Pellet stove savings will warm your heart

Posted: December 14, 2014
Source: The Boston Globe By Chris Morris, Globe staff

WINDHAM, NH. — I have three babies. Two of them are children. One of them is a pellet stove. I love them all.

And while I probably would not throw myself in front of a train to save my pellet stove, I do feed it, clean it, and tend to it as if it were my offspring. And in return, it fills me with a warm feeling, just like my actual offspring do.

Having a pellet stove is a labor of love, much like parenting. And the effort is oh-so worth it.

Here’s why: Until three years ago, we were spending scary amounts of money to heat our 1860s farmhouse. The oil-burning furnace would be running, but we were still having to bundle up. Fleece became a second skin. That’s because if we set the thermostat above 62 degrees, the 250-gallon oil tank would run dry in less than a month. Most years, it was costing us $850-$900 a month to be cold — not to mention broke. Our windows aren’t old and drafty, the house is. And after adding more insulation wherever we could, and doing all manner of boiler maintenance, we came to the realization that nothing was going to make this great old 2,800-square-foot house we love so much feel tight, at least not without a major renovation and an overhaul of our heating system. And those things just weren’t in the cards.
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Efficiency Retrofits Save $4.3M Over 1 Year

Posted: July 21, 2014
Source: Environmental Leader.com

Efficiency retrofits of 236 properties showed a combined water and energy savings of $4.3 million over a one-year period, according to research by Bright Power and the Stewards of Affordable Housing.

Although retrofitting commercial buildings has previously been shown to be profitable, convincing affected parties of the value of multifamily retrofits has been difficult.

The research focused on two programs – HUD’s nationwide Green Retrofit Program and the Energy Savers program offered by Illinois’ Elevate Energy and the Community Investment Corporation. One year of pre- and post-retrofit utility bills were collected for 236 properties and analyzed.

Both programs showed significant water, energy and cost savings.
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Energy Efficiency Standard for ‘Wall Warts’ (External Power Supplies)

Posted: February 4, 2014
Source: Energy Manager Today.com by Linda Hardesty

Following close on the heels of last week’s finalized energy efficiency standards for metal halide lamp fixtures, the US Energy Department yesterday announced the final rule for new efficiency standards for external power supplies.

The agency says external power supplies, commonly referred to as “wall warts,” are used in hundreds of types of electronics and consumer products, including cell phones, tablets, laptops, video game consoles and power tools, to convert power from a wall outlet into lower voltages. More than 300 million external power supplies are shipped in the United States each year and the average American home has five to ten external power supplies. These numbers are expected to continue growing as consumers and businesses purchase new types of personal electronics.
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The Heat Is On…or Off: Having the Sense to Cut Office Energy Bills

Posted: December 9, 2013
Source: Science Daily.com

Office buildings have an enormous carbon footprint, but often energy is being wasted maintaining empty rooms and spaces at a comfortable temperature. Research to be published in the International Journal of Communication Networks and Distributed Systems shows how the ubiquity of smart phones connected to the office network could be used to monitor occupancy and reduce heating or air conditioning for unused spaces.
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