brennamedia

Green blogger with a love for the world and what it has to offer us all. Visit www.brennamedia.com.

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Surround Your Computer with Green Technology

Look around your computer or tablet right now. You probably see speakers, a printer, charger or keyboard around. On average, households have 24 electronics. What would your energy savings look like if you swapped out the computer accessories with green technology?

  You won’t have to search far to find green technology in computer accessories. You can find them in your local electronics store or online. While they typically cost more upfront, but they will pay for themselves in energy savings during the electronic’s lifetime.

  Eco-friendly computer accessories are quickly located by looking for the Energy Star label. Energy Star gives its label to printers, scanners, telephones, DVD players and more. Compared to the conventional models, the energy-efficiency ones save 45 percent more energy, typically. [1] The electronics get the label because Energy Star says it meets standards in power usages, and idle and sleep modes.

  A great example is a cordless telephone. The phones use a low-power mode, constantly using energy. Add in other video and audio electronics, and you have electronics in a low-power mode draining nearly 40 percent of your monthly energy. To fix this, Energy star finds phones that have efficient standby modes and smart chargers. Cordless phones don’t need to be charging all the time, so these energy settings are important. These settings guarantee that the phones use 2 watts or less.  Along with the lower energy pull, cordless phones can have a smart charging dock, which shuts off when the device is charged. [2]

  Save more money around your home by installing other automatic shut-off chargers. GreenZero and Dexim chargers work normally but turn off automatically when the device is charged.  

  You can avoid electronics all together by using simple, green technology. Amplifying devices, such as Amplifiear or SoundBender, attach to your tablet and increase the volume without any electronics. You just attach the device and use it like you regularly would. The sound will go directly to your hears, instead of bouncing around the room. If you want to save a little more, try using a plastic cup or toilet paper roll, to make a speaker. 

  Take another look around your computer. What electronics do you see that can be changed to green technology? Let me know in the comments section how your green technology changes work.

Author: Brenna Malmberg

[1] Energy Star Electronic Device Savings

[2] Energy Star Cordless Telephone Criteria

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Real-life ‘Star Trek’ medical tricoder project raises $1 million The Scanadu Scout reads out your heart rate, temperature, blood oxygen level, respiratory rate, blood pressure, stress and electrocardiography in 10 seconds.

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Read about this a while back on Wired. So cool. 

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Save with a Smart Thermostat

While you do a last minute email check before you board your flight, you remember you left the thermostat on its regular setting. Now while you are enjoying vacation, your house will be cooling and heating the whole time you are gone. All the energy used will be wasted because no one is home.

If you install a smart thermostat, this event will happen differently. Your trip of relaxation will only be interrupted a few minutes as you change your smart thermostat. All you have to do is pull our smartphone, bring up your thermostat app and change the device to vacation mode. Once switched, the thermostat will go to an energy efficient setting and your vacation will go on smoothly. This is thanks to a smart thermostat — energy efficiency plus peace of mind.

A smart thermostat is different from a programmable or regular thermostat. The smart device tracks home routines, changes based on ambient conditions, allows remote access and displays real-time energy consumption. Annually, you can reduce your heating and cooling by $180 if you install a smart thermostat. [1]

A smart thermostat gets its name because it does all the calculating for you. It learns your habits in a week and does the adjusting for you — no manual turning or adjusting or set weekly schedule. The first week of the smart thermostat ownership is the most important because that is when it learns your temperature changes. When you adjust that first week, the thermostat will remember you return from work late on Mondays and that you leave early for your child’s gymnastics lesson on Fridays. Don’t so a lot of random adjusting the first week. It’s a good idea to also remind family members about this as well. You want to make long-term, energy saving changes. If you make a mistake or it gets messed up, you can always manually fix it.

It also measures ambient conditions, such as humidity and takes those factors into considerations while it sets the temperature.

Smart thermostats are connected to Wi-fi, which allows you to control it through your smartphone or computer. Android and iPhones have apps available for download. This gives you instant access at your fingertips. So, if you will be returning late from work or forget to change it on vacation, you can just fix it from afar. Plus, the online access lets you see energy consumption in real-time. You can compare your monthly usage and can give you alerts to change things such as filters.

Perks like these do come at a price. Right off, you can spend up to $300 plus installation. For installation, you can install it yourself, work with the company or hire a contractor who deals in heating and cooling. Obviously, the do-it-yourself method is the cheapest. And you can end up spending more than $20 an hour for someone else to install the unit. [2] Once set up, the smart thermostat will track heating and cooling right away.

These brands have been on the market for a while. Nest begins at $249 and has settings that coordinate with auxiliary heat. ecobee costs $400 with installation and has a web portal to monitor home energy. Honeywell begins at $249 and allows alerts on your furnace, filters and the weather.

Once the smart thermostat is installed, all you need to do is do a week of setting and then let it save you money. And if you go on vacation and forget, the smart thermostat is just an app away.

Learn more at America’s Best Energy Team’s blog. 

  Author: Brenna Malmberg

[1] Energy Stat: Heating and Cooling Efficiency

[2] U.S. Labor Statistics

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10 Tips to Boost Home Office Energy Efficiency

In my home office, I have gadgets all around. Emails come in through my computer while my phone juices up at its wall charger. At the sunlight comes and goes, I change my light fixtures and the thermostat. It doesn’t matter whether you work from home all day or sit in an office, you probably have plenty of chances to save electricity, money and the environment. With these 10 home office energy tips, you can make simple changes that will have a big impact on electricity bills. You can implement them at home or companywide.

1.     Buy a green computer. Watch for the Energy Star label the next time your purchase a computer. You can find energy efficient models online or at your local electronics store. Read more about saving energy with green computer here.

2.     Turn off the screensaver. Screensavers waste energy. Instead, let your computer fall into a deep sleep with a black screen.

3.     Plug into a power strip. When you plug your electronics into a power strip, you can cut power to many devices with one switch. This ensures your electronics aren’t sucking energy when not in use.

4.     Don’t leave chargers in the wall. Phone or camera chargers left plugged in still suck electricity. Remember to unplug them when you are done using them.

5.     Use multi-purpose machines. Combine your scanner, printer, copier or fax machine into one device. One machines uses less power than three or four.

6.     Shine a lamp. Instead of using a big, overhead light, sit a lamp near your workspace. This allows you to light only the area you need to see in, not the whole area. Plus, use compact fluorescent lamp bulbs (CFLs) for more savings.

7.     Turn the blinds. Don’t use artifical light at all. Let the natural light stream in. Another plus, natural light can boost mood and productivity.

8.     Shut off lights. You learned it at a young age, flip off the lights when you leave the room.  

9.     Don’t block vents. Make the room efficient by not blocking the heating and cooling system vents. Anything in front of vents, such as bookshelves, file cabinets and desks block regular airflow, reducing efficiency.

10. Adjust the thermostat. If you only work in one room, reduce heating and cooling costs by using a space heater or fan to change the temperature. This allows you to adjust the whole house to a more energy saving level.

Read more about energy saving tips from America’s Best Energy Team. 

Author: Brenna Malmberg

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Green Computer Offers Electricity Savings

A quick push of the mouse, and my computer screen opens to my desktop. The lights buzz; the computer starts coming to life. While this happens, I get closer and closer to my workday. But at the same time, I am using and buying more energy.

With some computer information, you could be starting your workday more efficient by using a green computer. Together, by switching, we could save $1.8 billion a year. [1]

EPEAT offers a way to find a green computer. The company gives environmental ratings to electronics, including green computers. The rating system analyzes the entire items, from energy use to packaging. Electronics get a bronze, silver or gold rating from EPEAT. [2] For green computer options, the site lists more than 2,353.

Energy Star also offers eco-friendly equipment options. The products receive an Energy Star label for their environmental accolades. Energy Star takes the following criteria into consideration: Power supply; operation in multiple modes such as off, sleep and idle; and user adjustable power management features. [3] 

How much you reduce your electricity by switching to a green computer depends on your computer usage. A first easy step can be to quit using the screensaver. It looks nice, but if you let your computer drift into a deep sleep with a black screen, it saves more energy. Especially remember to make sure your computer and monitor both turn to a low-power mode. Lots of people only change the monitor, not the entire computer. Consult Energy Star’s site if you need help finding your device’s power management. [4] When you reduce the rebooting time, you can save up to $50 annually, especially if you use to leave your computer on constantly.

Download the Energy Star Estimate Your PC Power Management Savings spreadsheet to track your lifestyle changes. [5] It shows your habits and how much you are saving annually.  

I can save more than $15 annually by ditching my screensaver and changing my inactivity time down a few minutes. Thanks adjustments, I can work knowing I am conserving energy. How much can you save on electricity with a green computer?

Read more about computer energy with America's Best Energy Team. 

  [1] Energy Star Computer Savings

[2] EPEAT Environmental Criteria

[3] Energy Star Computer Criteria

[4] Energy Star Power Modes

Author: Brenna Malmberg

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Join Together to Observe World Environment Day

People around the world celebrate World Environment Day each year on June 5. On this day, people come together to promote eco-friendly pursuits. The United Nations Environment Programme started the holiday in 1972. Regardless of your location on the map, people strive together for a more environmental, safer tomorrow.  

The 2013 theme for World Environment Day is Think.Eat.Save. This theme centers on decreasing food waste and people’s environmental footprint when it comes to food. The theme urges people to think about the 1.3 billion tons of food wasted on the planet according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organizations [1].

While this does include food in the garbage can and leftovers, it also adds in the resources that go into meals. Crops receive chemicals and fertilizers. Trucks drive fruits and vegetables millions of miles. Grocery stores shelves are full of packaging. People work and resources are used to bring food to your table. After considering the additional resources, there is more wasted than just the food in the trash can.

Here are some tips to help you save food, money and the environment, every day, not just World Environment Day.

1.     Eat what you have. Cook meals with the ingredients you already have in the cupboard. It’s less wasteful and helps make sure you use it before it goes bad.  

2.     Purchase local. Reduce emissions by buying local. Visit a local farmer’s market or look for labeled items at the store.

3.     Schedule meals. Plan meals before you go to the store. This reduces impulse buys and makes you buy fewer unneeded items.

4.     Buy what you need. Only buy in bulk if you will use the food before it goes bad.

5.     Buy organic. Organic foods decrease the use of the chemicals and other resources.

6.     Save leftovers. Keep any uneaten food from dining out or meals made at home for later.

7.     Can or freeze fruits and vegetables. If you have a garden or local market, this can be the perfect way to save. Store fruits and vegetables to have all year.

Track your progress with those around the world on the World Environment Day site.

Help the environment a little more and increase your energy efficiency with more information from America's Best Energy Team.

Author: Brenna Malmberg

[1] United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization Numbers

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Low-flow Showerhead Saves Money and Water

Photo credit: WaterSense

With a low-flow showerhead, you can save money and water. The water you use to shower accounts for 17 percent of residential water use. So, when you change this one item in your house, you will save 2,900 gallons of water a year. [1]

Before you replace your showerhead, check to make sure if you already own a low-flow showerhead. To test, get a large container and put it in the shower. Let the water run at a regular pace for 20 seconds. Next, measure the water. If you calculate it in cups, divide that number by 16 to get your number in gallons.

After you learn your gallons, take that number and multiple it by three. This gives you gallons per minute of your showerhead.

Where does your showerhead compare to a low-flow showerhead. The low-flow uses fewer than 2 gallons per minute. A regular showerhead is typically 2.5 gallons per minute or more. So, if your number was more than 2.5, you definitely should think about replacing.

If you had a pre-1992 showerhead, it could use more than 5.5 gallons per minute. Until the Energy Policy Act of 1992 was passed by the government, showerhead flow rates could be more than 5.5 and using more water than you think. [2]

Now that you know about your flow rate, you can find a low-flow showerhead. A partnership program with the Environmental Protection Agency called WaterSense grants a seal to showerheads. These showerheads are marked by WaterSense for their ability to meet efficiency standards in three categories. They are spray force, flow rate and spray coverage. [3] These standards ensure that the showerhead is efficient and quality.

Look for the WaterSense logo at the store or search online for your next showerhead: http://www.epa.gov/WaterSense/product_search.html?Category=4

You can also do your part to save more water by using these helpful tips for saving water in the shower: http://www.homeenergyefficiencyaudit.com/saving-in-the-shower/

 For more showerhead information and other ways to improve your home energy efficiency visit America's Best Energy Team blog. 

[1] WaterSense, a partnership program with the Environmental Protection Agency

[2] U.S. Department of Energy: Greening Federal Facilities

[3] WaterSense Specification for Showerheads

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Cows fed candy instead of corn Reacting to exorbitant corn prices, farmer feeds his cattle defective candy instead — and claims it’s just as healthy.

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