April showers may be best known for bringing in May flowers, but in my D.C. neighborhood, they also bring in…a local farmers market! There's something about fresh produce that just tastes better—kale is a little spicier, strawberries a little sweeter, and tomatoes are completely different fruit than those watery things sold at the grocery store. And it's so nice to know that I'm supporting my local farmers and economy by buying at the farmers market. [More]

I spent Thanksgiving week in Arizona with my parents, who are very energy conscious although my father says “I find my thoughts are more of efficiency than saving the planet, however the results are the same.” Last year I thought he was crazy to be turning off the computer and the surge protector for the TV system (TV, DVD player, etc.) every night to reduce “vampire energy,” or standby power drains.

During a discussion on energy audits, he showed me his most recent month’s power bill. A really neat feature (if bills can have good features) is that the power company includes on the bill a small bar graph that shows the present year’s power use vs. the previous year’s use by month.* The graph shows very clearly that after an increase in energy use in January and February of this year over last year, when temperatures were slightly lower (= more heat), my parents had a HUGE decrease in the average daily kWh used over the summer months – up to a 22% savings in July, when the average temperature was over 94°! (The Phoenix area had temperatures over 114° this summer, and the daily range can be over 30°.) Their energy savings have continued into the fall, ranging from 8% to over 17%. [More]

Originally posted on the Solar Decathlon News Blog on September 26, 2011. View original post

The big buzz word in Washington, D.C., these days is budget. In the solar village at West Potomac Park, cost savings are top of mind for the decathletes as well.

This year, the Affordability Contest was added as one of the 10 contests that make up the Solar Decathlon. It replaced the Lighting Design Contest, which is now evaluated as part of other contests.

Teams can earn the 100 possible points in the Affordability Contest by achieving an estimated construction cost of $250,000 or less. A sliding point scale is applied to houses that cost between $250,000 and $600,000. Houses that receive a cost estimate of more than $600,000 receive zero points. [More]

The spring-to-summer transition in Colorado can be anywhere from unnoticeable to shocking. Case in point: the last few weeks we've had afternoon showers, mellow temperatures in the 60s and 70s, and overnight low temperatures in the 50s (read: good sleeping weather). Not anymore. Suddenly it's bright and sunny, with highs in the 90s, and the sun here—since we are a mile closer to it than most U.S. cities—can make you feel like you're living under a magnifying glass.

All this is to say, summer is here and it's hot. So how can we keep cool without burning holes in our wallets? [More]

Pssst. Hey there. Yeah, you! Would you like to buy a Thneed?
A Thneed's a Fine-Something-That-All-People-Need!
For the first 90 days, you may try it for free!
For 90 days I won't bother you; I'll just let you be!
Just give me your credit card number, now, please.
You may cancel and not pay. I'm not being a tease.
If you cancel within 90 days and don't stall,
I swear that you won't have to pay, not at all!

We all know what happens on day 91, don't we? Haven't we all fallen into this trap at one time or another? We may use their product or service for a full 30 days, 90 days, or whatever time period, depending on the lure. It WOULD be fun to try it out, after all. And the salespersons are so persuasive. They make it downright easy to opt in and assure us that there's absolutely no obligation to buy or make any payment—as long as we opt out within the stated trial period. They convince us that it's also so easy to opt out. [More]

This past weekend, my wife’s family came to town to help us celebrate Thanksgiving a little early. It gave me a chance to reflect on the things for which I’m grateful, and there are lots of them.I believe most of us give thanks for our families, our friends, and those things—whatever they may be—that make our life happier, more meaningful and worth living.But while the mood’s on me, I’d also give thanks for the engineers and researchers who have made energy efficiency a reality over the past few decades. Our nation uses vastly less energy than we expected we’d be using, back in the 1970s when the public first began to realize energy is a resource. Higher gas prices drove a handful of thoughtful, forward-looking and tech-savvy folks to think how we might do more with less. They succeeded, they continue to succeed, and we’re all reaping the rewards of their hard work.And what’s the result? Rulings that require that appliance makers im... [More]