Solar Decathlon coming to Southern California in 2013

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced that its next biennial Solar Decathlon will be held over the first two weekends of October, 2013, at Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California.

Launched in 2002, the event asks teams of college students to think outside the box to come up with innovative designs for incorporating solar power into modern, energy-efficient homes.

According to a DOE news release, close to two dozen teams compete every two years and work in conjunction with major corporate sponsors to make their designs a reality, and potentially come up with new building methods that can be utilized in future home construction.

"This is the perfect opportunity to get my foot in the door and go through the process of designing and realizing my interests. The opportunity to be involved allows me to put every class I've taken as a college student into use and understand what it takes to design a truly beautiful and meaningful building," University of Arizona undergrad John Gribbs, who is on one of the competing teams, said in a statement to LiveScience.com.

Since the first Solar Decathlon, which was held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., more than 15,000 college students have participated in the event. Teams have come from schools stateside, as well as from as far away as Belgium, China and New Zealand.

According to DOE statistics, less than 4 percent of the country's electricity comes from the use of clean technologies from renewable resources like the sun, though the percentages have been steadily increasing.

Solar power can make a home more energy efficient by lessening the household's burden on the electric grid. To figure out ways beyond solar power to make your home more energy efficient, households should seek energy audits from home inspection contractors who can determine where to cut the waste.

Apparently that old second refrigerator in the garage isn't worth the extra storage space after all when the bills are added up at the end of the month. A new program is being developed to help Marylanders unload these unneeded appliances and save a little money.

Potomac Edison, one of Maryland's largest energy providers, and JACO Environmental, a local recycling company, have teamed up to entice Maryland homeowners into letting them recycle appliances built before 1990 that could be unnecessarily running up their home's electric bill.

The program targets refrigerators that are used as back-ups in basements and garages after a homeowner replaces the appliance with a newer model in the kitchen. Mostly underused, these older models consume up to three times as much electricity as newer ones, making their necessity hard to justify.

"Once you realize how much money you can save, it really doesn't make much sense to keep another refrigerator running in the garage" said Ruth Bruening of Frederick, Maryland in a news release. Bruening's house was one of the first to take advantage of the program.

Homeowners receive a $50 rebate from the energy provider, and could potentially save up to $150 annually on their electric bill, according to estimates from Potomac Edison.

Under the guidelines of the program, JACO Environmental will pick up an appliance from a participating household and then beneficially recycle 95 percent of the parts at their facility, while properly disposing of any hazardous components.

This program follows several local and national initiatives that have contributed to making Maryland more energy efficient. The state is currently part of the federal government's Better Buildings Challenge, an effort to increase energy efficiency nationwide.

Locally, initiatives like Project Lightbulb, which exchanges halogen bulbs with more efficient LED and CFL in homes throughout the Baltimore area, have been enacted, along with an increase in energy efficient home construction statewide.

For residents looking to do their part in making Maryland more energy efficient, an energy audit from a home inspection contractor can show where waste is occurring in your home and highlight ways to correct it.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is putting appliance manufacturers and homeowners to task by enforcing new energy-efficient and standards on washer machines and dishwashers.

The new guidelines, which were announced in a news release from the DOE in late May, are aimed at saving consumers between $400 and $600 dollars over the lifespan of the appliances.

Front-loading clothes washers will be required to conserve on average 15 percent more electricity than they do at current rates and use 35 percent less water, while top-loading machines will have to save 33 percent more electricity and use 19 percent less water by 2013.

For dishwashers to hit the market, they will be required to use an average of 15 percent less electricity and 20 percent less water by 2015, according to the DOE.

The new standards were designed in collaboration with leading appliance manufacturers, environmental groups and energy efficiency advocates. The DOE estimates that though the less wasteful appliances will cost more for consumers than many current models, the expense will be offset by savings on electric and water bills within two years of ownership.

"Once again, these updated standards show that energy efficiency advocates can find common ground with manufacturers and with consumer and environmental organizations on making leading-edge technology the 'new normal' to benefit every consumer in the country," said Kateri Callahan, president of contributing party Alliance to Save Energy, in the release.

A study conducted by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) found that some washing machines and dishwashers on the market have already started meeting the DOE's high standards, so homeowners can look into purchasing cleaner appliances immediately. To make the home even more energy efficient, an energy audit can be conducted by a home inspection contractor that would highlight other ways a homeowner can conserve.

As home foreclosures left thousands of houses empty nationwide following the recent collapse of the housing market, "eco-flippers" have taken advantage of the close-out prices on homes and turned a profit utilizing energy-efficient technologies.

In the states hardest hit by the recent economic downturn over the past decade, short sales have made it easy for home remodelers to make small but impactful investment on homes that provide big returns.

The appeal of smaller energy bills in these times of economic upheaval makes (the appeal… makes) energy-efficient homes much more attractive to prospective buyers, Peter Brown, the director at non-profit energy efficiency advocacy group Earth Advantage Institute, told Bloomberg in a recent article.

Brent Farrell, a Houston-based remodeler, has made large returns flipping houses in that market. Farrell told the source he has flipped 15 homes in the area since 2009 and that he intends to make $7 million in profits this year alone.

According to remodelers, refitting new homes with new insulation, energy-efficient appliances and overhauling temperature control systems is easier and more affordable than tearing down old homes and starting new construction in their place.

"We're putting capital to work two times as fast as a new construction home-builders because we don't have to go through new construction permitting," Aaron Fairchild, the founder of Seattle{-}based remodeler Green Canopy Homes, told Bloomberg.

Christine Fisk, a Phoenix homeowner who purchased a recently flipped eco-friendly house in Phoenix, Arizona, told the source she hadn't intended to buy a refurbished, energy-efficient home, but is very satisfied, citing a $40 electric bill, which was significantly lower than what she had anticipated.

An energy audit can help current homeowners looking to save money on their energy bills spot inefficiencies in their houses. Taking this approach can make homeownership more affordable, and could go to preventing further foreclosures. (bit lofty here, I would be hesitant to use this claim, revise)

Maryland residents now have more opportunities to adopt energy-efficient lifestyles following the completion of a new eco-friendly home by Los Angeles-based homebuilder K.B. Home. The company recently announced that its first ZeroHouse 2.0, a prototype for the home of the future, has been built in Middletown Woods.

The home is designed to save its inhabitants more than $6,000 dollars annually on utility costs by producing as much energy as the building consumes.

Power for the ZeroHouse 2.0 comes from renewable energy sources, including solar panels. To reduce the consumption of electricity, the home will utilize new energy-efficient fixtures and appliances. The home also employs innovative plumbing technology that will save up to 50,000 gallons of water a year annually.

Students from North American Trade Schools, a provider of career and job training in Maryland, will be visiting the home this week to learn about the new techniques and technology the company employs in constructing energy-efficient homes.

Other important guests will be in attendance, as officials from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency will give a presentation to the students encouraging energy efficiency.

Though this is the first construction in the Washington, D.C. area, the homebuilder believes that with increased demand for energy-efficient homes over the past decade, the construction of future ZeroHouse 2.0 homes will be inevitable.

Many new initiatives have been enforced of late to make energy efficiency a way of life for Maryland residents, including recently reported efforts from Baltimore nonprofit Civic Works to help overhaul low-income housing to consume less energy.

For homeowners who aren't in the position to purchase a new home, there are affordable ways to make their current house more energy efficient to cut down on bills. An energy audit from a home inspection contractor can gauge where waste is taking place in a customer's home and determine what solutions can be implemented.

State officials have furthered their commitment to making Maryland more energy efficient by announcing a comprehensive multimillion-dollar initiative on June 15.

The Baltimore Sun reported that the state will receive more than $113 million from Baltimore Gas and Electric and Exelon Corp, Maryland's largest energy providers,
under conditions outlined in the merger of the two companies. This money will go toward helping customers statewide benefit from the merger.

State officials have released a comprehensive plan on how the new funds will be allocated and who they plan to help. The main goal of the plan will be to save residents $278 million over the next 10 years on their energy bills, with the largest portion of the proposal allocating $44 million to weatherizing 4,000 lower income homes in the Baltimore area and surrounding suburbs.

"We're trying to use this money to create long-lasting effects that will exceed the duration of the … fund," Abby Hopper, energy advisor to the governor, told the Sun. Hopper noted that opportunities like these do not present themselves often, and that the state is doing all it can to allocate funds appropriately.

Other initiatives covered by the plan include providing cash advances to small businesses to lower their energy costs, and replacing four public schools with new ones that do not take from the power grid but instead produce their own sustainable energy through advanced green technologies.

Despite the many benefits of the initiative, only select qualifying homes and businesses will receive money directly from the fund. Residents looking to save should contact a home inspection contractor to perform an energy audit to figure out how they can affordably lower their energy bills.