Last Wednesday I had the pleasure of speaking about my vision for a net-zero homestead (more about that soon) at a 'Make the Switch' fundraiser for Green Energy Ohio. I expected to be a little nervous, speak too quickly, visit with like-minded folks, and enjoy Cafe Bella's fascinating small-space edible gardening. I didn't expect to find out that people who want to support alternative energy can do so within their current AEP electric service. Even better, the switch usually saves money! The deal is that AEP offers customers a choice of providers. You are probably well aware of this if you are an AEP customer because these providers send mail constantly encouraging you to switch. Most of them are competing on price alone. A few providers are competing on values - they provide energy by wind instead of coal.

I believe in renewable energy and was excited to know that our household can choose wind with no windmill on our property or difficulty beyond paying the regular electric bill.

How can our electric be powered by wind? Of course the actual electrons coming into my house will likely still be generated by coal. But choosing 100% wind means that our provider (AEP Energy 100% Wind) buys green energy credits from a wind farm versus buying energy from a fossil fuel power plant. As more people choose 100% wind, more green energy credits will be purchased and the wind farms will grow. Enough demand will support building wind farms nearer to home and eventually the juice coming to our house will be from wind.

The good folks at Go Sustainable! Energy brought this revelation to light. Greg, one of their green energy gurus, explains further:

"In AEP-Ohio territory, you have four primary components of your bill: Generation, Transmission, Distribution, and Service charge. Due to de-regulation, when you switch your provider the only effect on your bill is that your generation and transmission charges are removed from the AEP-Ohio portion of the bill and are relocated to your new provider. If you do the calculations, which I have done a few hundred times in my career, the "price to compare" number on your bill is the combination of your generation and transmission charges, divided by the number if kWh you consumed that time period. Thus, if you switch to someone providing renewables or someone providing coal, you just replace that number with the number that they're offering.

It's a simple switch, and a powerful market signal to the utility providers that there are more customers who want to purchase all renewable energy, which in turn will cause more large wind farms to be built."

Most consumers who haven't already made a choice for an alternative provider will save money by switching. Greg, quoted above, dropped his rate from 7.55 cents/kWh to all wind at 7.19 cents/kWh.

Alas, our household was one of the very small percentage for whom switching to wind costs a little more. Our existing variable rate is 6.9 cents/kWh and the all wind rate is 7.19 cents/kWh. At our annual consumption, this increase will total around $30 for the year, a pittance to pay to support renewable energy.

Want to switch or compare? Here's what you do:

1) Check out electric provider options on Apples to Apples via PUCO.

2) Select your service provider, AEP for most Central Ohioans.

3) Scroll through the choices. If it makes sense to you, choose 100% wind operated by Ohio AEP Energy.

4) Fill out your name, address, and Service Delivery Identifier - listed on your bill under current charges.

5) Select 'I agree' to terms and conditions, type your signature, and click 'submit'. Easy peasy.

I would love to see demand increase for non-polluting, non-fracking electric providers. Will you join me?

Homesteaders usually tend towards old-fashioned methods of conservation. We use hand-powered tools. We line dry laundry and push a reel mower. We use renewable fuels to grill and light the fireplace. But we dare not eschew high tech solutions in combination with these old school efforts. A whole system of high tech ideas to increase efficiency is sweeping the nation under the umbrella name SmartGrid.

AEP Ohio invited me to a lunch at Alana's with other mom bloggers to learn about their new program in Ohio, gridSMART. I'm writing separately about lunch at Alana's because it was lovely enough to warrant its own post.

The gridSMART program has many facets. The first solution to roll out are Smart Meters, digital home electric meters to replace analog ones. We learned that in north east central Ohio, households are already being given these wireless communication enabled digital meters. This pilot group will test how a digital meter allows them to view their electric usage in fifteen minute segments. AEP will use the smart meters to better regulate energy production and respond to service disruptions.

Soon, customers with smart meters will be allowed to opt-in to a variable rate tariff that offers lower electric prices for all times of the day except peak hours of 1-7 pm. For many users, this can result in a lower electric bill while reducing usage of expensive and eco-costly peaker plants.

Customers will also have the option to install a programmable communications thermostat hooked into their smart meter. This thermostat, provided by AEP, will communicate with the meter. During the summer, AEP may tell the thermostat to increase temperature (i.e. reduce air conditioning) by two to four degrees for short periods of time to reduce stress on the grid. Customers will have the choice to override if necessary, but full participation will give them an eight dollar credit on their electric bill.

I am really excited about these forward thinking programs. I am thrifty enough that I think it would be cool to monitor my energy usage on a micro-level and save money on my electric bill. I can totally see myself competing for lowest electric usage within the 'neighborhoods' AEP defines of similar homes. Some might worry about privacy with having a digital meter, but the AEP representatives assured me they have a team working on network security and very few individuals can see household use other than the customer themselves. I am far more concerned about the lack of privacy I feel when the meter reader walks through the back yard. If you have different opinions, remember that the rate and thermostat programs are totally voluntary.

To me, the worst thing about the gridSMART program is that my home is not eligible for the smart meter and communicating thermostat yet. My parents live in a neighborhood that is part of the trial and I look forward to learning how the program works for them.

Even those of us not currently eligible can read the AEP website for tips to conserve electricity and notices about other special programs, including the in-home energy audits. For a low cost, an auditor will come out to your house, make recommendations to increase efficiency and AEP offers rebates if you make the suggested improvements. The auditors will replace incandescent bulbs with Compact Fluorescents and make other minor repairs on site included in the cost of the assessment. We're signing up for one in January.

I know that these programs benefit AEP because if they can curb demand, they can avoid building expensive power plants. They are great for individual households who can lower their bills through tiered rates and communicating thermostat rebates. Perhaps most importantly, all of us benefit when energy is conserved so that we enjoy cleaner air and water.

Disclosure: I wrote this post after attending an informational luncheon on behalf of Silver Spring Networks and Mom Central Consulting and received a gift bag and gift card as a thank you for taking the time to participate. Opinions are my own.