greenUPGRADER » Money+Finance

5 Easy Ways To Slash Your Energy Bills When It’s Hot Outside

Beth Buczynski — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 13:00:55 +0000

Conserving energy when it's 95 degrees outside is no easy task. This infographic shows the potential impact of strategic changes.

A study published by researchers at the University of Cambridge earlier this year found that global energy consumption could be reduced by a whopping 74 percent through simple behavioral changes and home upgrades like triple-glazing windows, installing thicker insulation, using saucepan lids when cooking on the stove top, eliminating hot-water tanks and reducing the set temperature of washing machines and dishwashers (NewScientist).

The infographic below is a handy guide to the Do's and Don'ts of energy efficiency, both at home and while on the go. With just these five steps, think about how much energy (and money) you could save!

Don't forget to share your own tips for staying cool and energy efficient in the comments!

Top Image Credit: Flickr – basykes

Infographic Created By WellHome Energy Audits and Insulation

Smart Tools, Easy Electricity Savings

Allison Leahy — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 19:04:20 +0000

Energy audits coupled with efficiency upgrades are some of most sensible things a home or business owner can do to lower utility bills and contribute to a cleaner future. Not every one owns, and many who do are hesitant to make the initial investment in solar panels and weatherstripping, but with these smart tools and an electricity audit you can get in on the savings.

Auto-timed powerstrips allow you to deny power to gadgets for the times they're not in use. This is especially good for TV sets and computers which draw the most electricity when "off" and are likely to be idle during daytime hours. Some entertainment system burn 720w/day in this way. The 8-outlet plug (listed here for $20) is one of the easiest ways to reduce your load. If you prefer to buy locally, you may want to call ahead, because not many stores carry these.

Opt for CFLs, LEDs & task-oriented lighting. If you haven't already, it's time to nix the halogens. Also look around your home and work space, some rooms may be overloaded with overhead lights all connected to the same switch. At 60 watts each, you could be burning 14 watts just to get a glass of water. Switch to CFLs or LEDs and consider a digital dimmer.

Timer switches are the perfect way to "turn off the lights behind you" (or your forgetful loved ones) and they can be mixed with motion sensor lights, so you're not left in the dark. The modlet has a modern design and is sold in beginner bundles; other styles are available at the hardware store for about $12.

Appliances like refrigerators, microwaves, desktops and televisions draw power from the grid even when they're switched off, but just how many kWh are lost to these energy vampires? To exercise the awesome powers of monitoring your electricity use by appliance, consider the Ted series, eMonitor, Envi, BlueLine or eGauge. These smart meters have the ability to further sort your personal data into categories like current usage (kW or $/hr), electricity consumed that hour, day, projected for that billing cycle (kWh or $/hr). And for a spend-thrift way to apply these concepts, choose WattVision's "Kill-A-Watt". This unit plugs into gadgets individually for a real time account.

Electricity monitors won't demand a lifestyle change, but they will show you where your waste is. Many include applications that will fit your mobile lifestyle, provide feedback, and help you make the meaningful behavioral changes that will save you even more greenbacks. For serious savings and inspiration, this is the way to go.

Leave your energy saving suggestions in the comments section below.

Follow Allison Leahy on twitter or reach her by email.

Image Credit: mrraineth (via flickr, cc)

Save the Economy, Save for Your Future and Save the Planet

Doug Gunzelmann — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 00:34:24 +0000

The “thrift paradox” describes the problem of spending money to stimulate the economy without continuing down the path of consumerism that led us into our current economic state. The phrase was coined by John Maynard Keynes, yet there is a way to both spend and save at the same time…and you can be green about it too!

What is rational for an individual during hard times — saving money — could be ruinous for an entire economy. Eventually, many of the savers may end up out of work because everyone else is saving, too.

As economic problems mount people tend to batten down the spending hatches and prepare for the worst, like unemployment. Yet the less guy A spends and the more he socks away in savings the less guy B or C potentially makes. You see where this leads.

Part of the stimulus package that has blasted through the headlines is supposed to pump money into America’s pockets in part so we will spend it. That’s the hope anyway. What if people save the few hundred or pay off debt? Didn’t our over consumptive nature bring us to our knees?

Well my friends the thrift paradox is not perfect, there are alternatives. The key lies in spending your precious dollar bills where they will count most. Below is a list of purchases you can make now that will save you money in the long run, put money into our economy today, and create a more sustainable existence in one fell swoop.

Upgrade home insulation, windows, weather sealing, or new roof to lower long term heating/cooling costs
Invest is personal wind or solar energy generating systems like the Energy Ball
Look into a home gray water system
Install a KVAR capacitor in to lower your energy bills
Start a garden, buy a Food Cone Digester, save on plating soil/fertilizers
Hire the Green Ghost Busters to leak-proof your house
Use an indoor planter to grow your herbs year round
Create your own Solar Heater for under 30$
Check out a Wattson to study your household energy consumption
Invest in Green Switches to reduce your Vampire Power

Of course the bottom line is spend responsibly. Some of this items are quite expensive, but eventually they could pay for themselves if used properly.

Sources: Yahoo Finance, Economy Professor

Who Gets Fed When There Isn’t PLENTY To Go Around?

LiveOAK Staff — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 02:57:29 +0000

We were sorry to hear last month that Plenty Mag was closing it’s doors. Now the rumor mills buzzing that they are stiffing the writers that worked on the last issue, and dodging their calls and emails. I’m going to reserve judgment on that, but I did want to share the perspective I got from our friends at Elephant Journal.

Elephant Journal was also a print magazine but they recently retooled to the delight of trees everywhere to be an all online publication, a costly endeavor, but as Waylon points out:

“…paying one’s debts has got to be basic to being able to sleep at night—to one’s existence as a decent human being. In the Buddhist tradition in which I was raised, it’s actually a tenet—it’s considered our duty as ‘warriors’ in the world to leave behind a better, more uplifted world than the one we found.”

A tenet he takes so seriously he personally guarantees all of the publications debts. From investment bank executives to politicians to everyday people like you and me, it seems it has become pretty common to take ownership of successes, but pass the buck on the losses. Way to go Way for making the hard choice and standing behind the Elephant!

BTW, good luck to everyone over at PLENTY, I hope greener pastures are right around the corner.

Read Waylon’s post at the Elephant Journal…

Even Mother Nature Hates Bills

LiveOAK Staff — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:50:30 +0000

Ah yes, the kind of mail that makes me cringe more than junk mail... bills. While we still have to pay em there is a way to keep them out of your mail box and save a tree or two, which is nice. Go electric... receive and pay your bills online. The Pay It Green Alliance is encouraging consumers to act to stop the unnecessary flow of paper around our financial lives. They calculate that Americans receive about 26 billion bills and 9 billion paper statements in their mailbox each year. That equals...

755 million lbs of paper!
9 million trees!
512 million gallons of gas to deliver them!
19.6 BILLION lbs of greenhouse gas emissions!

Most banks now allow you to pay your bills online and receive your bank statements by email, and most employers offer direct deposit. Making the switch will save you time and money and reduce your carbon footprint. This is one of those very small changes that can make a huge impact. You can go to payitgreen.org to find out how much your financial paper footprint is and learn more about how you can reduce it. [via: ecofabulous]

It’s Time to Mother Nature: A Unique Idea

LiveOAK Staff — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 16:29:51 +0000

In an act of Civil Disobedience, self-proclaimed "Greenie" Adrian Saker is stamping every bit of cash that passes through his hands with the words:

***IT'S TIME TO MOTHER NATURE***

Adrian announced publicly via a letter to the Secret Service on his blog, Household Name, his intentions of marking the US tender, and acknowledged the risk of fines and imprisonment he faces under US Law (U.S. 18 U.S.C. 331).

I have read a lot of responses to this act in the blogoshere and many have speculated that the simple act of stamping money is not going to raise awareness for the environmental movement. I tend to disagree. I think it will serve as a reminder to people when the message passes through their hands. Even more importantly, the fact that he is doing this out in the open will raise some buzz, particularly if he gets busted.

He is not selling the stamps so if you want to join in you'll have to have your own made. You can have a free one made at Vista Print. It wont look like Adrian's and it'll cost you $1.50 to get red ink, but it'll look something like this:

Green Credit Card from Bright Planet and BOA

LiveOAK Staff — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 21:58:32 +0000

Upgrade

Bank of America is offering the Brighter Planet Visa card. For every dollar you spend, you earn 1 EarthSmart Point which is in turn used to support "a geographically and technologically diverse portfolio of renewable energy projects that help reduce your carbon footprint". They estimate 1000 points earned will fund projects that create 1 ton of carbon offsets.

Bright Planet's current supplier of carbon offsets is NativeEnergy. You can go directly to NativeEnergy and buy a 1 ton offset for $35. Using the card you will have to spend $1000 to accomplish the same thing. Compared it to my Delta SkyMiles Card, that is more bang for the buck...

25,000 SkyMiles = 1 round trip ticket in the continental US = $500

That's $20 in rewards per $1000 spent compared to the $35 reward from the Brighter Planet Card!