Monday, April 1, 2013
Loans of up to $15,000 are available for a range of home improvements.
Maryland offers up to $15,000 in unsecured loans to help residents improve the energy efficiency of their homes through the Be SMART Home program. The program features two options for homeowners looking to do most anything to increase their dwelling’s energy efficiency, from replacing an aging refrigerator to improving the “whole home envelope,” which involves sealing air leaks and increasing insulation. Be SMART Home Energy Star financing provides an unsecured loan at a 6.99 percent interest rate to replace heat pumps, central air conditioning units, windows and doors, refrigerators or ventilating fans with Energy Star-qualified products. The work must be performed by a Be SMART Energy Star-approved contractor. If your home needs more …
Friday, March 23, 2012
Currently, there is no "opt-out" option for customers.
Are Pepco’s new “smart meters” a tool to help us monitor—and hopefully lower—our electricity use? Or, are they potentially dangerous radio frequency-emitting devices that expose households to cyber-hackers and carcinogens? Many attendees at Wednesday night’s Pepco presentation about the new smart meters to be installed in Chevy Chase-area homes this summer were of the latter camp, and they expressed strong disapproval for the new meters. Smart meters are similar in size to standard meters, but do not need to be read every month by a meter reader. Instead, smart meters send radio signals about a household’s electricity usage to Pepco. Once the meters have been installed across the region and the new digital system has been activated, …
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Smart meters will help households to monitor electricity usage, and will let Pepco know when the power is starting to fade (or when it's out completely).
Measuring your household’s electricity usage will soon get a lot easier, thanks to Pepco’s new “smart meters,” which the utility company has begun installing on Maryland properties. Smart meters are electronic devices that send low-powered radio signals to Pepco to report on electricity usage at 15-minute intervals, reported Maria Cowan, a Pepco engineer, and Ken Farrell, a Pepco manager, at a meeting of the Village of North Chevy Chase Council on Tuesday, Nov. 15. While current electric meters must be read every month by a meter reader, the new smart meters will send the data directly to Pepco, and—once the region’s meters have all been replaced and the system is up and running—customers will be able to access that data through their …
Friday, November 11, 2011
Start-up technology joins Climate and Environment Committee to help Chevy Chase homes become more energy-efficient.
Energy efficiency in the home may be on the minds of many these days, although it’s not exactly a hot topic in everyday conversation. But that doesn’t stop people from wanting to know: What are other folks in my neighborhood doing to save on home energy costs this winter? Luckily for Chevy Chase residents—particularly those on the Town of Chevy Chase's Climate and Environment Committee—there’s a place online for just that sort of conversation—the Ripple Map. The Ripple Map concept was developed by Larkspur Energy Group, a for-profit company that advises many large institutions on energy efficiency. And, Larkspur also performs pro-bono work in local communities—including Chevy Chase—to help homeowners make their homes more energy-efficient…
Monday, August 1, 2011
Savenia Labs giving away energy saving appliances weekly through Facebook and Twitter.
An average household in the U.S. spends $100 per year to power devices while they are off or in standby mode, causing more than 100 billion kilowatt hours and $10 billion in annual energy costs, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. John Jabara, Founder of Savenia Labs, is working to change those numbers. Savenia Labs, a startup Bethesda Green Business Incubator company, provides independent lab tested energy and environmental impact ratings on popular appliances. The lab’s independent ratings allow consumers to make informed choices about saving energy and money when it comes to their electric appliances. Savenia Labs will officially launch in the fall, and their blog offers great articles about how to interpret the ‘green’ …
George Karadimas
12:27 pm on Tuesday, August 21, 2012
The Sensus Inc IconA smart meter is a Known FIRE STARTER http://marylandsmartmeterawareness.org/smart-meter-news/don-baker-a-sensus-engineering-employee-filed-a-complaint-with-direct-personal-knowledge-that-these-alabama-smart-meters-were-defective-and-dangerous/ Learn all about it here http://stopsmartmeters.org/2012/01/20/meters-that-endanger-shocking-details-from-a-whistleblower/ more ›