Save Energy, Save Money, Live Better!
There is this almost fanatical belief amongst homeowners that their home must be energy efficient so they can reduce their energy bills. Unfortunately,this is the wrong approach to take. You improve your home, you increase energy efficiency so that you can live comfortably. Then the energy saving comes naturally afterwards. Think of it as comfortable […]
Interesting report and approach. Basically, a group of scientists set forth some interesting criteria for wind power generation, included the average wind speeds, avoiding forested areas or “endangered”, ice caps, etc., and hand selected several land based and “off shore” sites within 50 nautical miles of a coastline. These areas are not urban or “developed”. […]
So the last experiment was disappointing, because it appeared that plastic did very little to prevent heat loss for your leaky hallway window. Things aren’t looking so good for the thin plastic as insulation. Luckily, we have another scenario. Plastic over part of a window has come “undone” giving us the perfect side by side […]
This question is important to many homeowners and renters because we believe that placing plastic over our windows will halep us save energy on cold winter days and nights. Some plastic makers claim that plastic adds at least 1R value to the window. I doubt this to be true. But using the information presented in […]
Apartments can pose a unique challenge to people. Since most people who rent property do not own the property or aren’t under a rent-to-own contract, renters often times ignore energy saving tips. Their point of view, which is certainly understandable, is why pay for improvements that will reduce bill when I will not reap the […]
After you move in Keep your electricity bills in check right away! If you have the money, replace most or all of the lights with fluorescents. You can stagger this if you wish, and only buy or install the lights you anticipate using most often. Take the old incandescent bulbs, and carefully place them in […]
Let’s say you’re apartment hunting. Do a brief “mini” energy audit while you’re walking through the apartment. When you inspect an apartment, carefully look at the heating and cooling ducts, and especially the windows. Do the windows or doors feel drafty? Do they look old? Are they in good condition? Would you be comfortable sitting […]
60%Â savings on the electric bill, and 35% off gas/heating bill…read how it was done. After a previous brutally cold winter, our first focus was the windows. They were in sorry shape, with the window pane itself damaged and the frame warping away. Many were so bad that the windows themselves couldn’t be opened. They […]
By Noah Buhayar Posted Thu Jan 3, 2008 11:17am PST Noah Buhayar is a fellow at the Rocky Mountain Institute. The Rocky Mountain Institute recently compiled energy usage information for the typical American household. We found more than 30 ways that most people can reduce the amount of energy they use at home — without […]
If I remove 2 of the 4 tubes from my overhead fluorescent fixtures, will I actually save 50% on lighting electricity? IOW, when you remove 2 lights from a 4 light fixture do you save half of the energy? I’m wondering how much electricity is wasted in the “conversion” in the ballast, whether or not […]