SOLAR: $68M in rebates for solar installs, yours for the taking in MA?

Massachusetts has a $68 million fund to provide rebates to local homeowners and businesses that install solar panels to provide electricity. Fill out the form, and determine just how much of the big piece of pie you can get.

Here is a video from WCVBTV5 in Boston with the details. Solar rebates in Massachusetts.

For more information on solar rebates in your area, check out the DSIRE database.

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Bathroom: Ventilation Fans that are the most efficient

It is time to buy a new bathroom ceiling ventilation fan for our hall bath, and so I am going to take you through my thought process, and review of the products GetWithGreen.com found.  It wasn?t an easy task sifting through the myriad of models.  Light, no light, heat, no heat – the Energy Star site boasts 140+ manufacturers of ventilation fans!

Energy Star qualified ventilation fans that include lighting use 70% less energy on average than standard models, saving $120 in electricity costs over the life of the fan.  Further the fans are more than 50% quieter than standard models according to Energy Star. 

The first thing that I did was write down my needs in priority order:

• Efficient: Yes
• Noise: Low
• Warranty: 3+ yrs
• Light: No
• Heat: No

I then used one of the many online tools out there to measure how much airflow my bathroom needed.  I didn’t want to buy an over-sized fan.  A couple very easy to use tools to size up your fan can be found at:   Pansonic and RE Williams.  Simply input your room dimensions, and the calculators tell you the size of fan you should be targeting.  In my case, the calculators returned a fan size slightly smaller than Read more

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HEATING / COOLING: Is it easy to install a programmable thermostat?

Do you use a programmable thermostat in your home?  Or do you use one of those ancient-looking round thermostats with the little slide lever on the bottom?  The kind that you push all the way to the right, or all the way to the left depending on how cold or hot you are.  You know, the same kind that you leave in the ”On” position when you drive off to work?   If you haven’t done so, please look into a programmable thermostat.  Among many other great features, you can schedule when they turn “On” and when they turn “Off”.  You can purchase one at your local Home Depot, Ace Hardware, or Lowes for under $25, and they can save you $$ — before or after you remodel.

Programmable thermostats are also easy to install.  If you don’t believe us, Ed Begley, Jr. and the Home Depot Eco Option environmental program created this short video to show you how:

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