Pacific Gas and Electric has some free classes on various Energy conservation topics including Solar Power Basics for Residential Customers, HVAC, Water & Energy, and Lighting. It is always nice to get vendor neutral information.  Some classes are available online to any user.

Let’s face it, not everyone has tens of thousands of dollars to pay for a solar system and even with no money down leases, you still need to be informed.  Looking for new ways to save energy is only a class away.

Classes take place at:

Pacific Energy Center
851 Howard Street
San Francisco

and

Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s Energy Training Center
1129 Enterprise St.
Stockton, CA 95204

A recent article pointed out millions of gallons of sewage or partially treated sewage spilled out into San Francisco Bay during the big storms of January 17 to 23, 2010.  They had a picture of people fishing near one of the worst spill areas.  You would expect terrible fish out of a polluted stream in China but in the middle of California. Pretty depressing.  Clearly the various municipal water districts need to do a lot of work and we need to keep pressing them.

Some tips to do your share during storms:

• Minimize water use. Wait before doing dishes, washing clothes, flushing toilet
• Do not dump fats, oils, toxic chemicals, car wash soap down the drain
• Make sure your sewer line does not have cracks or roots intruding (Using toxic root killer is not very green)
• Make sure your sewer cap is secure and tight. If you have a back up problem, you can purchase from Home Depot a special cap with a ball that allows sewage backup to spew out.

GoECOlife has shredders marketed as being eco or green. How could a shredder be green?

• They paid to offset carbon used to create this product
• Energy-Saving Technology prevents phantom power loss
• Meets RoHS standards so it doesn’t use lead, mercury and other heavy metals
• Responsibly packaged using recycled or recyclable materials
• No use of styrofoam or plastic tape.

All great things to have but it would have been far better if they also used recycled material for the unit itself. GoECOlife is definitely thinking green, so if you need a new shredder, this would fit the bill. Always try to buy or find a used one first.

Computers use a lot of power. We have covered how to save energy on computers in the past.

Verdiem has a new FREE home version of their Edison power management software for the PC available now.  It runs on Windows XP and Vista and helps you configure your computer to save energy. The Vista version should run under Windows 7. Use Edison to set up work time and non work time power profiles. Display money, energy and CO2 used.

AKS-Labs has Free WatchOverEnergy, an energy tracking and management software for Windows 9x, 2000, XP, NT. WatchOverEnergy program can activate stand-by mode for your monitor when you are not using the PC and when no important programs are running. Track energy saving in both watt-hours and dollars.

JSutils has energy saving utilities for Windows 2000, Windows XP/2003, Windows Vista and Windows 7. One program monitors the mouse, keyboard and CPU load and initiates computer shutdown if there has been no keyboard or mouse activity and the average CPU load has been below the threshold set for the specified time.

photo credit: Abri_Beluga

Solar water heaters are placed on roofs and absorb the sun’s energy to heat water, which is then stored in a water tank for later use.  Some include a gas heating system for backup. Unobstructed Southern sky exposure is most optimal. Sometimes the units need to be tilted to face the sky, making for some unsightly installations.

California utility regulators have recently approved rebates of $350 million over the next 8 years to encourage the use of solar water heaters. The $1500 rebates could reduce the cost of these expensive solar water heater by 15% to 25%. Average systems cost from $6500 to $8000.  Rebates are retroactive to August 2009, so apply if you already had a system put in. Many other states have similar rebates.

Multifamily and commercial buildings are also eligible for special rebates up to $500,000. The goal is to add solar water heating to reduce natural gas use by about 200,000 single-family homes.

Local utility companies administer the rebate, so check with your local utility company. PGE has a page outlining the program that also covers San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E), Southern California Edison (SCE) or Southern California Gas (SoCalGas). California’s rebate is in additional to the Federal Energy Tax Rebate.

The payback of a Solar Water Heater occur over a long period. Water heating bills should drop 50%–80%, making payback times at least 10 years after rebates. Systems should last for 25+ years. Gas rates many rise in the future, helping to shorten payback times. SEIA.org has a dealer locater.