The Light Switch

One of the most cost effective ways to control energy costs regardless of whether you are a business or residential user is to shut off the lights when leaving a room or office. To this day I can still hear my Dad’s voice reminding me to shut off the lights in my room or the basement after I left them… was he ahead of his time or just being frugal? Either way the principle is simple but very powerful. However, we are not conditioned to do this especially if we are not the ones responsible for paying the electric bill. Habits are hard to change but people have been known to change when being made aware, reminded and or given an incentive to do so. So regardless of the fact that it saves money, let’s appeal to your eco-sense. By leaving the lights on you will contribute to additional green houses gases being sent into the atmosphere while adding to our continued dependence on foreign sources for fuel. Shouldn’t that be enough incentive for most?

There are many things you can do even if you can not change peoples habits via appealing to their eco-sense. You can change the light switches to either ones with motion sensors or timers. This approach cost some money but the pay back may very well be worth it. Another way is to replace the bulbs with more energy efficient ones.

Replace your Old-fashioned Incandescent Light Bulbs

One initiative here in New Jersey, USA is Project Porchlight and initiative of ONECHANGE whose motto is simple actions matter. Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs use 75% less energy than old-fashioned incandescent light bulbs and last up to 10 times longer. For every bulb you swap, you will cut as much as 1,000 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions each year and save up to $50 on your energy bills over the lifetime of the bulb.

If every household in North America replaced just one incandescent light bulb with a CFL bulb, it would be like taking 2 million cars off the road for a year. Considering the average home has around 45 light bulbs, imagine if we replaced all of our lights with CFL bulbs.

So what are you waiting for?

Swap your bulbs today to maximize your energy/money savings and remember to turn off your lights when they’re not in use!

For more information about the CFL bulb initiative , please visit projectporchlight.com.

 

NRGspot

Public fast charging systems

Together with a utility company called, Eneco, the concept of NRGspot was developed (no relation to this blog). The NRGspot system is part of a public ultra fast charging infrastructure for electric vehicles enabling clean transportation in cities across Europe. NRG spot can be used to fast charge electric vehicles ranging from delivery scooters, and electric bicycles to electric cars, buses and delivery trucks. The infrastructure consists of a broad range of different types of charging stations which act together as an overall infrastructure.

The system can be used by subscribers and is accessed through a intelligent interface. After a quick log-in the system can be used to charge the electric vehicle of the user usually within 15-30 minutes. The fast charging functionality is compatible with a whole range of electric vehicles with special lithium-ion battery technology, a list will be made available by the company soon. The systems will be placed initially in large cities at strategic places near shopping malls. The NRGspot can be used by fleet owners such as delivery services, taxi services as well as individual consumers.

Below is a flashback of looking back to see how things were done, prior to all the high tech gadgetry ways to save time and money. So in the retro spirit let’s look at sure fire a no tech cost effective way to save money.

The clothesline

You may remember the visual to the right from your childhood days when your Mom hung out the clothes on one of these inverted umbrella type rigs or perhaps via stringing a line between the house and a nearby tree.

Well what is old is new again, at least when it comes to saving energy. We recently started doing for drying heavy things like towels, sweatshirts and jeans. The money we saved by using the dryer less often was measurable, almost 12-14% off each months electric bill. If you use a gas dryer you will get similar savings as well.

Environmental concerns and sky-rocketing energy costs have also prompted many state and local governments to pass “right-to-dry” laws allowing their use (check with you local ordinances before installing one).

Advantages of a clothes line

• Saves money
• Zero greenhouse gas emissions per load.
• Laundry smells “clothesline fresh” without using chemicals.
• Less wear and tear on your clothing fabrics.
• Laundry items tend to not shrink from the hot air of a clothes dryer.
• No static cling!!
• Your clothes are softer as dryers tend to remove short, soft, fine fibers.
• Possibly less ironing as items not immediately removed from dryer tend to get wrinkled.
• Items may dry more quickly on dry or sunny and windy days.
• Avoids airborne lint and reduced air quality.
• Eliminates heating up the inside of a house by a clothes dryer especially helpful during the summer months.
• Eliminates the internal house noise from the running clothes dryer.

Disadvantages of using a clothes line

• Laundry items need to be hung indoors during rainy weather.
• Neighbors may find it aesthetically unpleasant so it is best to erect it in an inconspicuous place.
• Laundry items may be more stiff which is easily remedied by giving them a short dryer spin.
• Wind, temperature, and humidity can vary the drying time^.
• Environmental contaminants such as soil, dust, smoke, pollen and animal droppings can come in contact with clothing.

Drying laundry indoors

Laundry may be dried indoors for a variety of reasons including:

• inclement weather
• physical disability
• lack of space for a line
• legal restrictions
• to raise the humidity level indoors
• to lower the air temperature indoors
• convenience
• to preserve privacy

Several types of devices are also available for indoor drying. A drying rack or clotheshorse can help save space in an apartment or clothes line can be strung in the basement during the winter. Small loads can simply be draped over furniture or a shower curtain pole. The drying time indoors will typically be longer than outdoor drying because of the lack of direct sun and wind.

To learn some other quick inexpensive ways to save money visit the SAVING $ tab above to start saving energy and money today!

Save energy

Saving energy is very important these days. Energy should be saved not only in homes but also in offices, factories, malls, homes and many other places. These tips are simple to follow and almost everlasting. It will help us in every direct and indirect way to help us make our planet a much better place to live. Below are some tips that should be followed if we are to save energy.

Close the doors

A very simple rule you should follow is to close the doors. If you have an air conditioner or a heating system installed in your room, than you should keep your door closed at all times. This will allow the unit to maintain the level of temperature in your room much more easily and cost effectively. Simply put, the unit will consume far less energy in maintaining the temperature of your room.

Turn off the lights

Keep a check on the lights in your house or office. Don’t switch on lights if they are not needed. Many people forget switching off the lights of bathrooms or kitchen when they leave their home or the room where they were doing their work. It is always better to switch of the lights when leaving any room even if it is for 3 seconds. Contrary to a popular theory out there it does not shorten the life of the bulb.

Tumble Dryers

Using tumble dryers uses quite a large amount of energy. It’s better to hang the clothes outside in the sun or on a windy day. Doing this even for short periods to partially dry the clothes before using the dryer will save you some big dollars!

Using energy savers and other sources of light:

Another massive improvement that you can make in terms of energy efficiency is by switching to energy saver light bulbs, like compact fluorescent light (CFL) or light emitting diode (LED) bulbs. They are very efficient and last a long time. It will increase your light bulb energy savings by almost 75% vs traditional incandescent ones.

Movement sensor switches

In offices, you should encourage your employee to switch off the lights of all those rooms that are not in use. In offices the lights should be switched off of places like toilets, storerooms and meeting rooms. If your employees don’t get used to switching off the lights, then consider installing movement sensor switches. This is worth installing as it detects that no one is in the room then switches the lights off automatically.

Appliances:

It is better to purchase all those appliances or products that have the Energy Star logo on them. When you see the star logo on the appliances it means that it is an energy saving device. It can cut your current bills by almost 25%!

Energy saving is a step that we have to take as a mature and responsible generation, in order to protect this planet for our many generations to come. We should not try repeating the mistake our fore fathers made, and act responsibly and save money by doing so.

The Tank-less Alternative to Heating Water

A tank-less water heater produces hot water on demand. Traditional water heaters have large tanks to store and heat water, so they continually have to keep the water heated.

A tank-less water heater uses electricity or gas to quickly heat water that is needed at a given time. Different units are capable of product hot water at different rates. Gas units generally perform better. Large units or multiple units are required if you need to have say a kitchen sink, shower, and other things operating at the same time. Savings up to 30% can be realized.

They even take up less space and many manufacturers even makes a stylish tank-less water heater , Ecosmart ECO 27, that may not need to be hidden in the utility room. They cost from $200 to $1500.

Some key items to look for are electrical or gas needs of the unit, and venting requirements. Many gas units require a certain size of gas inlet and exhaust vent size. Whereas electric tank-less do not require expensive vent piping.

Federal tax credits of up to $1500 are may also be available.

It’s not only what is inside that counts this holiday, but how you wrap your presents that matters as well. All of those lovely gifts can lead to a pile of boxes, gift-wrap and plastic packaging destined for the landfill. In 2009 Americans threw away 78.5 million tons of packaging, making up more than one third of all solid waste in landfills.

It’s in the Wrap

Everyone will appreciate gifts wrapped with recycled love. Comics are favorites, but outdated maps, yellow pages and finished coloring-book pages also can have a nice wrapping effect. And how about cutting the brown paper bags from the grocery store. Cut them open and use the inside for a crayon or paint canvas custom designed by the artists you have at home. If you must use wrap, look for recycled or at least partially recycled brands.

Gift Bags, too

Reuse last year’s gift bags if you can, but if you’re low on supply, try one made of natural fibers or recycled content, or make your own. Brown (recycled) lunch bags are always good as are the paper sack from the grocery store. If you must buy some new ones, once again look for at least partially recycled products.

One site we like is Green Field Paper. Of course there are many more just Google “Recycled Wrapping Paper” and you will have many to choose from. We are certain that with a little extra effort your holiday, be it Hanukkah,Christmas, Kwanzaa or Winter Solstice will be greener and more meaningful. Amazon also sells various vendors as well.

Be on the cutting edge with LED holiday lights.

 

Each bulb with this new LED technology uses only 0.04 watts and is up to 90 percent more efficient than its incandescent counterpart. So a household burning 10 strands of lights for eight hours a day for a month at $0.0853 per kilowatt-hour would spend $127.67 for large incandescent bulbs, $7.20 for traditional mini-lights, and just $0.72 for LEDs. Also these newer bulbs are sturdier, last up to 100,000 hours, or 20 years, and barely warm up thus eliminating most fire concerns.

To also maximize holiday lighting savings, use timers to limit light displays to no more than six evening hours a day. Leaving lights on for 24 hours a day will easily quadruple your energy costs while also creating 4 times as much green house gases from the additional energy needed to light them.

And be safe, unattended lights can cause fires, especially if the lights are on a dried holiday tree or wreath, so always unplug your interior lights before going to bed or leaving the house. See the U.S. Department of Energy website to learn about the savings.

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.

What is in our Garbage?

Paper accounts for 47% of it, Food waste 18%, Plastic 15%, Yard Waste 9%, Wood 3%, Metal 3%, Glass 2% and Other 3%. So if we could get rid of or greatly reduce the first four categories listed we can reduce overall garbage by as much as a WHOPPING 89%!! How? Read below for two easy ways to reduce your trash, save your community money and cut down on your carbon footprint.

Recycling

Another “YesterYear” technology that has been around for quite some time is recycling. It is easy to do and if you have young children they will probably teach you or guilt you into to it as they are now taught its benefits in school. Many municipalities require at least some level of recycling for containers of glass, metal and #1 or #2 plastics and newspapers. These types of  materials are the most valuable and allow them to make money to at least cover the cost of collection. So what about all that junk mail, card board packaging, used electronics and fluorescent lights? Well many municipalities will also take these materials however you have must take them to their respective recycling centers, so it does requires an effort. If your municipality does not take some of these items yet go here find where to recycle it.

Is it worth the effort?

Well the picture shown tells the tale. The picture on the left  is our garbage can and next to is two of three of our neighbors trash cans both are holding trash from one week. We have a household of five people, two adults and 3 children. They have two adults and one child. The difference is we make an effort to recycle as much as possible beyond what the town requires, they do not. Essentially our energy usage and carbon footprint is less because of  our recycling efforts. This is easy enough for everyone to do with a small amount of effort and thought.

Composting

Another big way we cut down on trash is by composting. We take all our food scraps, grass clippings, leaves and other yard debris and put them in a composting bin. The one pictured is one of many types available. This particular model allows you to spin it frequently speeding up the process of decomposition turning it  into “black gold”. We use this black gold as a natural soil enhancer as it contains many natural nutrients that plants and shrubs need. This also allows us to not have to use fertilizers for feeding our plants. This added benefit makes this an even more Eco friendly solution.   Doing both these simple things adds up to big energy savings and reduces your carbon foot print.  A good site to start with to learn about it is Master Composter.

Start today it is easier to do than you think.