Archive for the ‘Energy Efficiency’ Category

Energy companies have come to realize that regular, every day people don’t sit around thinking about their energy usage on a day to day basis. You may think about keeping appliances turned off when not in use, but you don’t keep track of exactly how much energy you are using at any given time. You don’t want to deal with smart meters, websites, or programmable thermostats to manage your energy. So, companies like Direct Energy have been working on electricity use monitors that are essentially iPhones for your home. You can use them to check email, weather, and traffic reports, download movies and recipes, play video games, and keep track of your energy usage. This monitor will be able to automatically shut off appliances during peak hours where electricity is more expensive and then turn them back on later in the day when prices fall again, which will ultimately make peak energy pricing lower. There is less demand at any one time in the day, so the price of energy will even out. Manufacturers are hoping this will lead to a new pricing scheme for electricity that will work like cell phone plans. You will be able to pick a plan with a set amount on energy per month for a set fee and then use your monitor to make sure you are staying on track with that plan.

President Obama has been creating stimulus package after stimulus package, and while they have helped at the time, there has been no long time effect. His latest stimulus package, however, seems like it will have more long-term impact. Twenty-three billion dollars will be spent over two years, with $6 billion allotted to people who did at least two significant weatherization projects. There will be a list of ten projects such as air sealing, insulation, new light bulbs, and new appliances. Households that perform at least two of these will receive up to $2,000 and households that perform at least four will receive $3,500. Another $12 billion will be set aside for households who undertake a weatherization project that reduces consumption by at least 20 percent. A 20% reduction will get $4000, and each additional 5% will get an additional $1500. Two billion dollars will be set aside for audits to make sure that these changes actually took place. The remaining $3 billion will go toward incentives for companies and contractors. The government will not pay for more than half of any project, but a lot of these changes do pay for themselves eventually and getting this stimulus money will cut that time in half.

In today’s day and age saving money is sometimes more important than making money.  With that in mind, we’d like to give a shout-out to Honeywell who is helping consumers and businesses across the globe save money by saving energy.  With programmable thermostats, diagnostic circuitry, and basic upgrades Honeywell is helping 150 million homeowners and 10 million businesses cut energy bills.  Their diagnostic circuitry monitors AC units so that when one malfunctions, it can be diagnosed and repaired immediately.  Programmable thermostats kick on at a specified time so that homes are comfortable when people are there, and not being heated or cooled when the house is typically empty.  Some of the upgrades include installing compact fluorescent lights instead of incandescent lights and installing variable-speed fan controls on heaters and attach them to programmable thermostats.  Small changes like these can cut 20% off electric bills.  Novar (which is owned by Honeywell) installs smart-meters that can check if electronics are left on after hours, turn on a few lights when employees arrive before business hours, and alternate which lights are turned on to increase bulb life.  These smart-meters have saved companies 15% on their electric bills, paying for themselves in just a couple years!  Honeywell understands that the cost of retrofitting your home or business to be more energy efficient, but the upgrades do pay for themselves with the decreased energy bills. This is definitely an investment to look into, I know I am!