Posted in Frequently Asked Questions, tagged energy efficiency, fireplace, wood stove on 23 November 2009 | Leave a Comment »
If you have a wood burning stove, make sure you pay attention to these tips for safe burning. Wood smoke contains small particles and gases that are not healthy to breathe, especially indoors, so be careful about which wood you burn and how you burn it.
Burn only dry, seasoned wood. You will know this [...]
Posted in Frequently Asked Questions, tagged coal, energy efficiency, utilities on 9 November 2009 | 2 Comments »
You wouldn’t think that coal companies would be interested in energy efficiency. That would mean that they would be selling less electricity to customers, and therefore making less money, right? This seems like sound logic, but here in Minnesota, utilities need to decrease their energy output by 1.5% per year, leading to an overall reduction [...]
Posted in About the Challenge, Awesome Actions, Frequently Asked Questions, tagged energy, energy conservation, energy efficiency, minnesota energy challenge, save money on 6 November 2009 | 1 Comment »
Happy Friday, indeed. I can’t believe this is the 400th post for the Minnesota Energy Challenge blog! We talk about a lot of different things on this blog – local events, new gadgets and gizmos that can help you save energy in your home, funny videos and, of course, all the ways that we [...]
Posted in Frequently Asked Questions, Gadgets, Gizmos and Stuff, tagged computer, energy efficiency, energy star, phantom load, power cycling on 23 September 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I talk to a lot of people about phantom load, or the constant electricity leak caused by leaving electronics plugged in. Phantom load costs our country an estimated $4 billion a year in wasted electricity, but luckily the solution is simple – use power strips to stop the leaks! Turning off a power strip stops [...]
Posted in Awesome Actions, Frequently Asked Questions, tagged bath, energy efficiency, minnesota energy challenge, shower, water on 26 June 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Electric Shower by 77dmj (Flickr)
Here’s another frequently asked energy comparison question – is it more energy-friendly to bathe via shower or bath? The answer definitely depends on your personal habits, but for most people, you will use less water (and thus, less energy) taking a shower than taking a bath, especially if you take quick [...]
Posted in Frequently Asked Questions, tagged energy audit, energy efficiency, home energy use, indoor air quality, minnesota energy challenge, xcel energy on 3 June 2009 | 1 Comment »
The Minnesota Energy Challenge provides a lot of great information, including all the first-tier, low-and-no cost actions that are quick, easy and cheap for families to do in their homes. When you’re looking to take the next step, however, what to do? Energy audits are a great way to diagnose larger energy issues in a [...]
Posted in Frequently Asked Questions, tagged energy efficiency, led, LEDs, light-emitting diodes, lighting on 1 June 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Star Trib published a neat little round-up on LED (light-emitting diode) lights this weekend that, in my opinion, does a good job of covering the basics of the next generation of lighting. The benefits of these new lights are obvious and far-reaching:
Studies suggest that a complete conversion to LEDs could decrease carbon dioxide emissions [...]
Posted in Frequently Asked Questions, tagged CFLs, compact fluorescent light bulbs, green inc, LEDs, light bulbs, light-emitting diodes, new york times on 8 May 2009 | Leave a Comment »
It seems that all I read about these days is the fierce marketing battle happening between up-and-coming LED (light emitting diode) light bulb manufacturers who are trashing (literally) compact fluorescent light bulbs, and the CFL manufacturers who are claiming better quality and affordability. Of course, it could be the blogs that I hang around, but [...]
Posted in Frequently Asked Questions, Local Events, tagged CFLs, compact fluorescent ligh bulbs, living green, living green expo, minnesota energy challenge on 4 May 2009 | Leave a Comment »
So, this weekend was the Living Green Expo, which was marvelous! We’re all completely exhausted but very excited about all the great vendors and organizations and people we saw. I was at the Energy Challenge booth on Saturday and Sunday, and yet again the majority of the questions I fielded were about compact fluorescent light [...]
Posted in Awesome Actions, Frequently Asked Questions, tagged green products, greenwashing, marketing, sustainability, terrachoice on 16 April 2009 | Leave a Comment »
It seems that everyone is claiming “green” products these days, from hybrid SUVs to cleaning products to cell phones. But they can’t all be telling the truth, can they? According to TerraChoice Environmental Marketing, only 2% of products claiming to be green can be trusted. The other 98% are misleading customers about their product’s sustainability [...]
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