A new limited time PG&E energy efficiency rebate where you can receive up to $3,500 in rebates from PG&E’s Energy Upgrade California pilot program. Limited to first 500 homes. San Francisco, Berkeley, San Mateo County, and other parts of the SF Bay Area and Northern California are in the PG&E service territory.  SMUD of Sacramento has its own similar program.

Qualification:

• You must own a single-family home or duplex and be a PG&E customer.
• You must be current on property taxes and liens.
• The amount of the rebate you get is based on energy modeling software that shows how much energy your home will save after an energy upgrade remodel.
• A home energy audit which includes energy modeling must be completed by a certified energy auditor.
• The rebate amount is based on how much less energy your home will use after the energy upgrades. A minimum 20% energy reduction receives $2,000 in rebates. Each additional 5% reduction beyond that earns another $375, up to $3,500.  (see chart below)

California Building Performance Contractors Association is certifying contractors working within the EUC PG&E Home Performance programs.

Contact your local Home Energy Audit firm today.

• Hire a home performance firm to perform an energy audit of your home.
• Work with your specialist to choose and implement cost-effective improvements to achieve your desired energy use reduction.

Be sure to take advantage of the Federal Tax Credit too!

Here are some non obvious recycling tips from our local garbage carrier, Allied Waste.  Check with your local company to verify how they handle recycling.

1) Rinsed coated milk and juice cartons. Plastic caps and plastic pour spouts must be removed before recycling.

2) No Pizza boxes

3) No black plastic (any type)

4) No nursery plant containers – See Recycle Plastic Nursery pots

5) No Toys

6) No Plastic Clam shells. Tetra Pak can be recycled.

7) Cardboard boxes like detergent ones cannot be recycled unless they are thoroughly cleaned.

Allied Waste recycles single use batteries if you place them in a plastic bag on top of recyclables.  Best Buy has recycling bins for rechargeable batteries. Earth911 can help you find local battery recycling.

Harder to Recycle Items

Most supermarkets have bins that recycle plastic bags. Recycle Wine Corks.

Recycle CFL – compact fluorescent light bulbs at Home Depot.

TerraCycle makes affordable, eco-friendly products from a wide range of different non-recyclable waste materials. Capri Sun – Honest Kids juice pouches can be recycled at Terracycle as Candy Wrappers, Starbucks Coffee bags, Zip Loc Bags, Cookie Wrappers, Colgate toothpaste, and more.

Recycling styrofoam is a challenge. Recycle Tyvek Envelopes. Recycle Shrink Wrap. Recycle Gift Wrap and Holiday Cards. Recycle Gift Cards.

Recycle Bike Tires.

Recycle Clothes. Recycle Eyeglasses

Recycle Carpet.

Cell phones and Electronics can be readily recycled or donated. Recycle Appliances.

Earth911 has recycling options for other products. Get paid to recycle.

Be sure to donate unwanted items.

The trend is to consider green practices when constructing a new building or when remodeling your kitchen, bathroom or home.  Here are some useful resources.

Build It Green has some very good guidelines and checklists for Green Construction, remodeling and building new homes.  They are a non-profit dedicated to help all of us out even though they focus on California.  They have extensive lists of building material recommendations and sources.

Advanced house framing techniques for new homes, require half the wood of the past.

Build it Green NYC has information on low cost salvage and surplus building materials.

Using salvaged or reclaimed items helps cut down on resource utilization.

Heritage Salvage in Petaluma sells reclaimed building materials.

Driftwood Salvage in Palo Alto sells surplus construction items.

Urban Ore in Berkeley sells surplus items.

List of other San Francisco Bay Area Salvage yards.

CalMAX – California Materials Exchange – One business’s trash is another business’s treasure.

Remember to donate your spare items after your remodel back to these salvage yards.

The Costco Effect is defined by the Devil’s Dictionary as “..consumer enter a store planning to buy toilet paper, and end up charging $1500 on their AMEX card.”

The Wall Street Journal even had an article on this. “Michael Norton, a Harvard University marketing professor, co-authored a yet-to-be-published paper that found people buy more than they intend at Costco because they perceive that prices are better. He believes people end up throwing out food as a result.”

Knowing many Costco regulars or “addicts”, I can agree with the articles.  You visit the store to buy more household items like detergent, paper towels, bread, milk but end up with books, electronics, beef jerky, clothes, and much more in your shopping cart. Shoppers assume they are getting great deals and buy until their garages are overstocked.

This overbuying problem presents itself at other warehouse clubs like Sam’s Club and even to holders of Store credit card with rewards or loyalty program like a Target Credit Card or Amazon Credit Card.  You end up buying extra, often unnecessary items because of a discount, cash back, or sales goal.

We have no problem buying in bulk to save money, but when you add in a bunch of impulse items, you do not save money, you spend more.  Many items are only sold in bulk, so we had first hand experience buying items, eating some, then tossing the rest.  Not very eco friendly and no savings of money.

Try to restrain yourself at Costco or any other store.

Do you really need this item?  Will I really finish this 12 pack?

Never shop when you are hungry!  That sample tasted good, should I buy some?  Eat before shopping.

Also remember that you can return anything to Costco at ANY time, even partially consumed. (Some electronics have a 90 day return period.)

Here are some free resources to help you save money on your home’s energy bill. Hiring a local firm to do a home energy audit would yield more useful specific items to address, but would cost a couple hundred dollars.

Home Energy Saver has a web based do-it-yourself energy audit tool. It is from the people at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. While some recommendations are pretty general, it is a good starting point.

Energy Star Home Yardstick has helpful resources but focuses more on Energy Star rated items.

Money Magazine has an article stating that some people could invest $1500 in insulation and mainteance and get over twice that in energy savings in the first year.  Most of the tips cover those with poor attic insulation, leaky duct work, no programmable thermostat.

Flex Your Power has lots of energy saving tips.

Pacific Energy Center has many free classes on how to save energy.