Posts Tagged ‘electricity’

Would you shop at a grocery store with no prices?

Is the utility bill a burden for low income families? Let’s map it out….

Holding energy prices low while trying to encourage efficiency is like handing out mini-bottles at the AA meeting.

TweetI finished up UNC’s 2009 greenhouse gas inventory last month, and I’m pleased to say we had our first year of reduction since I started my job.  Better yet, it was a big reduction: 20% lower than 2008. Part of that reduction was due to some improved nitrous oxide emission factors for our coal boilers.  [...]

Ever wonder how many sitcoms you can watch for a dime? Well, wonder no more.

TweetDo you remember a couple of months ago when customers had their electric meters upgraded to “smart grid” versions, only to see their electric bills double or triple?  And then, when customers complained, do you remember how the electric companies told them that it wasn’t due to meter malfunctions, it just happened to be cold [...]

TweetA couple of months ago, the Energy Circle blog covered a new product called PowerHouse Dynamics eMonitor. It’s a whole house electricity monitor that can measure and report on each individual circuit, giving the homeowner unprecedented levels of information on their home’s energy usage patterns.  More data can mean more understanding and more control. But [...]

TweetI received a letter yesterday from my friendly local Duke-Energy office, letting me know that they’re re-branding a load shedding program they’ve had around for ages.  The “Air Conditioning Load Control” program (major snore) is now “Power Manager” (merely a yawn). Here’s how it works: Duke Energy installs a remote control device on your air [...]

TweetIf you’ve ever considered installing a wind generation system at your house, MapAWatt has a helpful primer on calculating your home’s wind potential. Turns out, it’s not quite as straight-forward as the calculation for solar potential, but those living in the mountains, plains, and coastal regions may have sufficient wind speeds to make the project [...]

TweetI often think about the appliances plugged into my outlets, but I almost never think about the outlets themselves. Luckily, inventor John La Grou does. He and his colleagues searched for a way to prevent electrical fires in homes, and his solution could have major impacts on how we use energy in our homes and businesses. [...]