Energy Saving Smart Power Strip Reduces Computer Energy Waste

These days, computers don’t just run our lives, they run up our power bills, too. All those devices hooked up to your system can drain energy, even when you’re not using them. The Energy Saving Smart Strip Power Strip can stop this waste of power by letting you shut off all peripherals plugged into it with just one click.

Available at:

Amazon.com

Simple No Cost Actions for Winter

Check your hot water heater’s temperature. If you have a dishwasher you can heat it up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 degrees Celsius). If you don’t have a dishwasher you can keep it lower. Try lowering it to 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 degrees Celsius). In some homes, those savings have amounted to more than 10-12% of the total energy usage.

Use a hot water heater blanket. If your water heater is in an unheated space like an unfinished basement, wrap it in an insulation blanket to prevent heat loss. They cost about $40 and can be found at your local home improvement store.

Clean or replace your filter every month. A dirty filter makes your furnace work harder, which uses more electricity. Your home improvement store sells permanent filters that you can wash so you don’t have to replace the filter each month. Changing your filters can save you up to $60 a year on heating costs.

Dust and vacuum those radiators and vents. Dust acts as a great insulator and will actually stop the heat from getting to where you need it.

Don’t empty the bath until the water has cooled down. The heat will dissipate into the air. It will also add needed humidity in those winter months.

Open the stove door after cooking. By leaving the oven door open slightly after you have used it to cook you will allow all the heat to move into the room versus it staying put inside your insulated oven.

Use an old towel to block the air at the bottom of the door at night. Putting an old rolled up towel along the base of your door or windowsill will block any drafts from coming through.

See our SAVING $ tab for more ideas.

A Thermostat That Learns

Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers two former Apple executives who led iPod and iPhone developments are its creators. Taking their cue for the simplicity of the iPhone, the Nest thermostat is an easy to install  compatible replacement for your old-school thermostat. Think of it as efficiency through a smarter design that learns every time you adjust a heat or cooling setting. In about a week, it begins making the changes for you, and over time learns your needs for better energy efficiency, without you having to program it which has been the large drawback leading to the lack of installation of other “smart” thermostats.

The Nest Labs DYI  kit even includes a screwdriver for self installation however if you if you’re not handy, just contact your local HVAC company to the quick install.

The circular screen lets you how long it will take for the zone to reach the desired temperature, so you don’t have to overcompensate in order to get warm or cool quicker.

Nest has two unique proximity sensors. One activates the screen as you approach, so it won’t run down the internal battery when you’re not in front of it while second one detects your occasional passes through the room. This determines whether you’re home or away. If you’re away, it will automatically adjust settings to save energy.

It comes with built-in Wi-Fi, so it can link in to your home network, giving you the power to log into it from an iPhone, iPad or Android phone, and do it from anywhere in the world. The learning happens the whole time, so if you’re regularly adjusting the temperature on your way home from work, it will figure that out and start doing it for you.

The Nest’s initial price is $250 but we expect that price to come down over time. It can be bought online at their site NEST Labs or soon at Best Buy.

A Practecol Solution

You can increase your dryer heat circulation to reduce drying time by 15% and save energy costs. These heat-resistant dryer balls lift and separate your clothes to better circulate heat, reducing drying time and lowering energy costs.

I recently came across this article that I thought would be of interest to you. It is not only a way to create less waste but many of these new chargers do not act as vampires of energy when they are plugged in and your phone is not attached. Little steps… Little steps… add up to big advances. Enjoy the reading… more yesteryear technologies soon to be posted.

One size fits all phone chargers on the way: ITU

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -

Ever forget your phone charger and no one around has the same kind of handset?  

Have a drawer full of useless old phone chargers at home?

Breathe a sigh of relief.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations’ telecom arm, said on Thursday it had given its stamp of approval “to an energy-efficient one-charger-fits-all new mobile phone solution.

“Every mobile phone user will benefit from the new Universal Charging Solution (UCS), which enables the same charger to be used for all future handsets, regardless of make and model,” the ITU said in a statement.

“Some manufacturers are already incorporating the UCS in their devices,” an ITU spokesman said.

The association hopes a universal charger will help reduce waste by cutting down on the number of chargers produced and then thrown away with the purchase of a new handset.

There are already more than 4 billion mobile phone subscriptions around the world.

In June, top mobile phone suppliers such as Nokia, Sony Ericsson and other industry majors agreed to back an EU-wide harmonization of phone chargers, which means phones compatible with standard charging devices are available in Europe from next year.

The EU estimates unwanted phone accessories account for thousands of tons of waste in Europe each year.

Now, if only they could come up with a single plug.

(Reporting by Nicola Leske, Editing by Michael Shields and Dan Lalor)

Energy Saving Tax Credits to Expire in 2010

Keep in mind December 31st is the last day to install insulation and or an energy-saving water heater or new thermal windows in your home. You can earn up to a $1,500 tax credit for doing this. See additional info at: www.energystar.gov

Also see our energy savings tips by using the $aving Money tab above…

Get started today to begin saving money!

New Smart Thermostat

EcoFactor, a provider of personalized solutions for managing residential energy use, has announced the availability of its residential energy management solution.

Their technology will analyze and act upon thousands of data points collected throughout the day from the thermostat, local weather stations and other geographic inputs,  to create a unique but continuously evolving heating and cooling profile for your  home.

Its solution operates with a two-way communicating thermostat and a broadband Internet connection, and is hosted on-demand so there is no software to install or maintain.

EcoFactor was founded in 2006 to provide an effective alternative to the current one-size-fits-all residential energy management solutions. More can be found online at www.ecofactor.com.