Energy Auditing 101

Clean Your Air Conditioner Like A Pro

danielrouse — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 18:46:45 +0000

Something that people tend to take for granted in their life is their A/C unit. Sure, it does keep your house comfortable during those rough summer months, but have you ever considered all the stuff that collects inside the unit? This isn’t something that most people think of. I mean when was the last time you ever cleaned your A/C unit? Probably never. If you want to ensure that your A/C is clean of contaminants and running in tip top shape for summer, you will want to follow these simple instructions on cleaning a standard A/C unit.

First off, find out if the outside filter on your unit is replaceable. If it is get a new one, if not just wash it off. I’m sure that there is a lot of dirt and grim on the inside of it. Next, remove the grate on the outside to gain access to the inner workings of the unit. If you see any other filters here, replace or wash them off until the grim and dirt are cleaned off.

Another thing to be sure of is to maintain the inside of the unit. Since you already have your A/C unit open, check and make sure that anything isn’t leaking oil or other fluids. And while you’re at it, oil and lubricate and moving parts that seem to be sticking together on the inside. This might seem like a small job to do now, but you will be thanking yourself later when your A/C doesn’t blow up in the height of summer.

How To Become An Energy Auditor

danielrouse — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 20:13:16 +0000

If you have a thing for being green, and you like to work with machines, then you might want to pay attention to what i am about to say. Right now in our changing world, green jobs are starting to become more and more popular with people. And do you know what green job is growing the fastest is, Ya, Energy Auditor.

Being an energy auditor might not seem like a green job but it really is. Since the energy auditor is the person that manages all of a businesses energy consumption, he is the guy that can help make a business more energy efficient. Plus, many people are hiring them right now because the government is offering a tax credit to people who have one in their employment.

The only bad thing about this job is this, there is no single major in collages that are for Energy Auditors, however, a degree in engineering will work well on your application.

Arizona offers Solar Tax Credit

mekesha pryer — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:58:28 +0000

There is a group in Arizona that promotes solar energy. They call themselves the Arizona Solar Society.� This energy efficient group is sponsoring a Solar Town Hall meeting in Gilbert, AZ.� John Lewis, the mayor of Gilbert, will host the discussion on solar panels and energy efficiency.

Mayor Lewis said, “The purpose of the Gilbert Solar Town Hall Meeting is to educate residents and businesses in Gilbert on the benefits of harnessing solar power and teach them how to make smart purchase decisions.”

In Arizona, the Public Service offers a $3 dollars per watt rebate for new solar systems.� They also give a $1,000 dollar tax credit and the federal government offers a 30 percent tax credit.

References

1. East Valley Tribune.com

Tired Of Lamps, Get Glowing Walls!

Kemberdog — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:18:24 +0000

If you’re like me, and are tired of each room having a lamp in it that you have to switch on and off when you’re entering or leaving a room, then you should consider getting glowing walls. Now don’t get me wrong I”m not lazy or incapable of moving its just I hate having to repeat myself with a lamp when entering or leaving a room and some times i may forget to turn it off and end up raising my electric bill which in turn pulls more money from my pocket. So that’s� why these glowing walls would come in handy.

This new material that they use for this invention is made out of� Graphene. It is planned to be able to be applied to an entire wall or ceiling, and will allow the ability to adjust the amount of light emitted from it. Now even though this may sound like an expensive energy efficient upgrade it’s actually cheaper than another glowing wall material called OLED Light Source. So basically, once you’ve switched to this more efficient source of light all the lamps in your house will just about become obsolete.

NEW ENERGY EFFICIENT DISH WASHER

Kemberdog — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 19:44:55 +0000

If you’ve ever wondered why when you use your dish washer your electric bill goes up? Well its because those small little energy hogs take a whole lot of electricity mostly just to heat up the water and air in them. So the Engineers at Siemens have created a new energy efficient dish washer that use less electricity to go through its cycles.

The new Dishwasher has a compartment in its lower parts that have a three compounds of moisture absorbing materials called zeolites. What these do is help save the energy that the dish washer could be using to reheat� more water and air, by storing the already heated moisture in it, then the washer just reuses it with the next load or cycle.

New Energy Efficient Lighting developed by RIT International

mekesha pryer — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 20:23:01 +0000

RIT International has developed a new lighting technology that is more energy efficient than the incandescent light bulbs.� These new light bulbs do not contain any mercury either, making it environmentally safer than the compact fluorescent light bulb.

The technology use to develop the design was nanofiber.� Nanofibers are materials smaller in diameter and surface than a single strain of human hair.� The advance nanotechnology provides great lighting.

References

1. RIT.org/news

BMW’s Efficientdynamics Concept

danielrouse — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 19:44:07 +0000

At BMW, their goal is simple, to create the ultimate driving machine, no matter what. Well, with the increasing push for cleaner, faster, and overall cooler cars, this is what BMW is bringing to the table. It is called the Efficientdynamics concept and it is unlike anything the world has ever seen before.

An all electric Rolls-Royce

danielrouse — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 19:29:27 +0000

With everyone twittering on about global-warming, the energy crisis, and fred the polar bear losing his home, more and more car companies are starting to research and even claim to build an electric vehicle of some kind. The newest player in the new league is Rolls-Royce. Yeah, that British car company that churns out 300,000 dollar saloon cars.

According to Roll’s CEO, the car maker is ready and wants to make an all electric version of their flagship model, the Rolls-Royce Phantom. If they are true to their word and really want to make one, could you imagine the cost of buying one of these things? I personally would want to see the Performance of the thing, I mean how can you make an electric car just as good as its gas powered counterpart? Better yet, Would people buy one? Well, i guess that Rolls-Royce is taking a gamble on this, but no one ever made money with out a little risk.

Spray On Glass

Kemberdog — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 21:31:14 +0000

If you’re a germaphobe then this eco- friendly invention could be a great solution to your fear. A German company Nanopool has created a completely environment safe spray on glass. This is completely safe for the person spraying it too, its odorless and even is as good a disinfectant as bleach or any other.

The glass comes out as a thin glass liquid that dries as a 1000th of an inch layer of glass that’ll protect what ever it covers from bacteria and even uv rays. This is such a good idea we should just spray the whole world with this stuff.

IBM Unveils High Efficiency Solar Cell

zackawii — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 21:30:06 +0000

IBM recently unveiled an amazing new solar cell that is has been developing in recent months. It is the world’s most efficient solar cell currently as it is composed of naturally abundant resources like copper, zinc, tin, sulfur, and selenium. This solar cell is 40% more efficient than others made of the same materials, an amazing feat for a company who doesn’t traditionally focus on alternative energy development. David Mitzi, the head of the IBM research team, said of the project; �In a given hour, more energy from sunlight strikes the earth than the entire planet consumes in a year, but solar cells currently contribute less than 0.1 percent of electricity supply � primarily as a result of cost, The quest to develop a solar technology that can compare on a cost per watt basis with the conventional electricity generation, and also offer the ability to deploy at the terawatt level, has become a major challenge that our research is moving us closer to overcoming.” Sounds promising to say the least. IBM plans on leasing the technology to other companies rather then develop their own solar panels so expect to see this technology sometime later this year!

References

1. www.popsci.com