Power saver cords

Practically everyone knows you need to plug in and preheat your vehicle when it gets cold outside – to avoid wear and tear on the car, to say nothing about improving our air quality. However, keeping your engine constantly preheated uses a lot of energy – some of which can be saved using a timer or a power saver cord.

Power saver cords allow electricity to pass to the engine block heater to heat the engine up to ~40° F. At that point, a switch in the cord is automatically flipped to turn off the electricity to the heater. When the engine has cooled down to about 20° F, the switch is flipped back and the electricity once again passes to the heater. In this way, the engine is kept preheated without wasting unnecessary energy. Power saver cords are conservatively estimated to reduce each vehicle’s preheating energy use by about 40% over an engine-heating season (when temperatures are 20° F or below).

Power saver cords can be purchased and installed at some but not all auto garages. Check with your local mechanic to see if they are available.

Green Power

Over the years, a growing number of Americans have expressed the desire to choose where their electricity comes from. Although the majority of our electricity comes from non-renewable sources such as coal, nuclear and natural gas; more and more people are demanding renewable sources such as solar, wind, geothermal and biomass. In fact, to date thirteen states have passed renewable portfolio standards that require power suppliers to obtain a portion of their electrical energy from renewable energy sources.

Electricity that is partly or wholly generated by renewable energy sources has been termed “green power.” Currently, about 40% of electricity customers in the U.S. can choose to purchase green power directly from their local utility or a competitive retail electricity supplier. About 300 utilities in 31 states now offer a “green pricing” option where customers choose to pay higher monthly electrical rates so that some or all of their electricity comes from renewable sources. (The more electricity derived from renewable sources, the higher the price.)

For communities (such as Fairbanks) that do not currently offer green power, customers can purchase “renewable energy certificates.” These certificates represent the environmental attributes of electricity generated from renewable energy sources. While the physical electricity is sold into the regional market where the power is generated, the certificate can be sold anywhere thereby benefiting everyone. For additional information, go to http://www.eren.doe.gov/greenpower/summary.shtml and http://www.eren.doe.gov/greenpower/certificates.shtml#gcertTable.

ENERGY STAR
(Information courtesy of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).)

ENERGY STAR was introduced by the US Environmental Protection Agency in 1992 as a voluntary labeling program designed to identify and promote energy-efficient products, in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. EPA partnered with the US Department of Energy in 1996 to promote the ENERGY STAR label, with each agency taking responsibility for particular product categories. ENERGY STAR has expanded to cover new homes, most of the buildings sector, residential heating and cooling equipment, major appliances, office equipment, lighting, consumer electronics, and more.

If all consumers, businesses, and organizations in the United States made their product choices and building improvement decisions with ENERGY STAR over the next decade, the national annual energy bill would be reduced by about $200 billion. With that would come a sizable contribution to reducing air pollution and protecting the earth’s climate for future generations.

For more information, call the ENERGY STAR Hotline at 1-888-STAR-YES (1-888-782-7937).

Improving Your Vehicle’s Efficiency

Wouldn’t it be great if everyone could go out today and buy a practical fuel efficient vehicle? Well, if you’re in the market for a small fuel efficient car, there are already many decent choices available, including several hybrids. However, if you need a larger vehicle such as a truck or SUV, you’ll need to wait a few more before you’ll find anything remotely “fuel efficient.” Plus, how many people can really afford to just go out and buy a new vehicle? Although many of us might want to be driving the most fuel efficient vehicle on the road, it isn’t really an option.

So, what can we do? How about improving the efficiency of the vehicle we already own? There are quite a few tricks that can be tried to increase your gas mileage. Here are just a few, courtesy of California Energy Commission:

• Check Your Habits: Good driving habits can save you money in the long run. Accelerate gently but steadily -- jack-rabbit starts can decrease mileage by up to 12 percent. Use the cruise control -- it can save fuel by maintaining a steady speed.
• Idling Equals Zero Miles Per Gallon: Turn off your car when going into the store. Leaving your car idling wastes gas and adds to air pollution.
• Speeding: Fuel economy decreases as speeds go up. U.S. EPA and Oak Ridge National Lab say that for every one mile-per-hour that you drive above 55 mph, a vehicle loses about one percent in fuel economy. A passenger car getting 30 miles per gallon at 55 mph, gets only 27.0 mpg at 65 mph; 25.5 mpg at 70 mph.
• Cut That Air-Conditioner: Using a vehicle's air conditioner on a hot summer day could decrease mileage by as much as 21 percent. If it's cool enough, use the flow-through ventilation on your car instead of the air conditioner.
• Don't Top Off: Don't "top off" at the pump. Spilled gasoline adds to air pollution and wastes money. A vehicle topped off may expel gasoline on a hot day before it has been driven far enough to lower the fuel level. Spilled fuel simply evaporates into the air.
• Tire Care: Make sure your tires are inflated properly. The U.S. Department of Energy says four million gallons of gasoline could be saved nationwide each day for every one pound per square inch (psi) of under-inflation, compared to the mileage if all vehicle tires were inflated to the manufacturer's recommended pressure.
• Vehicle Maintenance: Make sure your car is properly tuned, spark plugs are firing right, and oil and air filters are clean. Old, dirty oil and clogged filters are a sure way to rob your engine of efficiency and can cause an increase in air pollution.