Energy star

New Lenovo Laptop Earns PC Magazine's GreenTech Seal of Approval

jplatt — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:04:36 -0400

I'm in the market for a new laptop, but as a responsible buyer, I want to make sure I pick a computer that uses as little energy as possible and which has been manufactured using environmentally responsible methods.

The new Lenovo ThinkPad X200 fits both of those criteria. The laptop meets Energy Star and RoHS qualifications, and gets a Silver EPEAT rating from the Green Electronics Council (which rankes energy efficiency, use of potentially toxic materials, recyclability and packaging, among other criteria).

PC Magazine tested the X200 and found more good news: its battery lasts around 6 hours, and the laptop uses just 14 watts of electricity when idle. This earned the X200 PC Magazine's "GreenTech Approved" seal.

The basic ThinkPad X200 starts shipping next month at a price of $1,199.

Green Freebie: How about a Toyota Prius?

RiverWired.com — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Somebody somewhere is getting something green for free – why not you? Jet Blue Airways is making up for all those carbon emissions by giving you a chance to go green every day – with the Grand Prize of a Toyota Prius hybrid. Next prize-- $3000 gift card to Smith & Hawken, some of the most beautiful plants and gardening stuff around. And if you don’t get those biggies, you may still qualify for an Energy Star Sharp LCD TV, or an eco-culinary retreat for four – or a trip for two to an Arizona spa. I’m feeling greener already – how about you?

Texas Declares Memorial Day Sales Tax Holiday for Energy Star Appliances

jplatt — Wed, 21 May 2008 13:00:00 -0400

Texas likes to do things big, and this Memorial Day weekend is no exception. For three days, Texas is suspending its sales tax on all ENERGY STAR appliances, offering its citizens a chance to save a lot of money when they buy energy-efficient devices. Included are all kinds of must-haves for the hot Texas summers, such as air conditioners, ceiling fans, programmable thermostats and refrigerators. (Oh, and CFL light-bulbs are also included.)

Taxas has a pretty high sales tax -- 8.25% in much of the state -- so this tax holiday will give consumers a chance to save $82.50 for every $1,000 they spend. And then they'll save more money by having an energy-efficient appliance in their home.

Okay, I usually poo-poo any type of activity that goads people into spending money to buy things they may not really need, but this at least is an idea that will help inspire Texans to buy appliances that use less energy, thereby reducing greenhouse gases. Sounds like a win-win to me.

Next step: getting 49 more state legislatures to copy this idea...

New Green Stereo Sound System Uses Less Energy

jplatt — Thu, 01 May 2008 12:00:00 -0400

Audiophiles and music lovers -- are you looking for a greener alternative to your current stereo system? You might want to start your quest with NuVo Technologies.

Nuvo, a relatively new player in the home-audio arena, recently received a big recognition for its efforts to go green. This March, the Consumer Electronics Association gave Nuvo its 2008 TechHome Mark of Excellence Award for Best Environmentally Friendly Product, Service, or Corporate Policy.

That's one really long award name, but it recognizes NuVo's efforts to develop devices that use less power, especially during standby mode, when most competing home electronics suck way too much electricity from the wall.

NuVo’s Essentia E6G, which uses less than one watt of of power in standby mode, was the first whole-home audio system to earn the U.S.'s coveted ENERGY STAR® rating. It uses energy-efficient Organic Light-Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) for its control panels, and is manufactured with a low level of heavy metals. The company has also submitted several other new devices for ENERGY STAR qualification, and ships its products using only biodegradable packing materials.

You can look for other ENERGY STAR qualified audio products here.

Hot News About Water Heaters

jplatt — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 12:05:35 -0400

They may have released the news on April 1st, but this is no joke: the Department of Energy has finally announced ENERGY STAR® criteria for water heaters, a move that could save Americans millions of dollars (and millions of pounds of carbon emissions) every year.

There are already federal standards for water heaters, but these new criteria take things several steps further.

The ENERGY STAR® criteria will be rolled out in two phases -- the first effective January 1, 2009, with the second effective September 1, 2010. The criteria vary for the five types of water heaters (high-performance gas storage, whole-home gas tankless, advanced drop-in or integrated heat pump, solar, and gas condensing), but they all raise the standards well above the existing minimums.

Meanwhile, GE took the opportunity announce what it says are the first two water heaters already compliant with the new criteria. The first of these, the GE Tankless Gas Water Heater, will be available this May. Their innovative new GE Hybrid Electric Water Heater is expected to so go sale in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Granted, these criteria won't help you if you're in the market for a new water heater today, but if you read up on the new rules, you'll be a better educated consumer, and your water will be hot without causing more global warming.

MyGreenCottage - National Green Home Building Company

jchait — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 01:00:00 -0400

If you’re looking to build green with total ease, you may want to check out MyGreenCottage a nationwide builder of custom green homes. This company is currently all the rage, and for good reason.

Nice green guy, Ed Begley, Jr. recently became the official spokesperson for MyGreenCottage which can only enhance the appeal of a company who is already going above and beyond when it comes to green homes. It helps me anyhow. It's looking like Living with Ed (HGTV) is not continuing - which has been the great depression of my TV year. It was one of the only shows I liked, so seeing good old Ed elsewhere is kind of nice.

MyGreenCottage notes that their main goal is to, “Create beautiful, safe homes that are healthy for you, your wallet and the planet.” The also build, “Any style, any size, anywhere.”

Perks of this green home building company include:

Consulting, free info about products, fresh home building, and green home renovations.

The company operates in a paperless and virtual environment – a virtually unheard of achievement among companies in general, but an excellent way to cut down on resource losses.

They employ a stunning array of green home options including solar, geothermal, energy star, fresh air systems, wind power, and more.

Offers an on-time, and even better, on budget guarantee.

Builds for around the same costs of a conventional home.

They also build strong and very fire resilient. MyGreenCottage uses a MGC fire retardant building system. You can watch a video where they actually blast a MyGreenCottage wall with a 5000-degree blowtorch. Pretty cool.

Visit the MyGreenCottage website and see news coverage, watch videos, learn more about their eco-products and design systems, and see great galleries of their homes. Some a little big for green, but keep in mind this is client choice. You could choose a smaller square foot home design with them to keep things truly on the green up and up.

Today’s bonus:

Check out this video - MyGreenCottage comes in to do a basic green home facelift on a standing home using zero VOC paints.

Build Your Home for Energy Efficiency

jchait — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 18:06:33 -0400

If you’re building from scratch there are some things you can do to insure maximum energy efficiency.

Work proper shading into your design – tactics such as overhangs and trees planted within close proximity can work hard to naturally cool your home during the summer.

Use smart lighting where you can: Shoot for a majority (or all) of your lighting to be sun tunnels, compact fluorescents, or LED vs. incandescent lighting.

Throughout your home use energy efficient appliances – look for the energy star label.

Don’t add more light then you need. For example, in a room used for an office, one that just has a desk, requires less lighting than say a family dinner dining area. If you can utilize task lighting with LED only, try that. You can always add more light if truly necessary.

Build no larger than you really need. Extra unoccupied rooms lead to extra heating and cooling costs. Even if you shut the doors on these rooms, drafts may be an issue.

Build with the correct building orientation in mind to utilize passive solar and minimize wind. Consider whole solar or power or a wind solar combo if you can.

Use spaces as weather buffers – like a garage. Although, some think that better energy efficiency can be gained by not having an attached garage. Talk to your contractor or designer to see what suits your site best.

Make sure you design your home for easy installation of renewable energy systems from the start. If you plan poorly in the beginning, it can cost much more later on.

Choose a home building team who has completed energy efficient homes from the ground up previously.

Consider a green roof or white roofing.