From Green Right Now Reports

The EPA announced today it has revised the qualifications for televisions to achieve the Energy Star label, requiring TVs to be 40 percent more energy efficient than conventional models.

The new requirements raise the bar on how energy efficient a TV must be to earn the Energy Star label.  They require TVs to use less energy when turned on, ensure a satisfactory level of brightness and curb power associated with downloading program guide data. The EPA says this will translate to greater savings for consumers and the environment.  If all televisions sold in the United States met the new Energy Star requirements, Americans would save $2.5 billion annually in energy costs while reducing annual greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to the emissions of about 3 million cars, the agency says.

Televisions meeting EPA’s new, more stringent Energy Star specifications will be available in stores nationwide starting May 1, 2010.

With more than 19 million TVs with screens larger than 40 inches expected to ship to American homes in 2010, these Energy Star requirements will offer important savings in larger size TVs.  For example, the new requirements for 46- and 50-inch TV models will deliver almost 50 percent savings over conventional models of the same size.

In the frenzy over the “Cash for Clunkers” program that rewards drivers with up to $4,500 for ditching their old gas-guzzlers in favor of a new fuel-efficient model, many consumers appear to missing a similar though smaller deal on their homes.

ConstructionDeal.com, a Sherman Oaks, Calif.-based web site that helps homeowners find contractors for home improvement projects, did a survey that found nearly 40 percent of respondents were not planning on taking advantage of the $1,500 federal tax credit for energy efficient home improvements. The survey of about 5,000 project owners — primarily homeowners –  also found that 25 percent were completely unaware of the tax credit.

Still, 10 percent of those surveyed said they had already taken advantage of energy efficient home improvements. And ENERGY STAR, a joint program of the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Energy that helps consumers save money and protect the environment traffic, says traffic to its tax credit web page is skyrocketing.

“Traffic to our tax credit page is up about 500 percent and overall, traffic to energystar.gov is up about 50 percent in the past 5 months,” ENERGY STAR representative Karen Schneider said in a statement.

The tax credit went into effect February 17th, when the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was signed. The official name is “Non-business Energy Property Tax Credit” and qualified home improvements that are ready and available to use between 2009 and Dec. 31st 2010 can receive a federal tax credit for 30 percent of the purchase price – up to a maximum of $1,500. Improvements made during a remodel or addition also can qualify.

All the home improvement products have energy-efficiency requirements. For example, replacement windows must have a U-factor at 0.30 or below and SHGC at 0.30 or below to earn the tax credit. To learn more about various requirements, visit the ENERGY STAR website for more information.

Some of the qualified home improvements include:

• Windows
• Insulation
• Water Heaters
• Doors
• Metal & Asphalt Roofs
• Central Air Conditioners
• Heat Pumps
• Furnaces & Boilers

These improvements can only be made to the primary residence and homeowners will need to keep manufacturer efficiency certifications from products they have installed and the receipt from their contractor. The IRS tax form 5695 will be available in late 2009 or early 2010. Popular home improvements are air conditioners, water heaters, furnaces and new windows. The tax credit will offset the cost of the energy efficient products and in the long run, result in savings through decreased energy bills.

Large green improvements or additions may be eligible for another provision – the “Residential Energy Efficient Property Tax Credit” which also is a 30 percent tax credit but has no dollar cap, second homes qualify and this provision is available until December 31, 2016.

Some of the qualified home improvements include:

• Geothermal Heat Pumps
• Wind Turbines
• Solar Water Heating Systems
• Solar Photovoltaic Panels

New green homes can be awe-inspiring, both for their groundbreaking designs and their show of techno-muscle. Those tubular daylights, state-of-the-art solar panels, sleek recycled flooring, dehumidifying HVAC systems, complex gray water reclamation systems, louvered light “shelves” and heat-reflecting metal roofs can leave the common homeowner gaping — and wishing.

The truth is most of us won’t be building a brand new green castle, at least not anytime soon — and perhaps there’s something to be said for the alternative; let’s call it “greening in place”.

Almost any home can become more energy friendly, and this “in fill” project can occupy a very important spot in the urban landscape: your own lot!

We asked Anna Rosemann, owner of Eco/Consulting US in Los Angeles, to give us her list of things to consider when retrofitting your own precious casa.

First on Anna’s list is the Home Performance Test, which is where she and many other consultants start when asked to evaluate a property.  (This is similar to the energy audit conducted by HERS (Home Energy Rating Systems) experts, commonly used in the building industry.)

To Anna, who started Eco/Consulting US in 2006 after working several years in real estate development, this initial assessment is the equivalent of considering one’s location when buying a home. Her mantra, “Home Performance Test, Home Performance Test, Home Performance Test”, is a take on the Realtor’s maxim “Location, Location, Location”.

The test looks at a home’s energy systems, the insulation and the building envelope to identify potential leaks and inefficiencies. Most likely the house is not performing nearly as well as it could, says Rosemann, because “for a long time we were building houses as fast as we could and no one was really paying attention to how they were being built.”

In about 90 percent of the existing homes she’s evaluated, the house is insufficiently insulated. Using infrared equipment to check the walls, Eco/Consulting contractors typically find a wall cavity devoid of insulation. “It’s insane and crazy how many walls we see with zero insulation,” Rosemann says. In these cases, the fix might be a relatively affordable injection of eco-friendly cellulose insulation. But there are many other nips and tucks to consider within any given home.

Here is Rosemann’s list of factors to consider when contemplating a retrofit:

• Use recycled material whenever available. Increasingly there are companies that reclaim excess or used building materials that have wide reuse potential, such as doors and windows.

• The caulking gun. Rosemann calls it “the most high tech tool of this century” – meaning it can do powerful work.

• An on-demand tank-less water heater can serve as a backup to the solar hot water system in the coldest months.

• Recycled jean insulation. (For more info on insulation get advice from the Department of Energy.)
  

• Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs. The savings is real: CFLs have a much longer life than other bulbs, use less energy and produce less heat. Changing five of the most frequently used bulbs in your home can save you $100 per year on electric bills.

• Program your thermostat and when you are at home, keep the thermostat at 78 F or higher in the summer and 62 F or lower in the winter. Programmable thermostats allow you to program the systems to reduce output when they are not needed, like when no one is home during the day or at night when everyone is sleeping.

• Plug air leaks. This simple step can go a long way toward keeping your home at the temperature you desire, saving money on heating and air conditioning bills and more. Common leaks occur around windows, doors and other wall penetrations. Plugging those leaks with weather stripping and caulk can be a simple task for anyone.

• Tune up your heating and cooling (HVAC) system. Have a checkup for your HVAC system every two years to make sure it is running efficiently. Be sure to clean the filter monthly during times of peak usage; a dirty filter can significantly reduce the system’s efficiency.

• Choose ENERGY STAR® appliances. ENERGY STAR®-qualified products meet a high level of energy efficiency, which can translate into savings on electric bills. So when it’s time to replace that old refrigerator, microwave, clothes washer or other appliance, remember that even if an ENERGY STAR appliance costs more, you could reduce your energy bill by $50 yearly for each appliance. Also, check with your electric utility – some offer incentives for replacing old appliances with more efficient ones.

• Explore solar. Photovoltaics – solar power technology that uses solar cells or solar photovoltaic arrays to convert light from the sun directly into electricity or heat – are increasingly available for residential use. Solar power can be harnessed to create electricity for your home, to heat water, and to improve indoor lighting.

• Reduce water use. Inside, install faucet aerators – available for a few dollars at your local home supply store – and change to low-flow showerheads. Outside, landscape with native plants and minimize high-maintenance landscaping such as turf grass.

• Use low-VOC products. Switch to products that don’t give off volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. Low- or no-VOC products greatly improve your indoor air quality and protect your health. Look for low-VOC paints and cleaning products, or you can make your own cleaning products using simple household materials like baking soda, vinegar and borax.

Many clients call wanting to look into solar panels, says Roseman. These callers envision glittering arrays on the roof that will help them cool down their energy costs. But she asks them to tick through a list of ground-level, and often more affordable changes, first. “People are quick to say, I want to be green, I want to put solar panels on my house, and that’s not the first thing I advise people to look at,” she says.

Rosemann, who’s taken green building courses offered by the US Green Building Council and is certified by California’s Build It Green, suggests many other solutions, from planting trees to shade a home to adding a water filtration system to remove the need for plastic water bottles or water services. Her Brentwood-based company handles commercial as well as residential projects from assessment to recommendations through project execution.

Hiring a consultant is sort of a luxury, she says, like hiring a designer. “But if you don’t have the time to research it all. We already have the knowledge and can tell you where you need to go.”

(Photo credits: Eco/Consulting, new home at 1309 Main St., Venice, Calif.; Anna Rosemann.)

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

There’s a shiny green report card out in Warren County, Kentucky this month.

The county’s school district won the Alliance to Save Energy’s 2009 Andromeda Award for its programs, which include $4 million in energy savings over the last five years, a 28 percent energy use reduction, a daily curriculum that focuses on energy efficiency and Energy Star ratings on four buildings. But the star of their show undoubtedly is the new Richardsville Elementary, a Warren County School on target to become the nation’s first net zero energy public school when it opens in fall of 2010 (see photo above).

“This is a project that’s near and dear to us,” said Mark Ryles, Director of the Division of Facilities Management for the Kentucky Department of Education. “There were many hands in it. There was a very clear mission, which was to develop and design a net zero school building” and to  “enhance the educational opportunities,” he said.

“We were tickled to death that Warren County had won,” said project architect Kenny Stanfield with the firm of Sherman, Carter, Barnhart. In fact, the district beat out 15 other nominations that ranged from projects involving water heating technology to green condos to a Los Angeles Community College sustainable building effort across its nine campuses.

“Warren County has been a leader for a while, but this is really recognizing all of their efforts so that’s tremendous,” Stanfield said.

In planning the new building, engineers, school facilities management and architects had to first focus on all the areas in which energy could be saved, and then decide how to generate the rest. As a result, the elementary school will have exterior walls built of insulated concrete and Styrofoam, a geothermal HVAC and water-heating system, an air-monitoring system that regulates ventilation to the outdoors, and a north-south orientation with skylights and clerestory windows that pour daylight into classrooms, the gymnasium, the media center and the cafeteria. Overall, the building is expected to consume about 75 percent less energy than the national average for school buildings. (see interior image, right)

More than 40,000 square feet of solar panels take over from there. Mounted on the rooftop and support structures, the solar panels will generate electricity the school needs and send any extra to the grid. While there will be times when the school needs more than it generates, the two should balance on an annual basis. That’s the net-zero thesis at work.

Kentucky is clearly doing something right. They began building geothermal systems for heating and cooling their schools in 1990; other initiatives followed. As of Jan. 30, the state has a dozen Energy-Star certified K-12 schools, according to its own website. And as some newer schools began to exceed the goals set by Energy Star – and even the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEEDS platinum rating — the possibility of a net-zero school took hold.

“We believe that this was a logical step for us. It wasn’t an anomaly,” Ryles said.

The average energy nationwide for schools is about 73 kBTUs per square foot. Kentucky was building schools that were ending up in the 40s, then the 30s, Ryles said. And then a little accidental catalyst called Plano Elementary went up in Warren County.

“Plano kind of flew under everyone’s radar,” said Ryles. It was using just 28 kBTUs per square foot. “At that point if you drew a line across the chart, the next stop was net zero.”

He and engineer Ken Seibert began kicking the idea around. One day, Seibert called and said he had something to show Ryles. The state department of energy got wind of the meeting, and asked if they could bring some people along to listen, folks from state government, big universities, and energy providers. Ryles brought a couple of guests of his own – Warren and Kenton county school representatives. Before he knew it, Seibert was making his presentation to 25 or 30 folks.

“Mr. Seibert put on a show that was fabulous,” Ryles said. “He demonstrated a hypothetical way it would work, he showed us the engineering model, then showed us the business model. It was unbelievable.”

They were all in the same room. Warren and Kenton counties wanted in. Richardsville Elementary – and two other schools, Bristow in Warren County and Turkeyfoot in Kenton County – would soon be on the net zero design boards.

Turning the idea into reality faced some challenges: With school boards and cities and states and private businesses, it can be hard to get everybody to work together. There are various intersecting rules and regulations, and everyone has a territory to call their own. Negotiating new projects through all that red tape and ownership can be sticky.

KB Homes announced that all new homes built in Dallas will be built to Energy Star guidelines. The homes, in both new and existing communities, will allow homeowners to reduce their carbon footprint and reduce their monthly energy bills.

According to a report by Whitefence.com, the average monthly utility bills for Dallas households were the highest of the 20 U.S. metro markets surveyed in the report.

“Dallas-area home buyers want quality homes that are energy-efficient, environmentally friendly, and affordable both at the time of purchase and over the lifetime of operating the home,” said Don Barrineau, president of KB Home’s Dallas Division, in a statement.

In February, LA-based KB Homes made the announcement that all home communities opening in 2009 and beyond will be built to the Energy Star guidelines as well. Energy Star qualified homes are up to 45% more energy-efficient than homes built as recently as a year ago.

In order to be designated as an Energy Star qualified home, the EPA-program must verify that the home meets a set of strict requirements. Some of the criteria include effective insulation, efficient heating and cooling equipment, and energy-efficient products such as Energy Star appliances.

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

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It can be a challenge to update an historic building, let alone transform it into a model of green modernity. Rattling pipes crowd walls that need new duct work; old fixtures adhere stubbornly to aging walls and facades retain character, but heating and cooling – not so much.

Still, the historic Heathman Hotel in downtown Portland has recently undergone two green upgrades, and is determined to become a model of sustainability, while sacrificing none of its landmark historic elegance.

The 81-year-old Heathman, like most vintage urban hotels, has been through many nips and tucks over the decades. It got its first green redo about three years ago with the renovation of the guest bedrooms and living areas and the addition of a new heating and cooling system. The project, which won financial incentives from the Energy Trust of Oregon, and included switching to CFL light bulbs, proved enlightening: The changes trimmed energy usage by 20 to 30 percent at the 150-room hotel.

“My return on investment, we realized that in less than two years; a year and half for the HVAC investment,” said hotel general manager Chris Erickson. “It was a wise idea and now as we move into the future, it’s all straight to the bottom line.”

Green redo Number Two, is currently underway as the Heathman overhauls its guest bathrooms, all 155 of them, which will save thousands of gallons of water every day. New low-flow shower heads and water-wise commodes (which use 1.5 gallons per flush instead of 3 gallons) are expected to cut bathroom water use in half, without guests even noticing.

Having witnessed during his career how most hotel renovations send tons of refuse to the dump, Erickson decided to turn this latest bathroom project into a study of converting to a more sustainable operation, sustainably.

He contracted with Ankrom Moisan Associated Architects to design the new look of the bathrooms, and also with the non-profit ReBuilding Center of Portland, to whisk away the outgoing material.

The Center sent “deconstruction” experts to assess how everything coming out of the bathrooms could be reclaimed, thus giving the used sinks, fixtures and doors a second life through the center’s resale program, and also reducing the impact on the landfill.

The program they came up with has produced a nearly waste-free, or 99 percent landfill-free, remodel that diverted an estimated 15 tons of debris. Only the mirrors that were accidentally broken while being removed had to be discarded.

Looking to replace your windows this year? Well, look out, you may qualify for newly increased tax credits of up to $1,500 if you install an energy-saving product.

The new government stimulus package includes tax credits for energy-efficient home improvements such as installing new exterior windows, doors, air conditioning systems or insulation. The new legislation extends tax credits through 2010. Most of these improvements were increased from $500 to the new $1500 cap; a cap of $200 for windows was removed.

If windows are on your mind, SeriousWindows, of Sunnyvale, Calif., is promoting energy efficient models that it claims are 200 to 400 percent more efficient than regular old Energy Star rated windows.

Many other firms sell windows, and many of those meet the Energy Star designation; windows must at least meet that test to qualify for receiving a tax credit.

The Energy Star website can help you sort out what qualifies for tax credits, and get you up to speed generally on windows, skylights and doors, which can be leaky sieves sabotaging the ability of a house to save energy .

More guidance about the new tax credits is available through the Alliance to Save Energy. A tax credit, unlike a rebate, lowers the amount of money you owe in federal income tax.

Of course, as important, is the utility costs you save from having a more energy-efficient home.

For more news on windows, see KGO’s story on the window glass of the future being developed at UC-Berkeley.

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

The  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recognized 25 U.S. cities for having the most Energy Star buildings in 2008.

The top 10 are Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Washington, D.C., Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago, Denver, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Atlanta and Seattle.

Los Angeles ranked first with 262 buildings earning the Energy Star rating, which can be applied to rehabbed and new properties. San Francisco had 194 buildings; Houston, 145; Washington D.C., 136 and Dallas, 126.

Energy Star, the EPA’s label for high efficiency, sets standards for everthing from light bulbs and appliances to buildings.

“An Energy Star building,” says Energy Star spokesperson Maura Beard, “uses 35 percent less energy and emits 35 percent less greenhouse gases than average buildings.”

Looking at the list, it might surprise some to see cities such as Los Angeles, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston — known more for their air quality challenges than for green building — at the top of the rankings.

Ms. Beard explains that the list reflects improvements in buildings, which will be reflected in air quality gains later on.

“In terms of this list, we looked specifically at [a building’s] reductions in greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. This is a big concern in states like California and Texas where there is a lot of demand on their infrastructure,” she says.

There were some standout buildings in each of these three cities, she says. She praised a retrofit of a JC Penney store that was built in 1969 in Downey Calif., in Los Angeles County. “They did a beautiful job improving the building’s energy efficiency, starting with its operating characteristics,” says Beard. (Also this week, JC Penney, an early adopter of the Energy Star program with 52 stores that have earned the label, won the first Energy Star Award for Sustained Excellence in Energy Management.)

In Houston, the Green Valley Elementary School involved the student body in its transformation. “Here the kids formed patrol teams making sure lights weren’t left on in the cafeteria and elsewhere when not in use,” says Beard. And in Dallas, the Hines real estate firm, won the Energy Star rating for its Galleria North Tower office building.

The Galleria office building is attached to a spacious, upscale, air-conditioned mall, which raises the question: What about the energy efficiency of malls in general?

“Shopping malls are difficult [structures] to measure efficiency in,” says Beard. “For Energy Star, we collect data from the Department of Energy, then build a model. There are 12 different types of buildings included in the Energy Star ratings. For example, you can’t compare a hospital to a small store. Your have to compare peers, apples to apples.

“For now, we can just measure the efficiency of the anchor stores at a mall. It’s difficult to measure each of the many small stores. We are working with the Simon group, who manages many of the country’s malls, to improve this.”

The EPA reports that in 2008, more than 3,300 commercial buildings and manufacturing plants earned the Energy Star rating. This translates into a savings of more than $1 billion in utility bills and more than 7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. The structures range from schools and hospitals to office buildings and assembly plants.

More than 6,200 U.S. buildings have qualified for the Energy Star rating in total, says EPA spokesperson Enesta Jones. This represents an annual savings in greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking 2 million cars off the road.

Depending on the climate and location, buildings, homes and offices and workplaces, are estimated to be responsible for about 40 percent of the world’s GHG gases.

The Energy Star rating system for buildings is similar to the green certification system devised by the U.S. Green Building Council known as LEED or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Efficiency and Design. But Energy Star is more focused on onsite power savings, while LEED looks at how building materials are sourced and considers broader environmental issues like how close a building is to mass transit opportunities.

“LEED certification tends to be more for new buildings and includes everything, green roofs, supplies and materials, recycling, even the commute,” says Beard. “Energy Star is purely about energy efficiency.”

“It works best if the two [certification systems] are used hand in hand,” she says. “Energy Star is more rigorous in terms of energy efficiency. With LEED, you can get a bunch of points for many different attributes. If a building doesn’t score highly on energy efficiency, it could still earn LEED certification because it might score well on other levels.” (Though LEED standards are currently being tightened and it would be difficult for a building to earn the highest level ratings without being energy efficient.)

EPA’s new chief Lisa P. Jackson is pleased with the results of the Energy Star cities. In a statement released yesterday, she said, “EPA commends all of these cities…[that] are now using more energy efficient appliances and dwellings. They are saving energy, saving money and protecting our environment.”

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

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Meredith Henderson was on a mission, she wanted to make composting available where she lived. But she is among of the one-third of Americans who do not own their own homes.

“I do feel that apartment dwellers are often left out of the green movement because of the fact that their options are limited by their landlord’s willingness to create those options within their buildings,” said 25 year-old Henderson.

While living in Forest Hill in Los Angeles, Henderson attempted to gather signatures on a petition for her landlord to make composting available and got only one signature from her fellow residents. Disappointed with the lack of support, she left that apartment complex and started the Facebook group “Apartment Dwellers Go Green!!”

Henderson, who now lives in Culver City, says that she prefers to use a hand washer for her clothes and then line dry them. She drives a Prius and goes “dumpster diving” for treasures to reduce the build up in the land fills. She stimulates the local economy by purchasing food at the local food market, which cuts down on gas used to drive foods.

From her experiences she has learned that education for apartment dwellers is “just as important as when you are a landowner with more control.”

Shannon Erb is doing her share from her apartment in downtown Whitewater, Wisconsin. She wakes up early to take advantage of natural light and burns candles in the evening. In order to achieve a chemical free environment, she uses green cleaning products and grows indoor plants to purify the air.

“Everything counts to the movement,” said Erb.

When a member of your family is sick, you probably call the doctor. But what about when your home is sick? Who ya gonna call? Ghostbusters is probably not an option, but invisible house issues need to be dealt with.

A house might be considered “sick” if it never seems warm enough, cool enough or maybe has utility bills that are sky high.

That’s when you want to call in a specialist in sustainable home retrofitting. It’s a relatively new field, although bits and pieces of the industry have been around for a while, just not under one roof, so to speak.

Mike Rogers, senior vice president of GreenHomes America in Syracuse, N.Y. and Irvine, Ca., calls it one-stop shopping. And more and more companies are emerging that can handle the multitude of tasks required for a full home retrofit.

The timing seems right. In addition to advising clients, these “home performance” companies install systems such as solar panels and high efficiency furnaces that qualify for handsome tax rebates under the stimulus bill just passed by Congress.

Getting Started

Third party/independent energy audits or assessments can be a good starting point, says Rogers. But once the auditor has made his or her recommendations, where does the homeowner go from there?

“An assessment might recommend three different repairs involving three different trades. The homeowner must then go through the process of taking bids. And then how do you know which contractor is the best for the job?” says Rogers, who onced worked for the Environmental Protection Agency and helped create the EPA’s Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program.

His company provides the solution by working through the entire process, from assessment through installation, much like a remodeling contractor would, but with the emphasis on energy systems.

Matt Golden, founder of Sustainable Spaces, a home performance testing and retrofitting company in San Francisco, operates under a similar business model.

His company takes what the founder calls “a holistic approach” to home improvements, looking at the entire building before embarking on energy efficient repairs which they do themselves.

Whether or not you believe the ground hog’s prognostications this week that spring is six weeks off, more winter weather is surely on the way. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority has issued a list of cost-effective products to help New Yorkers save energy and money at this peak-use time.

But these suggestions apply, no matter where you live.

“Using power management products is one of the easiest steps to saving energy at home,” New York State Energy Research and Development Authority President and CEO Francis J. Murray Jr. said in a statement. “These devices, coupled with simple energy-saving actions, will help New Yorkers further reduce their power consumption while increasing their energy savings.”

The agency is recommending four products to help people curb their power consumption:

1. Advanced power strip — Advanced power strips manage the power used by electronics and appliances. By using an advanced power strip, you can eliminate the energy consumption of seldom used products such as DVD players, gaming consoles, and home office equipment. Tip: use an advanced power strip on your home entertainment system to keep your cable box/DVR functioning properly while cutting the energy consumption of the other peripherals, such as a DVD player, gaming console, and receiver, plugged into the strip.
2. Programmable thermostats –  An ENERGY STAR qualified, programmable thermostat automatically regulates heating and cooling systems. Homeowners can save up to $200 annually by properly setting a programmable thermostat and maintaining those settings. Tip: use a programmable thermostat to regulate heating and cooling when you are away from your home for more than four hours.
3. Timers — Timers on light switches, heating and cooling equipment, and appliances can automatically turn off items that are not in use at a certain time, making it easier to use electricity only when it is needed. Tip: use timers on lights to provide security -timers are convenient and will save you energy when you are not home.
4. Energy monitoring devices –  It’s easy to identify the biggest energy users in a home with a device that monitors and measures energy consumption on a product-by-product basis. Some devices can measure the energy consumption of an entire home and show the cost of energy changes throughout the day. Tip: use an energy monitoring device to see what products are costing you the most to operate, and make some preventive changes.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) uses innovation and technology to solve some of New York’s most difficult energy and environmental problems in ways that improve the State’s economy. For more ways to save energy at home, visit GetEnergySmart or call toll-free 1-877-NY-SMART.

In addition, the agency suggests these other cost-effective steps that you can take to save energy at home:

1. Enable the power management feature on your computer. By enabling the power management function on a computer, you can reduce its energy consumption by 50 percent.
2. Request an ENERGY STAR cable box or DVR from your cable company. There is no additional charge and no difference in product performance. Two standard set top boxes use the same amount of energy as a refrigerator, so make sure your equipment has the ENERGY STAR label.
3. Fight the energy pirates in your home by unplugging seldom-used electronics and other products.
   Products with clocks and remotes consume energy even when they are not in use. U.S. households spend over $100 per year to power devices while they are off.

Our refrigerators, which can be the biggest electricity hogs of all household appliances, have been getting the once-over from the Energy Star program for several years now, with those bright yellow tags alerting us to what sort of electrical consumption we can expect. Washers and dryers, ditto.

Now our dishwashers, which have been insidiously luxuriating in hot water all this time, are getting the full review by government energy gurus.

The reason: Snap! They use water.

Energy Star, the U.S. government authority on these matters, has previously rated dishwashers based on the electricity they consume. Starting in August 2009, they’ll be subjecting dishwashers to the first set of criteria that will take water consumption into account. The second phase is set to go into effect in summer 2011.

By the time the overhaul is complete in 2012, the new guidelines are expected to save Americans 671 billion Btu’s of electricity and 1.13 billion gallons of water per year, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, which announced the tighter guidelines Monday.

In terms of household use, consumers could expect to save more than a gallon of water with each dishwashing cycle.

How do manufacturers feel about the rules changes? They’ll qualify for tax credits for the production of dishwashers that meet the new ENERGY STAR dishwasher criteria under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.

Yes, among the many things planned for that big bank bailout, both big and small, getting the ketchup off your plates while using less energy — and water — is just one.

Copyright © 2008 | Distributed by Noofangle Media