Archive for February, 2009
Saving Energy – Solutions That Will Not Change Your Lifestyle
The rise and drop in temperatures in the coming years, place intense pressures on consumers around the world as this means only one thing, more energy and fuel are needed to control the environment and make homes more comfortable.
Over the years, new technology has been invented to improve the manner of living - energy saving devices are not excluded. However new technology, as always, is a bit expensive at first. And the prices will go down after some time. But instead of waiting for a more affordable energy saving devices, let us apply our common sense today and do some effort in saving energy.
•Avoid “phantom” energy users.
Electrical appliances that are plugged in to sockets even when not in use consume energy. It is like a turning on the engine of your car and idling for a very long time. A single appliance that remains plugged in may not give a significant increase in your electric bill but letting every appliance on “standby” can be a real money spender. Make sure to pull the plugs of every appliance from their sockets whenever you don’t use them.
•Turn down temperature of water heaters.
Water heaters hold about 40 gallons of water and maintain it at a constant temperature. Forty gallons of water that is sitting in your tank for a very long time consumes a lot of energy. If the water heater is not expected to be used for a while, it is advisable to maintain it at a lower temperature.
•The openings and leaks in doors and windows create drafts.
The stronger the draft is, the longer it will take for homes to be heated or cooled - in addition to the extra work that a heater or an air-conditioning system is doing to regulate the right temperature of the house. In newer homes, the problems may be few as today’s’ builders take more attention to sealing drafts potential areas and slots. Older homes may not be as well sealed. Even if the outer walls are insulated, air leaks often occur around wall outlets, switches and vents that could result in water condensation around these areas. A good foam patch could fix the problem.
•If there is really nothing to prepare much cooking for, let the stove and oven rest.
Instead, use the microwave. When cooking in stoves though, the closer the bottom of the pan used for cooking matches the hob ring of the stove, the more energy is saved. Too much flame for the pan and you are paying for heating the air around it.
•CFL lights are energy savers.
Using CFL bulbs will save you more than sixty percent of the cost of lighting compared with using incandescent light bulbs. Sure CFL lamps are a little more expensive but these are recovered easily because of its longer life and the energy saving feature it has.
•Clean appliances regularly.
Dirt and dust interferes with the efficiency of appliances. Likewise, place a good distance; allow about four inches of distance between the wall and appliances that generate heat for your walls not to retain the heat.
•When in the market always look for the energy coefficient and the energy saving features of the appliance you are buying.
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February 8th, 2009
Guide To Better Budgeting
A budget is basically a money plan, outlining your financial goals. Having a budget, you can well establish and regulate funds, set and achieve your financial objectives, and make advance decisions as to how you want your finances to function well for you.
The main idea in budgeting is for you to put aside a certain amount of money for expected as well as unexpected costs.
Simply put, budgeting means an estimation of monthly home expenses basing it on previous expenses and bills.
The initial step to take in budgeting is to find out how long will your compensation last. Define fixed expenses like car payments, home rental, insurance, etc. Likewise follow up your expenditures thoroughly for a month so you can discover and understand where your funds are going. Through proper determination of your “spending patterns”, you can immediately identify solutions for effective budgeting.
For instance, when you have a steady monthly income of $4,000, you should subtract all your identified monthly bills from that income.
Other bills can be assessed and then subtracted from the amount of your income. The balance that remained after fixed costs can now be your budget in the household. Rather than allocating money for miscellaneous like gas, clothing, entertainment and groceries, financial planning will allow you instead to use proportions or percentages of it.
The strategic solution in order for budgeting to be successful is inflexibility as well as flexibility; there are fixed expenses so payment must be an inflexible factor.
Budgeting will best work when very scarce omissions are made to greater limits. The idea here is to formulate goals and plans, then abide by it as much as you possibly can.
Here are tips on how to budget:
1. Have good sense of money management. Your attitude is essential. Reach an agreement and compromise and know the significance of reducing expenditures; it all involves a lot of sacrifice.
2. Plan your situation. Make a listing with your earnings to one side and your overheads on the other side.
3. Know the difference between luxuries and necessities. List down what you believe as luxuries, with it, split the list in half, crossing out half the list.
4. Practice frugality but with dignity. You can have fun with little or without spending at all. Rather than going shopping, play with the kids at the beach or at the park.
Budgeting is an effective and fundamental tool that is readily available to everyone. Consider it, and benefit from it.
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February 7th, 2009
small changes which can add up to massive savings
While energy suppliers have started to pass on reductions in wholesale prices there’s no doubt that this winter’s cold weather will have more than undone any of the benefit as we all crank up the central heating to try and stay warm.
With household finances already squeezed it’s never been more important to cut costs any way you can. Thankfully, while the cost of heating your home may by pushing your energy bill sky high, the good news is that there are a number of simple steps you can take to drive it back down.
When it comes to your household’s energy consumption, and therefore the size of your gas and electricity bill, little changes can add up into big savings. So, to help you save we share our hassle free tips for cutting your energy bill without even trying:
1. Say goodbye to standby
Current estimates suggest that the average UK household could save around $58 a year on their electricity bill if they switched appliances off properly instead of leaving them on standby. You can make the saving simply by saying goodbye to the remote and switching ‘standby’ appliances off at the plug.
2. Unplug chargers
Leaving your mobile phone charger plugged in while your mobile phone isn’t attached is just wasting electricity, the same goes for any other chargeable gadgets. Get into the habit of unplugging your chargers at the same time as you unplug your gadget and you’ll be saving electricity without even noticing.
3. Switch appliances with power packs off at the wall
Appliances that are fitted with power packs (such as computers and DVD players) are still on charge and eating electricity – albeit a small amount - even when the appliance itself is switched off (they typically have an LED light that’s always on). To save a little bit extra energy get into the habit of switching appliances off at the wall instead.
What’s more, if you don’t use them to tell the time, switch appliances with clocks on (such as microwaves and CD players) off at the wall otherwise you’re just paying to power something that isn’t used.
4. Wash your clothes at 30degrees
Thanks to the wonders of modern day washing powder it’s usually possible to get all but the most soiled clothes completely clean in a 30degree wash. Making the switch is easy to do and will definitely help you save. Only running your washing machine when it’s full is another step towards a smaller energy bill.
5. Steer clear of the tumble dryer
Tumble driers are famed for eating energy so try to avoid using yours wherever possible – airing cupboards and clothes horses are a good alternative. However, when you do use yours make sure that you’ve wrung the excess water out of your washing (either by hand or on a spin cycle) so that drying takes less time. You could also try using dryer balls as these help the air to circulate through your washing, cutting drying time and therefore energy usage considerably.
6. Load up your dishwasher
Make your dishwasher as energy-friendly as possible by only running it when it’s completely full. Using the ‘economy wash’ option for regular loads is also a very good idea as your dishes will still come out clean but you’ll still be saving. Only very soiled pots and pans tend to require a hotter wash.
7. Keep your fridge and freezer frost free
Defrosting your fridge and freezer on a regular basis will keep them running as efficiently as possible. It’s also a good idea to keep your freezer as full as possible but avoid over-filling your fridge for maximum efficiency. What’s more, remember to close both the fridge and freezer doors as soon as you’ve finished putting something in or getting something out and never put food in the fridge before it’s completely cool.
8. Get saucepan-smart
You can save energy while you’re cooking by using the hob that matches the size of the saucepan you’re using. Putting the lid on your saucepan will considerably reduce the cooking time too and steamers that stack one on top of the other are also another good energy saving option as they allow you to cook a number of different items with the heat of just one hob.
9. Turn off unneeded lights
Get into the habit of switching lights off whenever you leave a room so that you’re not powering them unnecessarily. This applies even if you’ve made the money saving switch to energy efficient bulbs.
10. Don’t overfill your kettle
Only ever boil the amount of water you need rather than automatically filling the kettle to the brim as this will save a considerable amount of energy. Do make sure that there is enough to fill the elements before you flick the ‘on switch’ though.
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February 4th, 2009
Saving Energy – Learning from Californians
The recent electricity problems that happened in California made them rethink the manner in which energy is used and saved. The effort conducted at conserving this resource made many people to reevaluate their choices on energy consumption. The truth is there is really not that much energy to waste. The examples made by Californians about thoughtful ways where less should suffice. The following energy saving suggestions were part of smart choices that was made.
1.Refrigerators that were manufactured 20 or 30 years ago gives off 1,100 lbs. of CO2 emissions per year. Keeping an old model refrigerator increases your monthly energy bill by as much as $80. The newer models are energy efficient.
Manufacturers print this on the fridge. But even the newer ones could not save you as much energy as it should if it is positioned near heat radiating appliances like the dishwasher or ovens and stoves. This is why, to allow for saving energy, interior designers and architects make it a point to have separate areas for cooling and heating appliances.
If you maintain the temperature of the refrigerator at the right level, you can save as much as 25% on energy consumption than when the temperature higher than what is required.
2.Air drying your dishes will save energy instead of putting them inside the dishwasher.
3.Clothes dyers spend much energy that whenever possible, air or sun drying should be done. Washing in cold water also saves energy by 75%. This could also prevent the dryer from emitting 500 lbs. a year in carbon gasses.
4.More than 50 degrees of heat is lost whenever you open the oven during cooking, Study the cooking instructions and preheat the oven as required. Open the oven only when needed.
5.While shades and curtains are good practices to regulate the temperature and let the light in a room, adding e-films gets you far in saving energy during heating and air-conditioning the space. Storm windows are good energy saving devices so are high performance double paned windows.
6.Extra work will be required from your heater or air-conditioner when you have air leaks and drafts around your house. Sealing the home is one of the cheapest ways to conserve energy. Limiting the use of ventilating fans and closing the damper in the fireplace when not in use keep the desired temperature inside the home.
7.In many parts of the country, ceiling fans are enough to cool home that is well insulated. If using air-conditioners is a must, planting shrubs and trees on the surrounding areas of the room to be cooled will you give you as much as 10% savings on energy consumption.
8.Trellises, overhangs and especially trees help so much in cooling the home during the summer months. It also serves as a good wind breaker during winter.
9.Unplug appliances that are not in use. Keeping appliances plugged in and keeping them on standby modes consume about 10% of the power it requires when in operation.
Buy only stuffs that are really necessary. The seemingly innocent stuffs that fills our home was manufactured using energy that translates to greenhouse gas emissions from the sorting of raw materials to manufacture and the freight it required to be delivered to the stores and eventually to the end user.
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February 3rd, 2009
Are We in Recession
Are we in recession? That may be a stupid question to ask now but yes we have been for more than 3 consecutive quarters.
What makes this recession difference from the one we experienced in 2000 is the fact that there were a lot of factors which were never there before. Eight years ago, this was attributed to the collapse of the dot-com bubble, the September 11 attacks and the accounting scandal.
This time around, we can blame it on high oil prices, global inflation, a credit crisis which lead to the bankruptcy of some of the most established banks, increased unemployment, and the housing crisis.
So what do you we see? There are a lot of employees who are jobless, people are forced to sell or foreclose their homes, credit markets are frozen making it impossible for businesses and consumers to get a loan and government intervention is needed to try and prevent things from getting worse.
Just this month, the president together with the help of congress and the senate signed into law the $700 billion bailout plan that will ensure tax breaks for businesses as well as those who invest in alternative energy, increase the limit of insured bank deposits and allow the government to take over huge amounts of devalued assets from beleaguered financial companies.
When this was first voted on by congress, this was shut down but when it was approved by the senate, congress changed its mind making it the largest government intervention in the financial market since the great Depression.
Do we see the fruits of the bailout? Not yet because it will take time. Because of everything that is happening in the US, it has affected countries in Asia and Europe as well. Just to give you an idea, stock markets in the world have gone down.
On the 10th of October, the DOW plunged 697 points falling below 7,900 points. It’s lowest since March of 2003. The NASDAQ and S&P hit more than 5 year lows before recovering. What happens this week is anybody’s guess but hopefully, it won’t fall that hard again.
Because of the US market’s volatility, it has forced finance ministers from the group of 7 nations to find different ways to deal with the crisis and get money flowing again. In most cases, the central banks in these countries have decided to flood the market with liquidity. Though this may sound like a good idea, some experts say this will backfire because banks are hoarding the cash and the market will be driven by fear.
The only consolation perhaps that anyone can see in the recession is the price of oil. During the first half of this year, crude oil was more than $100 per barrel and now it is less than $75 per barrel. This could even go lower as the slowing global economy will hurt demand.
A recession no matter how you look at it is inevitable because it is part of the business cycle. In any country, there is a time that the economy expands, slows down, experiences a recession and then recovers.
It may take years for it to happen again and as history has shown, different factors caused the recession to occur. The challenge is how countries address the problem so we will never have to encounter another Great Depression.