Its no secret that newer air conditioners are generally more efficient – even non energy star rated air conditioner units. Of course, you tend to pay for such “luxury”. The temptation is there to simply use your old air conditioner unit instead of perhaps upgrading it. It saves a lot of money in the short term – the cost of a new unit, in fact. But does it really save you money?
You might have already guessed the answer – no. You do save some cash in the short term, but …

Now that spring is here in most areas of North America, our thoughts naturally turn to the outdoors. Some of us garden, while others clean up the yard that has been neglected during the winter months. Energy saving solar lights can usually be purchased in bundles and save on your electrical bill, because they don’t actually connect to your home’s energy “network”. Thus they don’t draw any power and cost you nothing to run or use daily.

Let’s be clear:
Even if you have a natural gas dryer, it still has an electrical cost. That is, it still uses some level of electricity to run. The heaviest electrical cost is the motor which rotates the cylinder and tumbles the clothes. Electricity in a gas powered dryer does not provide heat.
My natural gas dryer, rated at 6A @ 120VAC, in theory, consumes 720w of power.
This comes right from the label on the dryer.
Putting the electrical consumption to the test
Of course, I no longer believe labels. I want to see …

My recent experiment with how much energy it takes to run a microwave really had me thinking…if the label was a little off on the microwave, could the labels on other appliances be wrong as well?
No sooner than I turn around in my house from the microwave to find the coffee maker sitting right there. Of course! Coffee. I love coffee, like most other people. I run my coffee maker everyday because its far cheaper to make coffee at home than go out and buy a cup of coffee on …

Think your microwave just uses the 1200 watts it advertises on the little sticker? Think again. It uses more energy than you think, and in places you probably wouldn’t even think to look. Let’s take a look at the typical energy waste/usage of your microwave.

I’ve been reading so much literature lately about solar power, namely, how crappy it is.  It seems there are a couple of sides to the debate. First, there’s those that talk about how wonderful solar power is, how it will “Save” us, its the future, etc. Then, there’s the naysayers. Those who say that solar power is complete crap, doesn’t work right, produces very little power, etc.
Understand there’s two sides to every story and this one is no different. To understand both arguments, let’s step into their shoes.
First, the proponents. …

NEW YORK — The European project known as Desertec is nothing if not ambitious. It aims to harvest the sun’s energy – using a method known as concentrating solar power, or C.S.P. – from the vast North African desert and deliver it as electricity, via high-voltage transmission lines, to markets in Europe. Eventually, its backers say, it could satisfy as much as 15 percent of the European Union’s power needs.
The idea, which has been bouncing around for years, arises out of an alphabet soup of organizations, formal multinational partnerships and …

Need 5 really quick, inexpensive (or free) ways to save money on your electric bill this spring?

Replace at least 40% of your commonly used lights with compact fluorescents.
Always turn off the lights when you leave a room.
Keep the refrigerator door closed, and unplug that second fridge.
Unplug appliances that aren’t used often.
Watch computer usage carefully and reduce if necessary.

There is a real push online right now for renewable energy. In other words, clean energy that the do it yourselfer dreams of. The two types that are the most prevalent are wind and solar power. Both are clean, renewable and can really make a dent in your energy bills when done right.
That’s the key phrase – when done right. The problem is most people a) don’t know how to build effective and efficient systems, b) don’t understand the implications of their decision, and c) don’t know how much power …

If I remove 2 of the 4 tubes from my overhead fluorescent fixtures, will I actually save 50% on lighting electricity? IOW, when you remove 2 lights from a 4 light fixture do you save half of the energy? I’m wondering how much electricity is wasted in the “conversion” in the ballast, whether or not the tubes are present. My office is too bright anyway. I have “daylight corrected” tubes in a very white and often sunny environment. I’ve already removed all of the inner pairs of tubes and really …