Making a Greener Home

Moving into a house, I'm starting to take notice of the kinds of things that can be done to make it more energy efficient. There are many ways to enhance the efficiency of your home, some easy and some more complicated. With all of the options available, who knows what to choose?

Luckily, CNET has put together a comprehensive list for A Greener Home, Room by Room.The improvements listed range from getting smart power strips that shut off whenever the item that is plugged in turns off (getting rid of pesky vampires that suck electricity even when they're off) to adding more insulation to the attic. Other notable suggestions include a tankless water heater and caulking up air leaks around the house.

The list is organized in a way that separates projects into low, medium and high effort, making it easy to navigate and get an idea of what you can do for your own home. To read more about making a greener home, visit CNET.

California Unveils Energy Standards for Flat Screen Televisions

NPR is reporting that California is poised to become the first state to introduce energy efficiency standards for flat screen TVs. Believe it or not, flat screen televisions use more electricity than the old style tube models. In fact, flat screens can account for up to 10 percent of household energy use, making them a ripe target for energy savings.

The proposed standards, which are expected to pass in November, would start going into effect in 2011, with a second phase in 2013. They are expected to save Californians $8.1 billion dollars in electricity costs over 10 years, and reduce consumption enough to keep a whole gas-fired electric power plant from being built.

Only about a quarter of the sets currently available in the state would have to be modified to be compliant with the new rules. Those that do not meet the standards would have to cut electricity use by about 30 percent to meet the first round of regulations, and then an additional 20 percent to meet the second round.

California has already passed similar guidelines for air conditioners, refrigerators, and other appliances. Regulations like these have been credited with keeping California’s energy consumption stable since the 1970s.

As has been the case in the past, these more energy efficient flat screens will probably start making their way across the country soon after they hit California.

Global Broadband Keeps Gaining Momentum

While we know that broadband use continues to spread in the United States, it is also increasing dramatically around the planet. In 2008, it was estimated that somewhere around 382 million people around the world were connected to the Internet via fixed broadband connections. The number has grown 10.5 percent in 2009 to bring the total to 422 million. That is about 1 in 5 households. Interestingly enough, the projected growth for next year is even more than this past year's, putting the total to 580 million strong.

According to a report at CNET, there are many countries that have broadband connections in 50 percent of households, while in some Asian countries the number might be as high as 93 percent. When looking at the projected forecast for the immediate future, "Brazil, Russia, India, and China will account for nearly half, or 47 percent, of the increase in consumer broadband connections over the next several years."

To read more about the continued spread of broadband worldwide, visit CNET.

Smart Grid Test Yields 20 Percent Energy Savings

A smart grid is basically a power grid that’s aware of factors like weather, energy prices, and customer’s needs and can adapt to swings in power supply and demand. The promises of such a system include improved reliability, lower costs and a vast reduction in energy use. We’ve been hearing about eco-friendly smart grids for years now, but now it looks like widespread implementation may be just around the corner.

The New York Times’ Green Inc. recently reported about a smart grid experiment is being carried out on the Fayetteville Public Works Commission system in North Carolina, and the initial results seem to justify all of the hype. The trial includes 100 homes and features collaboration between technology companies IBM and Consert.

Controllers were attached to high-use electrical appliances such as air conditioners and pool pumps in participant’s homes. The participants then logged into the system, completed a detailed profile of their lifestyle (when they leave for work, what temperature they like to keep their house at, etc.) and set targets for their electricity bill. Based on a combination of that information, the customer’s billing history and local weather conditions, the grid’s software then started controlling their appliances.

The result? After the first month, a 20 percent decline in the amount of electricity used. The test has been so successful, that the Fayetteville Public Works Commission is now rethinking the scale of a proposed new power plant.

Getting Natural Gas Service for Light Up Season

I'm not sure what it's like around the rest of the country, but things are starting to cool down a little bit here. Now that Fall is officially underway, we're fast approaching the time of year when natural gas service becomes more important as use goes up along with the cold weather.

In a deregulated market like Ohio or Georgia, this is the perfect time to switch natural gas providers and see if you can save money on your monthly bills. If you are in either of these deregulated markets, a recent press release from WhiteFence highlights OhioNaturalGas and GasGeorgia. With these two free Web sites, shoppers are given the power to choose and save on their natural gas service.

How long since you've compared natural gas rates? Now's the time to do it, before the bills start to climb. To read more about saving money during light up season, view the WhiteFence press release.

Half of American Homes Now Have an HDTV

A recent report released by the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM) shows that 53 percent of American homes now own a high-definition television set. HDTV ownership has spiked recently, as less than one quarter of U.S. households reported owning one of the advanced televisions just two years ago.

Interestingly, the reports also shows that only 69 percent of HDTV owners subscribe to high-definition service (up from 56 percent last year), meaning three out of ten HDTV owners aren’t getting the full HD experience.

Looking to get the most out of your HDTV? Check out WhiteFence to compare television offers from the top cable and satellite providers.

Home Improvents that can Save You Money

Did you know that the governments wants to help you make improvements to your home? Yes, it's true. The government wants you to be more energy efficient and boy have they got an incentive for you.

Earlier this year, Congress approved the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.It means that you can get a tax credit for purchasing energy-saving products like insulation, roofing, air conditioning systems and more.

Check out the article by The Philadelphia Inquirer for more information.

Monitoring Your Energy Use

Are your energy bills skyrocketing? One way to help lower them is just to monitor your energy usage on a daily even weekly basis.

The Energy Aware Clock (EAC) is a cool new gadget that can assist you in just that. All you do is set up the EAC in a room you want to monitor. It will show you the peaks and valleys of your energy useage.

Knowing how much energy you use at what time of day will help you become more conscience of changes  you'll have to make to conserve energy.

Read more about the EAC at Mother Nature Network and Unplugged.

Whole Foods Buys A Whole Lot of Wind Energy Credits

While Whole Foods might have taken a hit with the media and some of its customers lately over the remarks of the company's CEO, it's still looking toward a greener grocery future. The company recently announced that it has finalized the largest purchase of renewable energy credits ever made by a U.S. retailer.

Whole Foods's 776 million-kilowatt-hour purchase from wind farms will be equal to 100 percent of the its electricity use in its North American locations, and nearly 90 percent of this year’s purchase is helping to fund E.ON Climate & Renewables’ (EC&R) recently-completed Texas-based Panther Creek wind farm.

Nearly 90 percent of the renewable energy credits Whole Foods Market has purchased for 2009 came from a Big Spring, Texas-based wind farm, which is 50 miles east of Midland. The project is built and operated by EC&R North America, a renewable energy developer headquartered in Chicago, with development offices in Austin and Denver. The remaining RECs come from a number of different wind farms in locations across the U.S. and Canada.

“The Environmental Protection Agency commends Whole Foods Market for their continued commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by purchasing green power,” said Kathleen Hogan, director of the Climate Protection Partnerships Division at EPA. “As a partner in EPA’s Green Power Partnership, and by supporting renewable energy, Whole Foods Market is helping to move our nation into a clean energy future.”

The 2009 Whole Foods Market wind power purchase will help avoid up to 868 million pounds of carbon dioxide pollution. This has an environmental benefit that’s similar to taking more than 72,000 cars off of the roads for a year, or planting nearly 3.6 million mature trees.

For more, check out the Whole Foods official blog.

Comcast, DISH Network and the NFL To Put Fans In The “NFL Redzone”

If you are an NFL football fan who felt like there just wasn't enough coverage last season, the NFL Network has good news for you. Comcast and DISH Network both announced recently that they plan to offer the network's “NFL RedZone” channel this season. (Comcast customers will have access as of its Sports Entertainment Package.)

"NFL RedZone" is hosted by Scott Hanson from the new state-of-the-art "NFL RedZone" studio at NFL Network's headquarters in Los Angeles and debuted this past Sunday.

Produced by the NFL Network, the channel will air every Sunday from 1:00 p.m. EST through late afternoon games providing live look-ins and real-time highlights for every NFL game that afternoon. Throughout the NFL football season, the channel will move from game to game providing live action each time a team is poised to score inside the 20-yard line. The channel will also have in-studio coverage to provide real-time scoring and fantasy updates to fans.

If you have Comcast cable service or DISH Network, surf over to redzonetv.nfl.com to see if you can get your red zone fix this season.