One of the coolest things about Thanksgiving? Unlike Halloween, it’s not about stuff. While Halloween wouldn’t be the same without candy, costumes, and décor, Thanksgiving celebrates giving thanks for what you already have. What a relief for your pocketbook and the planet. —treehugger
Yesterday’s New York Times carried an article about appliance maker Whirlpool, who was the recipient of a $20 million grant from the Federal Government to fund product development in the rapidly developing field of smart appliances.
These devices, once connected to a Smart Grid-enabled electricity supply, will be able to receive information from the grid and cycle down their power demands during times of peak energy use (and higher costs per kWh). At the moment, they are anticipating savings of $40 per year for a standard size dryer.
As always, your mileage may vary.
Next in the Smart Grid appliance pipeline, General Electric Co. will soon roll out its first commercial smart appliance, a hybrid electric heat pump water heater. The company said the pump will save consumers $250 a year in energy costs.
Other “demand response” appliances expected within the next year are refrigerators able to delay defrost cycles and dishwashers that delay operation until energy demands and costs decline at night.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission estimates smart grid-enhanced home appliances could shave up to 7 percent off U.S. peak demand through 2019. When this is added to the 15% reduction in demand that Smart Grid monitoring devices have been able to achieve in field testing, we have within our grasp the ability to reduce electricity consumption by 20% without making any structural changes within our homes.
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 open, and get ready to build a super-efficient fridge… I know I’ll be bugging my landlord soon enough.
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
On the bright side, computers can offer a number carbon cutting tools like smart meters. Savings also can be obtained by businesses using distributive computing, instead of running their own server. An example of energy saving opportunities, was posted in the E2.0 article, ” Holyoke Green Data Center“, which would serve as a resource for multiple universities involved in biotechnology and climate industries.
As an individual, you can reduce the carbon footprint of your computer and its complementary accessories like, printers, faxes, and cell phones. The following tips can help you trim carbon calories from your energy waist line:
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 about $60. Your custom fridge could end up running a whole year for the cost of one month of power for a typical refrigerator! (140 kWh/yr reported energy use, vs. 144 kWh/mo energy use for 17.5 ft3 frostless refrigerator/freezer) Of course, one disadvantage to this format is that you’ll need a separate freezer, but you should still end up far ahead.
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
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 these experts are working for media companies who are practically on life support themselves. As an example, the New York Times live blogged the launch event.
Perhaps you’re asking yourself why Warm Home Cool Planet is getting all tangled up in the launch of yet another interactive media product. It’s the same reason we take an interest in all different types of technology. Will they lead to more effective and (energy) efficient ways of doing things?
There is no question human thoughts–and the words we use to express them–will always be an integral part of our society. Think of the book–or the Kindle–as a delivery system for those words and it makes things a little clearer. Do people have a stronger attachment to books than they do for newspapers? Is the long form of the book more conducive to an ‘analog’ reading experience?
We have no doubt someone with more time on their hands than Warm Home Cool Planet is calculating the carbon footprint of getting a book into a reader’s hands versus beaming it their Kindle. We’ll bring you those facts and figures when they become available.
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 all greek to you, it’s probably not the greatest idea to tackle this solo.
Think twice before placing a huge wholesale order from the Pacific Rim. With reputable sources selling dimmable LED halogen replacements for 30-70 dollars a bulb, you have to wonder about the longevity of a 10 or 15 dollar generic knock-off.
In the pioneering spirit of Warm Home Cool Planet, we appointed ourselves guinea pig and ordered fifty bucks worth of the, ah… affordable bulbs to test in one of our living rooms. We’ll keep you posted on the results.
We’re looking forward to these bulbs hitting the mainstream residential market in the next few years. Stay tuned to this channel.