For Texans, lets start with what we’re most familiar with, which is the summertime. As I’ve said, everyone knows that our bills go up in the summer, and we know basically that this is because the summers in Texas get hotter. But why does this affect your electric bill? Well, to understand why this is, you need to wrap you head around the basic understanding of temperature and your electricity bill. For Texans, even if you keep your thermostat at 72 all year round, when it’s 100 degrees outside, suddenly your generators have to work to move the temperature down 28 degrees, when they might perhaps only have to work to move it 4 degrees from 68 to 72 in mid-October. That means that in the summer, the generators are working four times as hard to keep your apartment at a constant temperature. So the general rule is that the harder a generator has to work, the higher the cost of your electricity bill. Seems fairly simple, right?

Summer Weather and Your Electricity Bill

The same principle about electricity bills and the cost of cooling your place has other affects on the cost of your summer electricity as well. We’ve already discussed the effort it takes to keep the electricity in your home at a constant rate, and how that relates to the cost/amount of electricity you use. Well, that general idea also applies for the actual creation of electricity as well. If it takes more energy to keep your home cool in the summer, well, that extra electricity has to come from somewhere. This means that the actual generators that create the electricity for your home have to work harder (or more generators will have to be utilized) to make up for this increased need for energy. So not only are you using more electricity to get the same results, but the costs to generate the electricity for the local Transmission Distribution Service Provider (companies like ONCOR and Centerpoint) increase as well. Naturally, that increase in costs will be passed onto the Retail Electricity Provider who sells the electricity to the customer. And that increase will in a measure be passed onto the customer.

But lets reference this with a recent real world example that happened recently in the Texas electricity market. Recently, an electricity generator in Texas went offline for an extended period of time. Well, this put an extreme amount of strain on the other generators to keep up with the demand for all of the electricity customers in the state of Texas. They generators have to be run constantly. Imagine driving your car at 80 miles per hour for 24 hours straight. Eventually, something is going to happen, be it you’ll run out of gas, the car will overheat, or something inside will break. Now consider that this came at a time of peak summer heat and in the midst of an extremely brutal Texas drought, which has also been working overtime to make sure that Texas isn’t getting any kind of reprieve from the heat. So all things considered, you’re talking about a lot of factors that have been putting extreme stress on all of the generators in Texas, and one finally broke and went offline. So that’s one less generator to keep up with the same demand. So the weather and oppressive heat were a double-edged sword in this instance. The excessive drought and heat caused the generators to work overtime to keep up with the increased demand for customers to keep their homes and business cool. These two factors combined to essentially cause a generator to go offline. So before when the demand was at its peak, now there’s even one less generator helping to produce electricity and keep things cool. Ironically, this caused the price of electricity to go up even higher, which was a cost difference that had to be paid out by both the Retail Electricity Providers (REPs) like Bounce Energy, Reliant, TXU, etc. These companies who sell electricity to customers have to pay higher prices for them, and that cost is then passed onto the customers themselves. And all of this can be tied in directly to the oppressive summer weather in the state of Texas.

Winter and Your Electricity Bill

Well, we’ve taken a look at summer, but wintertime has its own set of ways in which it affects your electricity bill. Now, things are different in the State of Texas than they are in the northern states, for certain, but lets take a second to overview how it works all over. The same way that the summertime is the most expensive time of the year for Texas, in the northern states, the most expensive time of the year is the wintertime. Because in 15 or 20 degree weather, the cost of raising the temperature of a house to 70 degrees is much more expensive than trying to do it from 55 or 60. And the primary method of heating houses up north comes from Natural Gas consumption. So, again, the more natural gas that is consumed, the higher the cost of the natural gas because of the increased demand. One important thing to consider, not that it matters to a person’s pocket book, is that much like houses down in Houston with gas ranges, almost all houses up north have a natural gas bill and an electricity bill each month. Up north, it’s common for natural gas directly to be the source of heat in people’s individual homes, as where in Texas natural gas is used as fuel in the power plants to create the electricity people use in their homes to both heat and cool as well as turn on the lights. So when the winter sets in, it’s the gas bill that goes up, not necessarily their electricity bills. But at the end of the day, we’re still talking about an increase in everyone’s utility bills in the wintertime. And the take away here is simply a further illustration that the different weather and the seasons have a strong effect on the costs of a person’s individual electric bills.

General Weather and Catastrophes and Your Electricity Bill

It probably goes without saying, but there are other weather events that can affect your electricity bills, most of these are a lot more obvious but are still worth mentioning. On the largest scale would be weather catastrophes, such as tornadoes and hurricanes. Obviously these things, if they disrupt your local power plants or power lines, are going to disrupt your electricity flow. Floods and mudslides, volcanic eruptions, obviously anything that makes a news broadcast as some kind of weather event is going to inevitably come with electricity disruptions. But other minor events can also affect things as well. In the north, ice storms can cause tree branches to snap and knock down power lines, or even damage electricity generators, which again will affect electricity flow. Freezing is less common in the south, but flooding happens regularly and has been known to cause electricity disruptions as well. Granted, all of the things I’ve listed in this section are in the nature of cutting off your electricity, which at the end of the month will mean a lower bill, as opposed to the main theme of what I’ve been writing about, which is ways in which the weather will cause your electricity bill to fluctuate. Still, it’s interesting to consider just how every facet of the weather can affect your electricity bill on a month to month basis.

Kids can learn even more through adult interaction with them in their games. Two heads are better than one and yes, you do have an imagination just as good as your child’s. You can add in degrees of stimulating complexity to his games that he’s never thought of. For instance, he or she may not yet have caught the resemblance between stacked sofa pillows and an oven, but if you build one with him and “bake” the play food breads or cakes inside you teach him so many things.

Talk as you do it, don’t be afraid to throw in words he doesn’t know yet, to build his vocabulary. This will flow naturally if you’re really getting into the spirit, “Hmm…this oven will burn the cookies if it doesn’t have a thermostat, “ (pick up small block, puts it on top), “there, that’s better, that’s the thermostat.”

Kids at this age are just sponges for new words. Even if they don’t speak them back right away, their eager mind still snaps them up and starts processing them. Studies show that the number of different words they’re exposed to between 0-3 years of age is directly related to how broad their vocabulary is later in life.

If a child is not naturally a verbal learner, but is more kinesthetic, getting involved with his play food is a perfect way to build language skills. Talk to him about what he’s doing, in an upbeat, fun and energetic tone. Laugh with him and tease him, say things a few different ways so he hears several words for the same thing. It’s a great way to expose him to new vocabulary in a way he enjoys.

Play food is good, too, for helping kids practice pre-math skills like sorting, colors, shapes, and identification of objects, and even counting. With brands like Melissa and Doug, or Learning Resources, it usually comes with a handy storage container to sort or count into. Personally, I like the Melissa and Doug brand because it is high quality and they package it in attractive reusable containers, unlike some of the other brands. But you can also use any container from around the house. Here’s a sample conversation that develops all these skills and more:

“Ok, where are the chocolate chip cookies? No, silly, that’s the cake, yes, it’s a baked good, but it’s not cookies. Yes, those are the cookies!  Don’t they look scrumptious, absolutely super delicious and full of warm chocolate goodness? Oh, that’s right they’re not warm yet, we have to put them in the oven. Where are the other play food cookies? Yes, the sugar cookies. Let’s bake them, also. Ok, now, we have to set the timer and wait for them to cook.”

(At that point, you can practice counting, if you want. “How many seconds should they bake? Let’s count ten seconds. One, two…” Or go ahead and set a real timer for five minutes and practice some sorting and colors.)

“What can we do while we’re waiting? Let’s gather up the vegetables. Where did they all go? Here’s the lettuce and the tomato, where’s the carrot? Let’s look for it. Do you see it? Where could it be? Let’s search for it. Do you remember what the carrot looks like, it’s orange, and pointy, and about this long, or is it this big, (arms wide) no, right, it’s pretty small and little (move hands back to the actual size of the carrot), hmmm…is it beneath the sofa? No… Is it behind the sofa? No… Is it under this book? …oh, there it is! I’ve spotted it! Do you see it too?”

“That’s right! Way over there in the corner! How did it get so far away? These vegetables, they like to wander off. Ok, look, now we have some vegetables, the lettuce, the potato, the tomato, and the carrot. Where are the fruits? Here’s a fruit, what’s it called? Did you say apple? That’s right. It’s the same color as the tomato! What color is that? That’s right, red! Let’s find all the red foods. Do you see another one? Great! That’s right! The ketchup is red. Is there anything else? I see something over there, what is it? Uh-huh, it’s a cherry. Look at all these red foods. How many do we have? Let’s count them… one, two, three, four. That’s right!”

“Ok, that’s the timer! Let’s check on those scrumptious chocolate chip cookies and see if they’re done…”

In just five minutes of play, the child has practiced colors, sorting, remembering something, and has heard synonyms for size (long/big, small/little) and location (under/beneath) and other synonyms as well (baked good/cake or cookie, look for/search for; look/see/spot). He’s practiced counting and he’s exercised his imagination pretending the sofa pillows are an oven. He’s heard and enjoyed the rhythm of language through big words like ‘scrumptious’ and ‘delicious’ and through goofy utterances like “these vegetables like to wander off”.

It’s just a few of the ways that play food can be used as more than just a toy, but as a real enhancement to a preschool education. The kids love it, and it is fun for adults too. So, if you’re looking for toys that are fun and educational at the same time, try this! While my personal favorite is Melissa and Doug, other brands include Learning Resources, Girl Gourmet, Step2, and Haba. The important thing is to get involved with the child. You can help turn play food into a real educational opportunity. You’ll both be glad you did.

Radiant heat does away with the age-old problems of cold rooms by offering easy-to-install zone heating. You can choose to either have radiant heat installed by a professional installer or DIY with their plug-n-play portable system for under area rugs. Concentrating on the advantages of floor heating (heat rising), radiant heat offers comfort from the ground up, heating the room evenly from floor to ceiling.

The product is designed to solve zone heating problems one room at a time without adding the expense or mess of adding additional ductwork and/or baseboard heating units. The ultra thin heating mat that can be assembled and installed by floor installers or do-it-yourselfers, is perfect for whatever your situation. It appears that homeowners, flooring dealers, and builders agree, as sales have already started to expand, and the line has been taken air conditioning on by several high-end flooring retailers and builders alike.

What makes electric radiant heat so unique is its installation flexibility. Manufactured in multiple size heating mats consisting of looped heating coils sandwiched between 4 layers of polyester for the carpet and area rug product, the resulting system measures less than 1/16″. The ultra thin construction makes the heater thin and flexible enough to be installed between a carpet and its pad or under laminate wood without air conditioning impacting floor height. Installers simply follow the easy to follow installation instructions provided with each system when placing the mats. Once in position, the leads from each mat are either connected to a 120-volt electrical circuit and 7-day programmable thermostat or simply plugged into a wall outlet. A qualified electrician should be used for final electrical connection if the system is to be hard-wired.

Beyond the installation and radiant heating benefits, radiant heat owners will find their systems to be 100% maintenance free and extremely economical to operate. With no moving parts to wear out or filters to change, the system virtually operates itself once the thermostat has been programmed. Simply set the thermostat and forget about it. Equally impressive is the system’s average cost of less than a dollar a day to warm a 16′ x 20′ room for a full 10-hour cycle. The radiant heat fills the entire room with warmth from the ground up, air conditioning eliminating the cold air zone close to the floor, which is created by traditional heating systems.

Studies show that heating is the largest energy expense for most homeowners, accounting for almost two-thirds of annual energy bills in colder areas of the country. Radiant heat’s ability to warm a home from the ground up produces evenly heated rooms that are not only more comfortable to live in, but are more energy-efficient to maintain at the desired comfort level. In addition, radiant heat also reduces the levels of dust, pollen, and mold spread by conventional forced air heating systems, making your home a healthier place to live.

Individuals interested in obtaining additional information on the only UL-listed plug-n-play electric floor heating systems, or radiant heat for under ceramic tile, stone, hardwood, and vinyl installations, may contact Speedheat at www.speedheat.us.

Here’s my list of what I call the Top 10 Energy Saving Guarantees that have been proven to save energy and save money while also being affordable enough for almost anyone to handle. I provide these guarantees because I know that many people want to be green, but have a hard time finding a place that is affordable to get started.

1. HOME LIGHTING

Recent increases in electric utility costs have us either cutting back or changing how and what we light. To get the most from your lighting:

a. Replace all incandescent light bulbs with energy efficient CFL’s ( Compact Fluorescent Lights )

b. Reduce outdoor lighting loads by using solar powered path lighting and super bright solar lamps

c. Install solar skylights to allow natural light into normally darkened areas of the home.

Changing your lighting to use CFL’s and allowing more natural light to enter the home is guaranteed to save energy.

2. DOORS AND WINDOWS

To improve the efficiency of the doors and windows in your home or apartment, the following suggestions are affordable enough to consider, whether you own or rent:

a. For drafts blowing under an exterior door:
- on modern doors, adjust the threshold to reduce the gap between the bottom of the door and the threshold.
- on older doors, install weather stripping that seals the crack at the bottom of the door when the door is shut.

b. Install weather stripping around the sides and top of all exterior doors.

c. To improve the efficiency of windows:

1. Install any available storm windows.
- If storm windows are not available, but removable screens are installed, remove the screens and then wrap them with plastic and replace the screens.

2. Caulk all exterior cracks around the window frame and home siding.

3. Install heat shrinkable plastic on the inside of the window.

If you follow the guidelines provided for better sealing your doors and windows, you are guaranteed to save energy.

3. ELECTRIC CLOTHES DRYERS

As much as a clothes dryer is essential, it is also one of the primary sources of wasted energy. The energy fix for the dryer includes:

a. Install a dryer vent seal. This eliminates any back drafts from entering the home when the dryer is not in use and could easily reduce your homes heating and cooling costs by up to 10%.

b. Don’t run the dryer on frigid winter nights or on hot summer afternoons because whenever you run the dryer and exhaust the air outdoors, the same amount of air is being sucked into your home.

By installing the dryer vent seal and by not running the dryer when outdoor temperatures are at extreme odds with your indoor temperature, your energy savings are guaranteed.

4. BATHROOM EXHAUST FANS

Exhaust fans are very helpful in removing moisture and foul odors from your home, but they are also a primary source of energy waste. To improve their performance:

a. Install an Intermatic, thirty to sixty minute timer for each exhaust fan switch. This will guarantee an exhaust fan is not running longer than necessary.

Exhaust fans are pulling in unconditioned outside air into your home while also exhausting air you paid to heat or cool. This process is necessary, but the focus is to reduce the amount of time to only what is necessary.

By performing these simple steps, you are guaranteed to save energy.

5. COMPUTERS AND PERIPHERAL DEVICES

Computer may be able to shut down or hibernate when it detects it has not been used for a while, but your printer, sound system, backup drives, etc, keep chugging away at your homes energy, 24 hours a day, forever. To resolve these issues or to at least reduce their impact:

a. Install an energy saving smart strip for your computer and supporting devices. The smart strip device senses when you have shut down your computer and then shuts down all your other peripheral devices automatically.

b. If you have the habit of leaving your computer on when it is not being used, you could work on improving your awareness of your habit and turn your computer off more often or set your computer to hibernate or sleep after two hours or so.

Tests I ran have shown that the simple habit of turning off the computer more often while also using a smart strip, will reduce yearly energy costs by at least $25.00. Install a smart strip for your computer and you are guaranteed to save energy.

6. REFRIGERATORS AND FREEZERS

Your refrigerator and freezer runs twenty-four hours a day, forever, so even a little improvement makes a difference due to how often these items run. The energy saving fix for these items is two-fold:

a. Remove the vent cover at the bottom of the unit and clean out all the dust and dirt from the refrigerator coils.

b. Keep the refrigerator and freezer as full as possible. Using a combination of zip-lock bags or Tupperware bowls, store extra ice, frozen vegetables, frozen fruit, bread, pitchers of water, etc, so that there is less empty air space.

By cleaning the coils, the unit will run slightly less, and by filling empty air space with solid objects, the unit will run even less. When these two ideas are used together, the unit runs less, emits less heat into your kitchen and even lowers your air conditioning load on the house. The energy savings are guaranteed.

7. HEATING AND AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEMS

To reduce the amount of energy being wasted by your heating and cooling systems:

a. Seal the Leaks

- 1. Forced Air Systems – while the system is running, follow the main duct line and use either the back of your hand or a smoke stick to locate areas where air is escaping from the duct system and seal those leaks with foil duct tape…not that sticky gray tape.

- 2. Hot Water or Steam Systems – Insulate the pipes with foam insulation, being especially diligent where piping crosses near basement window and door areas.

b. Perform yearly cleanings.

- 1. Oil and coal heating systems have the capacity to create a lot of soot. It is vital that your boiler be cleaned yearly and the chimney cleaned every other year. By removing the soot from the boiler, you improve the boilers capacity to absorb the heat and by keeping the chimney clean, you improve air flow which allows the fuel to burn hotter and cleaner.

- 2. Air conditioning systems, as well as air source heat pumps require yearly maintenance. Coils need to be cleaned, refrigerant charges need to be adjusted and routine maintenance needs to be performed.

Being diligent about performing preventive maintenance on your heating and air conditioning systems will not only lengthen the systems life time, but your energy savings will be guaranteed.

8. WATER

Your savings can really grow by learning how to better conserve your water. All the energy saving benefits of reducing water usage are even greater for those who have wells and use a pump to extract their water in the first place.

a. Replace your shower head with an energy saving shower head that uses less than the standard 2. 5 to 3. 5 gallons of water per minute. Many models are available that use 1. 5 to 1. 75 gallons per minute while still providing full body coverage and pressure while showering.

By reducing the amount of water used while showing, the energy you use to heat your water can be dramatically reduced, plus it will help eliminate your water heater or furnace from running out of enough heated water so that another person could shower right after you.

b. Locate the sink closest to your water heating source and use that sink whenever you need to wash your hands. You’ll have hot water quicker and will leave less heated water standing in the pipes.

By becoming more aware of how you may have been wasting your heated water by using too much during showering or by leaving much of it to just cool down in your pipes, you can easily change a few habits that are guaranteed to help you save energy.

9. CEILING FANS

Fans are often only associated with cooling things, but they can better be defined as devices that help move air from one place to another. This works for both cool or hot air.

a. During the winter, set your fan reversing switch in the upwards position and keep the speed setting on low. What this will do is to gently push any heated air off the ceiling and force it back down along the walls to the floor where you want it. Since the fan is pushing the air around the perimeter of the room, you wont feel any breeze or draft during this process.

b. During the summer, set your fan reversing switch in the downwards position and use the low or medium speed setting. This will help keep the room from becoming stagnant and will prevent hot air from building up near the ceiling and will allow the air to mix better and cool more naturally. Meanwhile, since the fan is blowing air down directly, you will feel this breeze and you will feel cooler as the wind from the fan helps your perspiration evaporate from your skin.

When we take advantage of using ceiling fans to better distribute our heated or cooled air, our overall comfort level increases while the amount of energy we use decreases. This more comfortable situation is guaranteed to save energy.

10. CLOTHING AND ATTIRE

By learning how to better dress ourselves, we could learn to live more comfortably in our homes while using less energy to condition the air within our homes.

a. During colder weather conditions, be sure to wear socks, full length pants and long sleeve shirts in your home. It’s not necessary to add multiple layers (unless you want to), but by simply ensuring you are protecting your exposed skin from “drafts”, you will feel more comfortable at a lower temperature setting. Then, by lowering your thermostat by 5 to 10 degrees, you can save from 10% to 20% more energy.

b. During hotter weather conditions, and especially at night, remove your socks, wear shorts and short sleeve shirts. If you exercise in the home or come home hot and sweaty, give yourself a few minutes to cool down a little and then change your shirt or pants with something fresh and lighter. Doing so will allow you to maintain a warmer temperature in the home and reduce your air conditioning costs.

There is often too great a tendency to up the thermostat during winter months instead of dressing more efficiently. If you are walking around your home in the winter in your shorts, you are going to be cooler and you will either raise the thermostat setting or put on more clothing. One choice will waste energy and the other is guaranteed to save energy.

The overall message is no different than what our grandparents used to say in that ‘a penny saved is a penny earned’. As we learn to stop wasting, we are effectively giving ourselves a raise in salary. That’s great motivation, so whether you agree with the reports on global warming or believe we should keep drilling or not, most of us already agree that we’d like to have more money, so by reducing what we waste, we will all have more money left to enjoy on things that matter to us.

Making your own solar and wind power for less than $200

Using renewable energy to produce electricity and reduce your electric bill can be a sound long-term investment. Depending on the type of technology, you can expect a full return on your investment within 3 to 18 years. With financial or tax rebates from your utility company or state and national government, the payback period on your investment can be cut in half.

However, the very first step to considering any renewable energy system must be how to make your home or business more energy efficient. Generally, the basic rule is that for every $1 you spend on making your location more energy efficient, you save $3 to $5 on the cost of the renewable energy system. Let’s go over some basic ways you can make your home more energy efficient.

Making Your Home Energy Efficient

One of the easiest things that you can do to reduce your electrical consumption is change out your regular incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). CFLs use 65 to 75% less energy than a normal light bulb that produces the same amount of light. By replacing a normal 100 watt incandescent light bulb with a 32 watt CFL, you will save $60 to $80 in electricity costs over the lifetime of that bulb (10,000 hours). Now imagine how much you would save if you changed out all of your light bulbs to CFLs!

The technology for these bulbs has quickly evolved and improved in the last few years, while the cost has come down dramatically. You’ll find that there are CFLs that will now fit most light fixtures and lighting needs-there are even dimmable CFLs!. Head out to your local department or hardware store and buy CFLs for as many of your light fixtures as possible. The investment is well worth it.

Another alternative to traditional lights are tubular skylights . Tubular skylights look a little like shiny stove pipes that start with a transparent dome on top of the roof and come down into some room for day lighting. We frequently see customers using tubular skylights to bring daylight into hallways and closets. The light is, of course, entirely natural and in some installations can provide as much illumination as a 100-Watt incandescent light bulb.

Energy Star and EnergyGuide

One of the biggest consumers of electricity in most households is the refrigerator. In most households, refrigeration is the number one electricity consumer after any electricity-based heating or cooling systems. If your refrigerator is over 10 years old, chances are it’s electrically very inefficient. Consider replacing your current refrigerator with one that has a high Energy Star rating. Remember that just because a refrigerator may have earned the Energy Star label doesn’t mean it’s the most efficient model available-it only means that its efficiency exceeds the federally mandated efficiency standard by at least 15%. You can even do much of your investigation online at the Energy Star website. There you can search for the brand, type and size of refrigerator you want and sort by energy efficiency. When you shop in stores, consult the yellow EnergyGuide tags that are attached to all new refrigerators (and many other appliances). EnergyGuide is a different government program from Energy Star that offers information about annual energy consumption and shows you where each model lands in a comparison with similar models. For maximum energy savings, select the model that’s a leader in efficiency in its class.

Ghost Loads

Also known as “phantom loads”, ghost loads are the sneaky devices that constantly consume small amounts of electricity 24 hours a day-even when they’re not actually doing anything useful. While each device by itself may not consume much electricity, the combination of all of them within your household may easily consume the equivalent of two or three 60-Watt incandescent light bulbs left on all day and all night. Over the course of a single year this adds up to over 1 Megawatt-hour-in other words, enough electricity to power an entire energy-efficient house for 2 to 3 months!

What are these mysterious ghost loads? The most common examples are the “power brick” adapters, or power supplies, that charge or operate cell phones, laptop computers, cordless drills, answering machines, radios, inkjet printers, and many other household devices. They’re actually small transformers, turning AC electricity from the wall outlet into DC electricity for use by the device. While any one of these devices may only consume a small amount of power (e.g., 3-20 watts), a dozen or so of them, running simultaneously and continuously, consume a significant amount of electricity. What’s worse is that even when you’re not charging your cell phone or the battery for your cordless drill, that AC adapter may continue to consume power just because it’s plugged into the wall. Other well-disguised ghost loads are those devices which have the “instant on” feature, such as most modern television sets, VCRs, DVD players, many radios and even many computers. While all of these devices are supposedly turned off, they are actually consuming anywhere from 3 to 20 watts continuously-just to stay ready for you to use them.

How can you decrease the consumption of energy by these parasitic loads? One of the simplest solutions is to simply plug these devices into a power strip which has an off/on switch. When you are done using the devices and shut them off normally, then just hit the off switch on the power strip. Many people make it part of their nightly routine to shut off these power strips just before they go to bed. For AC power adapters that you use at night, like for charging a cell phone, put those on a separate power strip that you turn off during the day when you take your phone with you. Simple solutions like these could reduce your ghost electric loads by as much as 80%. In real-dollars terms, this means saving upwards of $120 per year in electricity costs, depending on your local electric utility rates and how dedicated you are to reducing your ghost loads.

A Special Note for People Who are Planning to Live Off-grid

If you’re planning to use an off-grid solar panel, wind turbine or hydro electric system and plan to have a 12 or 24 volt battery bank, you will often be able to find devices and appliances that work directly with these DC voltages. The benefit to using the devices is that they will not need an AC power adapter which needlessly consumes electricity whether or not the device in use. After all, what an AC adapter plug does is convert normal AC household electricity to DC type of electricity to power the device, and it rarely does that conversion efficiently.

Energy Efficient Cooling

During the summer (and in warmer climates) air conditioning is frequently the largest consumer of electricity. An inexpensive way to reduce the demand on your air conditioner is to keep your attic cooler with a solar attic fan. Powered by a built-in solar panel, solar attic fans turn on when your attic warms up during the day. By venting the hot air out of your attic all day long, the floors below stay cooler and as a result your air conditioner runs significantly less.

Solar attic fans can be installed by good do-it-yourselfers or carpenters. They require no wiring. A hole needs to be cut in the roof, the attic fan is slipped in and the edges are sealed up well with roof caulking. The solar panel built into the fan unit is designed to last at least 25 years. A solar attic fan is another wise investment that pays for itself very quickly.

For people who live in zones that are relatively dry but hot, evaporative coolers (also known as swamp coolers) are a cost effective and energy efficient alternative to traditional air conditioners. Evaporative coolers use about 25% the energy an air conditioner would need. Unfortunately, most people live in climates that when it’s hot it is also relatively humid. In these conditions evaporative coolers won’t work effectively.

Another simple and green method for reducing your home’s air conditioning costs is to plant deciduous trees whose leaves will shade your home in the summer time and shed its leaves for more sunlight in the winter time. By shading your home it heats up less, and therefore requires less cooling by an air conditioner. Planting a tree in this scenario has double the environmental impact, you’re reducing greenhouse gases by both using less electricity and because the tree itself absorbs carbon dioxide.

Making your own solar and wind power for less than $200

Energy Efficiency and Household Appliances

Many other appliances throughout your household will have a newer and significantly more energy efficient version available. Here is a short list of other appliances you should consider replacing with higher efficiency versions: water heating tanks, air conditioners, dehumidifiers, dishwashers, telephones, VCRs and DVDs, ceiling fans, fax machines, computers and copiers. To see which brands and models have Energy Star certification and to figure which ones of those are the most efficient, visit Energy Star’s website: www.EnergyStar.gov. To find out how much power your appliances are really consuming, invest in an inexpensive power meter like the Kill-A-Watt meter.

For many households the biggest bill is the heating bill. Probably the quickest, least expensive and easiest way to reduce your heating bill is to buy a programmable thermostat. You can set these thermostats to turn off the heat automatically when you’re not home and turn it on just before you arrive. You will easily recoup your small investment in the new thermostat within one winter by running your heating system less. See your local hardware store or HVAC company for pricing and availability of different models.

Another basic step to reducing your home heating bill is sealing air leaks and adding insulation. According to Energy Star sealing air leaks and adding insulation can reduce your heating bill by as much as 10%. For homes with attics, one of the easiest and most effective places to put down insulation is in the attic. Visit your local home improvement store to find out how much insulation in different areas of the home is recommended for your region.

In the last few years, the use of solar air heating systems has become more popular. Mounted on an exterior, southern-facing wall or on the roof, solar air heating collectors can reduce a home’s or business’ annual heating costs by as much as 30%. Costing far less than a new conventional heating system, solar air heating systems usually pay for themselves in 3-6 years. They’ll typically last for 18 to 35 years and require minimal maintenance. Working in conjunction with your existing heating system, the solar air heating system simply reduces your heating demand whenever you have even partial sunlight.

There are two basic flavors of solar air heating systems. There are ones that heat up fresh outdoor air and blow it into your home or business. The there are ones that take the air from inside your building boosts up the temperature by another 50 to 90 degrees fahrenheit and blows it back in (known as recirculating air solar heating systems). Newer homes and buildings which tend to be tightly sealed and have stale winter air will benefit doubly from the fresh air solar heaters. Older homes tend to be inherently draftier and experience full air exchanges with the outdoors a few times a day. These homes will benefit more from the solar air heating systems that recirculate the indoor air and boost it up in temperature. Typically, one 4×8 foot solar air collector is recommended per 750 to 1000 square feet of home space.

Water Heating Efficiency

More efficient models of domestic hot water heaters have also become available in the last several years. If you have an old hot water heater, chances are that it was not designed with efficiency in mind. Again, check out Energy Star’s website  to find out which boilers are the most efficient.

Another good alternative to the traditional hot water heating tanks are instantaneous hot water heaters. These systems heat the water only when its being used. Normal water heating systems used in much of North America maintain a large tank of hot water to be used only a few times a day. To keep the water hot and ready at a moment’s notice these traditional hot water heating tanks consume energy throughout the entire day, whether you need it or not. Instantaneous water heaters only consume energy the moment you need the hot water, saving the typical household 30 to 50% of the cost of hot water heating. You can find instantaneous water heaters that use natural gas, propane and electricity from a variety of manufacturers.

Solar Water Heating Provides You the Best Return on Your Investment

The energy (natural gas, propane, electricity, etc) needed for hot water heating can be reduced by 60 to 90% by using a solar water heating system to pre-heat water before it enters your existing traditional water heater. Remarkably effective and efficient, even in northern climates, solar water heating technologies have matured significantly in the past 30 years. Designed to easily last 30 years or more with minimum maintenance, typically solar water heating system will pay for itself in its first 3-7 years of use. Solar water heating systems heat your home’s water with collectors that are usually placed on the roof of the home. The hot water produced is stored in an insulated tank until your home is ready to use it. Your traditional hot water will only kick on to heat up the water when the water temperature is not quite high enough. Solar water heating systems can be installed by advanced do-it-yourselfers, but it is recommended that a licensed plumber or installer review or do the more complicated plumbing.

Energy Efficiency – Your First Step Towards Clean Energy and Energy Independence

The first step before purchasing a solar electric or wind power system to meet your electricity needs is to intelligently reduce those needs. Most homes can inexpensively reduce their electricity demands by 20 to 30% without ever having to make any adjustments in the lifestyles of the occupants. We provided you with many energy saving tips in this article, such as:

Replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent ones. Upgrading your older appliances with EnergyStar star ones that have a very low annual energy consumption rating. Minimize the many hidden phantom (ghost) loads in your house. Insulate your home well for colder seasons. Creatively use vegetation to keep your home cool in the summer and maximize sunshine entering the house in the winter. Use solar heating technologies (not to be confused with solar electric technologies) to cost effectively reduce how much your traditional air or water heating systems have to work.

There are literally hundreds of other little tricks and smart tweaks you can make to your home that will further reduce your electrical demands. Consider picking up a copy of the book ’10-Minute Energy-Saving Secrets – 250 Easy Ways to Save Big Bucks Year Round’ by Jerri Farris to learn of many of the other quick and easy ways to reduce your home’s consumption of energy.

© 2009 altE Store, Inc – ‘Making Renewable Do-able’™

Making your own solar and wind power for less than $200

With a car comes responsibility and one of those responsibilities is making sure the auto is taken care of properly. That requires a lot more than just keeping it filled with petrol or having the oil changed periodically. Women should have a basic understanding of auto terminology and recognize signs of trouble developing.

Auto Repairs are No Joke

There are a lot of jokes that have women and cars as the topic. Actually, the jokes are more about the stereotyping of women as having little knowledge about the mechanical aspect of cars. Chances are a lot of men would be very surprised to learn how many women have made sure they are familiar with the basics of auto mechanics so they can recognize a problem before it gets serious. Preventive maintenance and early repair can often save thousands of dollars at the mechanic’s shop.

Actually it is preventive maintenance and preventive driving behaviour that can minimize the chances of your car breaking down. For example, you should try to avoid taking regular auto trips that require less than 10 minutes of driving. It takes more than ten minutes for an engine to eliminate the water vapour created by the engine heating. Water that is not eliminated will collect in the engine and promote rust and even make its way into the oil where it impedes the ability of the oil to lubricate the engine.

That’s why you will hear an auto owner boast that the car has been driven primarily on the highway for longer periods of time!

Speaking of fluids like water, there is a lot more than oil to change in a car. Women need to make sure the transmission fluid is flushed and new fluid added approximately every 60,000 miles at a minimum. The differential fluid should also be changed at the same time. This will keep the drivetrain working properly and prevent transmission premature wear due to dirty fluid.

It’s a pity how many engines have been ruined because the driver didn’t recognize the symptoms of a developing problem. Your car “talks” to you in a language all its own and you just have to listen to what it’s saying to either prevent a problem or to stop a problem from getting worse. So what kind of language does a car speak?

* A lit engine light may suggest engine management problems
* Steam coming from under the hood indicates a possible coolant fluid leak, faulty waterpump or thermostat.
* A lit oil light indicates the oil pressure has dropped
* Brakes that go “squish” as the pedal goes too far to the floor (hopefully not all the way!) probably means the brake fluid is low
* The tapping and knocking clicking sound from the engine might indicate valves clearance or engine problems or

In other words, the noises you hear and the lights that suddenly are lit are telling you there is a problem that needs immediate attention.

Wow! What Does That Mean?

An overheated engine is a very serious problem that should be checked by a mobile mechanic right away. In fact, if your engine light comes on or there are signs of steam coming from the engine, the best thing to do is pull over and call for help. If you don’t turn the engine off right away and keep driving instead there is a good chance you will destroy the engine. When the engine gets too hot, the cylinder head gasket can fail and in extreme circumstances the block can crack among other things and you may have to replace the engine if that happens.

People with a basic knowledge of engines can often manage to get the car to the nearest repair shop by adding water to a radiator if the overheating is caused by a leaking radiator or hose. But the engine can overheat for a number of other reasons and if you don’t know what you are doing then it’s better to just stop driving and get assistance.

* Faulty electronic signals
* Clogged or leaking radiator
* Low coolant
* Broken, stuck or leaking thermostat
* Cylinder Head problems

Obviously some problems are much easier to fix than others. But the important thing to understand is that when the engine light comes on there is a problem that must be corrected or the engine can be ruined.

Sometimes you get early warning the engine is going to overheat before the dash light comes on. For example, you notice a puddle of fluid under the engine on the garage floor. You should never ignore this kind of sign until you determine exactly what it is and where it is coming from.

Not all puddles indicate a problem. For example, if you just drove the car and had the air conditioner on then a puddle might form under the car from the expulsion of condensation and water. But the puddle will be small and will appear under the air conditioner. If you walk up to your car and say, “Wow! Where is all that water coming from?” then there is a good chance your radiator is leaking.

Two-Way Conversation

Women should also understand the importance of regular maintenance on a vehicle. Not only will it help extend the life of your car, the knowledge will improve communication with a mechanic. For example, if you get your oil changed regularly and know it has not been using oil, then a dishonest mechanic will not be able to convince you to spend money on correcting a non-existent oil problem.

Women also need to learn the basic language of the mechanic. When he walks up to you and says, “Your ABS needs repair”, it’s good to know what he is talking about. There are a lot of acronyms used in the auto repair business and they will show up on your invoices. The terms are used like a second language by mechanics. Here is just a sample.

* ABS – antilock braking system
* ATF – automatic transmission fluid
* ECM – engine control module
* EGR – exhaust gas recirculation
* BCM – body control module
* SRS – safety restraint system
* PCM – Powertrain control module

There are hundreds of acronyms like these in the auto repair business.

It is highly recommended that everyone have a regular mechanic they can trust to speak honestly and intelligently about auto problems. A reliable car repair service can save a car owner literally thousands of dollars. It is the reason why so many busy people are using mobile mechanics who make it convenient to access reliable and ongoing auto repair and maintenance service.

In knowledge is power! Women who understand how a car’s inner workings operate, and the language of the car, have the power to talk to a mechanic in a two-way conversation. When the mechanic says the ABS or the EGR or the PCM needs work, you will be able to say…let’s talk about it.

Aside from having high energy efficiency, the XL5i is the quietest of all of Trane’s single-speed heat pumps—you will not have to tolerate a noisy heat pump while sitting by the pool, tending to the garden, or talking on the phone. This is due in part to sound insulation on the compressor and an advanced fan system. Its baked-on powder coat finish and non-corrosive base pan will resist rust and give the unit an attractive appearance for years and years. Its fully louvered sides will protect your investment, so you don’t have to worry about the fins on the coils being damaged in the very first hailstorm.

With Trane’s 2/4TEE Variable Speed Air Handler, this quiet comfort will extend inside the home as well. The 2/4TEE has twelve fan speeds, compared to only three speeds on most others on the market today. This allows the 2/4TEE air handler to operate at the lowest speed required for your indoor environment’s immediate needs. Your HVAC system can then operate with the highest energy efficiency, but can also keep running as quietly as possible.

Another design feature that keeps the system running quietly and efficiently is Trane’s Air-Tite construction, which utilizes a system of special gaskets and thermal seals to keep conditioned air in its place. You can also easily control the level of comfort with the XL800 Deluxe Programmable Digital Thermostat using its interactive touch screen and easy to read back-lit display.

You can enhance the comfort level provided with this system by adding Trane’s revolutionary CleanEffects whole building air filtration system. CleanEffects has been shown to remove 99.98% of airborne allergens and 99% of flu virus. This is several times better than what can be accomplished by HEPA filters, but that is not what makes it so revolutionary. HEPA filters work by forcing air at higher pressure through tiny pores in the filter medium, which robs energy from the air handling system. The departure in design that makes the CleanEffects air filtration system work does not require high pressure, so it not only does a better job at cleaning the air, but it does so without sacrificing energy efficiency.

If quiet comfort is your priority but you also want long-lasting and energy efficient climate control, this system engineered by Trane experts is one of your best options.