Putting Solar and Wind Energy to use at Home

There is a vast array of products available to reduce your energy demands if installed properly. To go one step further, there are also many products available to help you generate your own electricity by harnessing the sun and/or the wind. This is an area which I would like to learn more from those of you who have had direct experience with installing or using these systems. I ahve included a couple links below to help the blog readers find additional information and would like to know of any helpful sites they may find. All of us are smarter than one of us!





http://www.homepower.com/

http://www.windsun.com/Misc_AE/links.htm

Build an Energy Star New Home for Continued Savings

An ENERGY STAR® Qualified Home…the house that keeps on giving back for years to come.
It's beautiful. It's comfortable, and it helps pay its own mortgage. It's an ENERGY STAR Qualified home; if you're building or buying a new home, it's a dream come true.
An ENERGY STAR Qualified home can be a single-family or multi-family residential home. It achieves the greatest level of energy-efficiency through the use of reliable, advanced building techniques and high-quality materials. These include high performance windows, better insulation, energy-efficient appliances, lights or HVAC systems, and tighter overall sealing and weatherproofing.

An ENERGY STAR Qualified home is more comfortable to live in, and to live with.
Lower Maintenance Cost: Enjoy a more durable, trouble-free home that requires fewer builder callbacks.
Better Indoor Air Quality: Warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer and cleaner, quieter and healthier year round.
Higher Resale Value: According to the EPA, national averages indicate resale values are higher than traditional homes.
Better for the Environment: Lowers the demand on our natural resources and produces fewer harmful emissions.

Energy saving tips are available through the Exelon Corp.

The Energy company at Peco (Exelon) offers many ideas on how to reduce our energy requirements. See the sites listed below to find additional information and also for online shopping for energy saving materials and equipment. Items such as light bulbs, air filters, and timers can easily be found at the second web address below. There are many new ideas available to reduce our energy costs. Peco has taken a very interesting approach to energy savings as you will find on the following web sites.


http://www.exeloncorp.com/ourcompanies/peco/pecores/save_energy_money/

http://www.energyfederation.org/peco/default.php/cPath/86

What exactly defines Energy Star Equipment?

What is ENERGY STAR®?
It is a government-backed program helping businesses and individuals protect the environment through superior energy efficiency. Appliances and products that exceed federal energy efficiency standards are awarded the ENERGY STAR by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). ENERGY STAR helps consumers quickly and easily identify those products that will save energy and save money. ENERGY STAR qualified appliances, for example, often exceed the efficiency levels of other new products on the shelf by 20%, but in some cases by as much as 75%. This high level of energy efficiency reduces the cost of operating the product or appliance throughout the course of its lifetime.
Manufacturers and retailers place the ENERGY STAR on those models that meet the qualifying criteria. The ENERGY STAR can be found on the product itself, on the packaging, or in advertising. So far, I have replaced the windows at home with Energy Star rated windows and washing machine. To my knowledge, they have not yet offered an Energy Star rated dryer to date.

If you cannot find it, ask a salesperson, check at http://www.energystar.gov/ or call the toll-free ENERGY STAR hotline at 1-888-STAR-YES (1-888-782-7937). I have found the salestaff at Lowes to be very helpful when discussing Energy Star equipment and materials.

Also look for the EnergyGuide Major appliances have a big yellow tag called the EnergyGuide. It is provided to help consumers compare the operating cost of similar models when shopping for new appliances. All new refrigerators, freezers, water heaters, dishwashers, clothes washers, room air conditioners, central air conditioners, heat pumps, furnaces and boilers have an EnergyGuide label.
While the EnergyGuide is helpful since it indicates the operating cost and energy consumption of a product, only the ENERGY STAR® tells you which ones are energy efficient.

Good luck shopping for energy saving equipment.