Making Your Home’s Windows More Energy Efficient

 

home energy efficiency and windowsEveryone wants to save money, and making sure one’s home is as energy efficient as possible is an excellent way to do so. You might not be aware of this, but if your home is like most, nearly one of every three dollars you spend on climate-controlling your home is wasted.

That’s because the average home has inefficient windows and doors. While windows comprise one-tenth to one-quarter of a home’s exterior, they can sometimes be blamed for as much as half of its heating and cooling costs. That’s a lot of money to be throwing out the window.

You might balk in disbelief at these numbers, but unless your home was built recently, using the latest in energy efficient windows, your home is probably no exception. Continue reading

Energy Audits Make Your Home More Efficient, Safer, and Healthier

 

The Basics of Home Energy Audits: Combustion and Gas Safety Testing

combustion and gas safety testing

When you have a professional home energy audit performed by licensed technicians, you’re doing way more than merely reducing your home energy bills each month, or positioning yourself to qualify for a rebate or other incentive. Part of the testing procedure should always include combustion and gas safety testing, as well, in order to insure that all of these appliances in your home are performing with safety and efficiency.

Combustible Appliance Zones, or CAZ, are what technicians and scientists use to refer to areas in the house that feature combustible gases, and the machines that create them: including, your water heater, gas boiler, stove in the kitchen, furnace, and more. During a home energy audit, technicians will check these appliances for leaks, as well as carbon monoxide levels, thereby ensuring your family’s safety from dangerous gas leaks in the house. Continue reading

Next Level Business Technology: Developing an App

 

Is Your Business Ready for the Mobile Web?

developing an iphone app for business

Has anyone in your field (or a friend who is also in business) convinced you that you and your company needs to get in the game, when it comes app technology for the mobile web? Did their suggestions resonate with you, or did the development of an iPhone or Android app for your business seem to be premature to you? Well, if you’re ready, or even wanting to know more about the mobile web and your business, there’s no time like the present.

Looking over posts like this one, where the writer discusses ten tips for small business owners looking to developing a phone app, one quickly notices a few things that jump out. Offer a deal or special promotion, factor in how money will be collected, make sure you solve a problem. If you’re new to the app market, then your head is likely spinning. But developing an app to serve your business doesn’t have to be difficult. Continue reading

Recycling Tips and Eco Gadgets for Around the Office

 

Going Green in the Workplace: Make It Easy and Fun

eco office gadget: pocket solar powerIt’s very nearly Christmas. And it’s the end of the year, too, which means time for holiday parties and bonuses, meant to celebrate the hard work and dedication of your company’s loyal employees. Sure, you’re busy planning the ultimate Christmas party, and busy signing those extra last-minute checks, but with a little bit of extra time in your schedule, why not try to go over a few extra things before the year is over.

First, take stock of your office policies, with regard to the environment. How did recycling in the office go? Paper use? Digital files over paper ones? Employee commuting practices? Did you manage to adopt a company-wide policy to use and recycle toner cartridges for your office printers? Well, if you weren’t able to get to implementing a robust policy to make your office more green this year, then take the time to a make a list of policies that you will put into effect in 2013. And what about using the employee bonus time as another way to establish that eco-attitude before it’s the New Year? How about giving cool eco-friendly gadgets for the office, together with or in lieu of money? Continue reading

Going Green in Hospitals

 

Green Tech, Eco-Friendly Waste Initiatives, and More

green tech and hospitals

Hospitals and health care facilities, as anyone might imagine, are at the vanguard when it comes to implementing green tech to better the environment and reduce the costs associated with the medical industry. So if you are hard at work in a hospital environment, what possibilities are there for healthcare initiatives that create a “greener” environment?

Let’s say you’re a nurse, recently graduated with a masters degree in nursing, and you’ve finally landed the perfect job in the hospital of your choosing. Or you’re a doctor, fresh out of medical school and walking the halls of your hospital home. In either case, you’re an environmentally conscious individual, committed to reducing your carbon footprint and thinking with an eco-sensitive attitude. What is being done in hospitals around the country to reduce medical waste, cut energy use, implement solar power, and become more green? Continue reading