equipped. Cell phone and other battery chargers don’t use a lot of energy when left plugged in, but when you consider how many there are, they add up. Unplug those devices when not in use.

Log on to www.mlgw.com and click on “In Home Evaluation Program” to learn MLGW/TVA incentives for making energy improvements and investments. Look at “Energy Tax Incentives” to see how some of these improvements qualify for Federal Tax Credits. Use “My Account” to track your energy use, get energy conservation tips, view and pay your bill, or sign up for paperless billing.

Bill Bullock has a degree in Mechanical Engineering, has been working in the energy field for over 25 years and is a long-time resident of Midtown Memphis. If you have questions regarding this information or energy use in general, contact him at bbullock@mlgw.org.

By Bill Bullock

This is the third in a series of articles on energy use and practical information to help a resident of Memphis make wise decisions regarding ways to lower energy consumption and overall utility costs.

In midtown, most of our homes were built before modern air conditioning was available. Many homes incorporated design features such as tall ceilings, large double-hung windows, opening transoms, sleeping porches, ceiling fans, and whole house fans. Many also had shading features such as porches and awnings, especially on the east and west sides of the house.

With the advent of air conditioning, many of those features are no longer utilized. However, home designers in the first half of the last century knew a lot about trying to keep cool. They knew that hot air rises, that moving air feels a lot cooler than still air, and that heat gain through windows is a significant contributor to the inside temperature. We can benefit from that knowledge as we attempt to reduce the amount of energy we use to stay comfortable.

Most of us tend to associate comfort solely with temperature. But in the summer, another key factor to comfort is humidity. Our air conditioners not only remove heat, but they also remove moisture from the air, as well. They are cooling and dehumidifying.

Have you ever awakened at 3 am with your thermostat still at the temperature that was comfortable when you went to bed, but now you are warm and clammy? If you’ve ruled out menopause, this is a result of the humidity rising through the night. The air conditioner got the temperature down, but the humidity crept up during the night. The temperature is the same, but you are not comfortable. This phenomenon is captured in psychrometrics—the study of the thermodynamic properties of moist air.

As an example, people are more comfortable at 78 degrees with 45% humidity than they are at 76 degrees with 55% humidity. From a geek’s standpoint, this is because there is more energy (enthalpy) in the more humid air. From a real person’s standpoint, this is because we are cooled when perspiration evaporates from our skin. And this is a key reason to have a properly sized air-conditioning unit. Larger units use more energy when on, but run less often. Smaller units use less energy when on, but run longer to get the temperature down to the thermostat setting. As long as the unit is running, air is being dehumidified. A properly sized air conditioner dehumidifies more than an oversized unit, and, therefore, you can be comfortable at a higher temperature.

You are also just as comfortable with moving air at several degrees warmer than if the air is not moving. This, again, has to do with the ability of moving air to allow more perspiration to evaporate from our skin.

The geeks will tell you that heat gets into your home in the summer through conduction, convection, and radiation. You already know this because you know that heat can come in through cracks around doors, through the ceiling from a hot attic, and through a west-facing window.

The last scientific fact we’ll cover is that the conduction of heat through a wall or ceiling is directly proportional to the difference in temperature between the two areas. So, if you can lower the temperature of your attic or raise your thermostat, you will save energy.

So, armed with a thorough understanding of psychrometrics, thermodynamics, and heat transfer, here are some specific tips you can use to stay cool using less energy.

Move the air – When you are home, use fans. They will allow you to be comfortable at a higher temperature. Ceiling fans don’t cool at all, so turn them off when you are out of the room for any length of time. In shoulder months, consider opening windows and/or using a whole-house fan when temperatures are cooler at night.

Attic – Make sure all attic vents are open in summer. If your house is not surrounded by shade trees, consider adding a radiant barrier to the underside of your roof rafters. Have as much insulation in the floor of your attic as possible. If you have AC ducts in the attic, seal all joints and seams with mastic, and make sure the ducts are wrapped well with insulation. If you have a whole-house fan, make sure it is closed and sealed from the interior when not being used.

Windows – Consider trees, awnings, and solar screens to block sunlight from entering east- and west-facing windows. If the weather stripping is in poor condition around windows and doors, have it replaced, and you will reap even more benefit in the winter.

“Off” – The geeks can calculate that it uses less energy to cool a hot house than to keep that same house cool all day. Use a programmable thermostat and utilize the automatic setback features. Remember, the most cost-effective thermostat setting is “off.” So get close to that as often as you can.

Summer heaters – When cooking, use the vent hood to remove excess heat and humidity. Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents (CFLs). These have gotten better each year, and many brands offer instant-on, good-color rendering, and a long life while cutting energy use (and heat generation) by about two-thirds. Keep big electronics in off mode instead of standby—many use a good bit of energy (and generate heat) when in standby mode.

Maintenance – When the air-conditioning filter gets dirty, replace it. Check the outdoor condenser coil routinely, and clean it when obviously dirty and at least annually. Many can be cleaned with a hose from the outside. Some require an experienced technician to clean from the inside out. If in doubt, watch your technician. Avoid damaging the cooling fins.

Replacing your unit? – Choose a system with a very high efficiency. Minimum code is now a Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating (SEER) of 13. Go with SEER 16 or better. Require your contractor to perform a heat loss/heat gain survey and get a properly sized unit. Avoid the tendency to oversize. Consider purchasing a dual-fuel heat pump that operates as an air conditioner in reverse in the winter, with natural gas as the auxiliary fuel. Demand that your ducts be sealed with mastic and be fully insulated.

Log on to mlgw.com and click on “In Home Evaluation Program” to learn of MLGW/TVA incentives for making energy improvements and investments. Look at “Energy Tax Incentives” so see how some of these improvements qualify for Federal Tax Credits. Use “My Account” to track your energy use, get energy conservation tips, view and pay your bill, or sign up for paperless billing.

Bill Bullock has a degree in Mechanical Engineering, has been working in the energy field for over 25 years, and is a long-time resident of Midtown Memphis. If you have questions regarding this information or energy use in general, contact him at bbullock@mlgw.org.

By Michael Taylor

With such a cold and wet winter, I was wondering if much was going to bloom this year—especially after hearing that the bitter cold may have killed hardy plants that we have in our yards. Much to my surprise, most everything survived and has blossomed out or is blooming now.

I think many of us, especially in Midtown, love to have an eclectic mix of blooming plants in our yard, from flowers to trees. Whether you buy cut flowers at the store or bring them in from your own yard, here are a few flower-arranging tips if you would like to enjoy the spring flowers inside.

1. Size does matter. In this case, it would be the size of your container. Pick something that will suit your flower size; if you are choosing taller flowers, make sure your bouquet is taller than its container by about one and a half times. If you choose something like a teacup or smaller bowl type of container, this is not as necessary because these flowers will be more bunched around the top. Don’t be scared to use anything that will hold water to place flowers in; interesting bottles, an old urn, a mint julep cup, a mason jar, votive candle holders, a sugar mold—let your imagination be your guide.

2. Don’t worry so much about cutting them for size if you cut them directly from your yard. You can do this when you arrange them. Just make sure you quickly put them in some clean water. When it comes time to arrange them, if the blooms are tight, warm water will help them open up.

3. Use your choice of a container. I either use what we call a “frog,” which is a spiky looking flower arranger that sits in the bottom of the container. If you don’t have one of these, nowadays they can be found at tag sales or antique shops where they really can be pricy. (I have seen them at our local CY antique shops!) Over the years, they have become collector’s items, but this is another story for another time. You can also use florist foam that you have soaked in water, or simply place them in the container with marbles or with nothing. Placing something to put the stems actually “in” is for stability of the flowers to hold the shape.

4. Water is key. Changing the water about every other day or keeping the foam soaked is very important. I simply use water with about a teaspoon of sugar or the packet that comes with bought flowers. I have also used water mixed with Sprite or 7-Up.

5. Just before placing the flowers in the container, cut at least an inch off of the stem in a diagonal using a sharp knife or scissors. This fresh cut will help the flowers absorb the water. Also, cut any leaves off the stem that may go below the water line.

6. With a larger arrangement, something in a large water pitcher or urn, I always add my tallest flowers to the center and work outward, turning the arrangement as I work to make sure they are even. For something smaller, like a teacup, small vase, or even a votive candle holder, I just bunch them together and cut the stems very short so it doesn’t topple over.

7. For a very contemporary arrangement, I use as little as one stem of maybe a gerber daisy or gladioli and a couple of pieces of small bamboo or horses tail. For the larger ones, the sky is the limit. But I certainly use flowers of various shapes, stem lengths, and textures. I like to use many colors in my arrangement, but one trend is to use all flowers of the same color, giving it a monochromatic, classy look.

8. For filler, I use smaller flowers or cool-shaped sticks or tall grasses, and I use stems of ivy to drape over the sides or intertwine some grapevine in the arrangement that will drape down. You can use raffia or ribbon to dress it up if you like, or simply let the flowers and the container be the star. Don’t worry that it doesn’t look perfect, it’s not supposed to!

9. Lastly, keep your flowers away from direct sunlight or air vents, which will fade and dry them out quickly—and don’t forget step 4. Now, find an awesome spot for your arrangement; the front porch, the kitchen or dining room table, the ledge of the sink in the bathroom, or on the night stand to see as you fall asleep or the first thing when you wake up. Enjoy!

Michael Taylor is a designer/decorator and Home Stager that lives right here in Cooper-Young. He can be reached at MichaelTaylor1961@yahoo.com.