In an endeavor to further emphasize the significance of energy saving amongst individuals, the Energy Saving Week is being held from October 25th to the 31st of October, year 2010. The grand event organized every year by Energy Saving Trust, proposes to instill a consciousness of power-saving ideas into consumers in the household as well as commercial sectors, so as to cut down electricity bills. A number of experts from various parts of the world are expected to gather and counsel on different issues of energy efficiency. In the course of events, Tuesday has been set aside for discussions on the advantages of adopting insulation methods while the agenda for Friday will be dealing in transportation matters.

As per the opinion of the Energy Saving Trust doctor, Sarah Compo energy saving tactics need to practiced by every individual in whichever small way possible and that improvement in climatic condition can happen only when this done.

There are a variety of measures that one can adopt in cutting down energy consumption. One such measure worth a mention is that of insulating the home. In case you are thinking of going in for home renovation or buying a new home then insulating it is a sure way to see you getting reduced electricity bills. Loft insulation and cavity wall insulation help in prevention of heat to escape from the building. Those looking to see drastic reduction in electricity bills could always look up to using eco-friendly sources of cheap energy such as solar power and low-wattage lighting. Going green and making efforts in that direction should start from the home front itself. Small actions such as switching off of lights, electrical appliances when not in use and also lowering the temperature of the thermostat to a degree lesser in every household can make a marked difference in energy saving.

If every homeowner makes a conscious effort to implement energy saving by replacing incandescent light bulbs with CFL or LED light bulbs will show a major impact in the reduction of energy consumption. With energy laws that have recently been approved by the Congress, the United States will witness a gradual phasing out of incandescent light bulbs and replacing these with compact fluorescent light bulbs. The CFL light bulbs are known for their reduced greenhouse emissions and longevity. With a variety of sizes and designs in CFL light bulbs and fixtures readily available these days, switching over from incandescent is no longer discouraging for homeowners.

To make energy efficiency campaign a success, ensure that as a conscientious citizen, you too contribute towards it by adopting measures such as home insulation, low-wattage light bulbs, and using energy saving electrical appliances etc.

If you are thinking of remodeling your home, you can receive financing for including features that result in energy saving at the household level. The U.S Department of Energy (DOE) is offering various financial incentives for buying new homes as well as for renovating existing ones. There are also certain incentives available for home owners who are interested in selling their property under which they can put their homes in the market and utilize its energy efficiency feature as a selling point.

The DOE is offering various grants under its State Energy Authorities through which home owners can opt for financing to bring in home improvements from the perspective of reducing their household energy. The state authorities are also offering government insured loan programs to help home owners renovate and rebuild their residence into a greener and better energy saving home.

At present, there are two types of financing options available for home owners interested in introducing energy saving features in their homes. These schemes are known as Energy Efficient Mortgages (EEM’s) and the first category includes those who are interested in buying energy saving homes while the latter includes existing home owners who want to make their current residence more energy efficient.

One of the most important aspects of these financing programs is that they require home owners to undertake an energy rating system for their household. Known as the Home Energy Rating System (HERS), this feature is very helpful in understanding the amount of energy saving that is taking place in one’s home. A Home Energy Rating System is usually carried out by a certified energy saving rater who has been accredited by the DOE.

This rating plays a very important role in helping home owners in getting qualified for an Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM). Various energy saving factors such as the household heating and cooling systems as well as insulation levels are inspected and then a house is given a suitable rating. Apart from the rating the energy saving inspector also provides home owners with the suggested home improvements as well as the annual utility costs of the house.

On the basis of this report home owners can qualify for suitable financing under the Energy Efficiency Mortgage scheme. The amount of the financing that will be granted to a home owner will also be based upon the various energy saving options that he or she would be keen on introducing on the household level. This can include fixing up solar panels for heating as well lighting the home, insulating the interiors, filling in air leakages as well as installing gadgets like refrigerators, kitchen appliances and washing machines amongst many others which have higher energy saving rating.

LED, that is energy saving light emitting diode light bulbs are becoming all the rage. Due to their ability to last longer than traditional light tubes and provide higher effectiveness than the incandescent florescent color light bulbs they are the new age stylish widely accepted light tubers.

However, recently one of the manufacturers of light emitting diode corm was sued for false claims on the light bulbs. One of the oldest manufacturers Lights of America Inc was sued by the US federal trade commission for false performance claims of their energy saving light bulbs. They filed a law suit against the company. In the law suit it mentioned that Lights of America had gone overboard in stating the benefits of their Light Emitting Diode tubers.

The LED bulbs were sold in famous retail outlets like Walmart, Costco and Home Depot. However, Lights of America Inc stated that they did not sell it to Home Depot. The suits states that many tubers burn less brightly as compared to the traditional bulbs. The light company claimed that their energy saving LED blubs lasted for 30,000 hours but a test verified that 80% of the Light emitting diodes productivity fell immediately after using it for 1000 hours.

The lights manufacturer had also claimed that the LED’s would replace the traditional 40 watt bulb. But a traditional 40 watt tubes emitted 405 lumens of light and the LED in question emitted only 74 lumens of light. In another instance a LED bulb produced by Lights of America Inc was marketed as producing 90 lumens of light whereas it actually produced only 43 lumens of light.

Lights of America Inc’s marketing and sales president Brian Halliwell said in a report that the claims on the energy saving LED bulbs were made before the federal agencies issued customary standards on how to calculate performance numbers in year 2009. This was complied on the basis of data provided by the components suppliers. Brian Halliwell also mentioned his disappointment on the law suit filings saying that “His Company felt like a poster child to warn others of products making false claims they can’t backup”.

On the other hand a federal trade commission spokesperson Peter Kaplan denied to remark if the light company had modified its claims on the packaging after the suit was filed whereas Halliwell said that they indeed changed their energy saving LED’s packaging claims according to the new standards.

The US Department of Energy has announced that $4.4 million in extra funding has been kept aside for home weatherization and energy saving efforts in Massachusetts.

The department said that two local weatherization and energy saving agencies, Boston’s Action For Boston community Development Inc and Gloucester’s Action Inc., have been selected for $3 million in funds.

Massachusetts is stepping up its efforts as part of the national Recovery and Re-investment Act’s program for weatherization and energy saving and is resuming the rising speed of weatherization recorded in the state. Weatherization of 4200 homes have been completed as part of the Recovery Act as of June 30 with over 500 homes during the month of June alone.

The efforts of Massachusetts are leading to the program’s success throughout the nation. According to Joe Biden, the Vice President, talking during a weatherization program, weatherization has been achieved in over 200,000 small income homes. After being propped up the previous year, the energy saving Weatherization program is at present helping to weatherize homes at an optimal rate of around 25,000 homes each month. States reported the weatherization of 31,800 homes in June with funding from Recovery Act. The target is to weatherize over 80,000 homes this summer throughout the country.

According to Joe Biden, the Recovery Act has resulted in hundreds of workers in the nation engaged in making energy efficient improvements in homes that will help save them thousands of dollars in energy bills. He said the government has speeded up the program of Weatherization, enabling 200,000 homes to be already energy efficient and racing to the first target of weatherization of 600,000 home nationwide.

The awards of funding was part of the $90 million awards announced at the national level to aid and accelerate weatherization programs already existing across the country and to achieve more and more energy saving for local communities.

Apart from $3 million in award from Recovery Act, Youth Build USA based in Somerville was chosen to get about $1.4 million for leading a workforce in a coordinated system nationally and development of volunteers for weatherization and energy savings for small income homes.

The Weatherization Assistance Program of the US department of Energy helps small income families achieve money saving by bettering the energy savings of homes belonging to them. A study by National Laboratory at Oak Ridge says that around $400 in cost of energy are saved by families with weatherization in one year after the installation of home-retrofits.

Three Republican House members have introduced the Better Use of Light Bulbs Act. This Act seeks to repeal a part of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 that imposes minimum energy saving standards for light bulbs that would lead to phasing out of the traditional, ordinary incandescent bulb.

The motivation behind the Act is that the bulk of the energy efficient bulbs or CFL’s are being imported from China and causes a massive loss of jobs in American factories producing the traditional bulb. The new standard for energy saving bulbs won’t take effect until 2012 but the Republican law makers argue that they are having this negative impact. Lighting companies like GE have closed down factories in the US making traditional bulbs and sent jobs overseas – to China where the energy saving C.F.L’s are produced economically.

CFL’s (Compact Fluorescents) made in China will tend to be the cheapest bulbs in store shelves after Incandescents are phased out. The unintended repercussion of the 2007 Act is the lay off of American workers right in the middle of a recession. Joe Barton and fellow Republicans give the example of the closing of an Incandescent factory in Winchester VA, by G.E. leading to lay off of 200 workers as the impact of switching over to energy saving CFL’s.

But advocates of energy saving bulbs argue that such factory closures had already started before George W Bush signed on the 2007 Act. Before the passage of the law, General Electric announced a cutting of jobs in its lighting division in response to shift in consumer preferences from incandescents to CFL’s. G.E. officials say the new policies are motivated by shift in consumer patterns.

The market for incandescents had declined 50 percent during the previous five years according to National Electrical Manufacturing Association, a trade group. But the number making a shift to energy saving CFL’s is still a minority.

Despite long run cost, incandescents still remain the popular choice of American consumers. Despite growing sales of energy saving CFL’s, three out of four American lighting sockets contain incandescents. The 2007 Act sought to popularize energy saving bulbs so as to reduce the need for power plants and their resultant pollution.

But the critics question why CFL’s cannot be manufactured in the US. Experts say the cost of making these bulbs in US is prohibitive considering the labor cost involved. Converting an incandescent bulb factory into a CFL factory is also prohibitive in terms of cost. Thus energy saving bulbs still have to be imported from foreign countries like China.

Energy saving is our utmost priority now a days. There are many energy saving initiative working in the country. One of the oldest one is the Clean Air Act which is part of the US Environmental Protection Energy Agency. The Clean Air Act reached its 40th year this year. The act has helped several cities in America curtail its pollution levels, cut greenhouse gases, create cleaner power plants, reduced acid deposits in lakes and streams, reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by introducing energy efficient engines etc. Celebrating their 40th anniversary, people involved in the program pledged to continue the superior work for next 40 years with continuous innovation in their processes.

Another agency which is committed to energy saving is US Green Building Council. They construct energy saving green buildings that are price efficient as well. The organization has different partner firms that include non profit organizations, environmentalists, corporations, common citizens etc. According to their sources, residential buildings in the United States emit about 39% of carbon dioxide and uses up to 40% of energy. If the buildings are made energy efficient, up to 85% of the energy needs can be fulfilled by them. If these buildings are constructed under strict guidelines it can help create about 2.5 million jobs in different fields.

The US Green Building Council provides LEED certification in designing and construction of energy saving green buildings. There are at least 35,000 construction projects that are being constructed under this method today. Buildings constructed under this scheme helps citizens and corporate organizations save money, build healthy environment and reduce releasing of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

In a recent report, nearly 350 companies and organizations urged the Congress to pass the legislation to restore Property Assessed Clean Energy Program back to life. The program was in progress in about 22 states in the country. However, the program had been put to halt by Federal Housing Finance Agency. The FHFA has stopped the program and suspended many people involved in them.

The Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program allows properties owners to fund different energy equipments and systems for their building and they could repay back the money by the next 20 years through annual evaluation on their property tax bill. Here again, PACE program has the capacity to generate several jobs in different sector hence boosting the economic development of the country.

The per capita energy consumption in the US touched a record low last year in 41 years. Americans have purchased more energy saving appliances and light bulbs, decreased the running of their A.C.’s and even started line drying their clothes. But why is it that the US still uses more amount of energy than any other country in the world? According to a survey by Consumer Reports on 1500 home owners in the US about their experience with energy saving in the last 12 months – energy saving is a very difficult proposition.

While home owners resume their various energy saving activities, there is a need for the government to take more action. Energy saving potential has been wasted because of confusing and complicated rebate programs along with outdated and poor standards of Energy Star and testing. Consumer Reports proposed five major steps necessary to make the US a leader world wide in energy saving and efficiency:

• Toughen energy Standards: It is good that many products have turned to be energy saving. But when excessive number of products get the Energy Star qualification, it becomes even more hard for consumers to realize which the exceptionally good products are. Hence, the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) must focus on tightening energy Starr qualifications. When it is found that over 35% of products in a particular category qualify the environment standard, it is time to toughen the qualifying standards.
• Update testing procedures: Outdated procedures of testing result in over looking of new features. Consumer reports identified that appliances performed differently under Dept. Of Energy test conditions compared to homes. To be meaningful, testing procedures for energy saving must be constantly updated and toughened to keep track of changes in products.
• Make incentives easy and simple: In the past year, improvements or purchases were made by 91% of home owners which qualified for tax credit or tax rebate but barely a quarter of home owners said they made use of incentives. This was mainly because either they believed they did not qualify or they were confused over rules or they had the attitude that the rebate was not worth the trouble of seeking it.
• Follow foreign policy: The European Union has imposed a progressive measure to combat wastage of standby power- the energy consumed by a utility when it is not being used – by inflicting on appliances a one-watt maximum usage that will be changed in 2013 to 0.5 watts. In Australia they have begun field testing appliances to ensure their standards keep up with energy use in the real world.
• Put pressure on Manufacturers: Stiffer fines and punitive action must be imposed on manufacturers who do not confirm to energy saving rules. When any violation is punished, maximum publicity must be provided to let consumers know about the commitment to energy saving.

These are some of the measures by which the energy saving efforts can be improvised to make the nation more energy efficient.

If you are thinking of making your home more energy efficient there is good news for you as there are a large number of state incentive programs that offer grants to home owners who are working on projects that are resulting in energy saving at the domestic level. While there are various grants as well as tax incentives available across the country, most of the schemes are being funded at the state level and are distinctly different from each other as different local government bodies are involved in each region.

In the state of Chicago home owners can avail an energy saving grant of up to $2000 through which they can install more energy efficient heating and cooling systems as well as construct rain and water storage units. The scheme can also be availed by home owners who are interested in setting up solar heating and lighting panels in and around their residence. The incentives are being funded through the Chicago Bungalow Association who is primarily granting $1000 incentives for home owners who are interested in insulating their interiors with certified windows and doors.

A much larger energy saving grant is being provided in the South of California by the State Gas Company which is offering a cash incentive of $300,000 for home owners who want to make their building more energy efficient through the installation of better insulation and heating systems. The Department of Agriculture in this state is also offering a special incentive to the home owners located in the country side through under the Farm Bill which is targeted at making country homes more energy efficient.

In states such as Michigan the Energy Star Home Grant Program has become very successful, through which prospective home owners and builders can avail financial incentives for installing insulated roofing as well as temperature control windows and doors. This energy saving grant can also be utilized by home owners while shopping for domestic appliances which have been starred under the program. Some of the appliances that can be picked up under the grant include refrigerators, coolers, and air conditioners, heating systems, kitchen gadgets as well as vacuum cleaners and room heaters.

The Residential Energy Efficiency Grant Program that has been launched in the state of Florida is also offering attractive incentives to home owners who can carry out renovations in their house and receive a cash incentive for installing solar panels on the roof for heating water as well as running domestic appliances. Under the scheme, the state department has deployed various energy advisors which can help home owners in adopting various affordable as well as energy saving options which can qualify for the grant.

Now is the time to get Eco-friendly and help save our environment by reducing our energy consumption. Advantages of taking energy saving initiatives are greater comfort in life, reduced energy bills and lesser impact on environment.

Energy Efficiency Initiatives may include use of:

• Highly Efficient Water Heater
• Better Heating System
• Shower Heads with Low Flow
• Faucet Aerators with Low Flow
• Highly Efficient boilers and furnaces
• Fireplaces of natural gas with electronic ignition

Consumers may receive rebate of up to $500 when they replace or upgrade their furnace or boilers. Also if you get an energy audit done at your home you will get $25 worth of weatherization material free of cost.

CentrePoint Energy’s Green Street Program

CentrePoint Energy during the Minnesota State Fair invites visitors to Green Street. In the Green Street visitors can ask questions as to how energy audit will improve energy efficiency of their home. They may also know how to get Federal tax incentives and qualification requirements for rebates on appliances.

CenterPoint Energy allows it consumers up to 3 free shower head and 3 free faucet aerators even if they have already participated in any of its programs.

Home Energy Squad is a novel initiative of Xcel Energy and CentrePoint Energy in which the technicians conduct a quick examination of house for energy saving. After consulting with the customer they install the devices or appliances at the very moment in a single visit. The items installed during such energy audit may include:

• CFL Light bulbs
• Weather Stripping
• Programmable Thermostats

Energy Saving Programs in Stockton Homes

Getting energy efficient replacement in a house may involve getting several contractors at the same time proving to be very costly but Stockton officials have started two projects to tackle this problem. They have received $3 million from California Energy Commission for research in this area.

The two projects are:

1. Setting up of laboratories in 4 vacant homes of Stockton to get first hand research done in similar conditions.
2. Retrofitting bulk number of homes together to judge whether the cost comes out to be less on the basis of economies of scale.

The researchers are looking to find the most efficient combination of improvements which may include improving the lighting system by using efficient light bulbs or installing new windows.

The U.S Department of Energy has recently taken some innovative measures for decreasing carbon footprint by providing consumers with energy saving tips and incentives. Under this mandate the DOE has launched a series of energy saving programs which have received a highly favorable response from consumers.

Based on the belief that energy saving techniques can only be effective if green initiatives are taken at the industry as well as the household level the DOE has been offering a range of incentives to decrease household energy consumption.

One of the major schemes which have received a very good response from consumers is the Star Energy Saving Program. The DOE is helping consumers in buying more energy efficient gadgets by offering a considerable discount on household products that are energy efficient but are usually much more expensive than their standard counterparts. Home owners can pick up any household device ranging from refrigerators, to room heaters as well as air coolers. The gadgets which can be bought at a discount are starred and are available at most appliance outlets across the country.

Another innovative scheme that has been launched by the Department of Energy is the “How Green is Your Household?” program. This is a project that encourages home owners to take a review of the various power sources in their house through an audit. While the DOE is currently offering a cash incentive for carrying out these audits, what makes this scheme more attractive is the fact that the home owners can avail a discount of up to 35% on any energy efficient replacements that are carried out by them after the audit.

The Community Solar project has also been launched by the DOE to urge neighborhoods to adopt a greener lifestyle which will lead to a considerable amount of energy saving by the community. Residents can avail heavy discounts on replacing normal lights with solar as well as CFL lights. The DOE is also carrying out various workshops for the youth to create more awareness of the impact of household energy on the planet. The workshops have also become a very popular platform to exchange and carry out simple energy saving initiates such as community rain water harvesting and using recycled water for the irrigation of parks and gardens in the neighborhoods.

As part of the DOE’s initiative the Community Energy Saving Project has been recently launched by the DOE in seven states across the country. This project is working with various schools, households and offices in the country to bring out awareness in global warming and the role of consumers in greening the planet. According to one of the directors of this project consumers are slowly adopting a greener lifestyle as they get a deeper understanding of the importance as well as the positive outcomes of energy saving for their families as well as the earth.