LifeHacker’s Energy Saving Tips

Check out this interesting  post on LifeHacker about ways to significantly reduce your energy bills.

Check this post from Jason Chen   He managed to cut 1/3 from his energy bill.   You might find some good tips there …

Remember; unless your energy is from a renewable source, reducing your energy use also lowers your carbon footprint and can save you some money.

Via:  LifeHacker  LINK

White Roofs Help Keep Philadelphia Cool and Green

Philadelphia is out to become America's greenest city.  RetroFIT PHILLY is part of the plan to lead the nation's cities in "greenness".

" ... RetroFIT PHILLY "Coolest Block" contest ... with product and technology contributions from The Dow Chemical Company ... invites row home owners to enter to win energy-saving cool roof, air sealing and insulation upgrades for their entire block."

"... Greenworks Philadelphia  goal is to retrofit 15 percent of the city's row home roofs, and the 'Coolest Block' contest is jumpstarting this effort," said Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter...."

" ... White cool roofs, ... bounce off solar energy to prevent it from being absorbed into the roof and house in the summer. ... they reduce the amount of energy needed to cool the living space and bring the cost of cooling a home down by as much as 20 percent."


" ... cool roofs are a proven way to combat urban heat island effect. The roof's exterior is 50 – 80 degrees cooler on hot summer days, helping to lower high temperatures and improve air quality. ..."


Via: The Dow Chemical Company  LINK

PECO Smart Ideas (SM)

 PECO - the power company is SE Pennsylvania has lots of ideas on ways to save you energy and money.

" ... put our energy into helping you save energy ... introducing PECO Smart IdeasSM, a program that shows you new ways to use less energy ... PECO Smart Home E-Audit shows you how you can use less energy and save more money with PECO Smart Ideas rebates, cash incentives and energy saving tips."

To enter PECO's appliance makeover and get up to $5,000 in Energy Star appliances >>> LINK
 

Via: PECO LINK

Thermostats Go Hi Tech

Todays thermostats are miles ahead of those of even 10 years ago.  It seems the average thermostat can program multiple "Setbacks" in a day and have separate programs for the week days and weekends ... or even a unique program for each day.  But they are not always easy to set up and get the most value from them.  Future thermostats may be controlled by PC (via the net) to make them both easier to use and able to connect to real time data from a furnace ...

Check out this interesting video about the Future of the Thermostat



Via:  ZDNet  LINK

Smart Roof Panels Turn White When It is Hot and Black When Cold

The next advance in roofing materials may be smart roofing tiles that can change color based on outdoor temperature to maximize or minimize solar gain.

"MIT researchers have developed roof tiles that change color based on the temperature, turning white when it’s hot to deflect heat and turning black when it’s cold to absorb it ... the tiles can reflect about 80 percent of sunlight when they’re white and 30 percent of sunlight when they’re black. ... white state ... could save as much as 20 percent of present cooling costs ..."

" ... system ... made of a ... polymer in a water solution ... encapsulated between flexible plastic layers, with a dark layer at the back. When the temperature is above a certain level ... the polymer  ... produce a white surface and scatter light.  ... Below that temperature, the polymer stays dissolved, revealing the tile’s black backing and absorbing the sun’s heat ..."



Via: SmartPlanet LINK

Low Tech White Roofs Save Energy

Sometimes the simple low tech approach can work very well .... simply painting a flat roof white can save energy.  This low tech solution " ... can act much like earth's snow covered poles; reflecting the sun’s light and heat as opposed to absorbing it ... keeps buildings cooler, reducing the problem of urban heat islands and saving energy (and money). ... we could counteract global warming simply by increasing the Earth’s total reflective surface. ..."



Via: WorldChanging LINK