Saturday, March 6, 2010
Why use power strips?
Home appliances and personal electronic devices pull electricity when in use, as we all would expect. Most also pull electricity when not in use, either while they wait poised on "standby," or because they have a clock or LED light, or because their plug is poorly designed. (Only today did I learn the term "wall wart" as applied to the black transformer boxes appended to our phones, laptops, etc., which draw power simply when plugged into an outlet, even if not plugged into their affiliated gadget.) The amount of "phantom" power drawn in an average U.S. home is expensive per home and truly impressive nationally. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, around 75 percent of the energy used by our home appliances is drawn while we think they are "off." Typical offenders include microwaves, stereo equipment, televisions, chargers for cell phones or iPods and co., and all the computer equipment.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Why buy green power?
Why buy green power?
Because electricity generation is the largest industrial polluter in the country. Did you know that more than 50% of retail customers in the US have an option of buying a green-power product from their utility company? Find out if you have the option at www.epa.gov/greenpower.
What Is Green Power?
Green power is renewable energy—power from the sun, wind, plants, and moving water. Green power is a sustainable way to meet our energy needs and protect the environment and public health.
Types of Green Power...
Wind energy converts the power available in moving air into electricity. Wind power does not produce emissions, generate solid waste, or use water.
Bioenergy is energy from trees and plants. This includes crops grown specifically for energy production and organic wastes (such as wood residues from paper mills and methane from landfills). Using bioenergy to generate electricity reduces global warming emissions if new plants are grown to replace those that are harvested.
Geothermal energy uses heat from inside the earth to make clean power.
Solar power captures the heat and light of the sun to generate electricity. Solar energy does not produce emissions, generate solid waste, or use water.
Hydroelectric power captures the energy in falling water. It does not produce emissions or solid waste, but can have a relatively low or high impact on the environment, depending on the site-specific factors such as maintenance of water flow and water quality, fish impacts, and other land use issues.
Find out more at: UCS' s Clean Energy site.
Because electricity generation is the largest industrial polluter in the country. Did you know that more than 50% of retail customers in the US have an option of buying a green-power product from their utility company? Find out if you have the option at www.epa.gov/greenpower.
Green power is renewable energy—power from the sun, wind, plants, and moving water. Green power is a sustainable way to meet our energy needs and protect the environment and public health.
Types of Green Power...
Wind energy converts the power available in moving air into electricity. Wind power does not produce emissions, generate solid waste, or use water.
Bioenergy is energy from trees and plants. This includes crops grown specifically for energy production and organic wastes (such as wood residues from paper mills and methane from landfills). Using bioenergy to generate electricity reduces global warming emissions if new plants are grown to replace those that are harvested.
Geothermal energy uses heat from inside the earth to make clean power.
Solar power captures the heat and light of the sun to generate electricity. Solar energy does not produce emissions, generate solid waste, or use water.
Hydroelectric power captures the energy in falling water. It does not produce emissions or solid waste, but can have a relatively low or high impact on the environment, depending on the site-specific factors such as maintenance of water flow and water quality, fish impacts, and other land use issues.
Find out more at: UCS' s Clean Energy site.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Why drive a hybrid or electric car
The most fuel-efficient midsize hybrid get a combined mileage of 46 miles a gallon; a typical midsize car gets 25 miles a gallon. By not using as much gas, you're saving 4.5 barrels of oil a year, a cash savings of $560.
There is a great documentary about electric cars - "Who killed the electric car?" Rent it and watch it.
Then check out my husband's dream car, the Tesla 2010 Roadster. I've contacted the company to see if they'd let us test one, and blog about our experience here. Keep your fingers crossed for postiive future Tesla updates.
There is a great documentary about electric cars - "Who killed the electric car?" Rent it and watch it.
Then check out my husband's dream car, the Tesla 2010 Roadster. I've contacted the company to see if they'd let us test one, and blog about our experience here. Keep your fingers crossed for postiive future Tesla updates.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Why change the temperature on your thermostat?
Buying a programmable thermostat to change the temperature when you are there versus when you are not, will save about $130 a year! Check out exactly how much you can save with this Energy Star calculator tool.
| Setting | Time | Setpoint Temperature (Heat) | Setpoint Temperature (Cool) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wake | 6:00 a.m. | ≤ 70° F | ≥ 78° F |
| Day | 8:00 a.m. | Setback at least 8° F | Setup at least 7° F |
| Evening | 6:00 p.m. | ≤ 70° F | ≥ 78° F |
| Sleep | 10:00 p.m. | Setback at least 8° F | Setup at least 4° F |
Why wash laundry on a cooler setting?
About 90 percent of the energy used to wash clothes goes to heating the water. Assuming you already wash half your laundry in cold, moving the other half from hot to warm can save a substantial amount of energy.
Washing laundry in hot water is unnecessary as advance in clothes washers and laundry detergents have made it possible to get white and colored clothes perfectly clean in cold water. Except when washing particularly tough stains, such as oil, even load of laundry done in hot water wastes energy.
Washing laundry in hot water is unnecessary as advance in clothes washers and laundry detergents have made it possible to get white and colored clothes perfectly clean in cold water. Except when washing particularly tough stains, such as oil, even load of laundry done in hot water wastes energy.
Why switch five lightbulbs to compact fluorescent lightbulbs?
A 25-watt Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb (CFL) provides the same amount of light as a 75-watt incandescent. CFLs use a third of the energy to last 10 times longer. Switching five bulbs could save about $400 over the CFLs lifetime.
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