New Peco rebates have been added for 2012.

Utility Company Peco Energy has a bunch of programs and incentives to help save energy and money.

• $15 back on Refrigerator recycling or Freezer recycling
• Up to $300 rebate on furnaces and boilers
• $400 rebate for converting to natural gas
• PECO Smart Home rebates for select EnergyStar appliance or heating, cooling system pay up to $100.   Covers air conditioners, heat pumps, and more. Expires 12/31/2012.
• Save up to $120 with Smart A/C Saver
• Home lighting – Discounted Home Lights

Questions, call 1-888-573-2672.

Always check your local utility’s web site for rebates before you buy a new item. We recently bought a new dishwasher that had a $50 utility company rebate that was not advertised by the store. They fulfilled the rebate in only 2 weeks. Green your home and get cash back. Most rebates run through December 31 or while funding is available

Federal Energy Efficiency Tax Credit

Be sure to also take advantage of the Federal Energy Efficiency Tax Credit. This Federal tax credit can save you money in addition to your utility companies’ promotions. It applies to many items including: Wind Turbines - GeoThermal Heat Pump – Solar panels.

Additional Resources for more information

Read our article: Ways to Save Energy, Money on your Energy Bill – It is full of tips to save you money.

Interested in Solar? Read our article Are Solar Panels for Me?

Other Power Utility Company Rebates

For Northern California Energy Rebates see: PG&E Energy Efficiency Rebates
For Southern California see: SCE Rebates or Southern California Edison Rebate for Energy Efficiency
For San Diego see: SDGE Rebates, SDG&E, or San Diego Gas and Electric Rebate for Energy Efficiency
Energy Efficiency Rebates for other locations.

World-famous FREE Amish built Heat Surge Miracle Convecta-red fireplace heater advertisements have shown up in a variety of magazines and newspapers. Free Amish Heaters to the first 17,247 readers! They tout a low-cost energy-efficient heater that is superior to other heaters. The mantle is priced at $298 and you have to pay for it to get the free heater. You can pay $249 for the heather itself.

Consumer Reports.org performed an analysis of “Amish Heaters”  and found that it is costly for what it represents. “Amish made mantle is handmade in Ohio.” Amish Heaters are made in China.

These experts concluded that you could find cheaper, better performing heaters. A simple $29.99 heater from a local hardware store might perform better.

This Amish heater is made in China, and they are patented for their fireless flame that gives you a “peaceful” flicker of a flame. The Canton BBB learned the Amish-made mantel represented in the ad is crafted and assembled by local craftsman from Holmes and Geauga counties in Ohio. These are created in factories using modern tools, not in Amish barns.

You are paying $300 for basically what turns out to be a simple 1500-watt space heater.

Surplus Hybrid-Thermic Miracle Heaters

The same company is now pushing their heater under the name Surplus Hybrid-Thermic Miracle Heaters. The Heat Surge HT-XL is being touted as a surplus heater that will be handed over to the first 16,049 residents that call them. Unfortunately it is not free like the article sort-of implies, it costs $547.

A top rated Honeywell HZ-517 natural convection heater only costs $77.  It has a tip over sensor, temperature display, and hot surface alert unlike other heaters.

One heater that you need to be aware of is the highly advertised Bob Villa EdenPURE heaters

The nPower PEG personal energy generator is placed in your backpack or purse or belt strap and generates energy as you walk, hike, or bike. The energy is stored in a battery and allows you to charge up your cell phone or mp3 player, etc. Exercise to lose weight and generate energy too! One drawback is that it costs $159.99.

K3 Wind and Solar Mobile Charger generated clean energy and saves it to its internal battery.  It charges mobile phones, iPods/Mp3 players, PDA’s, GPS and Digital Cameras and a fully charged K3 will charge a Blackberry or iPhone 5 times.  At $89, it is an expensive way to go green.

One of the most interesting dad-endorsed gadgets is the Solar Powered Battery Backup by Scosche Solar Products. The device (no bigger than a cell phone) is equipped with a 1500ma lithium-ion battery that stores power for when you need it and recharges from the sun (or the USB cable included). Perfect for charging iPods, iPhones, Blackberry, and cellphones, use your existing USB cable to charge your devices. For less than $20, the battery backup also comes with a windshield cradle and universal carabiner mount.

Self Powered, Foldable, Green Powered Speaker

Origaudio makes a unique green self powered speaker that is foldable. No need for any batteries, ac adapters, etc! It is also made out of Recycled Materials, comes in a variety of designs, and costs less than $19.99.

Samsung Blue Earth Eco Friendly Cell Phone

Samsung launched a new eco friendly Blue Earth cellphone that is made from old water bottles and has a solar panel for charging it. It uses very little power and they use soy-ink on the packaging. Samsung Blue Earth is launching in Sweden in October and will soon launch in France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Portugal and other European and Asian countries.

You are interested in a new computer or new TV or new electronics gadget. Your old electronics have been recycled. You want to be green, to minimize the impact on our planet, and are recycling your old product. Very few people know how to judge the eco-friendliness of electronics. Hundreds of new products have hit the market with reduced power needs. Here are some criteria to judge new electronics on greenness:

Buy from a Green Company

Greenpeace has a ranking guide to the top 18 manufacturers. You can see which manufacturers are more serious about the environment. Select ones that are higher up the list. Nokia and Sony Ericsson rank well.

Computers and electronics

Energy Star rated products have their logo on them and use less energy. If all computer sold in the US had the Energy Star label we could save $2 billion on energy costs. They have certified everything from TVs, monitors, printers, computers to cordless phones. Desktop/integrated desktop and notebook computers, products must meet stringent TEC requirements for estimated annual energy consumption, power supply efficiency, and phantom power or vampire power.  Lawrence Berkley National Labs estimates that 10% of residential power use is wasted toward this as most homes have 40 products constantly drawing phantom power. Keep in mind that their testing has been called out of date, so you still need to follow techniques to save power.

RoHS logo is the European Directive on the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances
in Electrical and Electronic Equipment, also known as the RoHS Directive. Examples of
materials restricted by RoHS include lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, and
the brominated flame retardants (BFRs) PBB and PBDE. Look for products with this marking.

DigitalTips has an Energy Calculator to show how much powering your electronics costs as well as how to find green electronics.

The ultimate in green electronics would also have the product classified as fair trade. This means that the suppliers to the manufacturer are all responsible and paid a fair wage. It is extremely difficult to trace the hundreds or thousands of items in a typical phone or computer though. More progressive manufacturers are requiring their suppliers to certify that their parts are conflict free.

It is difficult to force factories to pay a reasonable wage and expect products to be priced competitively. Many of the people working in these factories are paid far better than alternatives like farming.

Computers – desktops, notebooks, and monitors

EPEAT is a certification that helps purchasers evaluate, compare and select electronic products based on their environmental attributes. It is based on the IEEE 1680 standard. Any computer that has an EPEAT rating is good. Ones with EPEAT Gold ratings are even better.

Televisions

Cnet has good reviews of flatscreen TVs that include power consumption. Newer LCD TVs will meet California’s low power guidelines. Newer sets draw less power when idle and when operating.  Some Flat Panel TVs have room sensors to turn off when you are not in the room. Optimize your TV with our LCD Flat Panel Power Saving Tips.

TVs made after May 2011 are required to have a EnergyGuide label that shows an estimated annual energy cost as well as cost for similar size TVs.

Cable set top boxes consume a lot of energy. Check with your local cable company to see if they have new energy efficient models that meet the Energy Star 3.0 standard, effective Sept. 1, 2011. A single whole house DVR may remove the need to have DVRs on every TVs

General Guidelines

Economically upgrade your current machine within reason to extend its life first.  Windows XP software tips to speed up and secure your computer.

The product should be made with as many recycled materials as possible. No toxic materials like mercury, brominate, PVC, or arsenic should be use. The product should be easily recycled when the its life has expired.

Electronics should draw as little power as possible especially when in standby mode. Do not assume that your product is completely optimized to save energy. Follow our techniques to save power using special power strips and power measuring tools to ensure phantom or vampire power is not being drawn.

Packaging

Look for minimal amount of packaging. The packaging should be made from recycled materials and should be recyclable with itself. Manuals should be the same.

Examples of Green Electronics

Sony VAIO notebook computer

D-Link wireless router

Amazon Green Electronics Section

Energy-Efficient TVs

Garmin Nuvi with eco-route fuel savings

Energy Efficient Notebook Power Adapter

Antec makes the new SNP90 Energy Efficient, slim, lightweight Notebook Power Adapter that supports a wide variety of notebooks including models from Dell, Toshiba, Acer, HP, Sony and more. It includes 7 detachable connectors for compatibility with nearly every laptop on the market. This power adapter has a minimum high-efficiency rating of 87% at full load, saving you money and energy. It is also energy Star certified.

Targus Spruce EcoSmart Backpack made from recycled bottles

It is great that recycled materials are getting more mainstream. The new Targus Spruce EcoSmart Backpack for 15.6-Inch Widescreen Laptops is a new green backpack is made of polyster fabric made from recycled plastic bottles. It also has no PVC and no nickel hardware. They also make a Spruce Toploading case and a Spruce Messenger Bag.

Ecogear also makes backpacks and other bags from recycled plastic bottles.

act2 GreenSmart Eco friendly Green Bags

act2 GreenSmart Bags are made of 100% post consumer recycled water and soda bottles. It takes between 9 and 20 16oz. bottles to make a yard of the various fabrics. The bottles are collected, sorted, cleaned, ground up twice and then spun into yarn.

Eco Friendly or Green Apple Mac Mini

Apple just announced new faster and greener Mac mini desktops. There are very energy-efficient and compact. They use only 12.4 watts of energy at idle and meet forthcoming Energy Star 5.0 specs before its July 2009 effective date. Mac mini has earned the highest rating of EPEAT Gold based on how much power it uses and how recyclable it is. Mac Mini Enviromental Report

Amazon is a good source for Macs. Tax only in KS, KY, ND, NY and WA and free shipping.

Eco Friendly Green Shredder

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.

Be sure to read our article:

Extend Battery Life, Laptop Battery Life, iPhone Battery Life

PG&E has started installing Smart meters in many locations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. These industry standard gas and electric meters measure a customer’s energy use. Electric meters read power consumption hourly, while gas meters record information daily. Both types periodically transmit your energy use information over a secure wireless network back to PG&E or your local utility company. They are said to use 1/1000 of a cell phone’s RF power and transmit data for less than a minute each day.

A wireless smart meter controversy has arisen stating that the meters are not accurate and customers are being overcharged. Hackers may be able to hack into your meter and there are concerns about wireless RF radiation. PG&E counters by saying that a rate increase occurred during the smart meter rollout. Third-party labs need to test the meter to verify accuracy. At the end of May, 2010 PGE finally responded with a report.  In early May 2011, PG&E finally admitted that some meters got to hot when internal temperatures past 100°, and misread electrical usage. Customers were overcharged due to this bug.

Smart Meters for Solar and Renewable Energy Customers

In September 2012, we received notification that PG&E was upgrading our power meter to a new one with Smart Meter technology. This allows easy access to monitoring our energy usage and solar power creation. The new meter has a digital display that shows when power is being received or delivered from our power utility. We can also view a break down of net energy usage showing detail down to 15 minute increments. Armed with this data we can find and test different way of saving energy without installing a special energy monitoring system.

Our electric service is probably going to be interrupted for roughly 5 minutes, requiring us to redo some clocks. Additionally we need to check our solar power inverter for correct operation.

After they did the upgrade, we have to wait approximately one week for the new meter to be accessible to their website.

Health Effects

A small minority of people complain about headaches, insomnia, ringing in their ears, and other symptoms once SmartMeters were installed.  This is a deeply disputed area though.  PG&E has offered non-transmitting meters to these folks, but they content that the power switching device within these digital meters also causes symptoms. There will be a $75 one-time fee to switch to a non-SmartMeter plus a $10 monthly fee. The monthly fee would help pay for utility workers that manually read the meter’s numbers every month.

About 15 million customers Nationwide have these Smart meters, with more added daily.

The pluses of a Smart Meter

Utility companies could allow customers to see how much power, gas they are using.  San Diego Gas & Electric even supports Google’s now discontinued PowerMeter. Microsoft Hohm uses Smart Meter data to help you save energy.

PG&E lets SmartMeter customers check their usage power, gas online.  You can see how it varies from day to day and compare your usage with others. Seeing your energy use and cost in real time allows you to adjust your lifestyle to reduce your power bill. Some PG&E smartmeters are made by Landis+Gyr. These show how much power you are using right now. SmartMeter technology can also give customers access to new electric pricing plans like the PG&E SmartRate summer pricing plan. If you use less electricity from 2-7 pm, on no more than 15 of the hottest summer days, you will be charged less.

A SmartMeter can alert PG&E or other utility companies if there is a power outage, so the power can be restored faster than before. In the future, a Home Area Network (HAN) will allow you to automate your energy use and take advantage of special variable time pricing plans to help you save money.

Power is measured in kilowatt hours (kwH). If you leave a 100 watt light bulb on for 1 hour a day, for 30 days, you will have used 100 watts x 30 hours = 3000 watt hours = 3 kwH.

In the San Francisco Bay Area most PG&E customers have tiered energy pricing (E1 Residential Pricing plan) that starts at 12 cents, but jumps to 14, 29 cents, 40 cents and 40 cents as you use more power.  With a smart meter you know how much you are using. You can sign up for alerts via phone or email that tell you when your are entering a more expensive energy tier.

Future of Smart meters

Smart meters could automatically adjust appliance power consumption during peak times, causing a reducing in power costs. Reliant Energy in Houston has 2 price levels for power in the winter, 3 in Summer. The highest prices are from 4-6pm in the Summer. Cook dinner after 6pm, or turn off the air conditioning for 2 hours, and you will save money.

In California, days that require the most power cause the least efficient and most polluting plants to have to be put online. PG&E has Critical Peak Pricing (CPP) where you pay less in exchange for higher prices 15 days a year.

One thing is for sure, the meters add another RF radiation source to our lives.

If you want to opt out of the SmartMeter program call 877-743-4112.

Wireless Water Meters

San Francisco has been quietly rolling out wireless water meters since 2010. Only 95 people out of 81,000 has objected. This project was important because older water meters were starting to slow down and become inaccurate. The new meters use an analogue signal rather than digital. They communicate four times a day with data collection units scattered throughout San Francisco. Because the meters are out in the sidewalk instead of the side of your house, people maybe more comfortable with them.