A Practical Guide to Pellet Stoves
First things first: I really like my pellet stove. I wanted to get that out of the way, right off. During a harsh winter of record fuel prices in the Northeast, my new wood pellet ...
Home Energy Resource Guide
Homeowners who want to cut their energy bills have a lot of options — and a lot of important decisions to make. Fortunately, you can turn to a wide range of energy-related re...
What's New with Energy Star
The Environmental Protection Agency started the Energy Star program in 1992 to promote energy-efficient products nationwide, with the overall goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissi...
Solar by Satellite
The process of installing solar panels on a home often involves several preliminary visits by an installer, who will take elaborate measurements of your roof, possibly resulting in added costs and delays caused by scheduling...
Remodeling for Energy Efficiency
Many homeowners embark on green renovations without giving energy efficiency the priority it deserves. The energy a home consumes over its lifespan has a far greater environmental ...
SH Bookshelf: Saving Energy
Homeowners who are serious about reducing energy costs can turn to two recent books that provide real-world, hand’s-on advice and practical solutions that can help you trim y...
Eco-Friendly Wood Stoves
Looking for an alternative way to heat your home this winter? Denmark-based Rais has just unveiled its new Rais Topas wood stove, which combines highly efficient wood-burning technology with a clean-cut cubist appearance.To derive maximum heat energy from wood, the Rais Topas uses a sophisti...
Lower Your Energy Costs Now!
At this point in time it’s evident that energy costs are not going down anytime soon. In fact, as gasoline prices continue to set record highs nearly every week, it̵...
The Incredible Shrinking House
Could the McMansion be a thing of the past? Perhaps, says a Home Design Trends Survey released recently by the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Rising energy costs are causi...
Portland's Floating Solar Home
When my wife Kathryn and I decided to build our next home, we had a number of design objectives. Our primary goal was to build a home that would come as close as practical to net-zero energy performance. Net-zero is the concept that a home produces as much energy as it consumes. The vast majority of...
Hot New Heaters
While millions of videos have been uploaded to YouTube, Norman Goyette may be the only homeowner on the popular website to spend 10 minutes bragging about his heating system. On the video, Goyette takes you on a tour through his house in Tyngsboro, Mass., with a stop at his new Freewatt Warm Air Mic...
Disney Gets Innoventive
Tomorrowland has seen the future and it is now. Since opening half a century ago, the fabled Disneyland destination has provided millions of visitors with glimpses into tomorrow’s homes. Now a new generation of visitors to the Anaheim, Calif., theme park will get a peek at future habitats, tha...
Saving Energy with Lighting Controls
Lighting accounts for about 15 percent of an average home’s energy costs, so it’s a good place to start if you want to reduce your monthly utility bill. By switching out standard incandescent lamps with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), which consume 75 percent less electricity, and subs...
The ABCs of Saving Energy
Across the country this month, some homeowners are writing checks for yet another high cooling bill, while others are dreading the rising heating costs as winter approaches. Although the quick fix to save on energy costs is to turn up the thermostat in the summer and turn it down in the winter, maki...
Energy Star Fridge
A new line of premium refrigerators from Liebherr, a Germany-based appliance manufacturer with its North American headquarters in Ontario, Canada, meets or exceeds Energy Star...
Dim to Save
Looking for a simple and inexpensive way to reduce your energy bills? Dim your lights by 10 to 15 percent. You will barely notice the difference yet you will use less energy.
