There were a number of issues with the “Cash for Clunkers” program, including excessive paperwork and bureaucracy, poor planning, etc. Even though the program was touted as having environmental benefits, and not merely another handout to big business, there were questions as to the significance of these impacts before the program ended. Soon there will be another rebate program, which has thus far received little attention, and has apparently been dubbed by some “Dollars for Dishwashers” to disparage it. The outcome of this enery star appliance rebate “program” will be more interesting to watch since each state is responsible for developing a plan to disperse its awarded funds. Massachusetts was awarded $6 million by the DoE, and rebates should become available in 4 to 6 weeks. Keep your eyes… [view entry]

A lot of attention has been paid to the carbon footprint of automobiles, airplanes, and buildings, but one of the activities that takes up most of our time has gotten little attention: computers.  In a recent article in the Economist, they covered a report published by the Climate Group on the climate impacts of computers. Surprisingly, computers have a cumulative impact similar to that of air travel, producing approximately 830 million tonnes of carbon dioxide pollution or about 2% of total over carbon emissions. The Climate Group estimates that by 2020, approximately 6% of CO2 emissions will come from computers and 1 out of 3 global citizens are expected to have a computer.

On the bright side, computers can offer a number carbon cutting tools like smart meters.  Savings… [view entry]

Having a tough time getting you or your loved ones to not stand in front of the fridge with the door open? While behavioral changes are almost always the cheapest and most efficient means of reducing consumption, there are some interesting technical solutions available in this area. You could try installing a curtain (opting for the thinner Mylar/polyester over PVC), or purchasing a chest refrigerator. This little known refrigerator format has the advantage of keeping the cool air inside (it sinks and stays trapped) while also providing a secondary work surface in a crowded kitchen.

New fridge not in the budget? Well, you might be interested in this oldie but goodie which has recently sprung up again: “convert” a chest freezer into a chest refrigerator for… [view entry]

Title: Electronics Recycling Event
Location: ~Alewife Brook Parkway & Woods Ave., Somerville
Link out: Click here
Description: Recently upgraded your computer or television to a newer, more energy efficient model? Do you have other old or broken electronics collecting dust in the basement? Residents from Somerville, Cambridge, Arlington & Belmont can recycle these items for free.
Start Time: 9:00
Date: 2009-05-30
End Time: 13:00

Between the extravagant claims for various forms of renewable energy, and figuring out ways to pay for energy-saving improvements and technologies in your home, we sometimes forget that major energy–and cost– savings can be realized simply by ensuring appliances and utilities in your home are operating or set at optimal temperatures.

A quick ‘temperature tour’ of your home to check the heating and cooling settings on your appliances. You can take a major step towards saving energy in approximately 20 minutes. Here’s where you’ll save the most:

Set your hot water heater at 120 degrees.
The refrigerator should be set at between 38 and 35 degrees, and freezer set to 0 degrees.
Program your thermostat two degrees cooler than your normal winter setting and two degrees warmer than your normal summer setting.

… [view entry]

The New York Times, whose affluent subscriber base is shrinking by the day, has realized that the affluence of their remaining readers is also taking a hit.

That must explain this article of surprisingly useful tips for making your IT and communications devices work a little longer and your budget stretch a little further. Most important, they keep our landfills a little less clogged.

Amazon has just released the new version of their book reading device, the Kindle 2. The new hard drive (2GB) holds 1500 books and features a new “Read to Me” feature which allows the…. user to hit a button and let the Kindle read for you. In other words it’s a book that comes with it’s own ‘Books on Tape’ mode. All improvements over the first Kindle, which was essentially a high resolution black & white screen with a hard drive attached.

Many media pundits are using this launch to dust the cobwebs off their Books Will Soon Be Extinct storyline. Many of these people have also speculated that if Amazon can’t make the leap to digitally delivered products, their future looks awfully shaky. An ironic twist given  many of… [view entry]

You know when they are publishing energy saving tips for the financial bigwigs who read Forbes, things are getting serious. we encourage you to read the whole list, but number 3 struck us as particularly noteworthy:

3. Switch off phantom power. Plug any electronic equipment and appliances with clocks or timers into power strips you can conveniently turn off. As much as 75 percent of electricity used by home electronics is consumed when devices are (supposedly) turned off. Look for the Energy Star logo and choose the most efficient model you can when buying new appliances.

With energy savings of up to 80% over Halogen, retrofitting your MR16 track lighting with LEDs would seem to be a no-brainer. The problem is, well, it’s complicated. The prices on this type of lighting are falling fast, and the bottom line is; making a big investment now might not make sense.

According to Wikipedia, there are few standards for MR16 and MR11 compatible LED lamps, and with a large variety of designs varying significantly in beam control, light quality, efficiency and luminous power, getting the right light for your model of track lighting may be difficult. Or impossible. Most LEDs run on DC current; halogens most often run on 12 volt AC current. So your bulb will need to have an integrated rectifier.

If this is… [view entry]

Or rather, don’t stand by.

By now you’ve read a bunch of articles about how the ‘standby’ or ‘instant on’ mode wastes energy and costs money. But if you’re like us, you may not have turned this information into a set of buying decisions and habits to save energy. This phantom power consumption chart is perhaps more than you needed to know, but it gets at the underlying reality that up to 10% of the US electrical bill may be wasted on phantom powering our gadget cornucopia. 

As the Lawrence Berkely National Laboratory puts it;

Limited research suggests that an informed and aggressive approach can reduce standby use by about 30%. Frankly, there are more productive ways to save energy with an investment of an hour but if high standby energy use stands

… [view entry]