One of the first home improvements Rachel and I made when we purchased our condo here in Cambridge this spring was a solar hot water installation on our rooftop.

The system we had put in uses vacuum tubes, a newer, more efficient type of solar collector than the black box flat panels of old. As a writer covering energy and the environment in Cambridge and China, I’d spent the past three years tracing this new and exotic technology back to the factories and cities in China where they are surprisingly commonplace.

I first read about the tubes three years ago in a story in the Boston Globe. A family in Newbury, MA was using a massive installation to provide hot water and heat for their giant barn of a house. … [view entry]

Area 4 Light Bulb Exchange

On October 24th, volunteers worked with the Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET) and the Cambridge Energy Alliance to weatherize Cambridge buildings and provide efficient light bulbs and resources to Area 4 residents as part of the International Day of Climate Action.  This local grassroots effort was part of 4,000 world-wide groups that demonstrated their commitment to fighting climate change by rallying in big cities and engaging in creative community actions. The International Day of Climate Action is called on world leaders to commit to bringing carbon emissions down from its current 387ppm to a safe level of 350 or less.

Women's Center Barnraising

Over seventy volunteers came together to weatherize both the Women’s… [view entry]

If you’ve tried all of the of the recent tips on how to keep warm while saving energy, but are still shivering in your boots (you may or may not be wearing boots), then here are some more resources to check out:

We here at the Cambridge Energy Alliance have noticed that we have “busy season” when it comes to interest in Home Energy Audits.  As the weather starts to get colder, people tend to start thinking more about ways they can keep their home warm and save money on their heating bills.

The follow graph shows the relative interest in the search term “Home Energy Audit” from people in the Boston Metro Area over the last year.

As you can see, interest peaked this year in January-February 2009 right around the coldest part of Winter.  Unfortunately with the increased interest, comes delays in scheduling energy audits because too many people want audits all at the same time.  Fortunately, there is still time this season to get an energy audit before the rush… [view entry]

Although you could be forgiven for wondering if we even had a summer, it’s clear winter’s just around the corner. Here are some ideas to help you prepare:

Eat spicy food
Drink warm beverages
Use body heat instead of central heating: cuddle
Wear socks/slippers: warm tootsies = warm feelings

For other, more pragmatic tips, see the CEA website.

Mortgage Broker and Climate Change Guru?

Following on from an article published on Energy 2.0 a couple of weeks ago on mandatory Energy Audits in Austin, TX, we have noticed a growing movement amongst the real estate industry targeting the ‘Cap and Trade’ bill and any local ordinances that might obligate homeowners into performing an energy audit on their home or making energy improvements in their home before they sell.

Here’s one from Brian Brady ‘America’s No. 1 mortgage broker’:  “Sadly, the theory of carbon dioxide emissions’ effect on climate change is accepted as fact by our politicians without rigorous examination of its merits. It’s easy to turn a blind eye on faulty legislation when it attacks “big business”.  Cap and Trade, however, is much… [view entry]

Austin, Texas–which we have always considered to be a little slice of Massachusetts right in the middle of the Lone Star state–has become the first town to pass and ratify a law that makes an energy audit mandatory when you sell a home within the city limits.

Almost 400 audits have been performed under the new ordinance which was passed in November 2008 and went into effect June 1 this year. After a furious lobbying effort by the Austin Board of Realtors, homeowners are not required to make all improvements, but the results will likely be used as a bargaining chip in most purchases.

One homeowner found that over 80% of his air-conditioning was leaking through his uninsulated attic and decided to make the repair to improve the prospects… [view entry]

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]

Dow Corning, the largest maker of residential insulation in the US, can expect their economic recovery to start ahead of time due to the tax rebates and incentives for housing weatherization included within the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed into law by President Obama last month.

“The weatherization program is the sort of activity that is likely to spur demand,” said Owens Corning spokesman Scott Deitz. “No doubt, people will install insulation because of this program. We just don’t know how many.”

This could also boost employment at Dow Cornings’ largest US insulation manufacturing plant in Newark, which has lost over 700 jobs… [view entry]

Last week, we showed you how a local Cambridge organization (HEET–Home Energy Efficiency Team) ‘weatherizes’ a house for fellow Cambridge residents.  Weatherizing a house involves making some basic non-structural changes to a house to reduce the energy needed for heating and cooling and save money on utilities. The homeowner supplies all the materials and HEET provides the knowledge and manpower needed to finish all energy efficiency improvements in a single day.

It’s a great community activity and a fantastic way to meet your fellow Cambridge residents while learning from skilled tradesmen how you can make your own home more energy efficient. And there is always a party to celebrate the completion of another successful Weatherization Barnraising.

The next HEET Weatherization Barnraising is scheduled for Sunday, March 1 between 12:30—5… [view entry]