June 13, 2007 - 12:47pm — Anonymous
Energy Hogs
Energy Hogs are nasty critters that hide all over your home and pig out on wasted energy. To outsmart the Energy Hogs, you have to beat those nasty oinkers at their own game. The first step to taking a whole-house energy-efficiency approach is to find out which parts of your house need the most help. A home energy survey can help suggest the most effective ways for you to reduce your energy costs. You can conduct a simple home energy audit yourself here http://www.energyhog.org/adult/audit.htm . When making energy home improvements, you may be eligible for a tax credit. President Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which offers consumer tax credits for energy efficient home improvements and energy efficient vehicles. The Act includes a home tax credit with an overall cap of $500 to reimburse homeowners for specific home improvements.
Re: Energy Hogs
I have a friend who runs http://theorganicmechanic.org which I think is something everyone should check out and just be aware of. Using new and alternative fuels is going to be extremely important in the coming years in order to save our planet.
Re: Energy Hogs
I just heard of one of the coolest ideas ever- basically, communities buy solar panels (there are a million innovations going on with these just now, including roll-out ones) and sell the extra energy to the city-grid. There is a huge push for this in low-income communities right now, but it could work anywhere. I just did a search to try to remember where I heard about it first (solar panels, communities, income) and I came up with 1,560,000 responses. I only checked out the first few, but they're from around the world :)
So many benefits! Income for low-income communities plus the communities need to work together on a project, PLUS they can then invest the money in something within the communitiy that they can all be proud of, like a park, or individually into home improvements or, well, anything. Rock!
Re: Energy Hogs
I have a question - there is a Facebook group called Blackle.com and what it does is spread the word about blackle.com...the equivalent to google.com, except it saves more energy to have a black screen than a white and colorful screen. Is this true?
(If so...lets all convert to blackle.com!)
"Life is the biggest bargain - you get it for free!"
Re: Energy Hogs
Hey! I was just about to write about blackle on this page... I just discovered it, but it looks like Jenny beat me to it. Yes, blackle is a legit thing. Infact on the bottom of the page it shows how many Watt Hours have been saved from people using it instead of google. How cool is that. I agree-- start using blackle, just another easy way to better our environment!
Jessie
Re: Energy Hogs
What sassafras says about the energy grids sounds ingenious! Would anyone be up for starting a venture like that in their own communities?
Jenny Chen
Editor-in-Chief
JJ Express Magazine
"Life is the biggest bargain - you get it for free!"
Re: Energy Hogs
I love the idea too! I think it would work best if we could get a few ventures involved, maybe hold a conference call so that we can all learn a bit more about it, and then start working together to try and find the best deals, carry through the project most successfully!
Is anyone else interested? If so feel free to message me!
~Jessie