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As gas and energy prices are rising again, that means Americans must tighten up their belts even further. In the winter you don’t need to dread the drop in the temps, ceilings fans can help you adjust your thermostats to save you dollars. You don’t need to dread hot summer temps and high air conditioning bills either when you have ceiling fans, your AC’s best friend!

If you already have ceiling fans in place, check to see whether they are Energy Star qualified. Ceiling fan/light combinations that have earned Energy Star accreditation are about 50 percent more efficient than non-conforming units. The difference lies in improved motors and blade designs. A model with an Energy Star light kit included provides even greater energy savings, and the bulbs don’t need to be changed as often.

Consumer demand for more energy-efficient ceiling fans and lighting products has driven the ceiling fan industry to integrate new ceiling fan lighting, ceiling fan blade and ceiling fan motor technologies that save operating costs. New products integrating the latest technologies are up to 75 percent more efficient than previous ceiling fan models.

Put your ceiling fans on when you are in the room during the day and when sleeping and turn your ceiling fans off when you leave. Ceiling fans cool people, not air. Using ceiling fans wisely while turning down the AC can save a lot of money visa a versa in the winter for your heater. Ceiling fans do such an efficient job of circulating air, they probably should be everywhere in your home. Any type of room can benefit, bedrooms, family rooms, and exterior living spaces are the most common applications, but we are seeing them used more in larger bathrooms, walk-in closets, home offices and garages.

Size Matters, consumers are installing ceiling fans throughout their homes, for example, fans with blade spans of 54, 60, and 72 inches are increasingly popular for living rooms and great rooms, while those with 24-inch spans are being installed in hallways and walk-in closets. How do you estimate the best size of ceiling fans for your needs? A good rule of thumb is a 36- to 52-inch diameter blade sweep for rooms measuring 200 square feet or less, are recommended by the ceiling fan experts, For rooms 200 to 400 square feet, we recommend ceiling fans have a diameter of 52 inches or greater; if the space is more than 400 square feet, two or more ceiling fans will be needed.

The number of blades makes some but little difference in airflow, however, whether to choose a four-, five-, or six-blade version is really a matter of aesthetics. You hear a lot about ceiling fans blade pitch, diameter and motor size. These are factors that will affect airflow, the greater the pitch of the blades on your ceiling fans the greater the airflow.

It’s important not to underestimate your ceiling fans. The most common size of ceiling fans sold in the U.S. is a 52-inch diameter. This size ceiling fans provides excellent results in rooms up to 150 square feet, but can also be appropriate for smaller rooms since the 52″ size ceiling fans can be adjusted with multiple speeds and the direction of the blades can be reversed, unlike some of the other smaller blade span ceiling fans. “It’s better to choose a slightly larger fan for a room than to choose a diameter that might prove to be too small to adequately provide air movement.

Many ceiling fans now come with integrated lighting or light kits, these all in one ceiling fans, offer a coordinating light kit available as an option. These lights do not offer enough illumination on their own, but they are useful in a room that already has some form of ambient lighting. Ceiling fans with lights should be considered as accent and mood lighting.

Should a Ceiling Fan Blend In or Stand Out?

The next step to consider is whether you’d like your ceiling fans to serve as a focal point or be more understated. The question is should your ceiling fans blend in or stand out? Is the room contemporary, traditional, tropical or transitional? Ceiling fans can serve as a design feature. The primary trend in ceiling fan design has been for styles that create aesthetic statements as bold as a chandelier. This follows the overall trend in residential design for more varied and more sophisticated concepts. Today a consumer can find a ceiling fan that matches any interior design.

In the summer, ceiling fans offer a comfortable alternative and accompaniment to air conditioning, but in the winter employing the reversible blade option provides a means of circulating the hotter air that rises to the ceiling. This helps save on heating bills when the weather gets cold. Ceiling fans do help in the winter months too.

The usage of natural gas energy has rendered methods of energy generation like wind power, virtually outdated. More people are content with using natural energy methods rather than wind energy generation methods. Studies have shown that there has been a 75% slow down in the number of people who used to generate energy through wind power. The primary advantage of natural gas energy methods is that they are very cheap. Even though there was a prediction that green energy industries will see a boom in the number of jobs this year, there have been mass lay-offs which have resulted in the disinterest of people.

Since the natural gas energy methods are cheaper as compared to other alternatives, most people are opting for it. The green energy projects are not able to compete with the sudden fall in prices and are being rendered the less preferred of the two. Since there is a recession going on, most companies are taking up natural gas energy rather than solar or wind power because of the high initial cost. Another fact is that many new gas reserves have been found in the last year and a half which has further helped in reducing the price.

Many investors are disinterested in investing money in projects which will take lots of time as well as cost more. Wind power requires a lot of investment and ongoing maintenance work as well which outs a lot of financial pressure on the investors. In these times of recession, it is only logical that they try to cut down on the expenses as much as possible. Natural gas energy reserves are being discovered all over the world and this has resulted in a global crisis for wind power projects. The low cost of investment helps in cutting down losses in this recession struck period.

There is only one sure way to make your home energy efficient especially during the winter and that is insulating it. Home insulation is just like putting heating blanket inside your house and with the use of effective insulating materials you can really save up to 20 to 30 percent of your electricity bill from your heating and aside from that your families are well protected and free from cold and diseases. There are two common types of insulation materials used for homes which are usually effective and these are the fiberglass batts and the mineral wool. Fiberglass insulation batts are snugly installed between wall studs or on ceiling joists or on the floor. Mineral wool or also known as rock wool is much like fiberglass batts but it is firmer and more resistant to water and fire. These two materials are very good insulation materials on walls and floors but how about the insulation for your doors and windows? For sure there is heat coming out of them especially if these fixtures have only single panes. This is where double glazing advice comes to support.

Saving on Energy with Those Windows

The best way so far in insulating our windows and doors is to use double glazing panes on them. It has been proven that because double glazed materials can keep the heat from escaping through these fixtures it can save us more energy for our heating requirement Double glazing serve as second layer of protection for our glass windows and doors thus greatly minimizing the lost of heat and put our heaters operating at optimum level. So far the best advice for homeowners is to invest on this type of insulation and let double glazing advice guide them for more efficient energy consumption. The method of double glazing is simple. It works by trapping air between two panes of glasses and these air will serve as the insulating barrier which will prevent the lost of heat and prevent condensation from entering our house either. Properly secured glazing can also serve as noise barriers.

Double glazing is now becoming popular on countries where climate become severely cold during winter. They are now common fixtures on schools, offices, churches, hospitals and even homes for the aged and young children because incidentally they can maintain heat to the room and keep the establishments from paying too much on their energy consumption. You should always look for double glazing advice from the internet or from home improvement magazines because from time to time new innovations are published. In the UK and some parts of the US, double glazing becomes a requirement because these countries are now proceeding on laws that encourage saving up on energy. It becomes part of the Home Information Packs that windows and doors must be properly secured so that energy use during winter is kept at efficient level and the best way to do this is by employing double glazing on these fixtures. Double glazed windows and doors serve as assets of the house and they can last for years so they are considered long term investment for homes. Your house

Powering an off grid home can be done in several ways and some of the most popular green-energy sources today are the wind and solar power that will not only help you save on your electric bills but you will also do your part for the environment. When deciding to go completely off-grid and install a solar or wind power system in your home you need to know which one is more effective. If you live in a more windy area then you will surely need to have a wind turbine, thus solar panels will be more effective in sun kissed areas. No matter what type energy source you choose both the wind and solar power systems can reduce your energy consumption by 80% or even eliminate your electric bills.

Lets suppose you’re choosing to harvest solar energy and transform it into electricity using solar panels. You will need more than one solar panel to supply enough electricity for all your home appliances, including the heating in the winter. It’s recommended that you build one solar panel and first calculate the energy savings and then start building more solar panels to cover up all your home’s energy needs. A DIY solar panel does not cost more than $200 to build. If you were to buy the same solar panel from your local solar parts supplier then you would have to pay a few thousands of dollars. The misconception that it costs a fortune to build your own solar panels or any other renewable energy systems is just a myth.

I was where you’re probably now, skeptical about building my own solar panels to supply energy for my off-grid home. I though that it costs a lot of money to set up a solar power system, however I was wrong at that time. I soon found out that a solar panel can be built in just a few days spending no more than two hundred dollars for all the parts and components that we needed. We’ve built our first solar panel purely to test out the energy savings for one month. We now have 6 solar panels installed on our roof-top, all running smoothly and generating enough power for our off grid home. The best part of it all is that we don’t have to pay a single dollar to our local power company anymore instead we benefit of the solar energy.

If you’re tired of high electricity bills, discover how thousands of families worldwide benefit from homemade solar panels and wind turbines to power their homes.

For more information on how to build your own solar panels visit our Earth 4 Energy Review.

The K3 Solar Wind Charger is an excellent gift for anyone.  Just about everyone owns a electronic gadget of one kind or another.  More people own a cell phone than a digital camera.  But people who a digital camera also own a cell phone.  People who drive now have a GPS, even if they do not travel often they own a GPS, because it is such a useful device.  That is how the K3 Solar Wind Charger is, right now people all over the world are turning to wind and solar power to have energy for there homes, but not everyone can afford those big types of projects.

But people are able to afford small solar and wind products in order to save a little, a little goes a long way.  Start thinking about how often you spend charging all of your devices.  All that charging does cost money, and eventually every month, and every year you spend money on that charging.  But people are realizing that they can rely on solar and wind gadgets for their charging needs.

Some people have turned to battery back-up but that really doesn’t reduce the electric bill, because you had to spend money on those batteries.  And if it is a rechargeable battery, you have to plug that into the outlet and still pay for the power.  In order to actually save money on energy bills, have convenience, and know it is eco-friendly is to turn to solar and/or wind powered devices, such as the K3 Solar Wind Charger.

If you want a solar wind charger, you need to make sure that your devices are 5 watts.  Because this solar wind charger can charge those types of devices.  Most cell phones, gps units, and digital cameras are 5 watts.  Just look under your device where the charger plug would go, the energy specification might also be on the bottom of the electronic device.

Here is an example to get your mind going:  If you were to charge your cell phone every night while you slept, and you slept for about 7 hours a day.  Your cell phone only needs most of time 3 hours to charge.  So lets think about that everyday would be 7 days, and 7 minus 3 hours of charge time equals 4 hours of wasted energy which is still costing.  So lets multiply 7 days to 4 hours of wasted energy, which is 28 hours a week.  Now lets go further that is 28 hours a week times 4 weeks in a month which is 112 hours of energy wasted which is still costing.  That is 112 hours a month times 12 months equals 1,344 hours of wasted energy that you are still paying for!!

I hope that you start purchasing eco-friendly products now, so that you can save a little.  And I promise that if you were to multiply how much a watt of energy cost per hour and times that by 1,344. Most solar chargers would pay for it self.  So lets say that your electricity per hour cost .12 cents an hour and all you had plugged in was the cell phone like the example above the price that it cost is 161.28.

The cost of the K3 Solar Wind Charger is less expensive than that and would pay for itself within 8 months or sooner depending how often you charge your cell phone.  Also depending on your electric costs and consumption costs per hour.

This is a prime example of how solar and wind energy devices that are handheld are a useful, practical, and money saving technology.  Also with these types of devices you can forget about upgrading software, the technology built into these things are built to last.  And the only thing with this is that it is getting better and better.  And if you want to start seeing results go to livecofriendly.com and buy one!

Tankless Water Heater Marketing Is Everywhere

If you have had a reason to think about water heaters lately you have probably heard a lot about tankless water heaters.  In the last couple of years the tankless water heater manufacturers have really stepped up their promotional campaigns and spent some big bucks building consumer awareness and interest in their products.   Tankless water heaters have been portrayed as providing huge energy savings and endless hot water.  How much of this is true?

Just The Facts, Ma’am

Today we are going to start cutting through some of the marketing hype and find out exactly how tankless water heaters stack up in the energy savings arena.  Just how efficient are they, anyway?

Electric Tankless Water Heaters

Now is a good time to go ahead and say that we will be discussing gas (or LP) tankless heaters.  Electric tankless heaters really make no sense  99% of the time.  They just don’t do the job in most cases and usually require extensive (and expensive) rewiring.  Electricity is really a fairly expensive way to heat water in most cases.

While we are on the subject of electric water heaters lets clear up one more thing.  Even though most electric tank type water heaters are rated with a higher efficiency factor than similar gas models, they are not usually an good choice to lower your energy bills.

It’s true that electric water heaters are technically more efficient, because there is no energy wasted up the flue pipe common to all gas water heaters.  The problem is that, at least for now in most places, the electricity required to operate a water heater costs more than either natural gas or LP.  So even though it takes less energy, the energy used costs more.  Enough said.

Gas Tankless Water Heaters

Let’s talk about the possible energy savings with gas tankless water heaters.  It is a fact that gas tankless water heaters are rated almost 50% more efficient than a standard tank type gas water heater.  The reason tankless heaters beat tank type in efficiency is because there is no energy used keeping a tank full of water hot.   The only time any energy is used is when hot water is actually being used.  As soon as the faucet is turned off the heater stops heating the water.   This is one of the big selling points for tankless water heaters.

It’s Not All Hype

So it’s not all hype, tankless water heaters really are more efficient, but the payback period that is often stated in marketing literature is probably based on the best case scenario.  In the real world, the more frequently hot water is used the smaller the gap in efficiency between tankless and tank type water heaters.  This is because there is less “non use” or “temperature maintenance” energy use as the frequency increases of “hot water usage events” (a fancy way of saying a hot water faucet was turned on).  

Basically, if you are using hot water any type of heater will be using energy. It takes the same amount of BTUs to heat a gallon of water in either type of water heater.  In plain English,  the more often you use hot water the less a tankless will save you on your gas bill.

Check Your Usage Pattern

So, are tankless water heaters really more more efficient?  The answer, strictly speaking is, yes.  How much more efficient depends on your individual usage pattern.  If you are thinking about going tankless you should probably pay attention to when and how often you use hot water now.  The more frequently you use hot water, the less money you will save in energy costs.

Copyright 2008 Bryan Stevens

If your monthly payments keep growing each month and you are interested in finding out about tips to save on electric costs then let us share some information with you – i am sure you will be amazed. First of all, how about being able to produce an unlimited amount of power supply for your home’s entire needs, all by yourself, and almost for free – how can this be? Just listen to the facts and you can decide for yourself.

You see, most people get their power supply from the power company; they pay their bills month-by-month and at the same time watch their bank account decreasing for something so fundamental. Alternatively, some former customers of the electric company went a different route since they were tired of spending their income on a natural resource – they discovered a way of generating their own power – as much as they want – and would meet their current and future needs.

As you proceed with your research in the area of tips to save on electric costs please note that it is indeed possible for you to start generating your own power; you will be able to enjoy the many benefits of your free electricity in a matter of days – it mostly requires your motivation to do so. So you’re probably eager to get in on all the details as to what is involved here; to put it simply, you’ll just be generating free and abundant electricity from sources that are found everywhere in nature. Do you know that it’s possible for anybody to construct their very own solar and/or wind energy system very quickly and easily right in their own yard?

Even if you’re just starting to research on tips to save on electric costs hopefully you now realize how easy it is to make a system for solar and/or wind power that can drop down your electric bills down to $0 per month. To most people it may sound complicated, impossible or extremely expensive; well, it used to be that way, but not anymore – happily for us, a respected professional who is on the cutting edge of the green technology movement shares his knowledge so that everyone can enjoy the benefits of free electricity.

More and more households are discovering the benefits of smart meters and using the increased accuracy that the meters bring to make significant savings on their energy bills.

After a gas and electricity provider has replaced a standard energy meter with a smart meter, the provider will be able to monitor that household’s usage constantly to a very high level of accuracy. This cuts out the need for regular meter readings and the worry of receiving inaccurate energy bills when energy usage is estimated by the supplier. As the meter reading process is fully automated, there is not even any need for the customer to take readings.

Since smart meters allow the customer to take control of their energy usage they can save up to 10 per cent on their energy bills each year. They should also help eliminate the confusion caused by old-style bills – research by the Energy Savings Trust has found that some 33 per cent of customers find it hard to understand their energy bills.

Every one of the new smart meters features a wireless – and therefore portable – electronic display which shows a full read-out of energy consumption, along with the associated financial and carbon costs. The information can be seen by both the supplier and consumer, ensuring no disagreement on the level of energy usage. It also gives the consumer the ability to monitor their energy consumption over set periods of time – from one day to one year. This enables households to spot which times of the day lead to the highest levels of gas and electricity consumption and which appliances use the most energy.

Energy suppliers can differentiate the tariffs and services that they offer via a range of different means of displaying energy consumption – such as through mobile phones, online or using digital television.

Such information can be used by the customer to help make energy savings, as well as by the supplier, who can offer tailor-made energy saving solutions. Smart meters also have another advantage. Customers who generate their own electricity through the use of wind turbines or solar panels can make even more savings by selling their excess energy back to the national grid and  smart meters allow the provider to pay them more accurately.

Sunlight is out while I’m driving on the road, but the car directly behind has headlights on which are blinding me. I argue that turning them on during the daytime are illogical. Who honestly can’t see a moving car when nighttime hasn’t settled? If you can’t, you shouldn’t be allowed to drive in the first place because of how dependent drivers are on their eyesight. It’s understandable that emergency vehicles have blue flashing lights, but those serve a purpose to alert drivers that they need to drive quickly.

One popular bus corporation conducted a study. They recorded the number of accidents occurring over 3 months with one control; number of accidents towards buses with headlights on versus buses with them off. Guess what? Apparently the quantity of accidents is lessened when the headlights are on. But at the same time, the 3 month period took place in a period when traffic accidents are statistically proven to be low. It honestly feels like the entire study was manipulated to yield desired results.

You may think that turning them on during the day is harmless. That is definitely not the case. Headlights do have a noticeable impact on global warming.

Approximately 130 watts of light and heat is consumed every time a car has its headlights on. There are almost 30 million cars just in New York and New Jersey alone. If 10% of those cars, 3 million cars, turned on their lights during daylight hours, which means 390 megawatts of energy are being utilized. That’s a lot of energy spent, wouldn’t you agree? Worse off is that a lot of these cars also keep the fog lights on which uses up another 110 watts.

All the energy required to fuel a car’s headlights is a significant contribution to the quantity of greenhouse gases. With all the ways people are misusing energy resources, global warming is continually being exacerbated. The way to combat the ever-increasing greenhouse effects our world is suffering, we must correct our wasteful behaviors. Limiting the use of headlights and installing more efficient ones would be a simple, yet effective way to go green. It also saves car owners money because they would not have to devote as much gas to power the headlights.

One of the best ways to conserve some of that energy is to install some new innovative headlights. Even the newer and stylish ones like Euro lights operate at high efficiency and are not too expensive. Check out your online auto parts dealer or ask your local mechanic for tips.

Energy is being wasted in your home as you read this. Where is it going? Right through the walls! Even in well-insulated homes, heat escapes through the walls when it’s cold out, and heats comes in when it’s hot out.

A great way to experience this is by going from an insulated part of the home into a non-insulated part (the garage or attic perhaps?) during a hot summer month. Better yet, try it in California’s Death Valley where temperatures can soar into the 120’s. You’ll gain a rapid appreciation for California insulation technology.

When you’re done being cooked, take a look at your energy bills and your home’s insulation and see if there is some money that might be saved there. The more you can prevent your home’s heater or air conditioner from fighting against outdoor conditions, the more money you’ll save.

Help Me Conserve Energy in My Home!

As mention earlier, the less your home climate control systems have to fight the weather outside, the less they’ll work and the less energy they’ll use. In the next few paragraphs, we’ll discuss what you can do to ensure that warm air stays in the house during the winter months and hot air stays out during the summer months.

The first thing you want to do is make sure that your house isn’t “leaking.” Just like a car tire, having a hole in the house is bad. But unlike a car tire, instead of leaking air out, it’s going to let air in — and that’s exactly what we want to prevent.

Leaks occur most commonly around doors and windows. On a windy day, the large leaks can be easily found by simply running your hand around the frames of your doors and windows. For windows, you can often use silicone to seal around the frame. However, if your window has a hole in it, it’s time to replace it.

Single-pane windows are also very inefficient at keeping unwanted heat or cold outside where it belongs. If you have single-pane windows, consider replacing them with the double-pane variety.

Leaky doors can often be temporarily fixed with wads of insulation or by stuffing folded up newspapers in the cracks. The only problem with the latter solution is what to do when somebody knocks on the door or you need to get out and do some shopping.

Generally, replacing a leaky door is the best option for maximum efficiency.

And finally, to stop warm air from getting out (or vice versa depending on the time of year) make sure that your walls and ceiling are insulated.

Some residents that live in the warm (but not too warm) climate of Southern California might feel like there’s no need for insulating their home. However, even San Diego gets snow sometimes, so be sure to be ready with plenty of insulation for your California home.