How One Bad Driving Habit Can Cost You $600 A Year

I drive on a divided highway most of my way to work. It is about a 22 mile drive one-way, with a speed limit ranging from 55 mph to 65 mph for most of it.

I’ve always been surprised at the number of speeders and dangerous weavers on this road, and I often have to try very hard to not take it personally when other drivers jeopardize my safety. I know, it is easy to get behind the wheel and only think of yourself – i.e. “I have to be to work by 8:00 AM”, or “I hate waiting for traffic”, etc.

But not only is this driving dangerous, it is extremely wasteful. 

I think most people know that jack-rabbit starts are terrible for fuel efficiency. But the one area that people don’t often think about is how speeding impacts fuel performance.  In fact, it can cost you $400 to $600 in an average car, and much more if you drive a truck or SUV!

Five Frequently Asked Questions About Reducing Your Electric Bill

When I tell people about this website, I often immediately get asked a simple question or two about reducing electricity bills.

These questions are often based in a dispute that the asker has had with their husband or wife, and often "loaded" in some way. Often, something based in fact has been twisted just enough to make the answer difficult.

For those who love semantics, you'll love this Q and A session. When you read the first question you'll see what I mean.

Paint It White - Can Paint Save You 10%, or even 20% on Cooling Bills?

Light Colored Roofs

There has been a growing buzz for the last couple of years about a new way to cool houses in hot climates.  The buzz has reached a louder tone lately since Steven Chu, the US Energy Secretary, brought the topic of money saving paint to the forefront.

So what is this magic paint that saves money?  It is light colored roof paint.  Yes, paint your roof and you may see noticeable savings of energy in your home (though reports of 20% are almost certainly overblown).

Now, this sounds crazy, and as of yet not many people have taken the leap.  So lets take a closer look and see what roof painting is all about.

An OLED revolution? Organic LEDs

Early Flexible OLED Technology

Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) have been around for years, if not decades, when you consider research in universities and labs.  But only now are OLEDs reaching mainstream, and starting to turn up on consumer products (TVs, monitors, watches), advertising, and more.

So what is OLED, will it compete in the lighting industry, and what is its potential for the average household?

Four Myths of LED Light Bulbs

As with any emerging technologies, there are many myths surrounding LED lighting. Some make LED lighting sound terrible, and others make LEDs sound like a revolutionary technology. It is easy to confuse “potential” with “capability today”, and it is easy to confuse yesterday’s capability with an inherent flaw.

Today I’ll take a look at a few current myths that persist for LED lighting.

Clarian Power 'Plug-n-Play' Solar Update

Clarian Smart Box Solar (http://www.clarianpower.com)

A few months back I posted about a new solar niche emerging, being partly driven by Clarian Power.  The niche - plug and play solar.

They offer stand-alone solar panels, rated at 200 watts, that can be connected to the power grid via a standard electrical outlet.  Micro-inverters and a simple mounting system make this possible.

Clarian's price point at that time was $600 - $800.  A check back on their website today reveals an increase to $700-$900, with another part of the site indicating "less than $1000).  This increased price point will make payback even harder to achieve, though we still don't know the full specifications of their panels.  But assuming typical efficiency specs, I was really thinking a $600 price point would be needed to be viable.

And on a side note, Clarian seems to have re-branded this product as the "SmartBox' (previously SunFish). 

I'll continue to keep an eye on Clarian to see when their product is released to the general public.

Where Have You Gone, Energy Efficiency Blogs?

I love reading about saving energy and saving water. I read the magazines, I scan google for news on the latest products, I watch EurekaAlert for the latest breakthroughs, I check prices on Amazon, and I search out other bloggers like me that use energy saving practices.

While I focus on products, tips, and tricks that almost anyone can perform, it doesn't mean I don't like reading about the over-the-top fanatically green practices that some employ, too.

But where are the energy saving bloggers? If you google for them the top matches are almost exclusively sites that have had no updated posts in 18 months or more! That astounds me given how much interest there is in the topic, and how many topics there are to discuss.

After 5 months online, my site only shows up on the first page of a few specific google searches. I know search engine ranking takes time, so if I'm not making the first page of search results, I know that there is a lot of other good content out there not making it, too.

I'd love to hear from readers as to what there favorite energy saving, water saving, or general efficiency sites are. I have my Recommended Blogs list (see right column) and would love to add to it! I want Home Power Saver to truly be a resource - not just for my content, but a resource for other interesting and useful ways to cut energy bills, carbon emissions, and our general energy 'footprint'.

Pass along your finds either via email (see the About link) or better yet, comment below.