The New Hybrid Vending Machine

Cars aren't the only ones being grouped into the 'hybrid' category, you can now include vending machines. Yes, that's right! So the next time you reach for a soda, make sure you're being green and shopping where there are eco-friendly vending machines.

Coca-Cola and Pepsi are two soda giants that are doing their part to be environmentally friendly and reducing their carbon footprint by using vending machines that use carbon dioxide and hydrocarbons instead of harmful refrigerants.

To learn more read, New Vending Machines Stay Cool without Warming the Planet, at MotherNatureNetwork.

Choosing the Right Fire Extinguisher

Moving into our house last year, my wife and I had to make sure we had the bare essentials. These usually involve things like lawn equipment, cleaning supplies, home repair tools and the like. However, one thing that we didn't consider at first was a fire extinguisher. While as many as 75 percent of homes have a fire extinguisher of some kind, there are many out there that don't know their classifications, and at worst, how to use the extinguisher itself.

For the uninitiated (I am including myself in this category), This Old House has put together a list of tips and tools on how to choose and use fire extinguishers. It covers the three types of fire extinguishers (A for flammable items such as wood or cardboard, B for flammable liquids and C for electricity) as well as other useful pieces of information for fire safety newbies like myself. I think the most interesting portion of the article would have to be the section that recommends the size of fire extinguisher that is appropriate for different places. If I'm being honest here, I'd admit that I didn't know fire extinguishers came in as many sizes as This Old House lists. The more you know, right?

To read more about fire extinguishers, I'd definitely recommend checking out This Old House. How many of you have fire extinguishers in your home? Do you know how to use them?

Installing a Programmable Thermostat at Home

If the weather where you live is as volatile as it has been lately in Houston, then you may understand the pain of always having to fiddle with the thermostat in your home. I know that in my previous apartment unit, the thermostat was hard to read, which resulted in a temperatures that I was never quite satisfied with. The unit in our house is better, though it is also old and not always accurate. Through all of this, I've learned that if there's anything that can mess with both electricity and natural gas bills, it's a fickle thermostat.

One way to save money on those monthly bills is through the installation of a programmable thermostat. That way, you can manage when your heating/cooling is running during hotter or colder periods of the day, effectively cutting off the wasted energy when you are not at home or sleeping. This can cut your energy bill substantially, and is well worth the the time it takes.

Luckily for us, the guys over at Microsoft Hohm have put together a handy video that demonstrates the installation process for a programmable thermostat. We've written about Hohm before, so if you've never been there, it's definitely worth checking out to see how you can find some savings each year. In the meantime, check out the video.

So, who out there has a programmable thermostat in their own home? What have your experiences been? Tell us in the comments!

Save Big When You Avoid Common Rip-Offs

Money is tighter than ever for millions of Americans these days, and people are starting to rethink some of their spending habits and looking for ways to cut down on wasteful spending. With that in mind, BillShrink has come out with a list of 13 of the biggest rip-offs consumers commonly face.

Of course there are classics like movie theater popcorn and hotel mini-bars on the list, but there are also some more subtle choices. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Wine Service In Restaurants – Knowing that no one wants to order the cheapest bottle of wine on the menu, shrewd restaurant owners mark up the second-least expensive bottle.

• Actively Managed Investments – While mutual fund managers fail to beat the market 75 percent of the time, you have to pay their fees 100 percent of the time.

• Printer Inks – In some cases, it can actually be cheaper to buy a whole new printer than buy ink for your old one.

Check the article on BillShrink for the full list and let us know what you think the biggest rip-offs are in the comments.

Here’s my contribution: HDMI cables. Knowing that most people are not electronics experts, many stores mark up their HDMI cables over five times. In fact, it’s not unheard of for stores to make more money off the HDMI cable you buy with your new HDTV than the TV itself!

AT&T; Reaches 1 Million Home Phone Users with U-verse

AT&T; recently announced that it now serves 1 million AT&T; U-verse^SM Voice digital home phone lines. The milestone comes two years after AT&T; introduced the VoIP service. More than 67 percent of new U-verse TV customers bundle U-verse Voice service.

The company said it reached the milestone by adding 248,000 U-verse TV subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2009, with a total of 2.1 million U-verse TV subscribers nationwide and added1 million U-verse TV customers in the last year alone.

"We knew we had the opportunity to revolutionize our consumer business with U-verse and our IP platform, and the growth of our U-verse TV, Voice and broadband services shows we’re on the right track," said Anthony Tuggle, AT&T; vice president of wireline voice products. "Customers are choosing U-verse Voice for its reliability, advanced features and unmatched value as part of an integrated AT&T; bundle. U-verse Voice will only get better as we continue to launch more calling apps and features."

AT&T; offers multiple combinations of U-verse TV, U-verse Voice, U-verse High Speed Internet and AT&T; wireless plans that offer savings for customers that bundle their services. As of the end of 2009, more than 90 percent of U-verse TV customers bundle High Speed Internet, and more than 75 percent of U-verse TV customers have a triple- or quad-play.

See if AT&T; U-verse is available in your area.

“Smart” Electric Meters on the Rise, Will They Curb Energy Use?

According to a new study from ABI Research, "Smart" electricity meters, which enable two-way communication between the meter and the utility, and may enable greater consumer control over consumption, are being deployed at an increasing pace, especially in North America and Europe. The number of smart electric meters deployed worldwide will rise from a 2009 level of 76 million to reach more than 210 million in 2014.

In the US, $3.4 billion in federal economic stimulus funding was directed to smart grid development in November 2009. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007) also directly encourages smart grid technology adoption by the states, and funds NIST’s efforts to develop a standards-based technology framework to facilitate smart grid adoption.

However, ABI says the path to smart metering is not always smooth, siting PG&E; in California, one of the early utilities to deploy smart meters. The company has faced claims by consumers that they have been overcharged. Still, there are many environmentalists who believe that smart meters will help consumers curb their energy use and save money, simply by being more educated about the amount of energy they use. And there are those that say people may use more energy if they see that electricity is cheaper than they expected.

For more, check out the NPR Morning Edition podcast Debate: Do Smart Meters Curb Energy Use? and ABI Research's study.

Saving Money at the Grocery Store

As many of you know, there are plenty of ways for you to save money in your day-to-day spending. Whether it's through car pooling or the way you use water and electricity, you can find all kinds of opportunities to pinch a few pennies. One place where you can always use more money saving tips is the grocery store. CBS News has put together a list of tricks to turn you into a savvy food shopper.

• Check the bottom shelf — Since eye-level is where most shoppers do their spending in the grocery store, many companies pay to have their items stocked there. Check the bottom of the shelf for more cost-effective items.
• Mind the end-cap — Just because certain products are on display at the end of the aisle doesn't mean they are on sale. In addition, check the expiration date on these products. There's a chance the retailer has put less fresh items there in hopes of selling them before they go bad.
• Convenience costs money — Sure, you can buy pre-cut chicken or shredded cheese, but it's always cheaper just to buy the full product yourself and then cut it or separate it out later.

For more tips, read the CBS News article, How Supermarkets Lure You To Buy More.

Another way to cut your grocery bill in half is to use coupons. Clip them out of flyers and newspapers or print them online from the following sites:

• Coupon Cabin
• Kroger
• Coupons.com
• Randalls
• Coupon Mom
• Target
• Retail Me Not
• Safeway
• Smart Source
• Winn Dixie

America’s First Wave-Power Farm Could Power 400 Homes

Construction of the first wave-power farm in America has recently begun off the coast of Oregon. New Jersey-based Ocean Power Technologies is in the process of installing ten wave-power harnessing buoys that they say will be able to power 400 homes.

Wave power is still a very young technology, and is therefore much more expensive at this point than more established renewable energy options such as wind and solar. Costs can be up to six times greater than wind, and this one project is expected to cost around sixty million dollars. However, as time goes on and wave-power projects become more common and costs fall, there is potential for the technology to produce an almost unlimited stream of clean energy. Just think, while weather changes often, waves are much more consistent.

So, how exactly does a wave-power farm work? A series of large buoys are placed in an area of ocean with lots of wave activity. Each buoy has a float that rises and falls along with the water surface, driving a plunger up and down. That plunger’s vertical energy is then converted into rotary motion and produces electricity by spinning a generator. The resulting electricity is then sent on shore through an underwater cable.

Wave-power has always fascinated me and it’s great to see it finally becoming a reality. I love how diverse the green energy industry is, with power coming from wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, and now waves. What will be next?

Image Via OPT

Do You Use a Lawn Service?

As recent apartment-renters-turned-homeowners, my wife and myself are having to become accustomed to maintaining a yard. While we don't have the most gigantic of lots, it definitely adds a whole new side of homeownership that I wasn't quite expecting. You see, I haven't had to mow a yard since high school, really, so this prospect was foreign and surprising. Suddenly, we have to worry about freezing pipes, flower beds that get affected by freezes, a banana tree, and pecans.

After the first few weeks of taking care of the lawn, it became apparent that we just didn't quite have the time to do it justice. It was frustrating to see our grass growing higher while all of our neighbors' yards were perfectly trimmed. So, for the first time in both of our lives, we actually hired a lawn service to come out and take care of it for us. To be honest, we couldn't be happier, and the time and stress we save is more than worth the money.

So what about you guys? Do you hire a lawn service to take care of your yard work? Or do you do it yourself?

How to Pick an Electricity Plan

While everyone needs to power their home, electricity plans are far from one-size-fits-all. There are many options out there on the market, and just a little research can ensure that you end up with the right one. To find that plan that best meets your needs, here’s what you’ll need to know:

• Price per kilowatt-hour – What you’ll actually be paying for the electricity delivered to your home. For reference, a one room apartment will typically use around 500 Kw/h per month, while a two bedroom house will use about 1,000 Kw/h.

• Plan type – There are two basic types of electricity plans out there: fixed and month-to-month. Fixed plans have a steady price for a specified timeframe, offering great security. Month-to-month plans have no specified timeframe and can vary in price each month, which allows you to take advantage of changing electricity rates. Month-to-month plans come in two flavors: variable and indexed. Variable plans change with energy costs based purely on the discretion of the provider, while indexed plans change based on a published formula that uses an energy index (such as the natural gas index).

• Renewable energy options – Many electricity providers now offer plans with a percentage of their energy generated from clean sources such as wind, water and solar. If being environmentally friendly is important to you, keep an eye out for these green energy plans.

• Cancelation fees – What you will pay for terminating your contract before the term you signed up for. This applies only to fixed rate plans.

• Promotions – Any specials a provider is offering, such as a rebate or gift card.

Here’s an example of a plan here on WhiteFence. This particular plan has costs 12.9 cents per Kw/h, is month-to-month, features 100 percent renewable energy, has no cancellation fee (these don't apply to month-to-month plans) and comes with a $50 gift card.

Ready to start comparing your options? Enter your address at WhiteFence to get all of the information listed above for plans available at your location, pick the best plan and order your new service all on one website!