Utility now selling energy saving hardware devices

by W. Gene Andre Residential Market Services Manager Southern California Gas Company

/f, S part of its campaign to en,flcourage energy conservation at home, one of the West's largest utilities, Southern California Gas Co., is now selling automatic furnace controls and shower fixtures that can help residents significantly lower their water and energy bills.

We at the gas company do not intend to get into the retail hardware business by offering these energy saving devices. Rather, we are trying to help homeowners-as well as builders, contractors and home products suppliers-understand the importance of energy conservation and suggest specific energy saving features that can be installed at home.

Story at a Glance

Increased sales by hardware dealers of energy saving devices is seen as a result of one Western utility'h move into selling automatic furnace controls and shower f ixtures.

Also, interest which the gas company hopes to generate by marketing these energy saving devices is bound to increase sales of these items by hardware retailers, especially those which offer wide selections of the devices and promote them with aggressive advertising and point of purchase displays.

The three types of automatic furnace controls we are offering our customers save energy by lowering and raising furnace thermostat settings or shutting off and restarting'a furnace at pre-selected times.

The gas company has determined that heating accounts for nearly twothirds of the natural gas consumed in a home. In most cases, simply lowering the furnace thermostat from 72 to 64 degrees for eight hours daily can reduce monthly gas usage and utility bills by as much as 8%.

Our automatic furnace controls are priced from about $24 to $65. The controls can be installed by either the homeowner or us. AIJ are guaranteed for one year.

A number of special plumbing fix- tures that can save hot and cold water by restricting its flow through shower heads or faucets are also being offered. eloquent testimony to his enthusiasm for merchandising wood products by surrounding the customer with wood.

We estimate that these flow restricting shower heads cdn reduce a shower's normal six to eight gallon per minute flow by about 40% - 5O%. The fixtures contribute to energy conservation because, when the amount of hot water used is reduced, the amount of energy needed to heat that water is also reduced.

A family which averages three five' minute showers per day can save as much as $17 annually in water and gas bills by installing a flow control unit. The flow control devices we sell are priced from about $6 - $20.

We are also offering three inexpensive water flow control kits. One kit includes a restricting shower head and two faucet aerators. The other two include a special water massage shower head and a flow control device.

All flow restricting fixtures can be installed easily by a homeowner and are guaranteed for at least one year. The water massage shower heads are guaranteed for an additional two years.

Designed by two local architects, the building could easily be taken for a posh restaurant, sitting serenely behind tastefully restrained landscaping on its 2%. acre canyon setting about one mile inland from town and from the old location where they had done business since 1912, when the California coastal town had all of I I families living in the area.

The main entry is a delightful departure from the usual: a wooden banister divides five steps set between huge redwood rounds that lead to a

R0UGH structural Doug fir beams, (top left) exposed hangers and barnwood on the walls contrasts with elegant decorator hardware, set off with hanging plants, macrame on walls; partially carpeted,