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.

Are Americans Willing to Change their Conservation Habits?

A brand new survey commissioned by Green Mountain Energy Company and conducted by Harris Interactive^® conveys surprising results.

According to the Green Mountain survey, "88% of U.S. adults said they would be willing to make changes to be more environmentally friendly as long as it didn’t cost a lot of money; 83 percent would be willing to make changes if they were easy."

The survey also shows almost half of those Americans surveyed believe the leading cause of harmful emissions comes from automobiles, as well as 77 percent that were unwilling to change certain habits, such as riding a bike to work.

For more information and specifics on the survey, view the Green Mountain press release.

Saving Energy and Cutting Costs at Home

It's no mystery that there is a ton of useful information floating through Internet space on how to cut energy costs at home. I've probably researched and read well over a 100 articles myself on being more eco-friendly, but I must say that sometimes I stumble across a great resource of information that I have to pass on to you right away.

Gwendolyn Bounds recently provided some fantastic tips with her Saving Energy on the Cheap article over at The Wall Street Journal. I'll often come across articles with what seems like sound money-saving advice on the surface, but then the author fails to offer additional details to help consumers actually enact these changes/suggestions. This is definitely not the case with Ms. Bound's article, which goes in great length to provide both specifics and a map to getting it done.

Items of note:

• Some interesting statistics from her own adventure in reducing energy consumption—"I saved about $86. Keeping that up, I'd be on target to save roughly $500 -- or nearly 40% of last year's electricity bills -- over the next 12 months."
  
• Practical advice is the best kind in my opinion, and her suggestion of increasing cold-water washing netted a 20% reduction in the cost of washing laundry.
• My favorite aspect of the article is that she provides links to specific products that will help you actually be energy efficient, not just hope that your electricity bills will magically disappear.
  

I highly recommend families and consumers interested in saving energy and cutting costs, without having to live in an igloo, check out the article and see for yourself how easy it can be to go green at home.

Saving Energy on the Cheap - Gwendolyn Bounds

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?

The Texas Wind

Inhabitat recently posted an article with some interesting news about the Lone Star State's plans concerning the future of wind energy. If you're unaware, Texas is already one of the primary forces moving forward in terms of wind energy, and it seems that the push is getting stronger every day.

According to the article, Texas has been given the green light to portion upwards of "$4.9 billion towards building new transmission lines to carry wind energy from rural areas into urban hubs like Dallas." This will help to make more efficient use of the current turbines that are already in operation. In addition, it will help "power more than 4 million homes."

To get informed about the "renewable energy superhighway", head over to Inhabitat to read more.

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.

How to Get Rid of Junk Mail

Tired of getting those unwanted ads and envelopes in the mailbox? There's nothing worse than getting home from a long day of work, grabbing the mail and pulling out piles of applications, offers and all the other stuff that can be a pain to toss once you get inside the house.

Amber at Enviromojo recently posted some helpful tips on how to stop junk mail in its tracks. It's a great resource for those who are trying to be eco-friendly while still keeping the unwanted mail from piling up on the kitchen counter. Head on over to EnviroMojo if you'd like to learn more!

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.

Green Countries

A recent article was posted on ZDNet about some of the "greenest" countries in the world at the moment, and what their ambitions are for the future in terms of green energy production. Currently, two of the most ambitious energy projects in production are located across the globe from one another, with Portugal being home to one. Interestingly enough, as of 2005, Sweden seems to have the renewable energy edge as far as Europe goes.

According to the article, in 2005 Sweden was using renewable energy sources for nearly 40 percent of its energy production, with a targeted goal of 49 percent by 2020. In addition, Latvia is relying on green sources for nearly 35 percent of its energy, with a goal of 42 percent by 2020.

The article also goes on to talk about New Zealand's oceanic energy project, where seabed turbines rely on tidal flow to produce electricity. It certainly makes you wonder what kind of exciting projects we'll see from the rest of the global community. If you're interested in the future of renewable energy, read more about these projects at ZDNet.
 

EPA to America: Save!

This week the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it was beginning an effort to help Americans save money through advice on cooling their homes during the summer. According to the EPA "Energy Star qualified programmable thermostats can save money on energy bills and help fight global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions". It seems that programmable thermostats that control the schedules of warming or cooling a house down can save consumers "about $180 a year on home energy bills".

Since up to half of our energy costs goes towards making ourselves more comfortable while inside (whether that's through trying to cool down or warm up), having a programmable thermostat can take away the hassle of constantly adjusting the temperature and also relieves some consumers might have about the headache of energy bills that wildly fluctuate.

In addition to saving through a programmable thermostat, the article also provides some helpful tips about how else you can save money in the home, including finding and sealing up unwanted air leaks in windows or doors that continue to raise our energy bill as they allow our heating or cooling to escape. To find out more about programmable thermostats and other methods of energy conservation, read more at the EPA.