Here comes the cold weather–if it hasn’t hit you already–and I don’t know about all of you, but I love it.  As nice as the snow is, however, we still have to stay warm if we are going to function.  How can you keep some money in your pocket while you’re trying to keep your house comfy?  Let me throw something out there: radiant space heating.  To find the cost of running a heater just take the wattage and turn it into kilowatts.  A 2000 watt heater consumes 2 kWs per hour.  Then take that number and mutiply it by the number of hours the heater will be in use.  Lets say our 2 kW heater is going to run through the night (9pm to 6am) for 9 hours, which means we have a total consumption of 18 kWs.  Then multiply that by the price you pay your power company for a kW of electricity.  So a price of 10 cents would result in a charge of $1.80 to run your heater at night.  Now, space heaters are for just that, heating small spaces.  So make sure to combine their power with the overall utility of a furnace.  This should give you the option of turning that big equipment down and focusing on efficiency by heating just the necessary rooms.  Stay warm.

CO

There is an article that was on CNN.com that I just finished reading, and it does nothing but prove our point at the need to find a cure for the oil desire.  This article is about Matt Simmons and his theory of Oil Peaking.  I am going to highlight a little of the article, but I would like to task anyone with reading this article.  It can be found HERE.  We as a world, we as Americans need to find an answer.

“The soaring price of crude – it has risen from below $20 a barrel in 2002 to as high as $147 earlier this year – has helped thrust Simmons further into the spotlight. He was one of the main voices, for instance, in the recent oil-shock documentary “Crude Awakening,” and his book has now sold more than 100,000 copies. His willingness to make bold predictions about how high crude may go has made him an A-list guest for cable TV news programs and a go-to source for newspaper reporters covering oil and gas. In 2005, when oil was $58 a barrel, he predicted it would be at or above $100 within a few years. Now he sees it climbing to $200, $300, or higher. “There really is no roof on oil prices at this point,” he says.”

“In his typically analytical fashion, Simmons went hunting for data. He found it in the form of hundreds of technical papers submitted by Saudi oil geologists to the Society of Petroleum Engineers over the past 50 years. Simmons spent the month of August 2003 sitting on his porch in Maine and grinding his way through the minutiae of technical accounts of, for instance, reservoir pressure and water-cut percentages, trying to piece together the challenges that the Saudi geologists had encountered in managing their precious oilfields. In the end, his conclusion was clear. “I finished reading the last paper on a Sunday afternoon,” says Simmons, “and I sat back and I thought, Holy crap, this is unbelievable. I’ve just discovered the biggest energy illusion ever in the world. We’re in big trouble. I’m going to write a book.”

“if demand goes up but supply doesn’t, prices are apt to go through the roof”

“And while we’re not going to run out of it anytime soon, the era of easy oil is over, and the world is about to enter a period of convulsive change. (Hint: Learn to garden, and buy some comfortable walking shoes.)”

L.J.

Biogas, the gas that is emitted by decaying organic materials, can be refined into biomethane.  This product is considered on par with natural gas and can be used in the home or it can be compressed for use in cars that run on CNG.  So, a gas that starts as a biproduct of landfills and sewage plants can be used to power a part of America.  Right on!  Furthermore, a Natural Gas Vehicles For America article estimates that there is the potential to capture enough gas from existing sources to equal:

6% of all U.S. natural gas use

or

25% of all the diesel fuel used by all the buses and freight trucks in the U.S.

A natural gas is renewable, who’d a thunk it…

Here’s a particularly interesting excerpt from the same Natural Gas Vehicles For America website.

“In 2007, America used 22.9 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas, which represented about 24 percent of all primary energy used in the U.S.  Of that amount, the 130,000 NGVs operating on U.S roads used no more than 0.052 percent!.  Even if the number of NGVs were to increase 100-fold in the next ten years to 11,000,000 or roughly 5 percent of the entire vehicle market (a formidable goal), the impact on natural gas supplies and the natural gas delivery infrastructure would be small — equating to about 4 percent of total U.S. natural gas consumption.”

CO

So, we post mainly about information, and we had a discussion today on Gmail Chat.  We thought that perhaps some might enjoy this interaction between the two of us:

C.O.: this is interesting

“The critics can be roughly divided into two camps. One group thinks money should be directly infused into banks, which should allow it to trickle down through the financial system to borrowers. A second group thinks the government should buy individual mortgages, thus helping ordinary Americans more directly, with the benefits trickling up to the banks.”

L.J.: that is tough

but, if I had to choose one, I would say Trickle Up

C.O.: so, here’s what i was thinking…who built these companies in the first place

i mean, they want to save them by giving them the money

but didn’t all of our money take them there

??

to the top that is

L.J.: yeah

where are you going with this?

feed me momma bird

C.O.:it seems like trickle up is the answer, right

but the right kind of trickle up, not this stimulus package stuff that doesn’t really mean anything

L.J.: right

C.O.: we’ve got to free up discretionary income

L.J.: yeah, I can agree with you there

It is just hard for me to jump on board with this bail out thing

C.O.: the question is how do you infuse the US with money so that happens

really?

L.J.: I just have a hard time bailing out any company that is misusing their funds.

I thought we are supposed to be a “true market economy”

First the Steel, then auto industry, then banks….then???

the gas companies?

are they going to be next?

Not like our government seems to be doing anything about the energy crunch

but, let’s just say someone finally smells the coffee and says, we need to make a change with the energy we use in this nation…

The gas companies are going to start to go under

obviously

they are paying their Top Execs billions like the bank and insurance industry

are they going to get bailed out as well?

C.O.: i think that’s why you see the companies spending small fractions of their profits on alternatives

that’s beside the point though

what really needs to be done is what is best for the people

can we keep functioning properly w/o a bailout

hard to say

def don’t agree with letting the failures keep their huge salaries tho

L.J.: I can agree with you on that one

no reason why someone should be making billions and the company they work for falls through the floor

L.J.: well, do you think this bail-out/recession will wake up the American Public and get them to change their beliefs on gasoline/oil?

C.O.: hard to say

recession means less money for stuff like…oil

that could drive the price down some

then we’d be on the same path as we’ve always been

L.J.: but, is cheaper gas really the solution?

I mean, at what point do we find something else?

C.O.: well, no, but isn’t that what business and policy favor

in my opinion: NOW

L.J.: Do you think that the cd companies were worried about people not changing over when they decided to go away from Tape Players?

I have never seen a company hold on to the American Public like Oil has

C.O.: it might be a little more cutthroat with this sector

yeah, the hold they’ve got over us is sickening

so what do we do

L.J. Americans forget where we came from

C.O.: i mean, if we really are the ones that control policy, what’s the best way to make some sort of change? Is it Pickens?

L.J.: Well, obviously Picken’s Plan is great, but other than getting a lot of publicity, is he getting anywhere?

it doesn’t seem so

C.O.: yeah, that’s the question

what kills me is that you could ask 100 people on the street and all of them would tell you that gas prices are too high

who is actually doing anything about it

L.J.: I think you you start a craze, similar to Pickens plan, but to the people

reassuring them that we can survive without oil

You know us typical Americans, we pay for reassurance

I just re-upped my vehicle warranty

I feel safe with it

people want to feel safe that if they buy something new, it will be “OK”

I think you need someone, someone like “us” who is ready for a change and willing to stick their neck out and put something up

C.O.: it still seems like a bit of a stretch

I could see a real uprising at 7 or 8 dollars a gallon

but if things are hovering where they are now, I don’t see how you get people to switch

the next thing companies are going to be telling us is that we are on the road to change, you know with the volt and other alt vehicles

L.J.: If anyone has watched the Pickens Plan video, they will see that we are sinking over 300 billion dollars into other countries every year for oil

C.O.: how long is the road?

L.J.: endless

just like the promise in the 70s…what was that quote you told me today?

C.O.: yeah, the money that is leaving this country is ridiculous

this is where the two really tie in, im talking about the bailout and pickens plan

700 billion for the bailout

700 billion for imported oil

L.J.: weird huh?

C.O.: so, if we were to get off of imports somehow, we’d basically be orchestrating a bailout every year

L.J.: weird how the two tie together

C.O.: how do you think the economy would respond to that

??

L.J.: instead of sinking further and further into debt, possibly we could pull us out

or at least start

C.O.: yeah, makes you think

L.J.: The economy would boom

well, at least theoretically

C.O.: maybe the bailout should be a real focus on getting out of this oil import mess

L.J.: knowing our politicians, we may find something else to blow our money on

haha

C.O.: then we could take the money and “bailout” year after year

yeah, that’s the problem

L.J.: Do you think Washington is sitting in the meetings saying…”this is how we could attack it from both sides”?

C.O.: oversight

it happens and it unhappens

heh, attack from both sides, right

L.J.: this all reminds me of the stories we heard about in History

C.O.: that’s why theyre focused on big biz

L.J.: like the Boston Tea Party

America stood up for what it believed

I think our founding fathers are rolling over in their grave…

C.O.: yeah, we need to Take a Stand

L.J.: but, that is another discussion all together

I think we need to Make a Difference

we = American People

L.J. C.O.

With the economy on a balance beam, everyone seems to be looking for ways to cut back on anything and everything.  What about the main commodity that is plummeting us into this downward spiral of bad times,  GAS/OIL.  Let us reference Picken’s Plan here and say that we go with a Natural Gas change over.  The main problem with an alternative energy at this point is the infrastructure, or lack there of.  They sell all types of Natural Gas conversion kits for almost any type of vehicle on the market.  They even have a Honda NGV that C.O. discussed in a previous post, but what if you are on a trip that is more miles than your vehicle can travel on one tank.  Sure it would be great if you only drive to and from work.  That is when your “home refueling station” would serve as an excellent means of refueling.  What if you have to get up in the middle of the night for an emergency and your car hasn’t fully replenished its tank.

We at “consider tomorrow” are going to try and bridge that gap.  Whether it be Hydrogen, CNG, E85, or bio diesel, we think that infrastructure is the main problem why people are still going to the gasoline pump everyday to fill up.  We believe that if there was a Nat Gas pump across the street from Shell or Exxon that people might start to believe that it is possible to change their cars over.  Even before that, people(us, you, him, her) need to believe that our dependency on foreign oil has helped catapult us into this downward spiral.

We need people to go to T. Boone Picken’s website or CNG NOW and educate themselves on what is going on around us.  We need to go the Department of Energy website and find out where there are filling stations that are already in existance.  We don’t think people understand that we are on the verge of an energy revolution and we want to swing that pendulum so that everyone hops on board.

thoughts?  ideas?

Take a stand….Make a Difference

L.J.

On the heels of Google’s $10 million investment in the geothermal energy arena comes their next–and related–project: advancing policy for a smarter electrical grid.  They’ve chosen to partner with General Electric and have aimed at throwing a lot of weight at Washington.  Here’s the synopsis from their informational two pager:

Initial federal policy priorities

Resources for the transmission capacity necessary to enable large scale deployment of renewable electricity generation.

Develop and deploy the smart electricity grid for better grid management.

Technology collaboration

Large-scale renewable energy starting with advanced geothermal technology.

Helping to integrate plug-in vehicles into the grid.

This all sounds great, and it seems to signal that the future is now.  There are some great signs we can take from this kind of participation from big companies (where will the next hot investments be–wink, wink–if we can get the market out of the gutter).

The accompanying video on this topic highlights some interesting points from both sides.  Jeff Immelt, GE CEO, says that his company is spreading their support for energy technologies across the board.  Aside from making the best wind turbines in the business, he mentions that they’re also interested in solar and now geothermal.  Any of those could be the superstar tech and he knows it.  On Google’s side there was an intriguing and short mention of V2G-Vehicle to Grid.  That’s a particularly interesting subject that’s in the background right now.  We’ll be sure to talk about it in another post.

The real question about this partnership is how much progress they’ll be able to make in our nation’s capital.  Go big G!

We’ve had some heated debates today and we figured we would throw it out to the public to make the final decision.  Our conversation landed on this: What future vehicle technology will we be using for grocery stops and trips to the beach?

Before we get to the choices, here’s a look at a few:

Honda Civic GX

We’ve talked about this one in past posts.  This car runs on compressed natural gas (CNG) and might just be the future if T. Boone Pickens has his way.  It’s got a price tag that starts at $25K and a range of 250 miles.  While it has near zero emissions, it might be hard to find fuel because CNG stations aren’t everywhere…yet.

The Tesla Suite

Just today Tesla announced plans to build a factory for it’s upcoming sedan model.  We love these cars.  This company is a trailblazer in future vehicles, and if we could afford one, we’d buy it today.  Unfortunately that is the rub.  The sports model sells for over $100K and the sedan has a sticker price of $60K.  There is, however, lots of upside, which comes mainly from the fact that these guys are engineering hotshots.  The cars have a range of 250 miles (all electric) and just as much punch as their gasoline counterparts.

Saab Aero X

The Aero X is cool.  Like, nasty cool.  It’s the kind of car you don’t want to take home to mom, your wife, or anyone for that matter.  Saab created this little baby to be on the road, and we plan to abuse every inch of it.  If, that is, it comes off of the concept list.

Honda FCX Clarity

This is future tech to the max, and it’s a limited release car.  With the clarity we are talking full on fuel cell.  For those of you who said the hydrogen economy is years off, say hello to 280 miles on a full tank.  You’ll have to accept Honda’s apologies though because this car is only for lease and isn’t expected to go into mass production until 2018.

LJ and CO

Vote and let us know what you think about the future of vehicle technology.

For those that don’t have any history on Tesla Motors, they are an electric car company that has pushed the envelop.  They have improved technology to the point that they have the largest distance an electric car can travel.  Estimated 225 miles on a single charge.  Some of you are saying, “that is not very far”, but it is quite a bit farther than previous modles made by other companies.  Tesla currently only has one model, the roadster

which is now at a hefty price tag of about $90,000.   Well, now that is about to change.  Tesla has purchased a facility and is going to launch a new line of cars for $30,000 less.  These new cars will be called “Model S” and they will come off the line for $60,000.    Along with this new plant in San Jose, Tesla has also picked the city to host its headquarters.  California offered incentives worth about $15 million and possibly more. That includes waiving rent for the first 10 years of the 40-year lease on the San Jose property and waiving state sales tax on $100 million worth of equipment.

The Model S, formely known as “Whitestar”, will be a 4-door, 5-passenger luxury sports sedan (we’ve heard some comparisons to the BMW 5), all electric like the Roadster. It should sell for about $60,000 and have a range of about 225 miles on a charge.

Tesla is taking a stand

Tesla is making a difference

L.J.

Highline® Comfort Height™ The Complete Solution™ elongated toilet with left-hand trip lever

We have posted things about electricity, but we haven’t touched much on saving water.  We believe that we are headed towards a future where conserving water is just as important or more important than conserving energy.  Think about this for a second.  Think of the price of diamonds and the price of water.  Diamonds are high priced and low on the necessity list, where as water is high on the necessity list and low on the price chart.  There will come a day where that switches.  We as a society will start paying higher prices for necessities and less for commodities.  We are going to take a look at the average toilet and a water saving toilet.  We don’t expect that people will run out and change out their toilets, but if you as a consumer are in need of changing out a toilet why not consider a water efficient toilet.

Toilets can range from $100 up to as much as a self cleaning toilet from Japan for $3,000,   There are multiple different kinds of toilets; pressure assisted, gravity, vacuum, and dual flush.  With so many choices we are just going to give you (the consumer) an average priced toilet versus the water efficient toilet.

The normal toilet:

Complete Solution toilets are built for convenience and efficiency, providing everything you need in one box as they include the toilet bowl, toilet tank, toilet seat, wax ring, and floor hardware.

• 29″L x 19-5/8″W x 30″H
• This model features Ingenium® technology which provides 3.5-gallon performance in a 1.6-gallon package
• NOTE: Complete Solution toilets do not include a supply line as the length needed varies per installation
• Part of The Complete Solution™ Toilets
• RETAIL AVAILABILITY ONLY

List price*: $298.95 and up

WaterSense toilet:

Highline® Comfort Height™ elongated 1.1 gpf toilet with left-hand trip lever, less seat

Highline Pressure Lite 1.1 gpf toilets are perfect for those customers aggressively seeking the benefits of water conservation, this new toilet qualifies for water rebate programs and contributes to LEED credits. An optimized 1.1-gallon flush setting reduces water consumption by more than 30% over 1.6-gallon toilets, offering a water savings of more than 5,000 gallons of water per toilet, per year.

• 30-1/8″L x 21-1/4″W x 31-1/4″H
• Pressure Assist flushing system
• Two-piece toilet
• Elongated bowl
• Includes trip lever, less seat and supply
• Meets strict flushing performance guidelines established by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) WaterSense program
• WaterSense labeled toilets use at least 20% less water than standard 1.6-gallon toilets
• This product can help a building earn Water Efficiency points in the LEED Green Building Rating System™. See specification sheet for water use data.

List price*: $523.65 and up

As you can see, the watersense toilet is a little more expensive, but let’s take a look at the back end savings. WaterSense labeled toilets are available at a wide variety of price points and a broad range of styles. EPA estimates that a family of four that replaces its home’s older toilets with WaterSense labeled models will, on average, save more than $90 per year in reduced water utility bills, and $2,000 over the lifetime of the toilets. Additionally, in many areas, utilities offer rebates and vouchers that can lower the price of a WaterSense labeled toilet.

I know you are asking, how much can a watersense toilet really save…Over the course of your lifetime, you will likely flush the toilet nearly 140,000 times. If you replace older, existing toilets with WaterSense labeled models, you can save 4,000 gallons per year with this simpler, greener choice.

On a side note, if you plan on purchasing a watersense toilet, go to THIS website for a rebate.  Choose the state you live in, and redeem your rebate.

Take a Stand

Make a Difference

L.J.

I was having an interesting conversation with a friend last night about home energy consumption.  He pointed out–insightfully–that people would likely control their power use at home more strictly if they had a better tool for management.

Step one is knowledge of what, when, and how much power is being used.

Step two is setting goals and finding the perfect power position.

Step three is utilizing a robust control system to meet those goals.

Maybe he should be writing this post because he turned me on to a neat concept technology that does just that: Current State.  This concept comes from thegreenergrass.org and it seems quite useful…and powerful.

Here’s the description from their page:

“How it Works

1. Order the system online, specifying the number of Plug-Ends needed.
2. Install Current State software on your mobile device.
3. Attach Plug-Ends to powered devices around your house.
4. Sync Plug-Ends to software, giving each powered device a descriptive name and confirming its location within your house.
5. Use Current State to remotely monitor your energy usage, control your devices, and set up automatic timers.”

Imagine monitoring your Baltimore home’s power output while on a business trip to Austin, TX, with the ability to shut off energy-sucking outlets at the click of a button.  Now that is control that’ll save you money.

C.O.