Halloween Tips to Keep Energy Spooks Away

This Halloween, keep ghosts and goblins at bay — while saving energy and money — with these home energy efficiency tricks

In searching through the dusty archives of the Department of Energy, I found this creepy Halloween infographic. (:D) According to the Department: No need to fill your house with garlic to keep vampires at bay. Fend off these ancient creatures while saving money on lighting costs with energy-efficient light bulbs. By Amber Archangel. The following ghoulish information is from Energy.Gov:

Energy Efficiency Tricks to Stop Your Energy Bill from Haunting You This Halloween
What are the key facts?

• The typical American family spends at least $2,000 a year on their home energy bills.
• Families can save up to 20-30 percent on their energy bills by making energy efficiency upgrades.

It has long been said that on All Hallows’ Eve the boundary between the living world and dead thins, allowing spirits to run free.

Ghosts and goblins roam the earth, witches take to the sky on their broomsticks and vampires rise from the dead. Whether you believe in paranormal activity or not, this Halloween don’t let your energy bill give you a scare.

Defend yourself from unwanted spirits and high energy bills by sealing air leaks around windows, doors and air ducts.

Before air sealing, conduct a visual inspection to detect leaks or hire a professional for a more thorough measurement of your home’s airflow. Check out more tips to stop cold air – and Halloween spooks — from invading your home.

No need to fill your house with garlic to keep vampires at bay.

Fend off these ancient creatures while saving money on lighting costs with energy-efficient light bulbs. With traditional incandescent bulbs, about 90 percent of energy used is given off as heat. By replacing 15 inefficient incandescent bulbs with energy-saving lights, you can save about $50 per year — all while repelling vampires. Learn more about lighting choices that will save you money.

There is nothing like the crackle of a fire on a cold fall day.

But what can provide extra warmth during cooler months can also leave you vulnerable to higher energy bills and Halloween witches flying in your house. Keep warm air in your house — and witches out — with proper chimney maintenance. When not in use, be sure to close your chimney flue or use an inflatable stopper to prevent air leaks and temporarily seal the chimney.

Banish goblins and other creatures lurking in the shadows with outdoor solar lighting.

Easy to install, virtually maintenance free and with no added costs to your electric bill, outdoor solar lighting is popularly used in pathway lighting, wall-mounted lamps, freestanding lamp posts and security lights.

According to folklore, water has magical qualities, providing protection from the undead-ghosts can’t cross running water and the slightest drop causes witches to melt.

If this is a belief you ascribe to, you can stop ghosts and witches in their tracks and achieve water savings of 25-60 percent by installing low-flow fixtures. Learn how to determine if you should replace your fixtures, and be sure your faucets are equipped with an aerator to help restrict the flow of water.

Watch out for phantom loads haunting your energy bill this year.

Also called energy vampires, phantom loads refer to the energy that appliances draw when they are in standby mode, and they cost the average U.S. household $100 per year. Make phantom loads disappear by unplugging electronics and battery chargers when not in use, and be sure to explore other home electronic energy-saving tips.
This Halloween, protect yourself from evil spirits waiting to torment you — and rising energy bills — with these energy efficiency tips. After all, saving energy and money is a treat you can enjoy all year long.
Check out EnergySaver.gov for more tips on ways to save energy and money.

Infographic by : Sarah Gerrity Content Courtesy - 1sun4all

The Clean Energy Revolution Is Happening-Now!

For decades, America has chased after the promise of clean, domestic energy, reports Energy.gov. But even as costs fell and technology matured, that clean energy future seemed to linger just beyond our reach. Critics often said this new world would “always be five years away.” Today, that is changing. By Amber Archangel

Energy.gov note: This article originally appeared on WhiteHouse.gov
#Cleantechnow: Learn More

• Watch a video featuring Secretary Moniz that highlights four key energy technologies that have already made America’s clean energy future a reality.
• Read the full “Revolution Now” report.
• Use the tag #CleanTechNow to share photos on Twitter, Instagram or via email newmedia@hq.doe.gov how clean energy technology already plays a role in your daily life. We’ll feature our favorite submissions on Energy.gov next week.

In recent years, costs for numerous critical clean energy technologies-wind power, solar panels, super energy-efficient LED lights and electric vehicles-have fallen significantly.

The accompanying surge in deployment has been truly spectacular. Such a surge is tantamount to topping the barricades — a level of cost reduction and market penetration that will enable a full scale clean energy revolution in the relatively near term. A new Department of Energy report, “Revolution Now: the Future Arrives for Four Clean Energy Technologies” documents this transformation and what it means for America’s energy economy. The clean technology revolution is upon us.

While these technologies still represent a small percentage of their respective markets, that share is expanding at a rapid pace and influencing markets.

For instance:

• In 2012, wind was America’s largest source of new electrical capacity, accounting for 43 percent of all new installations. Altogether the United States has deployed about 60 gigawatts of wind power — enough to power 15 million homes.
• Since 2008, the price of solar panels has fallen by 75 percent, and solar installations have multiplied tenfold. Many major homebuilders are incorporating rooftop panels as a standard feature on new homes.
• In that same five years, the cost of super-efficient LED lights has fallen more than 85 percent and sales have skyrocketed. In 2009, there were fewer than 400,000 LED lights installed in the U.S., today, the number has grown 50-fold to almost 20 million.
• During the first six months of 2013, America bought twice as many plug-in electric vehicles(EVs) as in the first half of 2012, and six times as many as in the first half of 2011. In fact, the market for plug-in electric vehicles has grown much faster than the early market for hybrids. Today, EVs ranging from the Chevy Volt to the Tesla Model S also boast some of the highest consumer satisfaction ratings in America. And prices are falling and export markets are opening up. Since 2008, the cost of electric vehicle batteries — which really drive the economics of EVs — has dropped by 50 percent.

As these new markets continue to expand, so will the challenges and opportunities associated with transforming America’ energy system. Already increased energy efficiency and distributed solar energy are posing challenges to traditional utility business models. America will have to invest in building a smarter, more robust and resilient electrical grid with an extensive network of EV chargers and new approaches to consumer bills. These challenges are in fact emblematic of success for America’s clean energy markets.

Since 2008, the price of solar panels has fallen by 75 percent, and solar installations have multiplied tenfold.

But why are these clean energy markets growing so fast? Policy plays an important role — and not just for renewables. For instance, from 1980 to 2002, the federal government’s production incentives for unconventional natural gas laid a foundation for that sector’s dramatic rise. Today, time-limited tax credits for wind, solar and electric vehicles, in concert with technology and manufacturing advances, are stimulating a similar market expansion.

Of course, these are also great products that bring real benefits to consumers.

For example, no one likes the hassle of repeatedly buying and replacing incandescent light bulbs. A mother who installs a quality LED fixture when her child is born will not need to replace it until that child goes to college — or even graduates. By that time, each LED light she installs will have saved her about $140 in electricity costs. By 2030, LED lights will save Americans $30 billion a year on energy alone.

Forty years ago, an oil embargo sparked panic, rationing and fuel lines across America. But today, Americans can declare their independence from oil, skip the gas lines and recharge at home for the equivalent of about $1.22 a gallon – as opposed to $3.56 for gasoline. We call this low-cost electric fuel an eGallon, and — depending on where you live — eGallon savings can be quite compelling. For instance, in Washington State a gallon of gasoline is almost $4, but the equivalent eGallon costs only 85 cents because of clean, low-cost electricity.

These market revolutions are enabled by robust private-public partnerships for research, development, demonstration and deployment — including some sizable investments from the Energy Department. And this Administration’s Climate Action Plan, which calls for commonsense steps to reduce carbon pollution and address the effects of climate change, will further accelerate the development and diffusion of these, and other, transformative energy technologies.

Today, we can finally say with confidence that America is witnessing the shift to a cleaner, more domestic and more secure energy future. It is not a faraway goal.

Photo credit - Raymond David . Content Courtesy - 1sun4all

Energy-Efficient Windows Inspired By Nature : New Bio-Inspired Approach To Thermal Cooling Could Be Applied To Solar Panels

A. Schematic of the composite window structure. B. The artificial vascular network layer.”

A new type of energy-efficient window — inspired by and recreating the vascular networks found within living organisms — has been created by researchers at the University of Toronto. The new windows work effectively to limit heat loss during the winter and provide a cooling effect during the summer. The new design has resulted in 7–9 degrees of cooling in laboratory experiments. The researchers also think that their new technique/design could be applied to solar panels, working to increase their functional efficiency thanks to the cooling effect.

The new process is, in the words of the researchers themselves, a “bio-inspired approach to thermal control for cooling (or heating) building window surfaces,” one that works through the action of optically clear, flexible, elastomer sheets, which are attached and bonded to normal glass window panes. The attached elastomer sheets — which are composed of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) — feature ‘channels’ through which room-temperature water is free to flow. It’s this flowing water that provides the thermal controlling effects.

“Our results show that an artificial vascular network within a transparent layer, composed of channels on the micrometer to millimeter scale, and extending over the surface of a window, offers an additional and novel cooling mechanism for building windows and a new thermal control tool for building design,” stated Ben Hatton, lead researcher and a professor of engineering at the University of Toronto.

As the researchers note, windows currently account for around 40% of all building energy costs — any improvements with regard to their thermal regulatory abilities would be valuable. Hatton continued: “In contrast to man-made thermal control systems, living organisms have evolved an entirely different and highly efficient mechanism to control temperature that is based on the design of internal vascular networks. For example, blood vessels dilate to increase blood flow close to the skin surface to increase convective heat transfer, whereas they constrict and limit flow when our skin is exposed to cold.”

As Hatton notes — the new technique could probably very effectively be applied to solar panels, and could also function well as a means of supplying heated water to existing hot water or heat storage systems.

The new research was just published in the journal Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells.

Photo credit - University of Toronto Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Content Courtesy -cleantechnica

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Explained, in 7 Balloons

In 2010 human activity caused 50 Gt CO2e of greenhouse gas emissions.

These emissions were 76% carbon dioxide (CO2), 16% methane (CH4), 8% nitrous oxide (N20) and 2% F-gases.

The big terrestrial emitters were China (23%), the USA (14%), Europe (10%), India (5%) and Russia (5%).

And the primary sources of emissions were energy (35%), industry (18%), transport (13%), agriculture (11%), forestry (11%), buildings (8%) and waste (4%).

The sources are explained in more detail in the balloons above, which technically shouldn’t float so well ;-).  These balloons don’t look very threatening, but they represent the large majority of positive climate forcings.

Which in English means they are major causes of climate change.

Check out our new eBook for ideas that will deflate your balloon.

Photo credit - shrinkthatfootprint Content Courtesy - shrinkthatfootprint.com