Residential vertical wind turbines and solar panels designs for your home – Clean alternative energy systems can save with energy star tax credit

Posted on October 25, 2010 by Douglas W. Marcille, Energy Industry Leader

With 2010 quickly coming to an end, many Americans are looking into purchasing an alternative energy source for their home to take advantage of the energy Star tax credit for the 2010 tax year. This tax credit can save the taxpayer of to 30% of the cost of the product.

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Passive House Sets High Bar for Energy Efficiency

Posted on October 22, 2010 by Douglas W. Marcille, Energy Industry Leader

A new home under construction in East Falmouth is being built to an exacting new building standard, designed to be super-tight with virtually no air leakage, which may make it one of the most energy-efficient houses in the United States.

“Upon completion, this will be one of the top 10 energy-efficient houses in the country,” said architect Steven Baczek of Reading. “The house is virtually a hot air balloon.”

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Search for savings this season in a home energy audit

Posted on October 21, 2010 by Douglas W. Marcille, Energy Industry Leader

From the crawlspace beneath the garage to the cramped attic beneath the eaves, no leak or cold draft escaped the attention of Gary Wood, a home energy auditor shimmying through the unseen corners of the Wilkinson residence on Squak Mountain.

The audit — conducted on a cool October morning — marked step No. 1 to make the 24-year-old home more energy efficient. The process is designed to help homeowners find small problems — improperly sealed roof vents, for instance — and, later, correct the issues. The result: savings on utility bills.

“To cut our energy use by 30 percent would be huge,” homeowner Dan Wilkinson said.

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$50 Test Could Cut Your Energy Bill

Posted on October 20, 2010 by Douglas W. Marcille, Energy Industry Leader

Mike Ward was not really thinking about energy efficiency when he bought his home, but now he is.

“In the winter time, it’s very cold in this house regardless of what I have the thermostat at,” Ward said. “I know my gas bills are always high.”

Ward called Columbia Gas to perform a home energy audit on his 71-year-old home, 10TV’s AJ Smith reported.

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Spotlight On Efficiency

Posted on October 19, 2010 by Douglas W. Marcille, Energy Industry Leader

Energy efficiency is a hallmark of the 2010 Showcase Home, the specially featured property of the Greater Fort Smith Home Builders Association’s Fall Parade of Homes going on this month.

The Showcase Home, an annual highlight of the twice-yearly home show, this year is located at 5512 Callaway Lane in the Williamson Place subdivision off of U.S. 71 South at Old U.S. 71. It is one of 29 new homes in and around Fort Smith that will be open for viewing daily from noon to 6 p.m.

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How Much Energy Does Your Home Use?

Posted on October 18, 2010 by Douglas W. Marcille, Energy Industry Leader

Are your cooling and heating systems energy efficient?

Not only does the efficiency of these systems spare energy — which has been in short supply in some areas lately — but it adds to the money left in your pocketbook after paying energy costs.

The first step to taking a whole-house energy efficiency approach is to find out which parts of your house use the most energy.

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Will Wall Street Get Behind Offshore Wind?

Posted on October 15, 2010 by Douglas W. Marcille, Energy Industry Leader

With Google’s announcement this week that it would invest in a $5 billion project to build an underwater transmission backbone to support offshore wind farms, New Jersey’s efforts to promote the alternative energy as a viable option to meet the state’s clean energy agenda are looking more promising.

Of course, it all depends on if the state can convince Wall Street to invest in the four offshore wind projects that have been proposed off the coast of New Jersey. State regulators plan on testing the financial waters next Tuesday in Trenton.

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Fall Energy Saving Tips

Posted on October 14, 2010 by Douglas W. Marcille, Energy Industry Leader

Fall weather usually drives energy bills higher as furnaces start working overtime to ward off the chilly temperatures. There are a few simple ways to keep those energy costs down during the fall and winter.

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Mt. SAC offers new green technology program

Posted on October 13, 2010 by Douglas W. Marcille, Energy Industry Leader

WALNUT – A $2.3million federal grant is paving the way for a new career technical program at Mt. San Antonio College, which is getting started with 24 students this semester.

The Building Automation program is one of few available statewide and trains students to use the technology required to manage more energy-efficient buildings – a field in which skilled workers are in high demand, professors said.

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The Home Energy Management Market Heats Up

Posted on October 12, 2010 by Douglas W. Marcille, Energy Industry Leader

From startups to heavyweights, companies are betting that energy management will be the next big thing–a market worth $171 billion by 2014.

Talk to people about using less energy–and saving money–and nearly everyone thinks it’s a great idea. So it stands to reason that home-energy management systems will be a hot item for 2010. It’s an appealing prospect: Wireless networks, working with smart meters and smart appliances, shift energy use away from peak times, when it can cost 10 times the off-peak price. Instead of turning on the air-conditioning at 5 p.m. with the rest of the neighborhood, for example, the system could automatically precool the house when there’s less demand for energy, making it cheaper. Sounds great, right?

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