Boulder draws from and sends workers to the same counties

Boulder County residents who don’t work here tend to work in the same counties from which area employers get their employees. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that in 2006, most Boulder residents who didn’t work in Boulder commuted to jobs in Denver, Adams or Jefferson counties. Boulder residents who worked out of the county headed to those same counties to work, with Adams and then Jefferson drawing the highest numbers of Boulder County residents. Also interesting in the survey is that Boulder residents work not only all over the U.S. – with quite a few commuting to California, Alaska, New York and Texas – but also all over the world, with some working in Switzerland, England, Australia and Mexico, among other nations. Here’s a look at the top counties commuters who either live or work in Boulder go to or come from:

Road map: Boulder commuters

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

See how you can save at the pump before you hit the road to work or play

With gas prices soaring well above the highest price Americans likely have ever imagined, it’s hard to consider spending that federal rebate check on anything but fuel to get from home to work and back again. In fact, many Coloradans – like other Americans – are rethinking their vacation destinations this summer in light of travel costs, according to AAA Colorado.

The organization reported the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas in Colorado hit $3.52 on May 1. And Colorado doesn’t have the most expensive gas, either: it tied with New Hampshire with the 12th cheapest average price for regular unleaded in the nation, compared with Colorado having the 21st lowest price the previous week. Wyoming has the cheapest average price in the nation at $3.43 per gallon, while California has the most expensive average price at $3.92, followed by Alaska at $3.83.

While gas prices are impacting where people are traveling, they’re not impacting overall plans to travel somewhere, said Debbi Lardinois, communications specialist for AAA Colorado. “What we see is that people, to conserve money, make up the difference by staying closer to home, eating at less-expensive restaurants and staying at less-expensive hotels. I don’t think we’ve seen any reductions in travel. People are just going to be traveling closer to home.” That means the tourism industry’s patrons may not see a big reduction in business but rather just a change in from where their business is coming, Lardinois said. “Americans are just not willing to give up their vacations – we get so few of them compared with other countries,” she added.

How can you make sure that the gas pump doesn’t suck up all of your federal rebate check, whether you’re on vacation or going about your daily business? Make your first stop the World Wide Web, where tips are plentiful:

• http://autos.msn.com/everyday/gasstations.aspx?zip_&src=Netx gives you the current gas prices in your area when you type in the zip code of your home, work or other destination.
• http://www.aaa.com/aaa/006/Press/AAAFuelGuide.html?zip=80521 provides AAA’s Fuel Price finder and Fuel Cost Calculators, among other valuable tools gas cost-cutting tools.
• http://www.howtoadvice.com/savinggas offers 30 gas-saving tips, including not warming up your engine too long (which is easier to do, now that the morning’s are quite so cold) and how and when to buy gas.
• http://www.fueleconomy.gov/FEG/drive.shtml includes advice about combining and planning trips as well as vehicle maintenance and choosing a fuel-efficient vehicle.

Boulder to enjoy benefits of being Xcel’s first ‘smart grid’ city

Xcel Energy has chosen the city of Boulder in which to launch its first “smart grid.” It sounds like it will fit in with Boulder’s ‘green’ efforts, but not everyone is sure what a smart grid is and how it will affect Boulder residents.

Tom Henley, Xcel Energy spokesman, said behind the scenes, the smart grid would give Xcel Energy instant access to what’s happening between the power stations and homes. Instead of having to examine an entire circuit to determine what’s wrong when the power goes out, workers will have that information immediately available, saving time and money. For customers, that means when their lights go out, it won’t be out for as long, he said.

Xcel Energy will install “black boxes” in homes of customers who choose to actively participate in the project, allowing them to access and control their smart appliances via the Internet and to track their energy use, Henley said. Through that connection, customers can turn smart appliances on or off and adjust furnace and air conditioner temperatures so they are drawing minimal power during peak usage times.

Workers with Xcel Energy could potentially use remote access to adjust furnaces or air conditioning units with customers’ permission or in an emergency to lessen the drain on power, he said. The black box also will tell customers who choose to purchase renewable energy when it’s windy so they can run the dishwasher or do their laundry as wind power is available, Henley said.

Xcel Energy is footing $15 million of the cost to install the grid, and its partners within the Smart Grid Consortium will invest the remaining $85 million, Henley said. Xcel Energy officials expect to have the first phase of Smart Grid City in place as early as August, placing the new applications at substations and installing about 15,000 new meters at homes. Implementation of the grid components throughout the city will continue through 2009, resulting in 50,000 smart meters affecting about 100,000 people, he said.

“This is an attempt to create a more modern and efficient electrical grid for customers, that will ultimately allow them to reap the benefits at, hopefully, a lower rate with more efficiency and choice,” Henley said. “If the theories prove to be as effective as we anticipate them to be, we’ll be taking it to other parts of our service territory.”

Ken Hotard, senior vice president of public affairs for the Boulder Area Realtor Association, said it’s no surprise that Xcel Energy would choose a community known for its green efforts to install the first smart grid. “Can you make it (Boulder) more attractive? I think it basically adds to the existing cache of the community, clearly seen as a leader in environmentalism, energy, conservationism.”

However, Hotard said it’s too early to tell how the grid will affect home values, but lower utility costs are always attractive to potential homebuyers. “I doubt that it would have a direct impact on home prices. Any buyer looks at energy costs for a home, but they’re more likely to consider a home that has reasonable energy costs.”

Xcel Energy Energy Chief Executive Officer Dick Kelly will talk more about the Smart Grid City at the 2008 Boulder Economic Summit 7:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Thursday, May 15 at the University of Colorado at Boulder’s University Memorial Center, Broadway and Euclid.

Remodeling in a slower real estate market

In a slower real estate market, remodeling – especially in hopes of increasing your home’s sale price – may not be the best way to improve your home. Instead, replacing siding, windows and the roof costs less and may reap a few more rewards, though don’t expect to recoup 100 percent of your costs either way, according to Remodeling magazine. Here’s a look at how much various remodeling projects might cost and how much of that cost you can expect to recoup compared with replacement projects, according to Remodeling’s 2007 Cost vs. Value Report”:

Source: Remodeling magazine