Reliant Puts the Cost of Electricity in the Palm of Your Hands

Have you ever been slapped with a $300 electric bill and wondered how you could have possibly used that much electricity? What if you could tell how much electricity you were using at any given time of the day? Would you change your habits to lower your bill?

Reliant has recently set up a house in Houston, Texas to test their new communication device called Insight. It is a new handheld product that communicates wirelessly to the utility meter and updates information every 10 seconds.

Insight will display the dollar amount of what you're spending per hour and how much the bill is so far. From there you can calculate how much your bill will be if you keep spending the same amount. This can truly help you manage your usage. I mean if I knew it would cost me $8 an hour to use the dishwasher at 2 pm as opposed to $1 an hour at 8 pm, well I would certainly be doing the dishes after dinner.

To read more about Reliant and their new Insight device, you have to read the article A House That Thinks.

Ohio Natural Gas Commerical Service

South Star Energy's Georgia Natural Gas and its Ohio company, Ohio Natural Gas, recently launched its commercial natural gas product at OhioNaturalGas.com, a site dedicated to helping the lovely people of Ohio switch or connect their natural gas service.

Ohio Natural Gas currently serves half-a-million residential and business customers in both Georgia and Ohio. Business customers at OhioNaturalGas.com will need an account with Dominion East of Ohio prior to entering their address to switch to Ohio Natural Gas service. Fixed and variable rate plans are offered as well as a $25 Visa Gift Card.

PR: wait... I: wait... L: wait... LD: wait... I: wait... wait... C: wait... SD: wait...

Have a Green Thanksgiving Holiday

Yea! Turkey, family, friends and pie — oh my! I do hope all of you are having a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, but just because it's a holiday doesn't mean I don't have some green tips for you.

I know that energy conservation and being green is hard to keep in mind when your house is filled with relatives, there's food to prepare, kids to corral and merriment to be had, but it has to be done, for the sake of our planet. Um.. yeah, no pressure.

Don't worry it's easy. You can do simple things like carpooling with relatives or friends when going to Thanksgiving dinner, bring your own re-usable plastic containers for leftovers instead of using foil or making no bake dishes so the only energy being used is the whirling power of the spatula in your hand.

For more easy green holiday tips read Don't Let Thanksgiving Ruin Your Carbon Diet.

Bounce Energy Brings Innovative, Flexible Plans to Texas Electricity Market

Texas-based and privately-owned Bounce Energy is now offered through WhiteFence, bringing a unique approach to electricity service right here in the great state of Texas. We're talking 50 years of energy experience, local customer service representatives, 24/7 online account access, innovative products and incentives, and a whole lot more.

Here's a rundown of some of the finer points of Bounce Energy:

• Competitive rates on month-to-month plans with no contract terms
• Fresh Start Plan—NO deposit required
• Green plan with electricity generated from solar, wind, hydro and biomass
• Truly unique incentives like free companion airfare, $50 bill credits, magazine subscriptions and more

Login Here to See Bounce Energy's Unique Electricity Plans

I'll keep you updated as Bounce Energy continues to roll out additional options, as well as any information regarding specials and incentives. Thanks for stopping by!

PR: wait... I: wait... L: wait... LD: wait... I: wait... wait... C: wait... SD: wait...

TXU Wants to Help You Brighten the Holidays Without Emptying Your Wallet

For those of us that enjoy decorating for the holidays, finding the right balance between fun and festive decorations and watching our spending and energy consumption can be tricky. Do I dare fill my front yard with a full Santa scene? Or should I just go with a string of small blinking lights draped across the window?

This year, TXU has offered their help in solving this dilemma. Before you string up your holiday wares, check out their Light Calculator. Just enter the number of bulbs your tribute to Frosty the Snowman requires and TXU will tell you the approximate kilowatt-hour (kWh) usage per day as well as your approximate cost per day and per month!

In addition to this handy calculator, TXU also offers a guide to choosing your lights and other holiday decorating tips. Check out their Holiday Guide to Lights for more.

Repowering America

Now that the election is over, the folks that brought us www.wecansolveit.org have created a new site called Repower America that focuses on the goal of 100% clean electricity within 10 years.

Their plan to Repower America outlines immediate investments in three areas: energy efficiency, renewable generation and transmission.

• Energy Efficiency: A national upgrade to eliminate waste, save money, and improve comfort. Make every bit of energy we produce work harder for us.
• Renewable Generation: Accelerate the ramp-up of clean, renewable electricity sources through policies that support increased private and public investment in technologies that work, like wind, solar, and geothermal.
• Unified National Smart Grid: Modernize transmission infrastructure so that clean electricity generated anywhere in America can power homes and businesses across the nation. National electricity ‘interstates’ that move power quickly and cheaply to where it needs to be; local smart grids that buy and sell power from households and support clean plug-in cars.

For more information and to learn how you can take action, check out www.repoweramerica.org.

Forbes' Secrets Of An Energy Efficient Home

Forbes.com recently posted an article with tips on how to make your home more energy efficient to save on heating costs this winter. In addition to standard tips, like replacing your regular bulbs with CFLs and checking your insulation, author Lauren Sherman offered up this smart piece of advice:

Shopping around is another wise move. In certain states—including Texas, Georgia and Ohio—consumers can choose an energy provider. Take advantage of competitive prices by checking out Web sites like WhiteFence.com, which offers a listing of providers—and their rates—in your area.

I couldn't have said it better myself! For more secrets, check out the full article here.

More Tips on an Energy Efficient Home

Even though the summer season is on its path out the door, soon to be replaced with Fall, the energy bills can still cause some damage. The cool weather is on its way (along with the newest batch of Oscar hopefuls in the box office) and eventually, the holidays. No matter what time of year it is, though, there's always a need to save money on the home utility bills.

Mother Earth News has put up an intensive article that looks at how home-owners can save both energy and money with some simple improvements to their homes. It includes several projects (some are do-it-yourselves and others require professional assistance) that will ultimately lower your energy bills and help you conserve power and water in order to help the environment.

While some if it may seem to be a bit over your head, there are even tips on what kinds of insulation to use and ways that you as a consumer can save warm water. I've read lots of these lists, and I must say that some of the suggestions were new to me. If you're like me, then you'll agree that it's nice to learn something new that can help you around the house. What's really nice is the way that the article simplifies these things to show that energy conservation isn't a huge burden, but rather, something that anyone can do.

To view this list and start saving money, visit Mother Earth News. Are there any measures that you currently take to conserve power? Do you find them to be a strain, or are they easier than you would have thought at first?

Oil or Alternative?

As the summer rolls on, it seems that prices on gas and other items that we need to maintain our active lifestyles continue to roll on as well. With no immediate end in sight to some of the concerns about spending on energy and other commodities, it's nice to be informed about what is going on in the world of energy in order to stay on top of the game.

Earlier this week Amber over at EnergyBabble posted some intriguing thoughts about the discussion of Oil Vs. Alternative Energy in today's world. She definitely poses a lot of probing questions about the long term reliability of both energy sources, the rising costs of oil and other matters that I'm sure will hit home with a lot of consumers that are trying to keep some money in the pocket. Is more offshore drilling the answer? Or do we need something else?

To join in on the energy conversation, take a trip over to EnergyBabble.

Tips to Defeat the Heat

During the summer, especially in Texas, the heat can at times be unbearable. While the temperatures are so high, the air conditioner becomes a much welcome invention, making you comfortable inside of your home. The unwanted side effect of all of this is that your energy bills tend to skyrocket along with the heat, since the air conditioner is running like a bandit all day long.

Luckily, there are some simple steps you can take to make sure that you keep those costs low, especially while prices on everything else are rising at the moment. A new article on Homemakers talks about 10 tips that you can use around your home in order to save money for the summer. Likewise, Plenty Magazine posted an article about 5 ways to save on energy as well.

The articles cover things ranging from sealing up the cracks in your home to insulation and even opening your windows when it rains in order to generate a breeze that freshens the air inside. To find out more, check out Plenty Magazine for 5 tips on home cooling and Homemakers for 10 power saving tips.