We love it when celebrities wear the shoes we sell but we love it even more when celebrities make a commitment to the environment beyond eco-fashion. It’s all over the web right now that Jennifer Aniston is building an eco-friendly house in Malibu! This kind of example is exactly what celebrities need to be modeling and putting out there.

Regardless of where people stand on the state of global warming, people who have the money to invest in renewable energy should make the leap. After all, the larger the house, the higher the utility bills! So the word on the street is that Jennifer Aniston is building a new home near Julia Roberts that will use green building materials, residential solar panels, solar hot water heating and drought resistant plants in the landscaping.

So kudos to Jennifer Aniston for making a great decision! Let’s hope we’ll see more celebrities follow suit and either retrofit or build sustainable housing that successfully incorporates alternative energy!

I read a really interesting article in the New York Times recently about the logistical challenges that we’re facing here in the US in relation to renewable energy production. I mean, no matter which side of the debate about climate change you believe, we all know we need to diversify our power production means. And what everyone is facing is that overhauling our power production and the power grid that currently facilitates our infrastructure is going to be a big challenge.

As the renewable energy market is flooded with funding from the stimulus package, we can get excited by the ramping up of renewable energy resources, but it is a fact that our entire power infrastructure is also going to need major work to sustain the influx of new clean energy.

Why is this?

Well, clean energy like solar and wind power fluctuate in production depending on the weather. The sunnier it is the more electricity a solar panel can generate and likewise the more wind there is, the more electricity a wind turbine can generate. But of course, on cloudy, rainy or snowy days solar panel power output is depleted and on still days wind turbines are not as productive.

There is a natural symbiosis to a degree, between solar and wind power. Essentially, if the weather is overcast and poor for solar power generation, there is usually more wind, boosting wind turbine power generation. This is why hybrid renewable energy systems are so popular for folks living off the grid. But although this natural symbiosis could be exploited on a large scale, it is the very fluctuation that remains the issue.

The current power grid has been constructed with the assumption of sustained and consistent energy production by power plants. Also, we know the technology we use now, so any fluctuation is easily managed because we’ve faced almost every scenario – and the power grid was developed for this kind of energy.
Renewable energy that is produced by wind turbines and solar panels creates power at different levels and at times entirely intermittently. The question is – how to store power and then funnel it out to the public at night or on days where there is no wind.

Fluctuating power is managed in battery banks in standalone renewable energy systems and power plants and the power grid will need to work out power storage and fluctuating power production and use as the renewable energy potential of the US is truly tapped.

Thankfully, energy and grid technology experts agree that the US should be able to successfully scale up to the demands of renewable energy production – although it will take time, ingenuity and plenty of capital investment.

In the meantime, individuals should empower themselves by implementing their own renewable energy solutions towards a democratization of power production.

It’s cold up north right now. Everything is covered in snow and ice which means that most of us are focused on our indoor hobbies and tasks. What most people don’t know is that this is the perfect time to start planning your alternative energy system.

It’s the perfect time for a number of reasons.

One – you have the time now. Hibernation after the hubbub of the holidays is the perfect time for all of your spring planning. You can work out your garden plan – figure out the timing of your seedling growth and planting and you can become more informed about renewable energy and potentially create a budget.

Two – this is the time when most renewable energy companies are in their slower period. That means more access to human resources to help you identify the right renewable energy option and for system design. It can also mean you have more control over installation timeframes with contractors and you can get better deals on components because they are looking to offload inventory!

Three – We all have to start some time! No matter your motivations – whether you want to save money, reduce your carbon footprint, reduce your fuel consumption or become energy independent, we can help you find the right path and the right system for your individual goal.

One of the coolest things about renewable energy these days is that you can look for solutions for electric power or for heat and hot water. While solar panels, or photovoltaic modules, and wind turbines are well known and popularized in mass media, solar thermal technology can actually be more cost effective and efficient for first time renewable energy buyers. In some cases though, solar electric power or wind power might be a great fit – but how the heck do you start?

Most people have no idea where to begin – and that’s totally understandable. In our world, you sign up with a company for a utility and then you just have to pay. Most people can’t decipher their bills or really understand how things are measured. They might see the change when they switch the more efficient light bulbs, for example, because the bill goes down, but they may not understand how electricity or oil is really measured.

Electricity:

Your electricity is measured in kilowatt-hours. An average household uses about 950 kilowatt-hours per month.

Some useful definitions:
• Kilowatt (kW) - A unit of measure that is a rate of electrical POWER; equal to 1,000 Watts.
• Kilowatt-hour (kWh) - A unit of ENERGY measurement equal to 1,000 Watt-hours. Commonly used as the unit for electrical energy commerce.

How do you know where your kilowatt hours are going?

Start with your own self assessment by making small investments in some cool gadgets.

Start with a Kill-O-Watt. This is a gadget that measures the energy consumption of your existing appliances. You can see how efficient your refrigerator, washer and television are. You basically plug the Kill-O-Watt into the wall and then plug your appliance into the Kill-O-Watt.

This is the first step towards becoming more energy efficient – identifying where your energy is going! Once you see which appliances need to be replaced, you can buy more energy efficient alternatives to lower your monthly kilowatt hours of usage.

Heat and Hot Water:

Solar electric panels and wind turbines can be more expensive than your expecting, so if you have older heating and hot water systems in your home, solar air heating or solar water heating system might be a more inexpensive way to start on the renewable energy path.

Solar water heating collectors typically mount on your roof like a solar electric panel but use the power of the sun to heat water for a hot water heating system. A solar air heater can be mounted on the roof but actually works better if mounted on a southern wall. But, just like electric systems, you need to know what you’re using and make it optimally efficient before you start installing solar technology.

A great place to start is with a digital thermostat. By installing a programmable thermostat in your home, you can keep your oil or other fuel costs lower by ensuring that your thermostat defaults to a reasonable temperature and doesn’t heat up the house during the hours when people aren’t there. Almost anyone can install one of these thermostats and they are available for less than $50.00!

The other thing to do is see if you can get an efficiency assessment of your home. They will tell you if you need to improve your insulation, windows or even your furnace or boiler. When your home is efficient you can decide which kind of system will work best for you.

Scary right? I’ll admit the whole heating thing was super intimidating for me. I was happy in my ignorance but now that I’m armed and dangerous with BTU knowledge I can make much smarter decisions about how to move forward. So here are some valuable insights from someone going through the process of optimizing home heating.

1. What the heck is a BTU anyway?

A BTU is a British Thermal Unit and the term is widely used in North America to measure heat values. For our purposes, it just gives us a common value by which we can evaluate home heating options.

2. Remember that where you live absolutely effects decisions you make about energy.

But, don’t think that just because you live in parts of the US that don’t get sunshine all the time that you can’t take advantage of solar or solar thermal technologies!

3. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

The car guys learned that developing hybrid cars was a smart way to use existing, proven technologies and coupling them with great energy saving innovation. Your home heating system may end up doing the same thing – so keep an open mind!

Now that we have those main issues out of the way, let’s get to the nitty gritty.

Let’s assume you’ve replaced your windows and insulated your home and that you’re currently only using Type 2 heating oil and a traditional furnace to heat your home. Let’s further assume that your furnace is working properly and has been maintained so that its giving you optimal efficiency operation (about 85% efficiency is normal). Finally, let’s assume your hot water heater is separate from your oil system.
So having made those assumptions, let’s further assume that you need five refills of your 150 gallon oil tank per year.

5 Tanks * 150 Gallons = 750

This means, based on the above assumptions that you need about 750 gallons annually to heat your home.

Now, one gallon of oil will give you roughly 140,000 BTU.

150 Gallons * 140,000 BTU = 21,000,000 BTU

So, we can calculate that you need 21,000,000 BTU to heat your home.

So how can we offset some this oil BTU number and how many BTU can we get from other heating options?

For the sake of simplicity, let’s look at one of today’s most popular options and then at an option you might not have yet considered.

1. The Pellet Stove – These are super efficient wood burning stoves that burn small pellets rather than logs of wood. They can range from $1700-$3000+ and that cost does not include installation – although many consider that you can install them yourself if you’re handy. Pellets themselves cost between $200 and $300 per ton (roughly).

One Ton of Pellets = 13,000,000 BTU

So, if you only burned one ton of wood pellets, you could offset your oil consumption by more than 50%. There are a lot of folks who use a pellet stove as their primary heat source. Bear in mind they can be dusty, they require electric power and you’ll always have to buy pellets.

2. Solar Air Heater – This wall mounted or roof mounted solar thermal panel can heat up to 750 square feet during daylight hours and can still function well in overcast skies. Costing between $1500-$5000 they are a sustainable alternative heating resource that will pay for themselves eventually and will need minimal maintenance.

Solar Air Heater = 7,000,000 BTU

So, installing this renewable energy resource means you can offset 30% of your oil usage without the need to purchase any additional fuel.

So, at the end of the day, you need to make the decision that’s right for you, but I think having a solar air heater, a pellet stove and an oil furnace makes sense. Then you’re not totally dependent on any source for your home heating and you can be flexible and manage your fuel cost far more efficiently!

While everyone in the green industry is breathing a sigh of relief over the extension of the 18 billion dollars in energy tax credits, now we all get to see how the credit crunch will actually affect green businesses and individuals ready to move forward with projects and growth.

Thankfully, for those of us already investing in home efficiency and renovations and green energy, the tax credits – which go to individuals and businesses alike who invest in alternative energy from solar panels and solar thermal to wind turbines and power systems – have been officially extended for some time.

At this stage of the game though, despite credits and incentives, cash flow is key in integrating renewable technology - since you have to pay up front and get reimbursed from various entities. Hopefully, many individuals, families and businesses will be able to benefit as much as hoped – creating jobs and moving the US into a competitive position among worldwide renewable energy producers.

While the renewable energy tax credits will certainly create jobs and pave the way forward for the alternative energy industry, the US will have to work hard to gain ground and catch up with foreign countries that have been developing and pushing the technology farther, faster.

The good news is that ultimately, experts in the RE industry think that the tax credit extension will more than triple the investment in and employment opportunities in the industry over the next eight years.