Tag Archives: energy

I’ll give you $50 for your fridge

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Empty refrigeratorWell, not me, but MassSave will. If you’ve got a second fridge in the basement (do people keep them anywhere other than the basement?) that is doing nothing but wasting energy, they will not only PICK UP your fridge for FREE but they’ll give you $50 for the trouble.

Hype aside, second refrigerators really can suck up $100 in energy costs for doing little more than keeping that crummy six-pack of Bud Light your ex-friend brought to the party last year. Get rid of all three (the fridge, the Bud Light and the ex-friend) but get $50 for the fridge. Why not?

Free light bulbs from Mass Save

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I received a bunch of free CFL and LED bulbs from MassSave as a blogger. I was very clear that I was going to say what I wanted, not necessarily nice things. I held up my end of the bargain, as you’ll see below.

Update, 12/13/2014: Two important notes about this post. 1. It is old enough that some of these bulbs are no longer in production, let alone used by MassSave anymore. 2. This is, to me, the least interesting post on this website. Hopefully you’ll take a few moments to read other, more interesting posts on this website. Thanks!

MassSave is a great program which offers “free” energy audits to MA residents and

CFL samples Mass Save sent.

Some of the CFL samples Mass Save sent.

commercial property owners. Non-profit entities are not eligible for most services. (“Free” is in quotes because the funding comes from all of our energy bills, so we have, in fact, paid for the service. That’s fine and good in my book.)

If you haven’t had a free audit, go sign up for one, now. Go, I’ll wait. Done? Good. (If your last audit was four years ago, do it again. They’ve improved dramatically.) Continue reading →

Pumpkin recycling

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Every Halloween we see a lot of good rotting flesh go to waste. That’s right, pumpkins tossed into the trash.

A trash can and a sign and you’re good to go

In Arlington we’re not allowed to put pumpkins in with the yard waste, so they often go in the garbage. This costs the town more in “tipping fees,” a fee calculated by weight, not volume. Pumpkins are, of course, heavy.

So what if after the holiday, the neighborhood pumpkins all came to you for composting, perfect to mix with the fallen leaves? (Leaves are carbon-rich, or “browns”. Pumpkins are nitrogen-rich, or “green”. You need both for rich compost.) Continue reading →

Solarize Arlington

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If, dear reader, you live in Arlington and have considered going solar then please read this.

Ryan Katofsky, Arlington’s “Solar Coach,” will be speaking Thursday, May 31 about the discounts available for solar installation. Whether you’ve considered buying or renting PV panels, wondered what it would really take to make it happen or are only considering it now for the first time, you should go to this event. Continue reading →

“Window replacement has a 200 to 300 year payback period”

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That quote is from Michael Blasnik, who has been mentioned on this blog several times. The full article can be seen here.

I have the discussion with people all the time – people who insist that they’re going to save money over the long run by replacing their windows; people who insist they NEED to replace their windows. The reality, Blasnik says, is that payback is typically going to take 200-300 years. Continue reading →

Cheap is as cheap does

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A quick post with a pic from travels this weekend. Cheap bulbs aren’t worth what you pay for them.

Cheap bulbs

These bulbs cost much more than what you pay to buy them.

These bulbs may not cost much but you’re goingkeep need to keep replacing them as they burn out. Until they do, you’ll be spending three times as much on electricity compared to CFLs and far more when compared to LEDs.

 

Q-Lon Training for Team Leaders

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This Sunday, March 18 at 9 am we’ll hold another Q-Lon training for Team Leaders/potential Team Leaders in East Arlington. There will be people from HEET groups around the area learning how to install our favorite door air-sealing kit.

If you’ve thought about becoming a Team Leader for any of the HEET groups and want to attend Sunday please send an email to arlheet@gmail.com

If you can’t make it but want to learn the PROPER way to install Q-Lon, I’ve written up instructions with photos.

Got CO?

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It’s time to ‘spring forward’ which also means its time to replace the batteries in your smoke detectors AND CO monitors.

You do have carbon monoxide monitors, right? State law says that you must have carbon monoxide monitors on all living floors of your home. It isn’t required (but should be) in unfinished basements which is probably where your furnace, hot water heater and dryer are located. Continue reading →

How to choose CFL bulbs, again

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I’ve spoken a lot about choosing bulbs, including here, here and here and in person with a lot of people recently.

Here’s someone else talking for a change. A short (two minute) video by MassSave explaining how to choose bulbs and the new labeling. As he says, choose Energy Star bulbs which are required to meet certain standards including the speed they warm up and their longevity. Continue reading →