Under mounting pressure from 10-10-10 groups, 350.org’s Bill McKibben, and various other environmental activists, the Obama Administration announced today that it will re-install solar panels on the White House roof. After weeks of rallying support for the Solar Road Trip including over 40,000 signatures by citizens who urged the President to retrofit the White House, Bill McKibben, 350.org, Unity College students, and the 40,000+ who were following the event were ultimately disappointed; previous coverage. The White House refused to take the Carter-era solar panel which was removed when Regan took office, and has since been living in Maine. however, the administration promised that they would “continue deliberative processes” surrounding solar on their roof. Since that day, not much has been mentioned on this topic by 350.org/Bill McKibben,… [view entry]

My team leader, Torrey Wolff, was very patient with us.

On Saturday we went to our second weatherization barnraising, organized by HEET and the Cambridge Energy Alliance. Last time I learned to install programmable thermostats and Jason caulked windows at two apartment buildings. This time I installed Q-lon weatherstripping around doors and Jason insulated skylights at a daycare center. The end result? The blower door test showed a 50% reduction in leaks—the most HEET has ever measured.
Q-lon is foam weatherstripping in the shape of a V attached to a wooden or metal slat. The V expands to fill any open space between the doorjamb and the door—a lot like the V-channel weatherstripping that we use for our windows. When I found out… [view entry]

Although double-hung windows are quite common in the Boston area, it seems many people do not take full advantage of their features. With proper use, windows can increase comfort, and all but eliminate the need for air conditioning; and on the odd days where lemonade and mind-over-matter won’t cut it, visit a local library or catch a movie.

How can you take full advantage of windows? If you have two, placing a fan in one to blow warm air out during the evening will pull cool air in the other, especially with a closed door. If you have only one window, a window fan with two fans blowing in opposite directions will also pull air through a space. These are rather obvious practices, but there is a no-cost technique particular to… [view entry]

The housing market, like the U.S. economy, is a mess. GDP growth dropped from 3.7% to 2.4% in the second quarter. In the housing market shrinking incomes and greater lender restrictions mean fewer qualified buyers are looking, which is driving down prices.

Here is the bottom line: if you want to sell your home without losing your shirt, you need an edge.

To find an edge, just look to the part of the economy that’s still growing – the green sector. In Massachusetts, major utility companies have stepped up energy efficiency investments this year with the goal of tripling enrollment in their programs. A recent report funded in part by the state department states that renewable energy use is at “a clear tipping point” for growth. Never before has… [view entry]

Alas, attention to the administration’s Home Star/Cash for Caulkers program has waxed and waned since it first appeared last fall, and this component of a stimulus package meant to address the nation’s energy issues, and aid the (then) ailing construction industry has languished in the shadows, until it finally passed the House in May. It may now be approaching approval in the Senate, edged on by the FHFA’s unfortunate decision to with withdraw support for PACE. treehugger contrasts Home Star with the perpetually paralyzed American Power Act, and The Construction Blog at Software Advice provides a thorough overview of the former bill’s proposed incentives.

UPDATE: FHFA’s decision is especially dubious since evidence exists that Energy Efficiency Helps Homeowners Avoid Foreclosure.

It’s a huge success. It hasn’t gone anywhere. Actually, it’s a little of both.

Fifty states and six territories have launched “Cash for Appliances” programs since late last year. Each one had the same amount of money – about a dollar per resident – but the results have been wildly different. Some states ran through their entire rebate budgets in hours; others can’t seem to give away their money. What’s been going on?

Cash for Appliances, modeled on (or at least nicknamed after) last year’s “Cash for Clunkers” program, was funded as part of the $787 billion stimulus bill. Unlike “Cash for Clunkers”, the appliance rebate program wasn’t designed and administered by the federal government. Instead, the government directed $300 million to the 50 states (plus DC and several American territories), at… [view entry]

Audit team members prepare for conducting home energy audits.

Cambridge residents looking to save on utility bills for electricity and heating can request a free audit this summer from the Youth Energy Audit Partners, a collaborative project of HEET (Home Energy Efficiency Team) and the Cambridge Community Center. Three audit teams will install energy and water-saving devices, calculate the dollar savings from these devices, and advise homeowners and tenants on the costs and benefits of additional energy efficiency work and how to obtain rebates and contractors. On average, households can realize a 10%-15% savings on electric and heating bills, or an estimated $200 a year by implementing simple measures.

Each team is led by a trained supervisor, and two high school students employed by the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program. The project… [view entry]

The Gulf Oil Spill has been the event at the top of everyone’s mind for many weeks now, almost to the point of our adapting to the initially shocking concept. The images that have surfaced have been heartrending enough, though, that the shock factor hasn’t been allowed to completely fade. Predictions of the results to come in the next weeks and months are concerning to say the least, and the estimate of how much has been leaking each day continues to rise. BP comes up with a new method to “fix” the problem every few weeks, each seeming promising with a side-serving of bad news.  Effects on humans are starting to surface, some gruesome news and some simply tragic projections. With all of… [view entry]

When we tested all our electronics with the Kill-a-Watt, we found out that the ten-year-old desktop was using a lot of energy, even when it wasn’t powered on. Since we were mostly just using the desktop for storing our music and pictures—we’re primarily laptop users now—we thought it would be a good idea to replace the poor old thing with network-attached storage (NAS for short).

A NAS is a mini-server built specifically for storage. If you work in a corporate environment, there are probably more than a few hanging around on your network. Only in the past five years or so have they started to be sold into the home market. It’s basically a tiny computer built around a bay for hard drives. When I started looking, my basic… [view entry]

Update: The boil water order has been lifted as of Tuesday, May 4th but the question of peoples’ attitude toward tap water remains

For those of you who haven’t heard, people in the Boston area have been told to boil their tap water for a minute before drinking or cooking with it, because of a burst pipe leading from the reservoir. It’s certainly a bizarre situation for an urban area like this to be without potable water for days, but what’s even more bizarre is people’s reaction to it.

From the Boston Globe:

“The state ordered 2.5 million gallons of drinkable water and asked the federal government for help in securing additional supplies if necessary.”

“People flocked to convenience stores and groceries in search of bottled water, amid… [view entry]