There’s a hip new way to save energy, and it is making waves in the UK. The Wattson is a sleek and chic device that measures a household’s energy usage in real-time and displays it in watts per hour or British Pounds per year. The system works in two parts. The first is a tool that attaches to the electric meter, measuring the current amount of electricity being used by the household. This tool then communicates wirelessly to the second, which is an attractive display placed prominently inside the house- on a kitchen counter, perhaps. This allows the occupant to see how their lifestyle affects energy use- watching it spike when the air conditioning is turned on, seeing how low it can get when the home is empty. Also, the lights underneath will turn from blue to red if the home’s energy usage is running unusually high, giving the viewer a quick look into the home’s overall energy health.

What is one of the simplest and easiest ways to start saving energy immediately? Hibernation! If bears can do it, why not your computer? Move over Goldilocks, because we’re about to show you an energy saving tip that is juuuust right.

When was the last time you washed your dishes at 3am? Probably never, and yet if you have a tank-based water heater a huge percentage of your monthly utility bill goes to heating water at times when you don’t need it. Tankless* (or “on-demand”) water heaters can save you money in three major ways: they provide hot water only when you need it, where you need it and do not suffer from standby (when heated water is just sitting in the tank) heat loss.

One great source of home energy usage is your electric appliances. Between lighting, refrigerators and the numerous other machines Americans use, about 30 percent of your home energy usage goes to power appliances. And while you may not be willing to give any of them up entirely, you can reduce your consumption anyway, by using energy-efficient appliances and fixtures.

Low-emittance - or Low-E - windows are an increasingly common way to control temperature within the building envelope. Traditionally, windows were accepted as being “energy losers” - they lacked the insulation found in the rest of the building frame, so they were prime locations for heat to escape in winter or for cool air to escape in summer (either being conducted through the glass or slipping through cracks in the window frame).

Computers are not the biggest energy hogs in your house, but, depending on how much you use them, they can become a significant cost. If you use your computer for smaller jobs like word processing and emailing, and if you’re using a laptop or smaller desktop, chances are your computer is using moderate amounts of energy. Your computer’s energy use will increase with its size and with the complexity of the tasks it performs - playing high-tech games will strain your computer and it will suck up power.

Along with weatherstripping, caulking is one of two essential techniques for sealing air leaks in your home. It is ideal for sealing gaps that don’t open and shut - for instance, where your fireplace or an air vent is built into the wall. It works best where cracks or gaps are less than ¼ inch wide. Caulking consists of applying a thick substance called caulk directly over gaps. The substance soon dries, forming an airtight barrier between the inside and outside. As an added bonus, caulking will also help prevent moisture from seeping into your home, which will help keep mold out, and it can be an effective barrier against insects.

Weatherstripping is an ideal solution to air leaks at the edges of windows and doors. Affixing a material to the space between door and window closures, or on their sides, can stop the leaks. There are many different types of weather-stripping materials; foam, felt, metal and vinyl are the common ones.

When you conduct over 3000 Home Energy Audits per year you’re bound to run into some interesting opinions. Many people believe certain things about home energy consumption that are just not true. These “Energy Myths” have often been inherited from one generation to the next. “Grandma always said…” is the typical preface to many of these energy myths. But a whole lot has changed in the last 50-100 years that makes grandma’s recommendations obsolete. Sorry Grandma. So after hearing many different Energy Myths from many different energy customers, the staff of Conservation Consultants got together and compiled some of the most common ones into a list of… drum roll please…

The term “solar panel” refers either to panels that heat water or to those that power electric devices. Water-heating panels have been around at least since the 1920s, but their prominence has recently been diluted by the increasing commercial success of photovoltaic (electric) panels. Whichever type you’re interested in, the solar panel will be the central element of your solar power system. It is the component of the system that actually absorbs the sun’s energy.