It’s rare that you’ll encounter a home owner today who says that if they had the option, they wouldn’t want to reduce their carbon emissions or reduce their energy consumption, and in turn, the costs of home ownership. The problem is, that in many cases, greener home technology is just out of reach of many North Americans because of the high costs that are still associated with the options available on the market. This has been the case with voltage optimization technology that can accomplish the above goals, but until recently, it’s only been attainable to large organizations looking to optimize their energy use because of cost. A UK company has decided to address this lapse in the industry by introducing the VPhase, an affordable voltage optimization technology for home owners.

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Not only has the University of Illinois, Urbana outpaced its goal to reduce energy consumption by 10% by the 2010 fiscal year, they’re expecting to save $5 million dollars in energy costs to boot!

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By now we’ve all heard about the new four door, seven seater (5 adults + 2 kids), all electric eco monster from Tesla — the Model S. We’ve seen the pictures of the gorgeous beast and we’ve had our chance to let the lust settle.

But the thing that’s been bothering me, and surely many of you, is that it still feels like Tesla is making cars with a decidedly un-populist bent. Tesla has been claiming for a long time now that their business plan is to start with the high end market, make some money, learn some lessons, and subsequently release cars that the rest of us can afford — using that money and those lessons to get there.

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JELD-WEN, the window manufacturer, set out to find the house with the worst heating bill in the United States last year.  They found it in Maine.  A 119-year old farmhouse that incurred a December bill of $1,100, and had spent over $5,000 during the year in home heating oil.

What could be done to help the poor homeowners stuck with this atrocious energy sucker?  JELD-WEN provided 35 new Energy Star rated windows, two AuraLast wood doors, and some basement insulation - free of charge.  Did it make a difference?  You bet.

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Californians installed 158 megawatts of solar power capacity in 2008, according to a state report released Wednesday. That’s double the amount installed in 2007.

California now has a total of 441 MW of solar power, the highest level of solar installations in the country, the California Public Utilities Commission reported.

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Turns out, 50% of people in the US are wiser than I thought: there is no quick fix or simple solution.

Another interesting result from the survey: 48% of consumers don’t see McCain or Obama as having a particular advantage when trying to work with the auto industry to bring more fuel efficient or plug-in vehicles to the market in the future.

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A new study, “Awnings in Residential Buildings: The Impact on Energy Use and Peak Demand,” conducted by the Center for Sustainable Building Research at the University of Minnesota, has found that awnings over windows on residences can save energy costs and reduce energy use throughout the year by reducing the effects of unwanted passive solar heating.

The study was funded by the Professional Awning Manufacturers Association (PAMA), and was conducted to determine whether awnings are viable means to reduce energy use and reduce air conditioner usage in residential buildings and homes. The study investigated the energy savings for single-family homes in terms of heat gain, energy costs in heating and cooling and the reduction of energy use during peak periods.

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