Green Building

How To Using Electric Car Batteries To Power Your Home

With the advancements in car batteries for electric cars manufacturers are now building systems that when charged with solar panels and wind power can be used to power your home at night. Already Australia is installing these systems that are tied back into the grid and can be used during peak power usage in the community and also to power homes at night.

The cost is not something the average home owner can afford without …

How To Reduce your Electric Bill with a Water Heater Timer

While everyone is promoting the use of Compact Florescent and LED Light Bulbs to save money the reality is heating and cooling are the most expensive portions of our electric use.

To reduce the cost of Electric used for heating our homes most new homes will come with a programmable thermostat allowing the owner to set on and off times throughout the day and reduce heat and air conditioning use while no one is …

Two Connecticut wine and spirits distributors have added 559 kilowatts of solar arrays on their rooftops

Two Connecticut wine and spirits distributors have added 559 kilowatts worth of solar arrays on their rooftops.

Allan S. Goodman in East Hartford installed a 234-kilowatt system using a special 15-year renewable energy credit contract from Connecticut Light & Power. The distributor will draw 70 percent of its power needs from the solar panels.

Eder Bros. in West Haven installed a 325-kilowatt system using the same style of 15-year REC contract from United Illuminating.

Both arrays were installed by New York City-based EnterSolar. …

How To – Buying Alternative Energy from your Electric Company Is it Worth It?

Just received a bill from my electric company and inside was their flyer that explains some of their services and lucky for me a coupon for light bulbs.  Honestly the coupon is worthless because you can’t use it at big discount warehouses where lights are cheaper by the 10 pack but lets get back to the other thing..

Included was information about how you as a customer can purchase a portion of your electric as …

How To – Buying a Fuel Efficient Car

With Oil prices reaching $100 a barrel it is time for all of us to rethink the amount of energy we use and buying a fuel efficient car is one way we can lower our dependence on Oil.

Its been said that if all Americans were to drive vehicles that got between 35 and 45 MPG there would be no need to buy Oil from other countries. This is important because the ability to …

How To – Purchasing Salvaged Building Materials For Your Projects

Saving money should be part of any good project and there are a number of ways that you can save by using Salvaged building materials.

Salvaged materials come in two groups. First and the best bet for your money is when you can find new materials that were never actually installed.  The second offering is when you reclaim used materials from homes that are older and either being demolished or remodeled.

Before considering any salvaged materials …

How To – Denim Post Production Waste As An Insulation Alternative To Fiberglass

The use of fiberglass and foam insulation in homes has been widely accepted as the cheapest and most efficient method of reducing heat loss however there are organizations that are experimenting with the use of post manufacturing waste as an alternative.

America and the world wears a lot of Denim and cotton products that produce huge amounts of waste for the manufacture. Although Cotton being a natural fiber will break down much quicker then a …

Remember To Take Your Tax Refunds For Home Improvements

Well if you haven’t started yet now is about the time you should think about collecting all of your forms and preparing your taxes. One good thing you may not have realized is there are a lot of home improvement incentives that can reduce your taxes.

Under the The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 tax incentives are available for those who made energy efficient upgrades to their homes through December 31, 2010.

And …

How To – Introduction to Rainwater Collection in Residential Construction

The collection of rainwater for drinking and general use is not something new but as we have seen in the past 10 years droughts are now common in the USA. As of October 2007 over 40% of the United States is under drought conditions both due to increased building and low amounts of rainfall.

For these reasons it is important to understand our impact on the land and when we can make modifications that will both save us money and precious …

The U.S. Forest Service Chooses COW POWER

“We work hard to improve the environment every day, so it’s natural that we’d want to lessen our environmental impact through Cow Power,” said Forest Supervisor Meg Mitchell.

The Cow Power process is simple: manure and other agricultural waste are held in a sealed concrete tank at the same temperature as a cow’s stomach, 101 degrees. Bacteria digest the volatile components, creating methane and killing pathogens and weed seeds.
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