Category Archives: waste

If You Are In The Carolinas – These people can help you with your residential energy improvements

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Every once in awhile I post about a company. But the same disclaimer always goes with such posts. I like my HVAC guy but if I posted about him here he would get the same disclaimer. I am not familiar with this company. Please check with the Better Business Bureau, the Chamber of Commerce, the Attorney General of the state or State’s Attorney whatever is the case, and finally ask for and check out references. Without further hullabaloo:

https://www.progress-energy.com/carolinas/home/save-energy-money/energy-efficiency-improvements/heip/index.page

Home Energy Improvement Program

If you’re interested in making your home more energy-efficient, look no further than the Home Energy Improvement Program. Through this Progress Energy program, you can:

  • Receive rebates for improving your home’s energy efficiency.
  • Get a list of specially trained contractors you can use to complete your home improvements.
  • Learn more about the financial and other benefits of having an energy-efficient home.

 

View a short video about the HVAC audit for residential customers.

Energy efficiency: An investment that pays you back

Energy efficiency is one of the few investments that can help you gain a return on your energy bill and on the value of your home. View the program details tab to learn more about home improvement rebates offered by Progress Energy:

  • Air duct testing – Up to $60
  • Air duct repair and replacement – Up to $120
  • Attic insulation upgrade and attic sealing – $375
  • Energy-efficient window installation – Up to $450
  • Geothermal heat pump replacement – $300
  • HVAC Audit – $100
  • High-efficiency heat pump replacement – $300
  • High-efficiency central AC replacement – $300

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More tomorrow.

 

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Another 20 Ways To Save Energy List – Cool name though EcoMall

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As I have pointed out in the past, these lists are pretty much all the same. Plus they usually don’t mention the bigger items like taking windows out of service (alternatively applying low e film) or blocking off unused space but, the name is really cool.

http://www.ecomall.com/greenshopping/20things.htm

EcoMall

 

20 THINGS YOU CAN DO
TO CONSERVE ENERGY

Whenever you save energy, you not only save money, you also reduce the demand for such fossil fuels as coal, oil, and natural gas. Less burning of fossil fuels also means lower emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), the primary contributor to global warming, and other pollutants.

You do not have to do without to achieve these savings. There is now an energy efficient alternative for almost every kind of appliance or light fixture. That means that consumers have a real choice and the power to change their energy use on a revolutionary scale.

The average American produces about 40,000 pounds of CO2 emissions per year. Together, we use nearly a million dollars worth of energy every minute, night and day, every day of the year. By exercising even a few of the following steps, you can cut your annual emissions by thousands of pounds and your energy bills by a significant amount!

 

Home appliances

 

 

  • Turn your refrigerator down. Refrigerators account for about 20% of Household electricity use. Use a thermometer to set your refrigerator temperature as close to 37 degrees and your freezer as close to 3 degrees as possible. Make sure that its energy saver switch is turned on. Also, check the gaskets around your refrigerator/freezer doors to make sure they are clean and sealed tightly. 

  • Set your clothes washer to the warm or cold water setting, not hot. Switching from hot to warm for two loads per week can save nearly 500 pounds of CO2 per year if you have an electric water heater, or 150 pounds for a gas heater. 

  • Make sure your dishwasher is full when you run it and use the energy saving setting, if available, to allow the dishes to air dry. You can also turn off the drying cycle manually. Not using heat in the drying cycle can save 20 percent of your dishwasher’s total electricity use. 

  • Turn down your water heater thermostat. Thermostats are often set to 140 degrees F when 120 is usually fine. Each 10 degree reduction saves 600 pounds of CO2 per year for an electric water heater, or 440 pounds for a gas heater. If every household turned its water heater thermostat down 20 degrees, we could prevent more than 45 million tons of annual CO2 emissions – the same amount emitted by the entire nations of Kuwait or Libya. 

  • Select the most energy-efficient models when you replace your old appliances. Look for the Energy Star Label – your assurance that the product saves energy and prevents pollution. Buy the product that is sized to your typical needs – not the biggest one available. Front loading washing machines will usually cut hot water use by 60 to 70% compared to typical machines. Replacing a typical 1973 refrigerator with a new energy-efficient model, saves 1.4 tons of CO2 per year. Investing in a solar water heater can save 4.9 tons of CO2 annually.

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    I gave you the first 5. You have to go read the rest yourself. More tomorrow.

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    Saving Energy Contest In Upstate New York – It is great to be a loser

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    This is what can happen when the entire energy related sector cooperates. Too bad it doesn’t happen everywhere.

    http://www.sustainablesaratoga.com/2011/02/the-biggest-losers-win-in-home-energy-efficiency-contest-in-saratoga-springs/

    The Biggest Losers win in Home Energy Efficiency Contest in Saratoga Springs

    PostDateIcon February 14th, 2011 | PostAuthorIcon Author: admin

    The Biggest Losers Win
    A Sustainable Saratoga Campaign to Promote Energy Efficiency and Conservation.

    (Saratoga Springs, NY)  — The local Biggest Loser Energy Challenge sponsored by Sustainable Saratoga came to a close last week as a group of Saratoga Springs neighbors representing ten households sallied forth in sub-zero weather to focus an infrared camera on their houses in the last educational activity of the contest. As participants each looked at their houses on the camera screen, tell-tale glowing lights signified heat escaping into the cold night air. The infrared camera visually demonstrated where heat losses were the greatest, and gave opposing team members ammunition for teasing owners about missed opportunities to make their homes more energy efficient.

    After the chilly outing, participants compared the final tally of their energy consumption over a six-month period to see which group had managed to cut energy use and waste by the largest percentage over the same period last year. Although both teams were happy “losers”, one group did reduce more than the other.

    The participants encountered some surprises.  First, it was interesting to see energy use trends over time as there were unexpected spikes and dips in therms (gas) and kilowatts (electricity). Several people who halved their electricity usage speculated in hindsight how they did it. One had unplugged her clothes dryer and used line drying in her basement instead. Another had purchased a new refrigerator that replaced a 30 year old one, exchanged an old cable box for a new one and put the flat screen TV on a plug that could be turned off in order to prevent the significant stand-by energy these modern TVs burn, as well as the hole in our pockets.

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    Please go there and read more.

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    More tomorrow.

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    Energy Conservation The UK Way – Stiff upper lip and all

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    Pip pip.

    http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/

    • You are here (UK)

     

     

    Welcome!

    If you are looking for ways to stop wasting energy and money you’ll find lots of ideas here. The Energy Saving Trust is a non-profit organisation that provides free and impartial advice on how to save energy.

    The Renewable Heat Premium Payment has been announced as part of the Renewable Heat Incentive – find out more and apply now >

    For all the latest news, read the Energy Saving Trust’s blog >

    Sign up for our EU Life+ ‘Combining water and energy efficiency’ event on 22nd September

     

    Stay up to date with the latest news

    Have you joined the world of Facebook? Become a fan of the Energy Saving Trust and get energy saving tips and information on a daily basis, whether you’re sat at home or out and about.

     

    Become a fan today!

    What’s happening near you?

    Want to know what’s going on in your area? Find helpful, localised information about all things energy saving with ‘Where I Live’.

     

    What’s happening in your local area?

     

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    More tomorrow.

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    Home Energy Audit – You can’t save energy until you know where you are using it

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    Trying to save energy (re: money) without knowing where you are using it is like assembling something without reading the instructions. Sometimes it works but most times it doesn’t.

     

    http://www.homeenergy.org/show/article/id/1541/viewFull/

     

    Getting to the Bottom of Home Energy Use

    BY TODD HOENER

     

    In 1949, according to DOE’s Energy Information Administration (EIA), residential electricity consumption was 5% of total residential energy consumption. By 2009, it was 40%. This rise is attributable to many factors—appliance and equipment saturation, innovations in electronic technology, larger houses, and greater disposable income, among others. According to DOE, end-use electricity consumption will continue to grow as a percentage of total household energy consumption. As electricity consumption grows, so does base-load household electricity consumption—that year-round electrical load upon which seasonal electrical loads, like air-conditioning and space heating, are stacked. Water heating, refrigerators and freezers, lighting, laundry and kitchen appliances, electronics and entertainment devices, pumps, and miscellaneous plugged-in loads are common base-load end uses. All additional electricity use—from occasionally used devices, tools, or equipment; visitors; short-term construction jobs; and so on—is consumed on top of base-load use. And the fervent appetite for new and as-yet-unimagined appliances and electronic devices is expected to climb. Growth is why base-load end use is an important topic.
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    Subscribe to the magazine and read the rest.
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    More next week.

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    I Never Miss The State Fair – But sometimes it require grit

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    Man the State Fair was kinda disappointing for me this year, at least from an energy perspective. Now I admit that the first year I started posting here was a pretty heady year. IDE had 2 booths for energy conservation. One was for seniors and one for the general public. Conservation World was packed. The Sierra Club had a tent with CWLP complete witha solar exhibit and a hybrid car. There were doors and windows guys galore in the Exhibition Hall, and even a guy selling wind turbines. The AG Equipment section even had an exhibit about biofuels. This year there was nada until I stopped at the “don’t mess with powerlines” guys tent (sorry – Live Line Demos) and saw the Wall Of Efficiencies display that was sharing space with him. Here is my picture.

    That is Aaron Ridenour of PPI. According to him, they originally got the Wall to take to there members Board Members meeting but since then it has been to North Dakota, Kansas and Washington DC. They were actually in a Senate Hearing concerning a Coops Bill.

    Here is what they say about it:

    http://www.ppi.coop/environmental/energy-efficiency/

    tilized by PPI and its member cooperatives over the past few years. The sixteen foot “Energy Efficiency Walls” illustrate various opportunities for air infiltration or leakage within the common home due to poor construction practices and materials. The displays address: energy efficient construction practices and materials, and energy efficient equipment and technologies. The proper use of caulking around penetration points in the home’s external walls, such as window and door openings, gas, water, AC and heating system fuel lines and ventilation systems, and the selection and installation of energy efficient insulation materials, ventilation equipment and lighting systems are just a few of the energy efficient items illustrated in the Walls. Utilizing the displays at member cooperatives’ annual membership meetings, NRECA and Touchstone Energy regional events, community college workshops and educational classes, … homebuilder shows, county fairs, legislative briefings in Washington DC to promote energy efficiency loan programs and other events, … over 400,000 consumers have been exposed to the educational opportunities of the Energy Efficiency Walls since 2009.

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    More tomorrow.

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    Home Energy Conservation – It is the safe thing to do

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    Energy Conservation saves money, but it can also save lives. CES believes in safety first.

    http://www.safetyathome.com/environmental-safety/environmental-safety-articles/energy-conservation-facts-that-may-surprise-you/?gclid=CKvq5r_k1qoCFU3IKgodrnrT9w

    Environmental Safety

    When you’re a parent, environmental concerns suddenly take on new meaning. You want to keep your family safe and your environment healthy for so many reasons. Get the answers you need to feel confident that the products you purchase will live up to their eco-claims and that you’re making smart choices for your family.

    Energy Conservation Facts That May Surprise You – and What to Do About Them

    faucet leaking

    Want to step up your energy-saving savvy? Here are some energy eye-openers along with ways to conserve you might not have thought of yet.

    Energy Eye-Opener: Wasting water needlessly uses electricity. In large cities, the biggest draw on electricity is supplying water to residents and cleaning up the water after it has been used.

    • Take a good look at your water bill every month. Unusually high use could mean you have an undetected leak.

    Energy Eye-Opener: Refrigerators and freezers consume about a sixth of all electricity in a typical American home, using more electricity than any other single household appliance.1

    • If possible, move your refrigerator away from the wall, stove, dishwasher and heat vents to help it perform more efficiently.2

    Energy Eye-Opener: A six-inch pan on an eight-inch burner will waste more than 40 percent of the stove’s energy3.

    • Use pots the same size as your burners. Use lids when possible so you can cook at a lower temperature.

    Energy Eye-Opener: Some water heater thermostats come preset to 140 degrees, which can cost you more money.

    • Make sure your water heater is set to 120 degrees.4 This is also recommended to help prevent accidental scalding and burns from water that is too hot – especially important with little ones around.

    Energy Eye-Opener: About 90 percent of the electricity used by everyday incandescent bulbs is lost as heat.

    • Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). They provide just as much light with one-fourth the energy.5

    Energy Eye-Opener: As much as half the energy used in your home goes to heating and cooling.

    • Use duct or foil tape to seal the seams and connections of your heating and cooling ducts, especially the ones running through the attic, crawlspace, unheated basement or garage. Wrap them in insulation while you’re at it; you could improve your system’s energy efficiency by as much as 20 percent.6

    Energy Eye-Opener: An open fireplace damper can let up to eight percent of heat from your furnace go up the chimney.

    • Close the damper in summer and when you don’t have a fire burning in winter.7

    Energy Eye-Opener: Devices such as modems and other networking boxes draw power anytime they are plugged in.

    • Plug your computer, modem and other electronic devices into a power strip so you can turn them all off when you’re not using them.8 This also goes for small appliances in the kitchen that are constantly drawing energy while plugged in. Make sure all power strips are UL Listed.

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    Go there and read. More tomorrow.

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    ArcticPro Air Conditioners Are A Fraud – 380 $$$ for one you can buy for 100

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    Normally I reserve this space for the freezer pack and fan “coolers” that make the paper every year. This year they actually put an air conditioner in them. Do not get excited however because they are still a ripoff. One, anyone could modify a regular small super efficient air conditioner to do this. Two, they require a exhaust port at every window you would use and it does not look like you can move the ports from window to window. Three, they are really really inefficient air conditioners but they hide that by reducing the price to operate to the smallest unit of measure possible. Finally they take out an ad that costs $1,500 dollars per day (like the coin sellers, the gold buyers, and the fake antiques roadshow people), where if they where legit they would just send out a press release. But with respect and the highest praise to this lady blogger, while using nicer language, she tears them a new you know what. Way to go lady!

    http://daughternumberthree.blogspot.com/2011/06/articpro-air-conditioners-not-free-and.html

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    Just a taste here. Go bookmark her page.

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    Thursday, June 16, 2011

    ArticPro Air Conditioners — Not Free, and Not the Best Choice

    The UMS designers have outdone themselves in making the ad appear to be a free giveaway. The use of a black reversed box at top left with MINNESOTA DISTRIBUTION NOTICE and the year just above it, I would say, is designed to mimic the look of government notices, such as IRS publications. There’s the usual UMS limited availability offer (only 1,573 units!), now embellished with a county-by-county listing that makes the ad look even more official.

    Nowhere in the top half of the ad is a price given or the fact that you have to buy the machines even mentioned — for instance, there’s no price called out in larger type with a dollar sign anywhere in the ad, including the call to action box at lower right.

    It’s been several months since I saw an ad in the local papers from the Universal Media Syndicate, but their newest product appears to follow the pattern of their many earlier offers.

    Today’s Star Tribune contained this full-page ad for an ArcticPro™ portable air conditioner:

    Full page ad for ArcticPro air conditioner by Universal Media Syndicate

    The UMS designers have outdone themselves in making the ad appear to be a free giveaway. The use of a black reversed box at top left with MINNESOTA DISTRIBUTION NOTICE and the year just above it, I would say, is designed to mimic the look of government notices, such as IRS publications. There’s the usual UMS limited availability offer (only 1,573 units!), now embellished with a county-by-county listing that makes the ad look even more official.

    Nowhere in the top half of the ad is a price given or the fact that you have to buy the machines even mentioned — for instance, there’s no price called out in larger type with a dollar sign anywhere in the ad, including the call to action box at lower right.

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    Go there and read. More next week.

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    Cooling Your House Without Air Conditioning – This is a huge list

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    What the last list lacked. Big ticket sugestions, this one over does. Still it is pretty comprehensive. Nobody yet has mentioned paint your roof white.  I can not put all of it up because it is so huge. Please go and see the rest at:

     

    Annie B. Bond

    23 Tips for Keeping the House Cool

    a Care2 favorite by Annie B. Bond

    Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/keep-house-cool-23-tips.html#ixzz1TysXFuL7

    Adapted from Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings, by Alex Wilson,  Jennifer Thorne, and John Morrill.

    Puzzling out how to keep your house as cool as possible during these hot  summer months? Trying to remember the conventional wisdom but not quite sure how  it goes? Those window fans, for example, should they be placed to draw air in or  out? Upwind or downwind of the dwelling? And what about windows, shades, and  awnings? Are windows on the North side of the house better left closed or open  during the day? Are awnings better than shades?

    Find out the answers to these questions and more, right here:

    The recent heat spell on the East Coast dredged these questions up for me,  and I am sure these questions are seasonal for many of us. Efficient cooling  saves money, energy, and the quality of our lives.

    Turning to Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings by Alex Wilson,  Jennifer Thorne, and John Morrill of the American Council for an  Energy-Efficient Economy has provided a wealth of answers to just these  questions and more. I’ve compiled 23 tricks about how to keep a house cool to  reduce the need for air conditioning from this book, as well as a few from The Real Goods Solar Living Sourcebook. These tips are really  useful.

    1.  Reduce the cooling load by employing cost-effective conservation  measures. Provide effective shade for east and west windows.  When possible,  delay heat-generating activities such as dishwashing until evening on hot  days.

    2.  Over most of the cooling season, keep the house closed tight during the  day. Don’t let in unwanted heat and humidity. Ventilate at night either  naturally or with fans.

    3.  You can help get rid of unwanted heat through ventilation if the  temperature of the incoming air is 77 F or lower. (This strategy works most  effectively at night and on cooler days.) Window fans for ventilation are a good  option if used properly. They should be located on the downwind side of the  house facing out. A window should be open in each room. Interior doors must  remain open to allow air flow

    Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/keep-house-cool-23-tips.html#ixzz1TysiMPq8

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    More tomorrow.

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    How To Cool Your House – These people really miss some big ones

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    These guys skip some of the bigger ticket items like taking windows out of service, and buying a dehumidifier, closing off the upper floors of your house and pumping cool air from your basement using your furnace fan. Still you have to start somewhere.

    http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/10-ways-to-keep-cool-without-air-conditioning-a-planet-green-roundup.html

    Reading Mickey’s interview Author Stan Cox Explores Some Uncomfortable Truths About Our Air-Conditioned World makes one think about what the alternatives are. Planet Green and TreeHugger have covered many of them; we round them up ten of them here.
    Use awnings.

    According to the Washington Post, The Department of Energy estimates that awnings can reduce solar heat gain—the amount temperature rises because of sunshine—by as much as 65 percent on windows with southern exposures and 77 percent on those with western exposures. Your furniture will last longer, too.

    We noted in Planet Green last spring that this can translate into a saving of cooling energy of 26 percent in hot climates, and 33 percent in more temperate climates where it might even make air conditioning unnecessary.

    Plant A Tree.

    I don’t own an air conditioner. The house immediately to the south does it for us, completely shading the south side of our house. What it misses, a huge ancient maple in its front yard gets, so in winter I get a lot of sun in my window, and in summer I am always in shade. A tree is as sophisticated as any electronic device around; it lets the sun through in winter and grows leaves in summer to block it.

    Geoffrey Donovan studied it in Sacramento, and calculated the savings.

    “Everyone knows that shade trees cool a house. No one is going to get a Nobel Prize for that conclusion,” says the study co-author, Geoffrey Donovan. “But this study gets at the details: Where should a tree be placed to get the most benefits? And how exactly do shade trees impact our carbon footprint?”

    Plant Vines.

    Frank Lloyd Wright once said “a doctor can bury his mistakes, but an architect can only advise his clients to plant vines.” It turns out he could have been a mechanical engineer, for it is surprising how effective vines are at keeping a house cool. With the new weatherization grants, the salesmen are out peddling ground source heat pumps to keep you cool for less, but really, free is better.

    Vines such as ivy, russian-vine and virgina creeper grow quickly and have an immediate effect; according to Livingroofs.org.

    Climbers can dramatically reduce the maximum temperatures of a building by shading walls from the sun, the daily temperature fluctuation being reduced by as much as 50%.Together with the insulation effect, temperature fluctuations at the wall surface can be reduced from between –10°/14°F to 60°C/140°F to between 5°C/41°F and 30°/86°F. Vines also cool your home through envirotranspiration, described in our post Be Cool and Plant A Tree.

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    Please read the rest for more. The next  idea “opening your windows” might not be such a good idea.

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    More tomorrow if I live.

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