Ettenson told me that the funding comes from the part of the budget that California’s regulated utilities may use to invest in conventional electricity. This may include “negawatts”or energy efficiency measures. This is not just cheaper than building new plants and transmission, but also easier to implement, as it is not subject to the NIMBYism and transmission issues that has impeded development of utility scale solar and wind projects that California utilities must add to meet RPS requirements of getting 20% of its energy from carbon-free sources by 2010. Currently it is at 14%.

This giant leap in funding could jump-start the new low-carbon economy in California; helping grow all the businesses that create cutting edge efficiency in cooling and heating, lighting, building materials, windows, insulation, appliances and smart grid technologies that reduce energy use.

Ettenson gave me some examples of uses for the funding in practical terms:

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Yurts appear logical for my tropical climate where elements of nature aren’t so severe. Well, surprise, but no worry. Just know that maintaining yurt warmth can be an easier task than keeping cool.

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It’s a full-on insulation war between Australia and the UK, with the former announcing free insulation for 2.2 million homes last week, and the latter announcing a program yesterday to give 7 million homes free retrofits.

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Energy Cinch Window Blankets. Windows are often an energy efficiency problem spot. Many homes lack the latest energy efficient windows, leading to energy loss and uncomfortable rooms throughout the year. Because window replacements are so expensive, though, it almost never pays to replace a window just for the energy savings benefits. Payback periods can often be ten years or more. There are other solutions - films and solar screens reflect sunlight during hot weather, and insulating drapes are helpful year-round. But Energy Cinch Window Blankets offer another solution. They combine the high insulating qualities of the thickest drapes with the installation ease of an extendable shower rod. You can easily remove them during times of the year when they’re not needed. An Energy Cinch can cut a problem window’s heat loss by up to 80%.

Enersaver Programmable Thermostat. We’ve praised the virtues of programmable thermostats many times before, but it can be a bit difficult to get them set right. We’ve come across this new thermostat from Globe Electric, called the enersaver Spin-N-Click. It uses a scroll wheel and single button to make programming much easier and more intuitive. And, at $49.95, it’s a relative bargain for a full-featured programmable thermostat. At this price, the thermostat will pay for itself in less than a year’s time in most homes.

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Insulation may not be as sexy as solar panels or wind turbines, but it’s an important tool in reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. The Australian Government is stepping up its commitment to the environment by installing ceiling insulation in 2.2 million homes— for free. The Government will also increase the rebates for solar water heating from AUD$1000 to AUD$1600.

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[Creative Commons photo by KeWynn Lee]

Nabih Tahan’s “Passive House” on Grant Street in Berkeley is the first one in California. It uses a ventilator to recycle the heat that radiates from the appliances, reducing the use of heat from fossil fuels by 80%-90%.

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I’m all for clean energy. I think solar panels are sweet, and wind turbines are über cool. The problem for me is the cost.

While it may make sense for some people to add these to their house, for most of us, they’re simply out of the question. Our budget doesn’t include ten or twenty thousand dollars for future energy costs.

The easiest way to go green with our energy use is to simply reduce our consumption. Instead of adding megawatts, let’s focus on “negawatts” - cutting our usage through conscious energy management. Most houses were not built with energy efficiency in mind, but there are some easy, low-cost hacks for the home that will help you to cut costs and lower your energy footprint. Some municipalities even offer rebates to cover some of the costs.

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Wal-Mart and W.R. Grace? Some will certainly raise hackles in disgust…

Regardless of past issues, this looks like a very promising project. Wal-Mart has already shown real innovation with not only recycling packaging waste, but even turning it into a revenue stream.  According to the Environmental Leader article (linked above), “Grace Canada and its parent company W. R. Grace & Co. have recycled over 77 million pounds of foam polystyrene.” And styrofoam does have one thing going for it: it has great insulating properties.

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In State College, Pennsylvania, I had the opportunity to tour the 2,400 square feet Matson & Associates Eco-Building, home to three ecopreneurial enterprises: Matson & Associates, an environmental assessment services company, often engaged to provide “expert witness” testimonials on some of the most timely waste processes issues; Envinity, a green building and home energy audit consultancy; and Matson Biofuels, a company developing a more ecological and non-toxic approach to making biodiesel called Green Biodiesel. For all three of these triple bottom line green enterprises, it’s not just what you create with your product or service — but where you work to create it.

As one of the first examples of green architecture and integrated energy efficient design in State College, the Matson & Associates Eco-Building received the Energy Star certification as a residential office in 2007. The Energy Star certification designates buildings that use 30 percent or less energy than similar code compliant buildings. As an added bonus, the construction cost of this green building was no greater than that for a conventional one.

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According to Braden

I don’t want to be conveyed as a hippie. I want to get the message to the mainstream. People need to know that in fact there is a great solution sitting right in front of us.

At the heart of the house’s ability to be energy efficient and furnace free, is its design: using a combination of south-facing windows and extensive insulation, heat loss is near-negligible due to the design being almost airtight.

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I found a contender: Ecovative Design has come up with a number of products for packaging, building insulation, foam core (think: surfboards) and ye olde beer cooler that do away with styrofoam, using agricultural waste. And, making this even better, the ingredients for the product will come from local sources, whichever is the most prevalent in the area that it’s made.

So rather than trucking the same ag waste 1000s of miles to other regional factories, they have come up with a product that can flex what it contains without compromising the quality or integrity. For example, cellulose pulp from areas with lots of paper mills, and rice hulls in Texas, where a lot of rice is processed.

And it’s compostable, biodegradable, and if sent back to Ecovative, recyclable. Take that, styrofoam!

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I recently got a press release from a company advertising a product to quickly and easily “convert” recessed can lights to a pendant light look.  But, after a brief look, it turns out to be a particularly bad case of greenwash.

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We know that many of us will need to spend our tax rebate check on critical items like food or rent or paying off debt. But just in case you have some of your tax rebate check left and you’re looking for eco-friendly ways to spend the money, we have some ideas we’d like to share with you.

And we’ve geared these tips to supporting the US economy, so you get to do the right thing for the planet and be an eco-patriot at the same time! In coming up with our list of ideas we decided it would be good to recommend ideas that reduce our negative environmental impacts but also support US manufacturers and service providers. So here are five eco-smart ways to use your rebate to support the Earth, the US economy, and save your household money in the long run.

1. Buy a high-efficiency water heater. A high-efficiency water heater can cut your energy use, water use, carbon footprint and even utility bills (over the long run). For most homes you can get the heater itself for $600 - $1,200, but you’ll probably have to spring for installation as well. Models made in the US include the AO Smith Vertex (a storage model that beats the pants off of tankless HW heaters), electric models made by American Tankless Water Heaters, and natural gas tankless heaters made by Rheem (some made in the US). Click here to learn more about making the tankless decision, and click here to find local installers.

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Nicknamed “frozen smoke,” aerogel is extremely lightweight material, with a density only 3 times that of air. Only a small fraction of a volume of aerogel is the material itself. Most of the volume is filled with air. This makes aerogel an excellent insulator. (Aerogel provides nearly 40 times the insulation of fiberglass insulation.)

Aerogel can withstand great pressures and is also an excellent sound insulator. Aerogels can also be used to absorb airborne pollutants and have been used to clean up oil spills. NASA also used a section of aerogel as part of its Stardust probe to collect samples of material from the tail of a comet.

Aerogel is available for some high-performance applications, but due to its high cost, it has not been widely used. However, new research from a Malaysian scientist offers the potential to drastically reduce the cost of producing aerogel, and could lead to new possibilities for its use as a building and insulation material.

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It is time to start thinking about getting our homes ready for winter. Maintenance and repair work done while the weather is still mild will pay off not just in the coming cold weather, but with year round benefits. Here are five common issues to think about when considering your winterization projects, and how to avoid making some common mistakes while improving your house.

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While charges of greenwashing and opportunism have been among the responses to the program’s roll-out, Jarvis told me that Eco-Options is the end result of seventeen years of work and planning by the company. "This isn’t a marketing ploy," he said. "We’ve been studying these issues, and leading the industry during this period." Jarvis described the program as "merchant-driven," and noted that Home Depot has gone to its vendors with specific requests for more environmentally-friendly products. He told me "A lot of the changes you’re seeing are driven by us." The results of this effort have included a eco-friendly green cleaning product from Terracycle, low-VOC paints from Glidden, and plantable pots for live plants, among others.

Jarvis also noted that the company has worked to reduce the environmental footprint of its stores, which led to $20 million in energy savings in 2006; the company has also built four LEED-certified stores, and four more that used LEED standards as guidelines for building.

Of course, the true test of any green retail program is its ability to help consumers make better choices for their homes and families. So, in addition to talking with us, Jarvis and the Environmental Innovation team put together the following five home improvement tips for saving energy — and money.

1. Don’t Wait to Insulate

According to the Department of Energy, up to 45 percent of a home’s energy loss is through the attic.

Upgrading insulation to a higher R-value can drastically lower energy costs. Start with insulating the attic and unheated crawl spaces with PINK Fiberglass Insulation from Owens Corning and GreenFiber Cocoon Blow-In Cellulose Insulation. It fills in gaps and voids in a home, creating a thermal blanket of protection, and the insulation reduces noise, airflow and energy loss.

Here are some tips from The Home Depot on installing insulation in the attic:

• Start at the outer edges of the attic and work toward the center.
• When adding a second layer of insulation, always use unfaced insulation, because faced insulation will add a second vapor barrier and create moisture problems.
• If the joist cavity is not full, add a second layer of insulation on top of the first to fill it up.
• Use continuous rolls in attics and floors because of longer joist spans.
• If you have to cut insulation, do so in a well-ventilated area to keep the amount of fiberglass dust raised to a minimum.
• Blown-in cellulose insulation is an alternative to fiberglass insulation, but it requires a machine to fluff the insulation and feed it through the installation hose.

2. Fill the Cracks

Air leaks raise a home’s energy bill and make a house drafty and uncomfortable in cold weather. The biggest leaks are almost always hidden in the attic or basement.

To find leaks in the attic, follow these steps:

• Look for holes along the top of a wall that leads down into the house, including those for wiring and plumbing.
• Check for insulation that is dirty around the edges, which indicates that air has passed through.
• Feel for drafts around gaps and cracks.

There are numerous places in the home where air can leak. Check all of these areas:

• Along the top of the basement wall or crawl space where the cement comes in contact with the frame
• Plumbing and dryer vents
• Recessed can lights
• Furnace flue or duct chase ways
• Indoor and outdoor electrical wires
• Window and door frames

In many cases, the best way to block air leaks is by filling the gap with caulk, expandable foam or weather stripping. Expanding spray foam like Great Stuff™ Home Sealant is ideal for sealing gaps in the attic. Spray foam should not be used next to chimneys or flues that get very hot.

3. Program Your Temperature

An Energy Star® qualified programmable thermostat, like the RiteTemp™ Seven-Day Programmable Thermostat, keeps your home comfortable and saves energy costs by automatically adjusting temperature settings while you are asleep or away.

The Home Depot suggests the following tips for installing a new thermostat:

• Turn off the power to the heating and air-conditioning system, and remove the old thermostat cover plate.
• Unscrew the thermostat mounting screws and remove the thermostat body.
• Label the low-voltage wires to identify their screw-terminal locations using masking tape. Disconnect the wires.
• Remove the old thermostat base by loosening the mounting screws. Tape the wires to the wall to prevent them from slipping into the wall cavity.
• Thread the low-voltage wires through the base of the new thermostat. Use a small level to verify accurate mounting.
• Connect the low-voltage wires to the appropriate screw terminals on the base. Follow the diagram in the new thermostat owner’s manual.
• Locate the low-voltage transformer that powers the thermostat. Tighten any loose wire connections.
• Install batteries in the thermostat body, and attach the body to the base. Restore power and program the thermostat as desired.

4. Enhance Your View

Your home’s windows may keep the outdoors from coming in, but they may not be keeping all of the air inside your house. Heat can escape from windows (such as single-pane windows) that aren’t energy efficient. Depending on where you live, you can save between $110 - $400 a year in energy costs by installing Energy Star®-qualified windows.

5. Branch Out

Plant a tree for an all-around environmental boost. When properly sited, trees and other landscaping can save up to 30 percent in home cooling and heating costs.

The most obvious improvement offered by using ICFs is the addition of insulation. Concrete has a very low R-value (an 8" thick concrete basement wall would typically have an R-value of approximately 0.75; even less than a single-glazed window with an average R-value of 1.0). So concrete walls offer very poor thermal performance. Even in the summertime, a concrete basement wall will be cool to the touch, because of this. Adding even a small amount of insulation to the concrete wall makes it better, and ICFs provide a good way of getting an insulated concrete wall.

This article is going to be somewhat less useful to owners of existing homes in general, since installing foundation walls is something that is usually only done in new construction. But understanding a bit more about how foundations work can help when it comes to improving the performance of an existing basement space, as well.

Contractors like them because they reduce labor costs. In typical construction, concrete walls are built by setting up reusable forms which contain the concrete and mold it into its finished shape. The forms are heavy and hard to install because they have to be strong enough to support the weight of the wet concrete and hold it in place for a period of several days to a couple of weeks, until the concrete has cured. Then, workers must be sent back to remove the forms and carry them to the next jobsite. With ICFs, the blocks that are used are much lighter and are easily carried by one person, making the preparation of the forms easier and less labor intensive. ICFs also save after the concrete is poured, because the additional step of removing the forms is omitted. The ICFs are left in place as part of the building.

Early ICFs were basically two pieces of rigid insulation foam held together with plastic ties. This would result in a full thickness concrete wall with rigid insulation on both the outside and the inside. They were originally developed for the speed of assembly and the labor savings, and the insulation was largely an added benefit.

Eco-block is an example of this kind of ICF, although they also offer configurations with thinner concrete cores (as little as 4", which is still structurally sound). More recent versions, such as Insulock, use a block that looks like an oversized Lego made of polyurethane foam. These closed cell foam blocks are lightweight, and can be easily carried and quickly installed. The open cores of these blocks are then filled with a steel reinforcing rod and poured concrete to create a structural wall with properties much stronger than a wood stud wall, much less concrete needed than a traditional poured concrete wall, and much better insulation than either one. Depending on the required wall strength, it may not be struturally necessary to fill all of the cores with concrete, leading to even more savings in materials.

Having insulated foundation walls makes for a more comfortable and more energy-efficient basement. Even for concrete slab-on-grade construction (where the concrete slab floor sits directly on the ground), having insulated foundation walls helps keep the concrete floor at a more comfortable temperature, and keeps the cold from conducting through the concrete as readily.

ICFs are not only for basements. They can be used for walls above ground level as well. The Portland Cement Association has a website with further information about homes built with ICFs, and showing examples of very conventional looking homes that are built with walls constructed in this fashion.

Insulation is generally material inserted in the spaces between framing (wall studs). It's purpose is to slow down the process of heat transfer. Creating a lot of little airspaces between the fibers of the insulating material, and using a material that is, itself, a poor conductor of heat makes a wall that retains heat, rather than allowing it to be lost to the outside.

Fiberglas insulation has been the standard in construction. It is sized to fit between framing members spaced 16" or 24" apart (the two most common industry standards). Fiberglas is inert, but stray fibers can be an skin irritant and installers need to wear dust masks to avoid breathing in the fibers. For a do-it-yourselfer, fiberglas is readily available at big box stores and is moderately priced. Forcing the insulation into a space compresses the material and makes it less efficient. Properly installed insulation spreads out to fully fill the space, but without being compressed on itself unnecessarily. Supplemental attic insulation can be as easy as buying unfaced (no kraft paper attached) rolls and unrolling them in the attic.

UltraTouch is manufactured from 85% post-industrial fiber - much of it being blue jean material, giving the insulation its distinctive color. Unlike fiberglas, it does not itch, does not contain any chemical irritants. The fibers are treated with fire retardants to make it safe for use in construction. Like standard fiberglas, it comes in construction standard sizes. For the do-it-yourselfer, the added cost of a cotton insulation may be worth it because of the ease with which it can be installed.

Spray-applied cellulose insulation is another good product. It is made from shredded newspaper and, like UltraTouch, has fire-retardants added to prevent it from being a hazard in construction. In application, the material is simply sprayed onto the walls before the interior gyp board is installed. Any excess material can simply be scraped off and put right back into the spraying machine. Spray applied insulation also fills the wall cavity more completely than batts do, making it better able to fill all the corners and crevices more effectively. Because of the machinery involved in its application, spray applied insulation generally makes sense for larger projects, and may not be cost effective for small additions and renovations.

In any case, having the proper amount of insulation is an important part of a project. Local information is important to consider, as well. And this is far from an exhaustive list of what is available. But, these are probably the top three options that many people will consider.