AMVA - Amanda Moore Virtual Assistant

by David Tanguay

Astonishingly, Americans generally spend $1600 or more a year on their utility bills. Not only is much of this wasted energy, but more carbon dioxide is emitted into the air from one home than two average cars.

The following tips will help you save energy costs both at home and in the car.

• Set your thermostat comfortably low in the winter and comfortably high in the summer. Install a programmable thermostat that is compatible with your heating and cooling system.
• Use compact fluorescent light bulbs.
• Air dry dishes instead of using your dishwasher’s drying cycle.
• Turn off your computer and monitor when not in use.
• Plug home electronics, such as TVs and DVD players, into power strips; turn the power strips off when the equipment is not in use (TVs and DVDs in standby mode still use several watts of power).
• Lower the thermostat on your hot water heater to 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Take short showers instead of baths.
• Wash only full loads of dishes and clothes.
• Drive sensibly. Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gasoline.
• Look for the ENERGY STAR label on home appliances and products. ENERGY STAR products meet strict efficiency guidelines set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Department of Energy.

Energy Auditing Tips

• Check the insulation levels in your attic, exterior and basement walls, ceilings, floors, and crawl spaces.
• Check for holes or cracks around your walls, ceilings, windows, doors, light and plumbing fixtures, switches, and electrical outlets that can leak air into or out of your home.
• Check for open fireplace dampers.
• Make sure your appliances and heating and cooling systems are properly maintained. Check your owner’s manual for the recommended maintenance.
• Study your family’s lighting needs and use patterns, paying special attention to high-use areas such as the living room, kitchen, and outside lighting. Look for ways to use lighting controls - like occupancy sensors, dimmers, or timers - to reduce lighting energy use, and replace standard light bulbs and fixtures with compact or standard fluorescent lamps.

Insulation Tips

• Consider factors such as your climate, building design, and budget when selecting insulation R-values for your home.
• Use higher density insulation, such as rigid foam boards, in cathedral ceilings and on exterior walls.
• Ventilation plays a large role in providing moisture control and reducing summer cooling bills. Attic vents can be installed along the entire ceiling cavity to help ensure proper airflow.
• Recessed light fixtures can be a major source of heat loss, but you need to be careful how close you place insulation next to a fixture unless it is marked IC.

These tips, and more, are provided to you in a larger PDF file by the US Department of Energy.

~~~~~

David Tanguay is dedicated to providing research, reviews & helpful information to consumers and businesses. For more information related to Green Energy and Renewable Energy please visit http://greenenergyonline.org

by Douglas L. Bishop

There’s probably no better place to practice the environmental awareness credo of “think globally, act locally” than at your local farmers’ market.

Here you will find lots of locally produced edible goodies, be they fresh vegetables grown organically at nearby farms, or freshly baked breads, cakes, muffins, pies, or cookies from the still-warm ovens of local kitchens.

Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of patronizing the farmers’ market.

First of all, the foods you get here will be fresher. Your local farmers are able to grow varieties that are bred for flavor and tastiness rather than varieties that are grown for their ability to withstand long periods of time in shipping and on the shelf. Many of the varieties of produce distributed to the large grocery store chains are picked and packaged long before they have started to ripen. Tomatoes and squash that you purchase in the big stores cannot possibly be at their peak of quality in terms of ripeness, freshness, and taste if they have spent more time on the road than Willie Nelson before they are even in place for your inspection and selection.

Being able to talk with the farmers who have grown the food is also a big plus in terms of finding out about their cultural methods. Do they use chemicals, pesticides, or genetically modified seeds? What is their background and how do they feel about organic farming and its effects on safe food production? Knowing where your food comes from and how it is grown and handled can be key in helping to ensure the health and well-being of your family, especially since we are dealing today with so many health issues that we still don’t fully understand, diseases that may be chemically or environmentally related or induced by the additives and preservatives in the foods we consume.

Buying locally also helps the local economy. Paying the local growers for their produce gives them money to spend and pump back into the community businesses, while it allows them to continue in their livelihood of providing more healthy foods for the people of that community. The circle of life continues.

Shopping at your local farmers’ market can even help the environment. The more locally grown food we consume, the less need there will be for foods hauled in from across the continent in large trucks spewing unhealthy emissions into the atmosphere. Also, in consuming more locally grown foods, less packaging material will have to be produced and discarded. Many times, live plants (which convert carbon dioxide to oxygen) are sold at the farmers’ market too, both annual flowers and vegetables as well as potted plants and hanging baskets of live and growing flowers.

Finally, shopping at the farmers’ market is just plain fun. Quite often, the markets have special days or festivals celebrating a particular kind of vegetable or food, complete with samplings and recipes for preparing these healthy foods. Other times, there is live musical entertainment or activities for the kids. Why not load up the family and have a learning adventure finding out about the nutritious locally grown foods and fun available at your local farmers’ market?

~~~~~

The son, grandson, and great-grandson of farmers and gardeners, Douglas L. Bishop, the chief editor of gardenvoice.com, was born and raised on a small farm in east Tennessee. His love for gardening came from those early days. Visit the Garden Articles and Landscaping Advice on GardenVoice.com for more information.

by Charlie Wildish

We are living in an age when energy prices are constantly going up and more and more people are struggling with debt management. Reducing your expenditure on the energy can be easily done with some simple measures. In isolation they will not seem very big, but when working in synergy with each other, they can make a substantial difference to your bank account.

Furthermore, many of the savings are achieved by finding ways to use less energy which in turn has a positive effect the environment. It may seem that on our own we can do little of value to protect the environment, but I am reminded of a story of a man who found hundreds of jelly fish stranded on the beach after the tide went out. The man started to pick up the jelly fish and put them back in the sea. A passer-by commented that the man was wasting his time as there were far too many jelly fish stranded for him to make a difference. As the man placed the next few jelly fish back in the water he replied, “made a difference for him . . . . made a difference to him . . . . made a difference to him”.

However small, we can all make a difference to the environment and the more of us that do so, the better off we will all be. So here are some simple top tips to save money on your fuel bill:

1. Always switch off lights in rooms that you are not using. Also, get yourself energy saving light bulbs. Although they are more expensive to buy, not only do they use less energy, but they last longer too saving you money in the long run.

2. Use a shower rather than a bath as a shower uses less hot water. That is of course unless you want to share a bath with a spouse (preferably your own).

3. Just turn your hot water thermostat down a few degrees. Most of us have our hot water set too hot to directly handle, so we need to mix in cold anyway. Turning down just a few degrees will hardly be noticed but will save money over time.

4. Use a plug in your sink when washing dishes or your hands and do not waste so much heated water.

5. Do not over fill your kettle. Only fill the kettle with the amount of water you need so as not to waste energy on heating water that will not be used.

6. Do not leave your electrical appliances on standby, always turn off at the mains. Even standby uses electricity which all adds up over a period of time.

7. One of the largest savings is made by good use of loft and wall insulation. Although it may take a bit of an outlay and some work to set it up, it only needs to be done once and will last indefinitely, keeping the warm air in and the cold air out.

8. Insulate your hot water tank. Although it can be used to warm an airing cupboard, a boiler will give our heat indiscriminately, regardless of whether that heat is being used.

9. When cooking, try to match the size of pots/pans to the size of the gas hob. Flame that goes up the side of the pan is a complete waste.

10. Cooking with a pressure cooker will reduce cooking time, hence the amount of energy required to cook with.

All of the above top tips are simple ways to save your money by reducing the fuel consumption, but not reducing your standard of living. Another means of reducing your expenditure (though not your consumption) is by looking at your energy supplier. There are many good deals to be found, especially on-line. However, don’t be too quick to necessarily jump for the cheapest deal at that time as you could find the price being jacked up later while you are still tied in for some time to come. The best option to look for should really contain two main conditions:

1. A long term guarantee to be amongst the cheapest suppliers of energy, not just the cheapest at this moment in time.

2. No tie in period.

The no tie in period is especially important, as it reflects the company’s confidence and commitment to sticking by its long term price guarantee. If they put their prices up high, they can lose their customers very quickly.

~~~~~

Charlie Wildish has advised many consumers on how to save not only by energy comparison (UK only) but also on all of their home or business utility requirements.