Baltimore County Incentives on upgrading existing homes for Energy Savings

The Baltimore tax credit program offers to upgrade existing homes, the home owners will get a tax benefit of $1800 over a three year period. This county also offers tax benefits on new construction of houses if they follow Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, also called LEED standards.

Home owners would have to spare $400 for energy audit to determine where the energy loss is occurring in their home. Some homes may achieve up to 50% increase in efficiency so they will save on energy bills as well apart from the financial incentives provided by government programs.

Energy Saving Programs in Utah

With the help of American Recovery and Reinvestment act around 2900 homes were weatherized. This will help home owners in saving energy bills to the tune of $400.
Utah division of housing and community development has selected Intermountain Weatherization Training Center in Clearfield to receive $325,000 for expand and develop Utah’s Energy Saving Programs.

Gainesville’s Positive Experience in Energy Efficiency

With solar power installation benefits and bio mass power plants coming up Gainesville is leading area in US which is expected to get 22% of its energy from renewable resources. This area has lowest per kilowatt hour usage per household in Florida.

Energy Saving Tips

1. Open doors and windows in early morning and evening to enable cross ventilation so that you do not require air-conditioning during that period.
2. You may use window fan to pull cool air in and push hot air out.
3. Schedule Management – Delay your heat producing tasks like dishwashing, laundry and baking in home for evening so that there is less energy consumption during the hours when you use air-conditioners.
4. Seal the windows and doors properly so that you can keep cool air in and hot air out.
5. Use CFL for lighting purposes which use less electricity to produce more light and heat emission is also less which is reverse in the case of standard lighting systems which generate more heat and consume more power.
6. Buy Right Air conditioner – You must buy the right air-conditioner for your home which is appropriate for the size of your room. Extra tonnage air-conditioner as compared to size of your room will consume more energy unnecessarily and may not be effective in removing uncomfortable humidity.
7. The gaps inside and around the air-conditioners should be filled properly.
8. Clean the filters of your AC regularly and ensure front and back side of air-conditioners is clear of any obstruction.
9. Close the pool filter pump when nobody is using the swimming pool.

Thus utilize government incentives to upgrade your homes for energy efficiency and follow energy saving tips to help save the carbon emissions and reduce your energy bills.

Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) launched a pilot program for energy saving in Chicago. The smart meters launched recently will send the reading information to ComEd, which will be made available to consumers through online tracking. The consumers will be able to get their usage every hour and subsequently they can take up measures to reduce their consumption. The site will also guide them for several measures to reduce their energy usage. The smart meters have been installed in 9 suburbs of Chicago and in the Humboldt Park area of the city.

There was an energy crisis in California 10 years ago but then there was a major initiative from government and several agencies to hand out florescent bulbs, educating how to use energy efficiently and imparting knowledge about renewable energy sources like wind & solar and also the electric cars.

Rebates of up to $4 Watt are given to people who install a 5KW solar power system. Installing solar systems does not give you quick return of investment; rather it is slow ROI but very efficient in terms of the eco-friendliness and energy saving issues.

Economic incentives are given to industries which adopt energy saving measures and consequently reduce green house gas emissions. The U.S. department of Energy has allocated $76 million to make buildings, both residential as well as commercial, energy efficient. This fund will also be utilized to train building owners, inspectors and operators to establish and maintain energy saving systems.

Stimulus money of $68.4 million will be given to corporations and academic institutions for 45 technology projects in the field of energy saving. Research and development to search for cleaner, cheaper and better energy sources should continue unabated.

Some important tips of the week for energy saving are:

1. Use Energy efficient washers and dryers.
2. Use public transport
3. Caulk the windows and add insulation.
4. Unplug computer when not in use.
5. Using Cars with higher mileage
6. Install programmable thermostats
7. Educate students for energy saving as they will be future leaders and decision makers.

Thus government is taking all the initiatives in research & development and improving the energy situation of the country. Now it all lies now in our hands to employ the energy saving tips and measures to conserve our natural resources and also save our environment by reducing green house gas emissions.

Disseminating of eco-friendly ideas is very important in recent times. In this article we bring you several energy saving tips to implement in home and as well as in businesses.

Some of the energy saving tips for home and offices are:

• One of the best tips to stay cool and save electricity is to increase your thermostat to 78.
• Depend more on fans.
• Turn off unnecessary lights.
• Clean the air filters often and change them once a month.
• Use CFL of 11 W – 14 W which give light equivalent to a conventional 60W bulb.
• Find if there are any air leaks from plumbing, doors or attic. Just feel through your hand at all the possible places and if at any place you feel warm air it means the hot air is coming in from that point.

The Texas Energy Department is working hard to guide people in energy saving and helping them to pay their bills easily. They have a beat the heat program for residents where they run a:

• Moratorium in summer on disconnects
• Have easy payment plans for needy consumers
• Higher income cap for eligibility of assistance

Businesses are contributing their maximum in energy saving, taking the case of Franz Bakery in Portland, this company achieved more than 15% energy saving and thus received Energy Champion Award. The methodologies used by them are:

• Keeping the water clean
• Conserving and using clean energy sources
• Reducing / Recycling packaging
• Proper Fuel Efficiency management at all distribution channels
• Installation of Oxidizer to keep the air clean

Some other Energy saving initiatives you can employ are:

Energy Clubs should be made in schools where students would discuss energy saving techniques and guide their family at home and also their peers at their future work place.

Students will be Energy Ambassadors to help inculcate energy saving culture in people.

Other energy saving initiatives could be going to work by bike or using public transport, Using furniture made of bamboo rather than wood, trying vegetarian diet, buying fewer clothes.

By living a simple and thrift life you can save money as well as energy. Do not waste anything as production of everything requires energy. Thus your energy saving initiatives will go a long way to provide better environment for your children.

Energy Saving is the top most priority while developing new products. There are several companies and individual working to develop energy saving products. In this article we will see the latest energy saving products in the market and one of the organization working towards preventing the climate change by monitoring latest energy saving products.

Energy Saving Products

Smart Surge Protectors – Most of the electronic devices use power when idle. Almost 15% of household electricity is wasted by devices in stand by mode. A Smart Surge Protector will monitor the flow of electricity and if there will be a sudden increase or decrease in the flow of electricity, meaning a stand by mode it will switch off the power to the outlet. Thus it is a smart energy saving product.

Energy Saving Light Bulbs – These bulbs produces the same amount of light but use 80% less electricity than standard bulbs. Energy Saving Bulbs use one fifth or a quarter of electricity, for example you will get same amount of light in 11-14 W energy saving bulb than a 60 W standard bulb.

LED Lamp from GE – With a rated life time of 15000 hours (at output of 70% lumen) it has 12% higher candela than 20W GU 10 lamps with same 36 degree beam angle and warm white light. They will considerably lower the consumption of household electricity and thereby saving on carbon emissions.

LED Monitors – LED monitors save up to 45% power as compared to LCD monitors, that is about 37.2 kWh and 23.6 kg of carbon dioxide annually. This is equivalent to planting 1.9 trees a year or enough oxygen for a family of four people for two years.

Cloth Washers & Dryers – These equipments are coming with shorter cycles which use less energy.

Motion Sensors in TV– There are motion sensors coming in Televisions which shut off power of TV in an empty room.

Modular Approach – There is an increasing use of modular approach in making of electronic as well as other products which can be easily disassembled and recycled. These are energy saving because otherwise lot of energy would have been required to reproduce them.

Organization working for Energy Saving

Energy Saving Trust

An organization called Energy Saving trust is set up to prevent the climate change by helping people to lower the carbon dioxide emissions in home and transport. They certify the products which are very efficient in reducing carbon dioxide emissions. They have strict criteria for certifying products for energy efficiency.

Thus several energy saving products are available in the market which will definitely lower the carbon dioxide emission in the atmosphere and organizations like Energy Saving Trust are providing certifications to such products based on their energy efficiency.