Solar Water Heaters

Solar Water Heaters

An ENERGY STAR qualified solar water heating system can cut your annual hot water costs in half, and is generally designed for use with an electric or gas back-up water heater. These systems can substantially reduce your carbon footprint. Your first step is to determine if your house is suitable for a solar water heater. For maximum results, your roof should:

• Receive direct sunlight between the hours of 10 AM
  and 4 PM year round;
• Face south (within 15°); and
• Be sturdy with the shingles in good condition.

You will then want to contact a local solar water heater contractor, who can assess your site, provide recommendations, install a system and then perform periodic maintenance.
New Jersey's Clean Energy Program provides a list of approved solar water heater contractors. These contractors have been approved to participate in the program and have met several technical training requirements as well as completed the Contractor Application for Participation.

2012 Solar Domestic Water Heater Rebate*
Equipment Type	Qualifying Level	Incentive
New, qualifying solar water heater system replacing or supplementing existing residential class water heater in a single-family home	System must be ENERGY STAR qualified (OG-300 SRCC rating, SF>=0.5) and listed on energystar.gov Warranty 10 years - solar collector 6 years - storage tank 2 years on controls 1 year for piping and parts	$1,200
IMPORTANT: *To be eligible for the solar domestic water heater incentive, the residence must be serviced by one of the following electric utilities: Atlantic City Electric, Jersey Central Power & Light, Public Service Electric and Gas, Rockland Electric Company, or gas utilities: New Jersey Natural Gas, Elizabethtown Gas, Public Service Electric and Gas, South Jersey Gas.

Eligible Solar Equipment
Find eligible solar water heater systems on energystar.gov.
Find out more about how to become a solar water heater trade ally
2012 Application Forms
For systems purchased on or after February 15, 2012:

• WARMAdvantage Gas or Electric Solar Domestic Water Heater Application

For systems purchased on or after July 1, 2012:

• WARMAdvantage Solar Domestic Water Heater Application for propane, municipal, and Co-op electric Customers 

*For any customers who purchased equipment between June 15, 2012 and June 30, 2012 we will honor your applications and process them.  Please disregard the June 15th ending date shown on the Terms & Conditions page of the application
For systems purchased between February 15, 2011 and February 14, 2012:

• WARMAdvantage Electric Solar Domestic Water Heater Application

Additional Opportunities to Save

• If you purchase an energy-efficient product for your home, you may also be eligible for a federal tax credit. Please consult your tax professional.

Also, consider getting a home energy assessment from Home Performance with ENERGY STAR to help you save even more and improve the comfort, safety, and durability of your home.
Are you wondering what other rebates might be available?  Visit our Rebates and Promotions page.
Questions About Your Rebate Status?
Do you have a question about a rebate that you already submitted? Please contact us at 866-NJSMART. You may also submit your question online.
Please allow up to 120 days to receive a rebate.

Read more »

Audit, Energy Audit, Home Offices, Renewable Energy, Solar, Solar Energy, Solar power,

{[['']]}

IFC invests Rs 67.5 Crore in Indian biomass company – Shalivahana Green Energy

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, will provide $15 million (Rs 67.5 Crore) in equity financing to Shalivahana Green Energy Limited, an Indian biomass power company, to help increase India’s power supply. IFC’s investment will support the company’s expansion of about 200 megawatts of its existing biomass power projects in the Indian states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, and Tamil Nadu. Apart from IFC, Axis Infrastructure Fund 1 and IL&FS Renewable Energy Limited are also invested in the company.

Through its Post-2012 Carbon Facility, IFC will also commit to purchase up to 1.5 million Certified Emission Reductions or CERs from energy projects developed by Shalivahana during 2013 to 2020. IFC will pay for a pre-agreed percentage of the spot price of the CERs at the time of delivery, subject to a minimum price.

“IFC’s support will help us raise funds, adds credibility to our work, and raise the generation capacity of our portfolio over the next four years. The Post-2012 Carbon Facility will help us generate sustainable revenues in the long run despite the uncertainties in the global carbon market,” said M. Komaraiah, Chairman and Managing Director of Shalivahana Green Energy Limited.

India suffers from serious power shortages, poor quality and reliability of supply, and inadequate access to power. The company plans to undertake small to medium-sized projects in the biomass, hydro, and wind-energy sectors. Eighty-percent of power generation in India comes from state-owned providers, with most private players focused on large thermal and hydro-power projects.

“Improving access to regular and clean power supply is a key strategic priority for IFC in India. Our Post-2012 Carbon Facility provides the Shalivahana Group with a high-quality revenue stream from CERs up to 2020 to strengthen the viability of their projects,” said Thomas Davenport, IFC Director for South Asia.

After the Indian government made adoption of renewable purchase obligations mandatory, state distribution utilities, open-access consumers, and captive power plants are required to buy a certain portion of their power purchases from renewable-energy sources.

Read more »

Efficient energy use, Home Offices, Renewable Energy, Solar, Solar Energy, Solar power,

{[['']]}

Switch To Digital

Switch To Digital

Today I’m going to talk to you about how you can help save our forests and the environment by switching from printed newspapers, magazines and books to their digital versions.

It’s a known fact that the production of printed material requires a significant amount of energy, water and paper in order to end up with a useable product.

With the popularity of tablets and eBook readers we now have a greener choice. Digital book readers can be used over and over and over again and they don’t use that much electricity. In fact eBook readers, last as long as one full month on a single charge!

Almost all major newspapers and magazines are available electronically. Many are predicting that eBooks will eventually replace traditional paper books all together in the near future. And in terms of convenience eBooks can’t be beat. You can quickly and easily download them and you can carry hundreds of titles with you wherever you go. Now whenever you read you can feel happy that you are contributing to a greener earth.

That’s all for today. Thanks for watching.

We’ll see you again next time.

sources http://www.power4home.com

Read more »

Appliances, Approved Energy, Audit, Audit Review, Auditor, Conserving Water, Energy Audit, Home Offices, Lighting, Switch To Digital,

{[['']]}

Pools, Spas and Hot Tubs

• Appliances
• Conserving Water
• Heating & Cooling
• Home Offices

• Lighting
• Other
• Pools, Spas and Hot Tubs

TIP – Buy A Device Timer For Your Pump: Depending on the materials used in the construction of your pool, you may be given different instructions on how long the pump needs to run. By putting it on a timer, you can customize the amount power it uses so that it uses no more than it needs. Also, you will be able to go out with confidence knowing that your pump will stop running when it whould whether you’ home or not.

TIP – Shop For A Variable-Speed Pump: In California these are required by law. Basically, these run just like a normal pump, but shift-down to a lower speed for cleaning and circulation purposes. Like most of the best energy-saving devices, these cost a little more than their conventional and inefficient ancestors, but you are guaranteed to make the difference up tenfold in a year’s worth of pool-heating costs.

Read more »

2012, Appliances, Conserving Water, Home Offices, Lighting, Other, Tips,

{[['']]}

Other

Other

• Appliances
• Conserving Water
• Heating & Cooling
• Home Offices

• Lighting
• Other
• Pools, Spas and Hot Tubs

TIP – Dress The Part: Have you considered how your clothing choices affect your power usage? The bottom line is that if you aren’t dressed appropriately for either the indoor or outdoor climate in which you find yourself at work or play, you are wasting energy in one way or another.

When driving or at the office, if you’re not dressed warmly enough you’ll be tempted to turn up the heat. If you’re overdressed, not only will you be generating more dirty laundry than necessary, but you may have to open a window in colder months to be comfortable, allowing the inside heat to escape and go to waste. So reach for a sweater or a pair of shorts… not the thermostat!

TIP – Power4Body: Did you know that statistically-speaking people mostly use their cars to travel distances of five miles, or less?!? Get out your bike and use it when weather permits. Or walk! You’ll not only be saving energy by not using your car, but you’ll be charging your body with some real electrolytic power! People who do this regularly discover that they havemore energy for work and play, not less. They are also far-less likely to become ill or overweight (and how this helps keep money in your pocket should be obvious)!

The Other or Constitutive Other (also the verb othering) is a key concept in continental philosophy; it opposes the Same. The Other refers, or attempts to refer, to that which is other than the initial concept being considered. The Constitutive Other often denotes a person Other than one's self; hence, the Other is identified as "different"; thus the spelling is often capitalized.^{[citation neede}

Read more »

Appliances, Audit, Auditor, Conserving Water, Home Offices, Lighting, Other, Tips,

{[['']]}

Lighting

• Appliances
• Conserving Water
• Heating & Cooling
• Home Offices

• Lighting
• Other
• Pools, Spas and Hot Tubs

TIP – Shed Some Light On The Subject: Let the sun in by pulling back the blinds if it is dark inside your home. People are often surprised to find that this actually does a better job of lighting their rooms, even when the sun is not on the same side of the house! If privacy is an issue, go shopping for sheer blinds… They will allow an optimum amount of natural lighting in, while allowing you to see out right through them!

TIP – Burn Energy Without Burning Money: In the evenings, opt for energy efficient bulbs instead of conventional ones: new proposed laws are soon to make these older style bulbs illegal for sale in most areas, anyhow. Even though environmentally friendly bulbs can be almost twice as expensive, they last up to six times as long, so you’ll hardly ever have to replace them!

The Department of Energy recently estimated that for every commonly-used household lightbulb that was replaced by an energy-efficient equivalent, annual savings would amount to $22 per bulb!

Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve a practical or aesthetic effect. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight.Daylighting (using windows, skylights, or light shelves) is sometimes used as the main source of light during daytime in buildings. This can save energy in place of using artificial lighting, which represents a major component of energy consumption in buildings. Proper lighting can enhance task performance, improve the appearance of an area, or have positive psychological effects on occupants.

Indoor lighting is usually accomplished using light fixtures, and is a key part ofinterior design. Lighting can also be an intrinsic component of landscape projects.

Read more »

2012, Approved Energy, Audit, Audit Review, Efficient energy use, Home Offices, Lighting, Tips,

{[['']]}

Home Offices

• Appliances
• Conserving Water
• Heating & Cooling
• Home Offices

• Lighting
• Other
• Pools, Spas and Hot Tubs

TIP – Unplug And Save: You may be one more homeowner who is unaware of this, but did you know that your electrical devices continue to draw power even when they’re switched-off?!? It’s true. While the trickle of energy leaked by each device in your office may not amount to much on their own, together they can add up to a substantial and unnecessary expense!

When not in use, unplug your home office peripherals from their power source. This includes computers, printers, monitors, charging stations and lamps. It’s the only real way to be sure that you’re not paying for wasted energy!

TIP – Make The Switch To LCD Monitors: Hey… they save space, use less power, and produce a higher-resolution image. So why not?

Small office/home office (or single office/home office; SOHO) refers to the category of business or cottage industry that involves from 1 to 10 workers.

Before the 19th century, and the spread of the industrial revolution around the globe, nearly all offices were small offices and/or home offices, with only a few exceptions. Most businesses were small, and the paperwork that accompanied them was limited. The industrial revolution aggregated workers in factories, to mass produce goods. In most circumstances, the so-called "white collar" counterpart — office work — was aggregated as well in large buildings, usually in cities or densely populated suburban areas.

Home office

Beginning in the mid-1980s, the advent of the personal computer and fax machine, plus breakthroughs in telecommunications, created opportunities for office workers to decentralize. Decentralization was also perceived as benefiting employers in terms of lower overheads and potentially greater productivity.

Many consultants and the members of such professions as lawyers, real estate agents, andsurveyors in small and medium-size towns operate from home offices.^{[citation needed]}

Several ranges of products, such as the armoire desk and all-in-one printer, are designed specifically for the SOHO market. A number of books and magazines have been published and marketed specifically at this type of office. These range from general advice texts to specific guidebooks on such challenges as setting up a small PBX for the office telephones.

Technology has also created a demand for larger businesses to employ individuals who work from home. Sometimes these people remain as an independent businessperson, and sometimes they become employees of a larger company.

In popular literature, the home office has not been the topic of as many works as the "normal" modern office. Brian Basset, the author of the newspaper comic stripAdam@home, has sometimes described its more humorous aspects.

The small office home office has undergone a transformation since its advent as the internethas enabled anyone working from a home office to compete globally. Technology has made this possible through email, the World-Wide Web, e-commerce, videoconferencing, remote desktop software, webinar systems, and telephone connections by VOIP

Read more »

2012, Appliances, Conserving Water, Home Offices,

{[['']]}