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Household Energy Saving Tips
Each room or area of your household, including the outdoors, can contribute to making the process of saving energy an efficient one, with undeniable results.
Thus, the attic, for example, is an area which plays a huge role in the energy...
How to Make the Benchmade Axis Perform
How to Make the Benchmade Axis Perform by Joe Talmadge
I've had my Axis for quite a while now, courtesy of Les. I've
made this my everyday carry 4"-blade folder, and have learned a
bit about what makes this knife perform so well....
Photovoltaic Systems - Energy from the Sky
As people search for alternatives to fossil fuel energy, solar
energy emerges as one of the cleanest and most practical sources
of electricity. Solar panels can be installed on rooftops or any
area that receives a lot of sunshine. The solar...
Solar Energy - Have the Sun pay part of your energy bill
Residential hot water is a significant energy consumer for most
households. In fact, hot water is sometimes the largest single
energy cost. Using solar energy to provide at least some of the
hot water in your household can result in significant...
Why Buy Energy Efficient Appliances?
When purchasing a new home appliance, a lot of people have the tendency to go straight to the discount department and select the cheapest models available. Sometimes the difference in price can be indeed significant, but is it really worth it?
You...
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Affordable Renewable Energy for Everyone
Have you ever wanted to power your home or office with renewable energy, but thought it was too expensive? Or you didn't want to deal with installing and maintaining equipment?
Now there is a way that everyone can use solar, wind, and other renewable energies, at a fraction of the cost. Even renters can power their homes with renewable energy.
Renewable energy certificates (aka green tags, green energy certificates, or tradable renewable certificates) make it easy and inexpensive for anyone to reduce or eliminate the environmental impact of their electricity use.
Each certificate represents the delivery of a specific amount of renewable power (usually one megawatt-hour) into a regional or national energy "grid." This replaces the non-renewable fossil fuels that would have otherwise been used with non-polluting energy from solar, wind, biomass, and other renewable sources.
While the renewable energy you pay for may not flow through the wires in your own home, the resulting overall benefit to the environment is the same as it would be if you installed solar panels or wind turbines directly on your own property.
The certificates are purchased in addition to paying your regular energy bill. So it doesn't cost less than standard electricity, but it’s a small premium to pay to keep toxic pollutants produced by the burning of fossil fuels out of the environment. And it supports the market for renewable
energy as a whole, which ultimately will bring the price down for renewable energy and make it more generally available.
These certificates are available on the internet, but not widely known. Green energy certificates are currently being marketed to big businesses that use a lot of energy and can make a big impact with their purchase, but anyone can buy them.
I recently purchased renewable energy certificates to offset the electricty I use in my own home and home office. Though my purchase is only 15 MWh per year for my 1500 square foot house, every little bit helps establish the market for renewable energy. It prevents the emissions of 20,700 pounds of carbon dioxide annually, equivalent to planting 1,500 trees or removing 2 cars from the road for one year. I pay only $40 a month (in addition to my regular energy bill) for solar, and other renewables cost even less.
For more information on renewable energy certificates, including a list of websites that offer them, visit http://www.debraslist.com/energy/greenenergycert.html.
About the Author
The Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership has recognized consumer advocate Debra Lynn Dadd for her purchase of 100% solar renewable energy certificates for her Florida home office. She is the author of Home Safe Home (Tarcher/Penguin), publishes free email newsletters, and has posted links to 1000s of green products at www.debraslist.com.
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