Our trusty Toro Electric Snow Blower died during the first blizzard of 2015 that slammed us with 2 feet of snow. I originally thought I could repair it by replacing the broken blade, but unfortunately the motor had also reached the end of it’s usefulness. Fortunately, I was able to buy a new Snow Joe […]
Gearing Up Green for the Super Bowl
Posted on January 30, 2015 Written by 1 Comment
I am very excited for the New England Patriots to be in Super Bowl XLIX and almost as excited to see that LEDs will be lighting the University of Phoenix Stadium for the big game. As Katherine Tweed notes in her article LEDs Will Shine on Super Bowl Sunday, the stadium will not just be […]
Addicted to Electricity
Posted on June 24, 2014 Written by Leave a Comment
“My life would be miserable and I wouldn’t ever be happy, unless I had a shelf full of boardgames in my room [if I didn’t have electricity].” “If you’re not charging your iPod, could you plug in my iPhone?” “I have another cable, I can plug them both in.” Our family is driving down the […]
How Green is My Electricty?
Posted on April 4, 2013 Written by 2 Comments
A reader living in New Hampshire recently asked us how clean her electricity is. She had read a controversial piece about natural gas in the Wall Street Journal. She had just switched to a high-efficiency natural gas boiler and was now concerned she had invested in the wrong solution to efficiently heat her home. We have posted […]
My Dream Family Car – Tesla Model S
Posted on March 5, 2013 Written by 10 Comments
Last week I got to experience something that has left several of my friends green with envy. I got to ride in a Tesla Model S all electric sedan and it was AWESOME! The whole story started a week ago while I was sharing coffee with some colleagues and friends one morning. We were discussing […]
Making Sense of Watts and Watt-Hours
Posted on February 25, 2013 Written by Leave a Comment
One of the hardest concepts to grasp related to energy savings is what is the difference between a watt (W) and a watt-hour (Wh). If you are going to try to understand your electricity consumption and savings, it is very important to get this key concept. Unfortunately, we can’t see electricity flowing through a wire […]
ISO to Go – Our New Favorite App
Posted on October 20, 2012 Written by Leave a Comment
Alicia just showed me my new favorite app for iPhones and Androids: ISO to Go from ISO New England. ISO to Go, which is also available for free, provides easy access to real-time electricity data for the New England grid including: Overview of the power grid and electricity markets Real-time consumer demand Charts showing the […]
Reaching for Net-Zero
Posted on May 3, 2012 Written by Leave a Comment
With all the sunny days in April, we reached a milestone with our Solar PV Awning. We moved being net-consumers of electricity to being net-producers for the year (first four months). Chart generated by SunWatch Meter from SunBug Solar LLC In April our solar awning produced a whopping 733 kWh of electricity, only July 2011 […]
Comparing Site Energy vs Source Energy and Why You Should Care?
Posted on February 12, 2012 Written by 1 Comment
When we compare things like homes or cars to determine which are more efficient, better for the environment, greener, etc. it is important to make sure we are comparing apples to apples and using the right calculations. There are two forms of energy use that are often discussed when talking about buildings energy consumption: Site […]
Review: My Experiences With the Plug-in Prius
Posted on September 20, 2011 Written by 6 Comments
My kids sitting in the back of the Toyota Plug-in Prius On September 16, 2011, Toyota officially unveiled the Plug-in Prius, pricing, options and its availability. This is particularly exciting to me, because we have been using one of the early prototypes from Toyota’s test fleet at work. I have had the opportunity to drive […]
