Brrrr.... Fridge Temperatures

In an effort to try to save some dough (pun intended) during these dog days of summer, I turned to the fridge. :-). Normal people, like myself, buy a fridge and turn it on and never even think about the temperature that the fridge is set at until, perhaps, you realize that food is spoiling. So I began a search to find out what the best temperature is for the fridge to see if it is set too high or too low.

You would think that just a few degrees difference wouldn't really matter very much, yet it does. Too warm by just a few degrees and your food will begin to spoil, bacteria like Salmonella, E. coli, and C. botulinum will grow, mold will flourish, and just bad things overall will happen. Yet too cold, you begin to waste energy (think about your home thermostat and how a few degrees will save you 10% of your energy bill),and your food will freeze resulting it going bad quicker because it's not preserving the food.

So from what I have read and researched the temperature for the fridge should be set somewhere between 0^oC and 5^oC (or 32^oF and 41^oF), with the best being around 3 or 4 Celcius. The variations really come from who you are asking and probably your lifestyle. For those non-scientific folks, the people at howstuffworks say between 35 and 38 degrees F (1.7 to 3.3 degrees C), but the food and drug administration recommend that your fridge be at or below 40^oF or 4^oC.

For those of you who are prone to power outages, it's good to know that if your home loses power and your fridge is at 4F or higher for less than 2 hours, the food will still be safe to eat according to the FDA, as long as you don't open the fridge constantly :).



Sources:
Australian food authority:
http://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/science/science-in-focus/home-fridge-temperatures/
FDA:
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm093704.htm http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm253954.htm

Green products: Bac-Out Stain and Odor Eliminator

When we got our first cat we needed to think about how to clean up certain stains, specifically vomit. Feather, our 5 year old furball, tends to eat too fast or too much and so once a week or so we need to clean up cat vomit. At first we were just using dish soap and a bowl with hot water, and it mostly got the job done but sometimes there was still this cat food smell and color residue. We had read that cats to not react well to most cleaning chemicals and we ourselves try to avoid harsh cleaning chemicals (yes - we are a bleach free household!).

One day we went to Wholefoods because we wanted to look for a green cleaning product that would take care of the vomit stains and the odor associated with it. And that's where we found Biokleen's Bac-Out and we fell in love (as much as you can fall in love with a cleaning product). It is said to contain live enzymes, is safe to use around children and pets (even around super sensitive birds), was not tested on animals and does not contain any animal products (yay). You can use it to clean carpet stains or get odor out of laundry by adding it to the wash. We sometimes use it after washing the litter box with dish soap to get rid of any residual odor. And it works wonders. Sometimes a harsh carpet stain needs to be treated twice, but don't forget it's not bleach. On the plus side: It does not harm the fabric and it does not irritate our skin unlike other products we have used.

You can buy Bac-Out at Wholefoods or other health food stores and you can even order it through Amazon. We love it and are very happy we found it :)

How I got a 76% off my electricity bill!

Several days ago, I received my energy bill for the month of June and to my surprise I only had to pay $20.06!  This is how I got a credit for $65.

First I bought a lawn mower.  Although, your first reaction might be, why or how does a lawn mower affect your electricity Bill?!  My answer is simple.  My electricity company, and I'm sure many of yours as well offers credits for purchasing lawn mowers (or some kind of appliance) that is energy efficient or electric instead of gasoline powered.  When we purchased our lawn mower, we specifically made sure that it was on that list of being able to get a credit back. Our final purchase was a push reel mower (similar to the one I've linked above) which I absolutely love!  I'd like to note that even my wife is able to mow the lawn, so it's not like the days of old where it's brutal to use this type of lawn mower.  This rebate, as you can see from there website shown to the right, is one of many rebates available and gave us $60. back on our bill.

The smaller portion of the bill, $5, was credited back to us due to a free do-it-yourself energy checkup. This energy check-up goes through the basics of your home: asking how large it is, how many people live there, location, windows, orientation, down to the bones of it all such as how much insulation is in your attic, walls, what type of windows you use, etc.  It's very thorough and in the end it gives you a list of things that you could do to your home if you'd like along with the estimated savings of each option.

Has anyone else used these rebates from the energy company?  I'd really like to hear about people using the solar panel option and how it's worked so far for them.  How about a professional energy audit?

Money saving tips for heating and cooling using Energy Star

Energy Star appliances have become a common place in today's world.  Most people would really have to try to NOT have an energy star appliance or device in their home today. So let's see what makes a device an energy star one!

What is Energy Star?
According to www.energystar.gov, the energy star label is a:

...trusted, government-backed symbol for energy efficiency helping us all save money and protect the environment through energy-efficient products and practices.
The ENERGY STAR label was established to:

• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants caused by the inefficient use of energy; and
• Make it easy for consumers to identify and purchase energy-efficient products that offer savings on energy bills without sacrificing performance, features, and comfort.

One of the best features of the ENERGY STAR label is the fact that once they have the market share of products, meaning once there is 50% or more of an ENERGY STAR device under one category, they revise the specifications and raise the minimum efficiency standards, they impose harder performance and quality standards, etc.  Yes, in a way, that could make your device no longer ENERGY STAR, however, that makes the field grow ever better in terms of efficiency, quality and makes the world a better place. 

Currently some of the biggest bills out there that a person has is from the heating and cooling of a home accounting for approximately 29% and 17% respectively.  Following that is the water heater (14%), appliances like the refrigerator, dishwater, and clothes washer/dryer (13%), lighting (12%), electronics like the TV, DVD player, computer etc (4%) and of course, the 'other' category like the ceiling fans, home audio, vent fans, etc (11%).

The heating and cooling of ones home is by far the most expensive parts of ones budget and there are some simple ways to save a few bucks without buying a new, more efficient device.  However, if your device is more than 12 years old, replacing it could save you 30% off your bill which would result in a pretty quick payback period!  To be an energy star device you need to have a Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (or SEER) and an Energy Efficiency Ratio (or EER) of 14% more efficient than standard models.  Here are some tips to help save money!

1. Change your air filter regularly (preferably every 3 months) a new filter allows the air to flow easier and the system work less, saving you energy. Likewise, a clean filter will help keep the air cleaner in the home because dirty air wont be circulating around. I recommend getting a 3M Filtrete filter, they are capable of filtering out bacteria, pet dander, smog, mold, smoke and just about everything that isn't good! I like 3M because their products are top of the line and if you can filter smoke, then everything else will get filtered as well.
2. Tune-up your HVAC yearly. Your car needs a tune-up, why wouldn't your heating/cooling system? This should be done by a professional.
3. A programable thermostat will save you money. These typically will pay for themselves very quickly as you can tell it to raise/lower the heating/cooling while you are gone and when you return so it's like nothing ever happened, except a lower energy bill.  ;-)
4. Seal & Insulate the heating and cooling ducts.
5. Insulate your home!  Not having a tightly sealed home is like leaving your windows open.  A home energy inspector should be able to tell you where your home is lacking insulation along with many other tips and look at your home as a system instead of individual pieces.

Solar Fest in San Antonio

Yesterday was the solar fest in San Antonio.  While I was there I was able to see several very interesting things and learn a fair amount in the short stay.

First of all, this was not the stereotypical hippy "buy solar or die a gas guzzling SUV-driving capitalists" type of place.   As we walked into the park, we were greeting by a row of car that were converted into pure electric and I think there might have even been a hardcore electric-gas hybrid truck.  I have to note that one of the cars was even a DeLorean!  "Back to the Future" Baby!!  Live music was powered completely by the sun, and a solar pump to charge up that electric bike of yours that you rode in on. 

While there I was able to see how easy it is to green up both your home, car, office and everything in between.  There were booths on transporting natural light from outside of the home into your home, solar panels, wind energy, vespa's (for those of you who want great mileage but not the hassle of recharging),  among many other great things.

For those of you with kids, they were able to play catch with all of the different mascots running around, they included a sun, fox, and smoothie (from the smoothie king stand) all of the while the adults listened to the music watching the kids play.  They also had face painting and a Radio Disney stage available. 

The expo showed, I believe, a great insight into all things that were renewable and sustainable living.  They had talks from local companies, HEB, CPS, and others talking about what they were doing to help and show how you can afford to purchase the units.

For example, a 4kW system would cost you around $32,000 to $40,000 but after all of the tax credits and CPS credits it'll end up about half of the cost or about $18,500.  And a nice note is that CPS among other companies is trying to make sure you can add it to your mortgage.  No, this may not be something you do to your house if you plan on moving soon, but for those who have a home and really plan on staying there, this is a great investment into retirement!  Imagine owning your home without any mortgage and having solar on top meaning your bills really would be almost nothing with just your basic phone, water and gas.  Simply Amazing.

From what I read there was expected over 4 thousand people attending and a great success.  And for those of you who live in Texas or other sunshine states and own a home, I can't stress it enough how great an investment solar is, both financially and sustainably, for you.