energy consumption Archives – The Green Optimistic

In 2016, U.S. Energy Spending Lowest in 60 Years

Ece Polat — Sun, 19 Feb 2017 18:13:57 +0000

There have been concerns from the public about the Arizona coal plant closing down. Some people raised questions about whether they needed the coal plant or not. Apparently, they don’t. According to a Nasdaq report, the U.S. spent the least energy in 2016 since the last 60 years. The drop in energy consumption correlated with […]

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5 Easy Ways to Save Money and Energy at Home

Guest Contributor — Mon, 08 Feb 2016 18:15:09 +0000

The average homeowner spends more than $100 a month on energy bills, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Most people know to turn down the thermostat and shut off lights to save money and energy, but there are other simple and affordable solutions you can make around your home to cut costs and become […]

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TVs, Computers and Icemakers in U.S. Use as Much Energy as Mexico

Mila Luleva — Fri, 28 Jun 2013 17:03:32 +0000

The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) released a striking report indicating that household devices in the U.S., such as TVs, computers and ice makers, use more energy than what 200 countries, including Mexico, Australia and New Zealand, use to power their economies. Thankfully, the findings of the report entitled “Miscellaneous Energy Loads […]

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Young People Drive Less Than Parents Did, Study

Ovidiu Sandru — Sat, 18 May 2013 15:03:50 +0000

A recent study conducted by the US Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) shows that young people these days don’t enjoy driving as much as their parents did. The “driving boom,” as they call it, affected Baby Boomers (now 50 to 60 years old). The total number of miles driven has been the same, but the […]

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Block-Level Electricity Usage Mapping May Encourage Energy Efficiency

Leigh Hutchens — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 04:36:01 +0000

The University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) has published a map that shows how inefficient one city building is in comparison with another. The web application provides the municipal utility, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), and city planners the ability to see how LA blocks compare to each other and […]

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Rethinking the Taxes Should Encourage Energy Efficiency

Mila Luleva — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 20:00:36 +0000

A new report issued by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) suggests that a tax reform could provide various opportunities to promote energy efficiency. In addition, the report proposes a number of crucial changes that should be made to the tax code, so that all barriers are removed by the Congress. According to […]

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Innovative Solar Powered Air Conditioning System Uses 90% Less Energy

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 18:33:18 +0000

Cooling and heating are the two most energy consuming activities in a home – 65 percent. A Queensland University of Technology (QUT) researcher in Australia has invented a solar powered cooling/heating system that should cut energy use by 90 percent, with the goal of becoming fully grid-independent. The researcher’s name is Paolo Corrada and he […]

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DIY: How to Build an Energy Meter for Your Stand-by Devices

Ovidiu Sandru — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 19:01:09 +0000

This DIY presents a device capable of detecting the stand-by mode of low-consuming electronics in your home (like plugged-in phone chargers, without the phones attached) etc. The metering starts when the devices enter stand-by and stop when they start consuming in large amounts.

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