New PG&E rebates have been added for 2013

Our local utility Pacific Gas and Electric – PG&E has cash rebates and ways to go green and save money. Here are some PG&E Energy Efficiency Rebates:

• PG&E Energy efficient appliance $50 rebate – Qualifying High-Efficiency Clothes Washers, Dishwashers, Room Air Conditioners, Water heaters – Expires December 31
• $75 rebate on High Efficient Refrigerator
• $35 back on Refrigerator or Freezer recycling, $25 on old Air conditioners
• $50 for Room AC Unit
• $200 rebate for Energy Star High-Efficiency Gas Storage Water Heater
• $500 rebate on Energy Star Electric Heat Pump Water heater
• Solar Energy rebates
• Upto $300 rebate on Central Natural Gas Furnace
• Up to $500 for Attic and Wall Insulation
• Up to $0.20 per sq ft of a Cool roof
• $50 for Energy-Efficient Variable Speed Motor Air Handler System
• Up to $100 on Whole House Fan, up to $200 on Duct Sealing. Expires December 31, 2012
• Upto $100 on Variable speed pool pumps and motors. Expires December 31, 2012
• Home lighting – Discounted Home Lights

You can even submit PG&E Energy Efficiency Rebates requests online and then send in proof of purchase. Questions about PG&E Energy Efficiency Rebates, call 1-800-933-9555.

If you live in California, be sure to check out the up to $4000 Energy Upgrade California Energy Efficiency Rebate

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.

You can also call PG&E and ask for a Smart Home Rebate Booklet or check out their Flex your power website.

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.

Purcell Murray distributes appliances in California and has Bosch rebates, Thermador rebates, and rebates for other brands.

Plug in Electric Vehicle Discounts

Pacific Gas & Electric has a new E-9 rate plan for plug in electric vehicle or electric car owners. A second power meter may need to be installed for households in which their plug-in electric vehicle charging significantly impacts their daily energy usage.

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.

PG&E Energy Partners Program – Free Products

PG&E has an Energy Partners Program that provides income-qualified customers free energy education, weatherization measures and energy-efficient appliances to reduce gas and electric usage.

They provide:

• Attic insulation
• Caulking
• CFLs
• Door weather-stripping
• Energy-saver showerhead
• Minor home repair
• Water heater blanket

Free Education and Assessment, Installation and Delivery, and Free Inspections.

You can contact them at 1-800-933-9555

PG&E Energy Efficient Rebates are another way to save money.

PG&E CFL Website

Our local utility PG&E has a mini site dedicated to CFL. (Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs) Where to buy them at a discounted price, what advantages are, where to recycle them.

Free PGE Energy Efficiency Classes

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

PG&E Critical Peak Pricing (CPP) to Lower Energy Costs

Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) has recently added the voluntary Critical Peak Pricing (CPP) program that gives lower energy rates on non-CPP event days (non peak days) in exchange for higher rates on CPP event days. (high use Summer days)

You agree to pay higher peak rates of 60 cents a kilowatt-hour on no more than 15 days a year in exchange for a 3 cent discount on all other energy use times.

This is designed for businesses using more than 200 kW per month who can pull back energy use during peak days. The program has resulted in lower bills for some big customers like datacenters.

PG&E Climate Smart Program has ended

PG&E has a ClimateSmart program that allows customers to pay extra to offset the greenhouse gas emissions from energy they use. It cost me about $78 last year. “100% of your payment for the ClimateSmart program will go to directly funding new greenhouse gas emission reduction projects in California. ” Over 30,000 people participate in this program.

The PG&E ClimateSmart program will end on December 31, 2011 because far fewer people signed up than expected. The program attracted around 30,000 people, much lower than the projected 168,000 customers. The program did reduce Greenhouse gas emissions by 1.3 million metric tons. This experiment benefited the Environment, but ultimately showed that few people are willing to pay to do this.

Other utility company in other regions may have similar programs.

Also read: Save Energy and money on your energy bill.

New LADWP rebates have been added for 2012.

Local utility LADWP – LA Department of Water and Power Energy has cash rebates and ways to go green and save money. Here are some LADWP – LA Department of Water and Power Energy Efficiency Rebates:

• Free water conservation showerheads and aerators
• LADWP Energy efficient appliance $65 rebate – Qualifying Energystar Refrigerator,  $85 High Efficiency Clothes Washers – Expires December 31
• $50 back on Refrigerator or Freezer recycling
• $2/sq ft of Energy star Window products, $0.30 per sq ft of cool roofs
• Solar Energy rebates
• $50 for Energy star Air conditioner, Upto $120 per ton for central air conditioner or heat pump
• Up to $200 on Whole House Fan
• $80 per weather based irrigation controller, $25 per station. $3 per rotating sprinkler nozzle
• Up to $300 for Energy-Efficient Natural Gas Furnace
• $500 for Energy-Efficient Variable Speed pool pump and motor
• $100 for a high efficiency toilet

If you live in California, be sure to check out the up to $8000 Energy Upgrade California Energy Efficiency Rebate

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.

Plug in Electric Vehicle Discounts

LADWP – LA Department of Water and Power has a new rebate for plug in electric vehicle or electric car owners. Up to $2000 back on your charging equipment and installation costs.

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.

Now that most people have accepted CFL light bulbs instead of traditional incandescent bulbs, a new technology, LED Lighting, is threatening to add a new wrinkle.

LED Light Bulb Advantages

LED Light bulbs are finally coming down in cost in large manufacturers like Phillips are  now making them. They use 90% less power than incandescent bulbs, which is even LESS than compact fluorescent light bulbs. (CFL) A 40 watt equivalent LED bulb uses only 7 watts versus about 8-10 watts for CFLs. LED light bulbs are also instantly on. These lights also render colors better than CFL, with Color Rendering Index (CRI) of 80 to 90, close to the 100 of an incandescent bulb. Efficacy is how efficient a light bulb is. LEDs are typically in the 54 range, while CFLs are around 60. Incandescent bulbs produce a low 18 on the Efficacy scale.

LED bulbs do not need as much air circulation as CFLs, hence they are better for recessed lights and other lights with little air flow. These bulbs turn on immediately and are cool to the touch.

LED Light Bulb Disadvantages

LED light bulbs are pricey because they are so complex. The LED drivers, heat dissipation, and power supplies make them more complex and pricey. Another problem with LED light bulbs is getting them to cast light in a shape that will illuminate your room. LEDs are point lighting sources that shine in only one direction.

Prices are currently high, but rapidly coming down in the last year. A 9 W LED light bulb is the equivalent of a 40 W incandescent bulb, but costs around $9.97. LED light bulbs cost an average of $1.50 a year for power, to operate, similar to CFLs.

LED Light Bulb Lifespan

They are rated for about 25,000 hours or 20 year life span! The estimate is based on three hours of daily use. One of the biggest measurements problems is measuring the life span of LED light bulbs. They do not burn out, they simply start fading. The current benchmark is called L70, which is the point at which an LED generates only 70% of its original output. They contain no mercury so they can be disposed of normally, unlike CFLs. LED lamps have many benefits.

Consider LED lighting when you need new light bulbs.

Energy Saving Bulbs, Green LED Lamp

Affordable LED lighting has now hit desk lamps. LEDs use less energy, almost upto 90% less than conventional bulbs. Each LED emits a small amount of light, so these lamps have multiple LEDs. Some lamps use newer warmer-colored LEDs and newer high power LEDs. High power LEDs use about 1.5 watts of power. Six of these would provide ample lighting for a desk and still use less than 9 watts of power. Amazon has LED lamp models as low as $8.50.

New LED based flashlights are also now available. Many used multiple LEDs to increase light output.

Be sure to read: Ways to Save Energy, Money on your Energy Bill