energy saving Archives

Crowdsourcing Climate Change

Posted on April 5, 2016 at 1:53 pm.

Imagine if you could come up with an innovative idea to help stop climate change – and get paid $10,000 for it? That’s what the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is proposing through contests asking people to build action plans focused on climate change topics, from changing public behavior to decarbonizing the energy supply.

Harnessing Collective Intelligence

The project is spearheaded by MIT’s Center for Collective Intelligence and its Climate CoLab. Its founder, Sloan Professor Thomas Malone, explains the mission: “To test how crowds and experts can work together to solve large, complex problems, like climate change.” The Climate CoLab community totals 50,000 people, including leading climate change experts. The Climate CoLab has collaborated with the United Nations, Nike and other large organizations leading the charge against climate change.

The Ultimate Prize: Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Winners will receive various prizes, including the opportunity to present their idea at MIT and be part of plans that could impact the U.S. and other countries worldwide. This year’s submissions are due Monday, May 23, and winners will be chosen for each of the 10 climate change challenges. There will also be a phase two of the contest where the winning proposals can be put together in various ways to form strategies for both individual nations and the world. All of the solutions will be evaluated by estimating how much greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced. (Learn more about how window film helps to lower greenhouse gas emissions here.)

Cast Your Votes

Part of this crowdsourcing approach includes welcoming comments from everyone around the world. Finalists were recently announced in three contests, on which you can now vote. Check out the ideas and cast your vote here. And learn more about all of the contests here. You’ll be joining 400,000 others who have logged onto the Climate CoLab website. The project has gained momentum since its inception and has gained recognition from such media outlets as PBS, NPR, Popular Science, The Weather Channel, and Discovery.

Energy Calculators and Other Nifty Tools

Posted on November 17, 2015 at 2:17 pm.

Written by David Smith

Because it’s in everyone’s best interests to lower our energy consumption, there’s a surprising amount of tools out there to promote energy conservation. Here’s a look at a few resources offered right online.

ENERGY STAR Calculators

The U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency set strict guidelines for products to prevent greenhouse gas emissions. Products that meet these high standards are awarded with an ENERGY STAR designation. They’ve also made it possible to see how much energy and money these ENERGY STAR products can save with interactive calculators.

The calculators vary from product to product but they’re all designed to provide a ballpark of savings. For example, the calculator for an ENERGY STAR central air conditioner has you choose your city and fill in such information as your electric rate, cost of the unit, and its Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) rating – or you can just use their average default values. Then it calculates how much you can save with an ENERGY STAR central air conditioner and gives you a summary of benefits, which in this case is the following:

ENERGY STAR Home Advisor

With the ENERGY STAR Home Advisor program, you create an online profile of your home’s energy use. It then analyzes your data and gives you customized recommendations on how you can improve your energy efficiency. Then, you can create a to-do list and keep track of your progress, making it easier to manage the process and ultimately, save more energy. Pretty cool, huh? Check it out.

Energy Incentives by State

DSIRE – a nationally-funded initiative at the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center at N.C. State University – makes it easy to see what incentives are available in your particular state with an interactive map of the U.S. You click on your state, choose a program type and a technology, then a list of incentives appears. It also lists the latest policies that promote energy efficiency and renewable energy. Updated in real-time through database content, it’s the most comprehensive resource of this type of information in the nation. Take a look at the incentives offered in your state. It’s encouraging to see that so many rewards and policies are in place to help shape a more efficient future.

10 Ways to Save Energy in Five Minutes or Less

Posted on November 13, 2015 at 2:19 pm.

Written by David Smith

Now that it’s getting colder and the holiday madness is approaching, here are some super simple ways to save energy that you can fit into your busy schedule. They’re quick, painless, and require no knowledge of anything remotely mechanical. If you’re handy with a caulk gun, go ahead and seal up those nooks and crannies around the windows. If you know your way around air filters and heating units, knock yourself out. But for the rest of us clueless souls, read on…

#1: Turn down your heat thermostat before you leave for work.

Then, turn it back up when you return home. If you have a programmable thermostat, it does this for you, requiring even less effort! You should lower it by 10 to 15 degrees.

#2: Turn down your hot water thermostat.

The optimal temperature here is in the range of 110 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

#3: Shut doors and close vents in unused rooms.

#4: Use your curtains on windows facing south and west.

Open them up on sunny days and close at night for extra insulation.

#5: Wash your clothes in cold water.

The bulk of the energy used by a washing machine is to heat the water. Clothes don’t require warm or hot water to be cleaned – in fact, cold water actually preserves color. To learn more, read this article by Real Simple: Does Washing Clothes in Cold Water Really Get Them Clean?

#6: Decorate your Christmas tree with LED lights.

(This technically still takes only five minutes if you order them online and have them shipped to your door.)

#7: Increase your inside temperature with your ceiling fan.

Reverse the motor on your ceiling fan so it turns clockwise. (This is as simple as flipping a switch or it may even be a button on a remote control). Keep the fan on a low setting and it will push down the warmer air near the ceiling.

#8: Check your TV’s brightness setting.

Try a lower setting and use less energy. Considering the average American watches five hours of TV per day, this could actually add up to quite a bit of energy savings.

#9: Unplug electronics you don’t use on a daily basis.

Learn more about slaying vampire power here.

#10: Make an appointment to get an energy audit.

Most local power companies offer these for free and you’ll have completed the very first step to bigger and better energy savings.

So there you have it. Even taking just five minutes out of your day can make a difference. If you need more encouragement, here’s some of the latest news on global warming and climate change.

Save Energy and Money with Google’s Latest Brainchild

Posted on October 2, 2015 at 2:01 pm.

Written by David Smith

With the promise of “mapping the planet’s solar potential, one roof at a time,” Google has launched a free online service, Project Sunroof, that helps homeowners harness the energy- and money-saving power of solar energy. A home’s capability for generating solar power is calculated through a combination of programs, including Google Maps, which can track shadows from nearby structures and trees; 3D roof modeling software; and apps that track various weather patterns. It then uses information from local solar providers to estimate solar costs and savings over the long term. Here’s a quick video on how it works:

Enlightening Savings

Project Sunroof’s creator, Carl Elkin, came up with the idea while volunteering for Solarize Massachusetts and talking to hundreds of people. He learned that while most people were aware of solar energy’s eco-friendly qualities, many were unaware of the actual long-term savings on energy costs. So he developed Project Sunroof to not only recommend the right solar panel installation per home, but to also calculate savings. The calculation considers whether the solar panels are leased or bought, and which incentives and rebates can be applied. Because the cost and installation of solar panels has decreased sharply in the past few years, the payback time for the investment can be as little as three years according to AmericaSupportsSolar.org.

Hooking You Up

The final step in Project Sunroof’s service is to refer you to solar providers in your area. This may be the true genius behind Project Sunroof, because the solar providers pay Google for these referrals, which keeps Google’s shareholders happy. Currently, Project Sunroof only serves three U.S. cities: San Francisco, Fresno, and Boston, but they hope to expand their reach over time. The time is definitely right, as more and more people are turning to solar power for a reliable and affordable source of clean energy. In 2015’s first quarter, the number of U.S. solar system installations broke all records according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), bringing the total number of households using solar power to around 700,000.