Energy saving advices for your kids - part II

Teach kids where energy comes from: Together as a family, search online for answers about where your energy comes from. Do they know how coal is produced? Do they understand what kind of energy the fridge uses? Find out together – then let your children know that some energy supplies are finite, and they’re running out fast.

Call a family meeting and discuss practical ways that you can save energy around the house: Put a big piece of paper in the middle of the table and get your kids to write down their ideas in magic marker. Afterwards put the poster on the kitchen wall so everyone can see it. Remember that this includes adults too! So, if your kids resolve to shut down the computer an hour early, promise to leave your mobile off for an extra hour every night, then see if everyone can keep their energy-saving promises - and if so celebrate with a fun family treat. Don’t promise too much to start off with! It can be more difficult than you think to rid yourself off some addictive energy-consuming devices.

Have as switched off evening: If your average evening sees you working on your laptop while the kids are in the front room texting on their mobiles or playing console games, then the chances are that you could do with a carbon detox. As a family, commit to one night a week where you all pledge to switch off the TV and shut down other energy-guzzling equipment. Try and choose a family-friendly activity you could all do instead. Maybe it’s the perfect time to help the kids with the homework. Also, don’t forget that a story read aloud as a family can be just as awesome as watching TV.

Also, if the weather is good, why not eat in the garden or go for a family ramble. Both are fun – and the only energy you use will be your own!

Energy saving advices for your kids

Sure, it's easy to save energy, water, to eat healthier, to recycle more, and so on. 
But most of us are adults, and we think and see things in a specific way - more mature, one could say.How about kids though? They play and destroy their toys, play computer games, leave the lights on, water running.... sounds terrible, doesn't it? Well, it is time we take action!


That's why I decided to make this list of advices (followable advices :) ) to give your kids:

Discard batteries to a specialized disposal area: batteries that are thrown away produce most of the heavy metals - dangerous substances like lead, arsenic, zinc, cadmium, copper, and mercury - that are found in household trash. These metals are toxic. They can be harmful to humans and wildlife. When discarded batteries from our trash wind up in landfills, these dangerous metals can seep into the ground water and eventually into the food chain. So, instead of throwing batteries in the trash, we should all take them to a toxic waste disposal area, if at all possible.

Turn off the toys and games (like GameBoys TM) that use batteries when you are not playing with them. That makes the batteries last longer, and you won't need as many of them. Forty percent of all battery sales are made during the holiday season. Give holiday gifts that do not require batteries (wooden toys are excellent - I loved mine! :D )

Also, buy rechargeable batteries and a recharger.

Energy-saving ideas for school: consider creating a weekly "energy monitor" - someone who's job it is to make sure lights are out when there's no one in a room. He or she can also make sure that machines are turned off when not being used. 

Also, kids are curious, so you might want to motivate them with these (geeky :P) energy saving fun facts:

• A heavy coat of dust on a light bulb can block up to half of the light.
• In Australia, home refrigerators use the electricity of 5 large power plants every year.
• A hot water faucet that leaks one drop per second can add up to 320 litres month. That's more than one person uses in two weeks.
• An energy-smart clothes washer can save more water in one year than one person drinks in an entire lifetime!
• When you turn on an incandescent light bulb, only 10 percent of the electricity used is turned into light. The other 90 percent is wasted as heat.
• A compact fluorescent light bulb uses 75 percent less energy than a regular bulb – and it can last up to four years.
• Some new refrigerators are so energy-smart they use less electricity than a light bulb!
• An automatic dishwasher uses less hot water than doing dishes by hand - an average of six gallons less, or more than 3,000 litres per year.
• Every time you open the refrigerator door, up to 30 percent of the cold air can escape.

You can also suggest fun online games about saving energy from these websites:

http://www.loseyourexcuse.gov/index.html#/index

http://www.touchstoneenergykids.com/energysavings.php

http://www.olliesworld.com/club/gamehouse.htm

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/kids/games.html

http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/saving_energy/index.html

Good luck!

The Eco Buttons - what are they and what do they do?

Have you ever asked yourself how much energy you waste by leaving your PC sitting idle while you're away from your desk? Quite a lot it seems, and all of it adds up over the years creating a hefty carbon footprint. Computers and monitors can account for a lot of electricity: a single monitor left switched on overnight can use the same amount of energy as a laser printer producing 800 A4 printed copies.

According to a recent study, 500,000 computers in Australia are regularly left on unnecessarily, wasting around half a billion of kWh of energy, approximately 35 million AUD, or around 150,000 tons of carbon (the same as emitted by 60,000 cars!)

All this waste of electricity can be easily avoided by adopting simple energy saving policies and by using energy saving devices like the Ecobutton - with one small click, a huge amount of CO2 emissions could be avoided. For example, a home user running a single desktop computer can make a valuable contribution by saving up to 135kg of CO2 per year and approximately 150 AUD in electricity by using the Ecobutton regularly.

How does it work?

The Ecobutton sits next to your keyboard. It connects to your computer via a USB cable, and when used, puts your computer into the most economical sleep mode (usually Level 3 Standby, as opposed to Level 1 Standby which most desktop computers are routinely set to use and which still uses 50% of PC power). Ecobutton's software also records how many carbon units and how much power and money you have saved by using it. By pressing any key on your keyboard your computer is returned instantly to where you left off. As soon as you resume work, the ecobutton™ will show you just how much energy and how many dollars you've saved; also, it will calculate your CO2 emission savings! The potential is amazing - one small click can really make one big change!

It is a retrofit device, so it will work on any PC running Windows 7, 2000, XP and Vista (including laptops, and PCs with wireless keyboards - but not Macs just yet), and regardless of how energy efficient your IT system may be, the Ecobutton will contribute to further savings. The Ecobutton is designed to be used with desktop PCs mainly, as laptops generally already use Level 3 Standby. However it's still useful for laptops if you have power saving disabled, or if your laptop doesn't use Level 3 Standby. Also some older computers may have difficulty in reactivation. This is a problem with the computer bios and not the Ecobutton software. Moreover, the Ecobutton can also be used in simple networked environments, depending on the type of network and the software being run.

Is it useful?

You wouldn't normally shut down your PC because you were chatting on the phone for ten minutes, or because you went for a quick cup of coffee – but the fact is, even in "energy saving mode" your computer is still burning away precious electricity which costs our planet dearly in CO2 emissions. Unless of course, you have the Ecobutton!

With one push of the Ecobutton your computer will shut down all functions that draw power, except for the minimum amount of memory your machine needs. It also runs on just 1.8 watts of power, which is much, much less than your normal standby mode could manage.

Trees will reach out and hug you!  Polar bears will carve your name in the ice! OK, possibly not. But, you will be  a part of the solution rather than the problem, and that's got to feel awesome.

When you can't flick the off-switch, hit the Ecobutton! And of course, the Ecobutton is manufactured from recycled plastic.

Eco Buttons for Cars

If you've been looking for a new car in the past year or two, you may have noticed a new feature that's quickly becoming a standard into all models: the "eco button." Carmakers are installing the little, illuminated buttons everywhere, from hybrids to coupes, from high-horsepower sedans to massive SUVs.

This new feature allows you to transform your car into a green machine, selecting a driving mode that puts your machine’s abilities on a short leash - but only when you choose to. How does it work? Well, by pressing the eco button you tweak the accelerator (the throttle won't be as responsive or the transmission will shift into a higher gear at lower RPMs) which in turn optimizes the climate control, making the vehicle more environment-friendly.  Also, the electric systems will be tuned to reduce their energy consumption, and so on.

Here are a few examples of how these eco driving modes affect the car:

Honda: the two hybrids, CR-Z and Insight, have eco buttons and the feature will also be present in the Fit EV to increase battery range. In economy mode the electric motor assist prioritizes fuel efficiency, while the air conditioning system will reduce its overall load. The drive-by-wire throttle is optimized for smoother acceleration and maintains the lowest possible engine RPM; power and torque go down by 4% (except at wide-open throttle, which still gives full feed-back); on the CVT-equipped models the transmission ratios are optimized to be higher relative to engine RPM, and when using cruise control the throttle employs a smaller opening angle.

Infiniti: the new V8 Infiniti M comes standard with an eco button, but its efficacy can be increased if a buyer chooses the optional Technology Package. The standard setting changes throttle positioning and shift points. As an upgrade drivers can get the "Eco Pedal" that "provides feedback to encourage the driver to optimize fuel efficiency." The accelerator pedal resists a bit and vibrates underfoot when the driver gives it the lead boot. The feedback is slight, and can be easily overridden by the driver depressing further on the pedal.

Nissan: the Juke crossover’s Eco button adjusts throttle responsiveness and transmission mapping for the CVT. The new electric Nissan Leaf also has an eco button; pressing it has the same effect as for the Juke, but, since it doesn't have a traditional transmission, it provides more aggressive braking, as well as reducing the use of the air conditioning compressor.

Chevrolet: the Equinox, four-cylinder equipped with a six-speed automatic transmission, comes with an eco button that locks the transmission's torque converter at lower speeds and shifts the transmission to a higher gear earlier. It has no affect on throttle response however.

Dodge: the Grand Caravan will smooth out, when in eco mode, the throttle response and shift up sooner in order to save fuel.

Toyota and Lexus: the Toyota Prius and Highlander Hybrid, and Lexus HS250, RX 450h, LS 600 hL and the new CT 200h have eco modes that tweak accelerator response and optimize the climate control. The Camry Hybrid also has a dedicated green mode, but it doesn't affect the throttle, it only adjusts the HVAC system in order to improve fuel efficiency.

Hyundai: the Sonata has an Active Eco button and so will the new Veloster. This eco button modifies the transmission shifting schedule.

Your mileage, of course, will vary, as is the case with all measures of fuel efficiency.  What are the rough results though, in numbers? Manufacturers usually estimate a 5-10% improvement, with Dodge claiming that the eco mode in the Grand Caravan is good for about one more mile per gallon. We can see that a vehicle rated at 10 combined km/L will then get anywhere from 11.20 to 11.75 km/L. That's roughly the same improvement most people would achieve if they kept their car in a proper state, with the tires inflated, or if they just drove a little less aggressively.

Buyers are asking for features that will let them spend less on gas, and eco buttons can help them do that by allowing savings. If oil prices continue their climb, these requests will surely turn into strong demands. Nevertheless, drivers don't want to sacrifice speed or comfort or ride, at least not all the time. Hence the eco button, so you can go further, if a little bit slower.

What the Eco Button adds really is the option of choice; you will be able to make a decision based on the vehicles on the market as to whether you desire speed, comfort or the feeling of saving the world. However, whatever vehicle you drive, don’t forget to have Car Insurance! ;)

Water saving tips – for yard and garden

As I promised in my previous post, here are some tips about yard and garden water saving.

Plant drought-resistant lawns, shrubs and plants: If you are planting a new lawn, or overseeding an existing lawn, use drought-resistant grasses such as the new "Eco-Lawn". Many beautiful shrubs and plants thrive with far less watering than other species. Replace herbaceous perennial borders with native plants. Native plants will use less water and be more resistant to local plant diseases. Consider applying the principles of xeriscape for a low-maintenance, drought resistant yard. Plant slopes with plants that will retain water and help reduce runoff. Group plants according to their watering needs.

Put a layer of mulch around trees and plants: Mulch will slow evaporation of moisture while discouraging weed growth. Adding 2 - 4 inches of organic material such as compost or bark mulch will increase the ability of the soil to retain moisture. Press the mulch down around the dripline of each plant to form a slight depression which will prevent or minimize water runoff.

Don't water the gutter: Position your sprinklers so water lands on the lawn or garden, not on paved areas. Also, avoid watering on windy days.

Water your lawn only when it needs it: A good way to see if your lawn needs watering is to step on the grass. If it springs back up when you move, it doesn't need water. If it stays flat, the lawn is ready for watering. Letting the grass grow taller (to 3") will also promote water retention in the soil. Most lawns only need about 1" of water each week. During dry spells, you can stop watering altogether and the lawn will go brown and dormant. Once cooler weather arrives, the morning dew and rainfall will bring the lawn back to its usual vigor. This may result in a brown summer lawn, but it saves a lot of water.

Deep-soak your lawn: When watering the lawn, do it long enough for the moisture to soak down to the roots where it will do the most good:A light sprinkling can evaporate quickly and tends to encourage shallow root systems. Put an empty tuna can on your lawn - when it's full, you've watered about the right amount.

Water during the early parts of the day; avoid watering when it's windy: Early morning is generally better than dusk since it helps prevent the growth of fungus. Early watering, and late watering, also reduce water loss to evaporation. Watering early in the day is also the best defence against slugs and other garden pests. Try not to water when it's windy - wind can blow sprinklers off target and speed evaporation.

Add organic matter and use efficient watering systems for shrubs, flower beds and lawns: Adding organic material to your soil will help increase its absorption and water retention. Areas which are already planted can be 'top dressed' with compost or organic matter. You can greatly reduce the amount of water used for shrubs, beds and lawns by the strategic placement of soaker hoses, installing a rain barrel water catchment system and installing a simple drip-irrigation system. Avoid over-watering plants and shrubs, as this can actually diminish plant health and cause yellowing of the leaves. When hand watering, use a variable spray nozzle for targeted watering.

Don't run the hose while washing your car: Clean the car using a pail of soapy water. Use the hose only for rinsing - this simple practice can save as much as 150 gallons when washing a car. Use a spray nozzle when rinsing for more efficient use of water. Better yet, use a waterless car washing system; there are several brands, such as EcoTouch, which are now on the market.

Use a broom, not a hose, to clean driveways and sidewalks

Check for leaks in pipes, hoses, faucets and couplings: Leaks outside the house may not seem as bad since they're not as visible. But they can be just as wasteful as leaks indoors. Check frequently to keep them drip-free. Use hose washers at spigots and hose connections to eliminate leaks.

Water conservation comes naturally when everyone in the family is aware of its importance, and parents take the time to teach children some of the simple water-saving methods around the home which can make a big difference.

Water saving in the house - tips and tricks

I would like to present in this article several tips and tricks on water saving. The water system affects the energy consumption in many ways: heating, cooling, sterilizing, pumping it, and also through the hydroelectric plants.

In addition to saving money on your utility bill, water conservation helps prevent water pollution in nearby lakes, rivers and local watersheds. Conserving water can also extend the life of your septic system by reducing soil saturation, and reducing any pollution due to leaks. Overloading municipal sewer systems can also cause untreated sewage to flow to lakes and rivers. In some communities, costly sewage system expansion has been avoided by communitywide household water conservation.

Now, for a checklist:

Check faucets and pipes for leaks: A small drip from a worn faucet washer can waste 20 gallons of water per day. Larger leaks can waste hundreds of gallons.

Don't use the toilet as an ashtray or wastebasket: Every time you flush a cigarette butt, facial tissue or other small bit of trash, five to seven gallons of water is wasted.

Check your toilets for leaks: Put a little food coloring in your toilet tank. If, without flushing, the color begins to appear in the bowl within 30 minutes, you have a leak that should be repaired immediately. Most replacement parts are inexpensive and easy to install.

 Use your water meter to check for hidden water leaks: Read the house water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter does not read exactly the same, there is a leak.

Install water-saving shower heads and low-flow faucet aerators: Inexpensive water-saving low-flow shower heads or restrictors are easy for the homeowner to install. Also, long, hot showers can use five to ten gallons every unneeded minute. Limit your showers to the time it takes to soap up, wash down and rinse off. "Low-flow" means it uses less than 2.5 gallons per minute. You can easily install a ShowerStart showerhead, or add a ShowerStart converter to existing showerheads, which automatically pauses a running shower once it gets warm. Also, all household faucets should be fit with aerators. This single best home water conservation method is also the cheapest!

Put plastic bottles or float booster in your toilet tank: To cut down on water waste, put an inch or two of sand or pebbles inside each of two plastic bottles to weigh them down. Fill the bottles with water, screw the lids on, and put them in your toilet tank, safely away from the operating mechanisms. Or, buy an inexpensive tank bank or float booster. This may save ten or more gallons of water per day.  Be sure at least 3 gallons of water remain in the tank so it will flush properly. If there is not enough water to get a proper flush, users will hold the lever down too long or do multiple flushes to get rid of waste. Two flushings at 1.4 gallons is worse than a single 2.0 gallon flush. A better suggestion would be to buy an adjustable toilet flapper that allow for adjustment of their per flush use.  Then the user can adjust the flush rate to the minimum per flush setting that achieves a single good flush each time. For new installations, consider buying "low flush" toilets, which use 1 to 2 gallons per flush instead of the usual 3 to 5 gallons. Replacing an 18 liter per flush toilet with an ultra-low volume (ULV) 6 liter flush model represents a 70% savings in water flushed and will cut indoor water use by about 30%.

Insulate your water pipes: It's easy and inexpensive to insulate your water pipes with pre-slit foam pipe insulation. You'll get hot water faster plus avoid wasting water while it heats up.

Take shorter showers: One way to cut down on water use is to turn off the shower after soaping up, then turn it back on to rinse. A four-minute shower uses approximately 20 to 40 gallons of water.

Turn off the water after you wet your toothbrush: There is no need to keep the water running while brushing your teeth. Just wet your brush and fill a glass for mouth rinsing.

Rinse your razor in the sink: Fill the sink with a few inches of warm water. This will rinse your razor just as well as running water, with far less waste of water.

Use your dishwasher and clothes washer for only full loads: Automatic dishwashers and clothes washers should be fully loaded for optimum water conservation. Most makers of dishwashing soap recomend not pre-rinsing dishes which is a big water savings.  With clothes washers, avoid the permanent press cycle, which uses an added 20 liters (5 gallons) for the extra rinse. For partial loads, adjust water levels to match the size of the load. Replace old clothes washers. New Energy Star rated washers use 35 - 50% less water and 50% less energy per load. If you're in the market for a new clothes washer, consider buying a water-saving frontload washer.

Minimize use of kitchen sink garbage disposal units: In-sink 'garburators' require lots of water to operate properly, and also add considerably to the volume of solids in a septic tank which can lead to maintenance problems. Start a compost pile as an alternate method of disposing food waste.

When washing dishes by hand, don't leave the water running for rinsing: If your have a double-basin, fill one with soapy water and one with rinse water. If you have a single-basin sink, gather washed dishes in a dish rack and rinse them with a spray device or a panful of hot water. Dual-swivel aerators are available to make this easier. If using a dishwasher, there is usually no need to pre-rinse the dishes.

Don't let the faucet run while you clean vegetables: Just rinse them in a stoppered sink or a pan of clean water. Use a dual-setting aerator.

Keep a bottle of drinking water in the fridge: Running tap water to cool it off for drinking water is wasteful. Store drinking water in the fridge in a safe drinking bottle.

On my next article I will give you tips and tricks about saving water the yard and garden. Stay tuned! J

Join us at the National Sustainable Food Summit in Melbourne

Saving energy is important, but we must remember that conserving energy and limiting electricity consumption is but one item on the checklist. There are many other steps to take, and we, at EnergySaver Australia support green initiatives and recognize the synergistic effect that they bring.

The next event we will be promoting is the National Sustainable Food Summit that will take place in Melbourne, from the 5^th to the 6^th of April this year. The event will bring together some of food and agriculture's biggest players and leading experts in a two-day exchange of knowledge and ideas. This event focuses on recent policy developments, with emphasis on food security and resilience and how these relate to the National Food Plan.

The organizers aim to map a strategy for food security and resilience and also to answer several questions regarding the National Food Plan and its challenges in the near future.

The event will also be focused on a participative process, drawing on the collective expertise at the summit, through lively interactive discussions, small facilitated working groups and sessions designed to generate sets of working principles for policy and industry.

A list of speakers can be found here : http://www.3pillarsnetwork.com.au/p3_Events-Resources.html?&event=68&page=7

For more information and registration, we encourage you to visit http://www.3pillarsnetwork.com.au/p3_Events-Resources.html?&event=68 .

We will also be keeping you updated with details from the conference, pictures, and excerpts from the speeches. Make sure to visit us and to get first-hand information and insight into the challenges and solutions for the 21^st Century Food Strategy for Australia.

Weather stations - great educational tools!

An understanding of your local weather is very easy to obtain these days: from traditional thermometers and barometers to state of the art multi-sensor wireless weather stations, observing, interpreting and forecasting local weather patterns has never been simpler.

The best use for weather stations, besides, of course, forecasting weather, is as educational tools for children. Ever think of building a backyard weather station with your kids? It's fun, easy, and makes a great family project! Your kids will learn the basics of scientific observation and record-keeping while satisfying their natural curiosity about weather.

A weather station is a set of devices for measuring elements like temperature, rainfall, wind speed, and pressure. You can buy these devices easily online (http://www.energysaver.net.au/) and I'll guarantee they will provide you with tremendous fun family time .

Hint: Numerical data can also be entered into a simple spreadsheet-type program and manipulated  to create impressive visual charts and graphs to display data. Your kids can also take a crack at creating a wall chart to create a stunning data display. It would make a great science project or extra-credit work in any earth science course.

Show support for the Greenhouse 2011 event!

Scientists and representatives from industry and all levels of government will have the opportunity to hear about the latest in climate change science from leading researchers from Australia and around the world. Delegates at the Greenhouse 2011 will hear the latest from leaders in climate change science from across Australia and around the world. There will also be ample opportunity for networking and information sharing.

We will be present at the convention and will be sending live feedback from it. Greenhouse 2011 will be hosted at the award-winning Cairns Convention Center, only ten minutes from the Cairns International Airport, and surrounded by the Great Barrier Reef and ancient tropical rainforests.

Media registration is free so we encourage other bloggers involved in the sustainability industry to come and join us at the event. The conference will provide a rare opportunity to interact with some of the world's leading researchers in climate change science.

For more information, please visit http://www.greenhouse2011.com/.

How to save energy?

Most people, when trying to save energy, usually think of turning off the light when unnecessarily turned on, or the occasional energy saving light bulb. However, the key to making big savings on your home energy bills is to see your home as a living energy system with individual parts that affect each other:

Insulation:  Checking your home's insulation is one of the fastest and most cost-effective ways to use a whole-house approach to reduce energy waste and make the most of your energy dollars. It includes a combination of products and construction techniques that protect a home from outside hot or cold temperatures, protect it against air leaks, and control moisture. You can easily increase the comfort of your home while reducing your heating and cooling needs by investing in proper insulation and sealing air leaks.
For example, if you install energy efficient double glazed windows and loft insulation, when it's time to replace your boiler and heating system, you may be able to manage with a smaller one that costs less, because the windows and walls will retain the heated air inside better than a home without efficient windows and insulation.

Heating and Cooling: Heating and cooling your home uses more energy and drains more energy dollars than any other system in your home. Typically, 43% of your utility bill goes for heating and cooling. No matter what kind of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system you have in your house, you can save money and increase your comfort by properly maintaining and upgrading your equipment. But remember, an energy-efficient device alone will not have as great an impact on your energy bills as using the whole-house approach. By combining proper equipment maintenance and upgrades with appropriate insulation, air sealing, and thermostat settings, you can cut your energy use for heating and cooling, and reduce environmental emissions, from 20% to 50%.

Water heating: Water heating is the third largest energy expense in your home. It typically accounts for about 12% of your utility bill. There are four ways to cut your water heating bills: use less hot water ( :) ), turn down the thermostat on your water heater, insulate your water heater, or buy a new, more efficient model.

Windows: Windows can be one of your home's most attractive features. Windows provide views, daylighting, ventilation and solar heating. Unfortunately, they can also account for 10% to 25% of your heating bill. During the summer, your air conditioner must work harder to cool hot air from sunny windows. Install energy efficient  windows and use curtains and shade to give your air conditioner and energy bill a break. If you live in the hotter areas, look into low-e windows, which can cut the cooling load by 10% to 15%. If you decide not to replace your windows, the simpler, less costly measures listed here can improve their performance.

Lighting: Making improvements to your lighting is one of the fastest ways to cut your energy bills. An average household dedicates 11% of its energy budget to lighting. Using new lighting technologies can reduce lighting energy use in your home by 50% to 75%. Advances in lighting controls offer further energy savings by reducing the amount of time lights are on but not being used.

Appliances: they usually account for about 17% of your household's energy consumption, with refrigerators, clothes washers, and clothes dryers at the top of the consumption list. When you're shopping for appliances, think of two price tags: the first one covers the purchase price—think of it as a down payment; the second price tag is the cost of operating the appliance during its lifetime. You'll be paying on that second price tag every month with your utility bill for the next 10 to 20 years, depending on the appliance. Refrigerators last an average of 14 years; clothes washers about 11 years; dishwashers about 10 years; and room air conditioners last 9 years.

Home Office and Home Electronics: Working from home saves energy and time by cutting out the commute, but it may increase your home energy bills a lot unless you use energy-saving office equipment. Energy efficient office equipment is widely available: it provides users with dramatic savings, as much as 90% savings for some products. Overall, these kind of office products use about half the electricity of standard equipment. Along with saving energy directly, this equipment can reduce air-conditioning loads, noise from fans and transformers, and electromagnetic field emissions from monitors.

Renewable Energy: You have many options for using renewable energy at home—from solar-powered outdoor lights to buying renewable energy from your utility to even producing solar electricity at home with photovoltaic (PV) cells.

A blog on saving energy

Seeing a polar bear on TV looking totally shriveled is a bit of an epiphany: it makes you think how much we’ve screwed up the Earth in the past hundreds of years. Usually, we blame the “evil” large corporations for mining, cutting, drilling and burning chunks of our planet; but is it really their fault? At the end of the day, it’s our own demand for convenience (nice word for “lazyness”) that caused it.

But all is not lost. If each of us works little by little, a great deal of improvements can be accomplished. This blog is dedicated just to that: to offer practical tips and tricks on how to live better, more sustainable, and spending less.

In the following articles, I’m going to focus mostly on energy saving tips, as usually energy is taken for granted as a cheap product; I mean, we do recycle and all (well, some of us do), but how often do we think about what electricity is and how it is produced?

For example this table (thanks to www.lowimpactliving.com/  for providing it) shows how much carbon dioxide is generated (data for the year 2000) for a Kilowatt-hour, in USA:

So, when you think of it, it’s not just your bills that would get slashed if you would reduce your electricity consumption: greenhouse effect would take a step back too.

Let’s analyze further:  the Australian national average Electricity consumption is of 6,570 kWhs per year (18 kWh per day). This includes a child that leaves lights on all the time, two computers running, two televisions, and a swimming pool with pumps for filtration and heating. Now, let’s say that our energy is produced at the average conditions from US – taken 1.40 lbs Co2/KWh. That means almost 5 tons of carbon dioxide per year, per household. And that is gas, so one tone spreads over a very high volume. With the ozone layer hole getting larger, maybe it’s time to consider a greener lifestyle…