Utility Service Santee Cooper owned by the state has begun one pilot program aimed at saving energy which has helped the School district of Horry County spend $596,000, the previous year to set up sensors for detecting occupancy in around 3000 classrooms in the county, which is famous for its tourist hot spot, Myrtle Beach.

It will take only two years for getting monetary savings stemming from unspent kilowatt hours because of this investment in energy saving.

According to the supervisor for Energy management for the school district, Paul Hucks, “everybody needs to be aware of his carbon footprint.” During his growing up years, electricity was abundant and much less costly. Now the scenario has changed. For instance you must surely turn off the light when you are leaving a room.

Due to the installation of sensor project of the school district and the Santee Cooper system that saves kilowatt hours to the tune of 2 million, which is enough to electrify 150 homes, a rebate was offered by the utility amounting to $93,400 to the school district.

Reduce-the-use campaign for energy saving was tested in the Horry school district by the Utility for its electric commercial customers. Last week, the project for rebate was launched by Santee Cooper for every one of its 30,000 clients in Horry, Berkeley and Georgetown counties hoping that energy efficient materials and devices will be installed for energy saving and reduce the need for power.

According to Marc Tye, vice president of Santee Cooper’s renewable energy and conservation department, the Utility wants to target users of high energy who have the most potential for saving. They are trying to inspire their business clients to take up more efficient energy and energy saving technologies as they can get rebates, reduce energy consumption in the long term and substantial monetary savings.

The Reduce the Use campaign amounting to $113 million set in motion in 2009 by Santee Cooper helps to save money for businesses by fixing motion sensors, new lighting, refrigeration, air-conditioning and heating systems.

For example, by replacing fluorescent bulbs by energy saving lighting or providing sensors for occupancy and controls for day lighting, companies can get 25 cents from saved Watt or from $30 up to $50 for each control or sensor.

For upgrading air conditioning and heating, businesses can get rebates around $75 for a ton, which depends on selected equipment and the efficiency of the equipment. They can earn up to $100- $200 for a system for installation of quality, insulation or duct sealing and tune-ups for heat pumps.

One of the renowned home builders in America, KB Home, conducted energy saving survey. The result of the survey depicted that installing energy efficient equipment at home help save substantial amount of energy and money. The survey was conducted on a pilot program implemented in 50 homes that are customers of KB Home in Riverside California. KB Homes has a total of 60,000 homes across the country, which are Energy Star qualified.

The houses that were surveyed had installed energy saving tools for least one year. Houses were four bedroom large houses. The survey revealed that these 50 homes spend about $85 per month on utility bills that is $1020 on an annual basis. Conversely, regular houses spend approximately $195 per month, which amounts to $2030 yearly on gas and utility bills. That shows energy efficient home saves up to $110 monthly and $1320 annually on energy bills.

On these results, the president and chief executive officer of KB Homes said, “The results of this research allows us to quantify the actual financial benefits of owning a new, energy efficient KB Home in a way that is very meaningful to our customers.” He also acknowledged the fact that “Today’s homebuyers care about the environment and they care about saving money. With this kind of real world data, we can better inform our buyers about the potential utility cost saving they can achieve.”

It is imperative to recognize individual efforts to motivate people to use clean energy. A report stated, two entities in Maine were acknowledged for their energy saving efforts. They received stimulating rewards for it. In South Berwick Maine, Efficiency Maine, which is a statewide program that markets use of clean energy, awarded South Berwick Water District and Fogarty’s Restaurant for their hard work in using clean energy.

Water District received $41,000 to upgrade a 6-year-old water treatment plant situated at Willow drive and Fogarty’s restaurant, which is run by a family, received $24,433 for self-initiative of saving and burning the waste vegetable oil, use it in place of electricity, and generate hot water through “Vegawatt” system.

Fogarty’s restaurant expects to save up to $8000 yearly on water and electricity bills, and Water district estimates that they would be able to save up to $4000 annually. Efficiency Maine, who awarded the money for this energy saving initiative, received grants under American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

As temperatures plummet this winter, it is anticipated that energy bills would be at its peak. With the aid of (EPA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is trying their best to educate every American household on how to reduce energy bills by resorting to efficient and practical energy saving techniques. The EPA has come with five tips on energy saving, which anyone can easily adhere to.

As per the EPA, the five tips are that the American households have been advised to assess and measure their energy saving methods at energystar.gov., ensure that they seal all air leaks in their home, make sure their heating equipment are inspected by a licensed contractor, control home temperature using a programmable thermostat, and to utilize energy star qualified products, which maximizes energy saving.

It is believed that these simple five tips on energy saving, if followed diligently, shall save up to $14 billion in energy costs annually. Besides saving money, these energy saving tips will also contribute towards fighting climate change by curtailing more than 160 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions, besides saving the environment as well. The energy saving programs by the U.S. is directed towards creating a perfect energy economy.

Of late, National Home Energy Solutions have highlighted that Heat Shield reflective insulation are perfect for energy saving. For instance, the conventional insulation serves only the purpose of subduing heat transfer, whereas the Home Heat Shield reflective insulation is believed to augment energy saving by blocking around 90 percent of heat transfer.

The Heat Shield is considered perfect for homes, especially during winter, as it keeps the home warm. And during summer, the Heat Shield will protect the home from heat by reflecting it back into the environment. The National Home Energy Solutions have guaranteed a reduction of thirty percent in energy bills with the aid of their highly efficient Heat Shield product.

The Editor of Homebuilding & Renovating magazine, Jason Orme, conveys that a strict adherence to the DIY (Do It Yourself) policy will definitely help homeowners save quite a lot of money. Homeowners can now save more money than before by refraining from consulting professional contractors or energy consultants for tips on efficient energy saving. The underlying motto spread across the U.S. has now become ‘save energy, save money, and save the environment.’