Decker named to Energy Efficiency Hall of Fame
Last Updated on 2/9/2010
Published on 6/14/2009
By Tommy Howard
thoward@gtowntimes.com
Pawleys Island resident Doug Decker will be among 22 people honored on Monday by inclusion in the Energy Efficiency Forum Hall of Fame.
"It's a pretty big deal," Decker told the Georgetown Times last week.
The Energy Efficiency Forum "gets people from around the world to discuss strategies that are successful, and the challenges that we have in how to apply energy efficiency."
Decker knows well about the forum, since he started the annual event 20 years ago.
Leaders in the forum think highly enough of his efforts that they have named an award for Decker. And now, he's in a group of 22 people who will be inducted into a hall of fame.
Practice what you preach
Decker and his wife Judy are retired. When they undertook that big change in their lives, they decided to sell their house and cars in Wisconsin and go cruising. That's what they've done for nine years now, though they also bought a house at the Heritage at Pawleys Island.
Another major purchase was their boat, the Limerence.
The 37-foot Beneteau 375 was their home in San Diego for two years while they refurbished it, installing various tools and creature comforts.
True to the energy efficiency focus Decker has long held, he and his wife have installed solar panels, a wind generator and gel cell batteries.
"We have taken our refrigeration system and made it energy efficient."
He put energy efficient bulbs on the boat, too.
"I had a double purpose. It reduced the energy the bulb used by two-thirds, and they last longer."
"In nine years, I've had to replace one of them, but only because we broke the light itself."
Aboard the Limerence there's a smart energy charger that will be put on electric cars. The device knows how many amps it needs. It measure the temperature of the battery and puts the load on it at the most efficient rate.
There's also an energy monitoring system on the boat.
The Beneteau was modified in other ways to make it capable of world cruising. One of those features is a Spectra Watermaker. It makes 8 gallons of fresh water for 8 amps of power, for sea water. A normal system, Decker said, burns 20 amps to make the same amount of water.
These and other energy efficiency steps paid off.
After leaving San Diego, the Deckers traveled to Mexico, Central America, with stays in Costa Rica and the San Blas Islands of Panama.
They would run the engine from time to time to top the batteries up and make fresh water quicker, about three times per week.
In the San Blas Islands for three months, he said, they never plugged the boat in to an electric supply line at a marina.
"We did have one problem, though. We ran out of wine," he laughed.
For more on the Limerence and their travels, the Deckers' son Drew has developed a Web site for them. Visit www.deckersailing.com.
It has photos and travel information on it, as well as information about some of the energy conservation measures they have taken.
Why Pawleys?
Judy Decker's mom is Doris Athey, a well-known artist in the area. She's received a number of awards and served as president of the watercolor society.
The Deckers have been coming to the Pawleys Island area for about 25 years and decided they would need a stopping point between their cruising trips.
"We fell in love with Heritage Plantation. It is very beautiful. We're so happy to be here," he said.
A professional engineer, Decker got heavily involved in the decision not to build a west side terminal for what is now the Myrtle Beach airport. He's been involved in 72 airports over his career.
He's a partner/owner in an airplane that's based in Myrtle Beach, though he would prefer it to be in Georgetown.
Problem-solving
The Energy Efficiency Forum "gets people from around the world to discuss strategies that are success, and the challenges that we have in how to apply energy efficiency," Decker said.
He commented that the Times has had several stories about wind power.
"Making all this power is good, but storage is a problem," he said.
"Wind and solar have their place, but energy efficiency is much more cost-effective. It requires the least amount of distribution."
He's pleased to learn that the new Georgetown County Family YMCA will be LEED certified. "That to me is where we should be going."
"The county and city governments should never build a building that is not LEED certified."
Achieving such a certification may cost more up front, but over the life cycle of the building the cost is lower and the building is easier to maintain, Decker said.
Coal power
Santee Cooper's plans for a new coal-fired power plant at Kingsburg in Florence County isn't Decker's choice, because of emissions.
South Carolina ranks 34th in the country for energy efficiency. With that, he said, "We would be better to go after conservation.
"There are many things we could do to implement energy efficiency and educate the public."
"I'm retired and not running for office," he said, "but we need to educate people."
Decker's not pushing any product, he said.
"There's a blend of items that can go together for a solution."
Hall of Fame
Monday night at 6:30 p.m. Decker and the other honorees will officially be named to the Energy Efficiency Forum Hall of Fame in Washington.
"Looking back over two decades we have seen many promises, policies and strategies in dealing with our energy challenges," says Barry K. Worthington, USEA executive director and Forum co-chair. "We believe it's appropriate to honor those who make energy efficiency their personal and professional passion."
"Over the years these representatives from private industry and the public sector have in some way sponsored legislation, developed programs or otherwise represented what it takes to achieve energy efficiency through bipartisan government leadership and strong business implementation," says C. David Myers, president of Johnson Controls Building Efficiency business.
Decker worked with Johnson Controls for 43 years, and retired as vice president of government business for the company in 2001.
He was involved with energy issues and participated in a number of congressional hearings, contributed to government studies, and spearheaded legislative and executive initiatives to promote energy efficiency worldwide.
He has written more than 200 articles on energy efficiency and is co-author of the book "Policy Evolution: Energy Conservation to Energy Efficiency," The Fairmont Press Inc., 1997.
Profiles of all of the inductees can be found at www.eeforum.net.
