Energy Efficiency Explained

The Alliance to Save Energy has published a free, fun guide to slaying your energy vampires.

Unlike those blood-sucking ghouls from Transylvania, these vampires are found in every home.  An energy vampire is any electronic appliance that secretly uses energy–even when it’s not in use.  Examples are cell phone chargers, answering machines and video game systems.

This 2-page, colorful report starts with instructions for finding all your home’s energy vampires.  Then it gives a detailed check list that includes all types of appliances along with the estimated dollar amount each one costs when plugged in, but turned “off.”

Once you’ve gone through the list, you can calculate your home’s “Energy Vampire Drain,” in dollars.  And you can begin to “slay” your energy vampires by remembering to unplug appliances when you’re not using them.  You can make things easier by using power strips to completely disconnect a whole set of “vampires” from their power sources.

Visit this link to download the Energy Vampire Hunt.

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Click here for a FREE six-part mini-course on Energy Efficient Light Bulbs

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Energy efficient light bulbs, whether CFLs or LEDs, are a good idea any time of year.  But with long winter nights looming, and electricity rates on the rise, it’s time to stop procrastinating.

Before you go to the hardware store, though, take a few minutes to survey the incandescent light bulbs you want to replace.  How many bulbs of each wattage will you need? How many on 3-way switches? How many flame-shaped candelabra bulbs? How many decorative globes? How many track lights, spot lights, flood lights? And what kind of base for each (standard size, candelabra, bi-pin)?

Any light fixtures on a dimmer switch? Make sure you buy bulbs clearly labeled “dimmable.”  Yes, they are out there, but they cost more than other energy efficient light bulbs, and you might not be satisfied  with the results.  So buy one and test it out before investing in more.

Any lamps on electronic timers or photosensors? Be sure to read the package carefully.  CFLs and LEDs are  different animals than incandescent bulbs and most don’t always work well with these kinds of controls.

Also remember that energy efficient light bulbs don’t come in the same wattages as the incandescent bulbs you’re replacing.  So, if you want to put an energy saving bulb into a fixture that uses a 60-watt incandescent, you’ll need about a 13-watt to 19-watt CFL or LED.  The bulb package will give you an “equivalent” incandescent wattage.  Or you can compare the lumens–the light output–to make sure they are about the same.

Yes, you’ll save money on your electric bill by switching to energy efficient light bulbs.  But take the time to do it right.

For more help with converting your incandescent bulbs to energy efficient light bulbs, click here for my FREE mini-course, Six Startling Facts You Need to Know Before Changing Another Light Bulb.

Photo Source: lgweb, Stock.xchg

Book Review: Reducing Your Utility Bills: A Practical and Realistic Approach
by “Energy Saver Dave”

This book started as an e-course, but has been updated with
the latest tips and methods, developed and tested by “Energy
Saver Dave” himself, through years of research, trial and error.

This truly is “the most comprehensive e-book about saving money
on your utility bills” that you can buy.

The story began when Dave’s utility bills got so bad, he had to
be put on budget payments and his wife got a second job just to
pay them.  That’s when he got mad enough to take radical action.

As he laid awake at night worrying, he didn’t get any bolts
from out of the blue.  So, he decided to survey every inch of his
house.  He was surprised to discover holes, cracks and gaps he
never knew existed.  That’s when he realized he was throwing
money through all those cracks–too much money!

Tackling the gaps one by one

Dave worked his way through the entire house in a few months,
tackling each crack and gap one by one.  The results when he was finished?  A
savings of nearly 60 percent on his electric bill!

What surprised Dave is how simple each fix or improvement turned
out to be.  He realized that anybody could do what he had done
and cut their utility bills in half.

Bite-sized steps

Dave guides you, step-by-step through 15 lessons covering the
entire house.  The course is divided into three sections:

• Saving money on your gas bill
• Saving money on electricity
• Saving money on your water bill

Each lesson gives you the fixes to make and the theory behind
them. At the end of the lesson, you get specific instructions
for how to do the repairs, as well as the cost, estimated effort,
and approximate savings. The steps are simple, and often
illustrated with photos Dave took himself–for a visual learner
like me, these are invaluable.

And all the fixes and repairs Dave recommends are completely
legal, without bypassing building codes and regulations.

A note about the format: I used nearly an entire pack of paper to
print out the book, which may not the best way to conserve
resources.  You could print just a section at a time, as needed.
Plus, it’s formatted with a large font and double-spaced to make
it easy to read from the screen or on a portable device.

Click here to order your copy of Reducing Your Utility Bills
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Go here for a FREE six-part mini-course on energy efficient light bulbs

A lot of people I talk to have never seen an LED “replacement” bulb.  They have trouble imagining how a tiny semiconductor could replace a standard lightbulb.

This video shows one of the more recent designs.  Keep in mind that the “bulb” is actually a collection of several LEDs, along with the electronics to operate them, covered by a plastic bulb.

Interested in finding out more about LED replacement bulbs, and how they compare to CFLs?  Sign up for my FREE six-part mini-course, Six Startling Facts You Need to Know Before Changing Another Light Bulb.  Just click here to sign up, and your first free lesson will arrive at your inbox in minutes!

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s nomination for V.P. isn’t the only big news from the Last Frontier State. Juneau residents, who suffered a temporary 450 percent electric rate increase in May due to an avalanche that destroyed a hydro-electric transmission line, have shown us the future.

It was a “teachable moment” when Alaska Electric Light & Power announced that, until the line was repaired, the utility would use backup diesel generators to provide electricity, passing the high cost of fuel on to consumers.

Overnight, the price of electricity jumped from 11 cents per kilowatt-hour–about the national average–to around 53 cents/kWh. This would have increased residents’ utility bills from an average of about $90 to over $400 per month.

Sticker Shock
The shock drove electricity customers to conserve about 30 percent of the energy they normally would have used. Doing so would cause their monthly payments to drop down closer to $300, still far higher than Juneau residents normally experience.

And how did they do it?

Painfully, one kilowatt at a time, by consciously conserving energy at every turn. Lights in homes and businesses were kept dim or dark, electric appliances were left unplugged, thermostats were turned way down. Some public buildings were closed. Elevators and escalators were turned off. Even airport runway lights were darkened, except for the moments before takeoff and landing.

Over those six weeks, until the power line was restored on June 1, the citizens of Juneau “did without.”

Conservation isn’t Easy
But for all their conscious effort and not a little physical suffering, they only managed to save 30 percent of the energy they normally use to run the city and run their lives. And let’s face it: living in a dark, 50 degree home isn’t anybody’s idea of comfortable.

Looking at Juneau’s energy data soon after the avalanche, the city dropped from using almost 1,000 megawatt-hours per day to a low of 550 MWh per day. Once the cheap hydro-electric power rates were restored on June 1, residents gradually increased their energy use. By mid-July, their daily electric use was still below 2007’s, but within 100 MWh.

So what’s the answer–I mean, the long-term, realistic answer to the inevitable energy rate hikes we will all face in the near future?

That’s right: Energy Efficiency.

One of the first measures Juneau residents put into place during the crisis was installing energy efficient light bulbs–mostly CFLs. One reporter noted that these bulbs flew off the shelves within a few days of the avalanche.

By investing in CFLs, consumers stumbled upon the principle of relying on energy efficiency to reduce the energy we use over the long haul, versus energy conservation measures for short-term emergencies.

Have you tried a few CFLs, but want to know more before investing in a house full of them? I’m putting the finishing touches on my electronic book, The Energy Efficient Light Bulb Buyer’s Guide, which should be available for purchase within the next couple of weeks. Meanwhile, check out my free 6-week course on Energy Efficient Light Bulbs.

Talk to you soon…

Holly Martin, author The Energy Efficient Light Bulb Buyer’s Guide

Here in the Northern Hemisphere, many of us have begun to experience the annual warm-up for summer. Many have already had to turn on their air conditioning. And for most of us, that means our electric bills will skyrocket over the next few months.

This video gives some practical energy-saving tips for keeping your home cool while keeping a lid on utility costs. Enjoy!

Today is Earth Day 2008. All week long, hundreds of thousands will participate in cleanup days, festivals, workshops, tree-plantings, concerts–all good ways to promote a cleaner, healthier, more natural environment.

But what happens tomorrow–and the next day–and the next? We go back to our PCs, HDTVs, DVDs, cell phones, air conditioners, electric furnaces, gas ovens, dishwashers, clothes dryers. We go back to our power-hungry gadgets for living everyday life.

Most of us are not ready to give up the convenience, comfort and efficiency of modern technology, in order to drastically reduce pollution from the power plants that make our electricity.

But what if we didn’t have to give up anything–and could still create a significant positive impact on the environment? What if, using our highly advanced technologies, we could save the planet, and enjoy our comforts as well?

There is a way…and it’s called ENERGY EFFICIENCY.

Bookmark this blog and check back for more Energy Efficiency Explained.

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Submit your biggest home energy efficiency question and recieve a
FREE Six-Part Mini-Course:

Six Startling Facts You Need to Know Before Changing Another Light Bulb!

Click on the link above to get started on your free mini-course.

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Welcome to the Energy Efficiency Explained blog.

No matter your take on global warming, energy efficiency is the “new fuel” of the 21st century. Anyone who pays heating and electric bills will soon be knocking on the energy efficiency door–if they’re not doing so already.

I’m developing a downloadable book on how to save energy and money at home, and I need your help. I want to make sure I don’t leave out a single detail that might help readers slash their energy bills.

Please click here to submit your “Most Burning Question” about energy efficiency. When you do, I’ll send you my mini-course, “Six Startling Facts You Need to Know Before Changing Another Light Bulb.”

Thanks in advance!

Holly Martin
Energy Efficiency Explained