Welcome to the IDT Energy Blog

We all have the same thought at some point — Eco-friendly is nice, but can we REALLY live in a truly energy saving, eco-friendly, recyclable home?

 CNN has this video on a woman in Oregon who built her own home:

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/offbeat/2007/07/17/sharify.tiny.house.affl

Now, you should feel the need to question — great, so what?

Answer:  If she can do it for 85 square feet you can for even bigger.

Solar Electricity — It really works:   Try it for yourself. 

Plan and buy here:

http://www.idtenergystore.com/Outdoor-Solar-Panels/c52/index.html

Energy saving lighting, buy here:

http://www.idtenergystore.com/Light-Bulbs/c50/index.html

Tips for saving money and energy when it comes to lighting:

1. Use compact fluorescent bulbs, which use only a fourth of the amount of electricity as regular bulbs. You can save 10 dollars or more per bulb in long-term electricity costs.

2. Let the light shine through - dirty lights and fixtures can hamper efficiency by as much as 20%.

3. Darken your doorstep – say goodbye to outdoor decorative lights. You’ll feel good knowing that by turning off eight gas lamps that had been burning year round, you can save as much natural gas as it takes to heat an average-size home during an entire winter.

4. Want to reduce the 11% of your electricity bill that goes towards lighting? Use timers to monitor your lighting use and only use bright lights where and when you need them.

Who knew they had it in them? Really funny Energy Star ad, which manages to be sardonic while making a serious point. This send-up of a classic suburban family clocks in at just over a minute, and it is a minute well spent. Ability to laugh at themselves grabs attention.

Energy saving tips for favoring your fan over your air-conditioner:
• If you use a fan in conjunction with your air conditioner, your air conditioner won’t have to work as hard to spread cooled air throughout the house.
• When it’s cold, you can reverse your ceiling fan motor. The blades move hot air up to the ceiling, and then the fan will propel the hot air downwards. Your room gets hotter, and the increased heat circulation can also help with the problem of condensation on windows.
• With ceiling fans using as little energy as a 60-watt bulb, about 98 percent less energy than most central air conditioners use, they are a smart choice in terms of your wallet and the environment.
• Do the math. Ceiling fans cost 1 cent an hour to run, air room conditioners cost 16 cents an hour to run, and central air conditioning costs 43 cents an hour to run.

Have you always been intimidated by scary words like “weather strip” and “insulation”?

Fear no more. This video quickly and clearly shows you how to weather strip your door, helping you save energy and money.

• Don’t keep your house cool when you aren’t in it. A programmable thermostat helps you regulate your air conditioning use for specific hours of the day.

• How cool do you really need it to be? Every degree of cool air ups your energy usage by about 10%, so set your programmable thermostat for the temperature you really need to be comfortable.

• Trust the experts: Set your programmable thermostat to the recommended temperature setting of 78°F in the summer.

• Keep your programmable thermostat away from devices that generate heat, such as lights and televisions, or your programmable thermostat will have to work harder to cool the air.

MSNBC has jumped on the green bandwagon with their version of everyone’s favorite top ten list. A glaring omission: no mention of light bulbs, be it LEDs or CFLs. One problem with this list: it’s not focused enough in terms of the scope of its suggestions. These kinds of lists need a unifying factor to be practical, otherwise they get overwhelming.

For example, buying a programmable thermostat is an idea that requires an initial outlay of cold hard cash, even if you make it back quickly in lower energy bills, while keeping your fridge away from direct sunlight does not cost a cent and does not require you to leave the house. By offering suggestions that demand such different levels of financial commitment and energy (pun intended) you are destined to lose some of your audience along the way.

The Guardian’s article on “Top tips for the lazy environmentalist” is better in that it recognizes a specific audience and has tips which make sense for that niche, although the final tip, “Get involved, stay informed” seems to me to be counter to the spirit of the article title.

New York Magazine rates the latest and greatest in green bulding using the visual aid of a Green-o-Meter, asking, “But which ones are really saving ¬resources, and which are just “ ‘green-washing’ ”—doing the minimum to collect those credits and alleviate guilt?” (full story here)

For example, The Lucinda on East 85th street offers:

1. Rainwater that irrigates the garden

2. Energy-saving “envelope” and mechanicals

3. Light-hued roofing materials which supposedly keep interiors cooler in summer

4. Bamboo, cork, and sustainably harvested wood interior finishes

You know what – I’ll take it, even minus an eco-feature or two. All of these buildings sound amazing!

And if moving to one of these eco-friendly condos in the city is not in the cards for you, do not despair – you can still make your New York apartment (or your house anywhere in New York) more energy efficient with one of IDT Energy’s Home Energy Audits.

Here are some tips for saving energy in your bathroom:

1. Lose the leaks so that you don’t accidentally waste more than 10,000 gallons of water a year

2. Make sure hot water is not piped into your toilets. This wasteful practice is sometimes followed to reduce “sweating” of toilets.

3. Lower the water level in your toilet tank to the lowest point where it still functions as it should.

4. Get an ultra low flush toilet and save 5 gallons of water every time you flush.

Like what you read? Go to IDT Energy.com and sign up to get weekly energy saving tips.

And while I am in promotional mode (it’s been a while so bear with me), the IDT Energy Store has a new look and feel, and I for one am impressed. Take a look.

Cool device which gives it to you straight up – no more guessing how much energy you use:

“The Home Joule kicks things up a notch by receiving real-time info about your local utility, time-of-day energy costs, and local weather, then splices this with your home energy consumption. The colored circular screen tells you when your bill is going to spike or when your use is unusually high. According to Wired, responsible energy use can even earn you goodies like movie tickets.”