We are all holding our breath as Washington borrows billions of dollars to get the economy back on track. How can the Stimulus Bill help you as a homeowner? One of the ways involves incentives available for upgrading to an Energy Star rated heat pump, air conditioner, water heater or gas furnace. A new Energy Star, green HVAC Heating and HVAC Air Conditioning System can qualify for up to $1500 in tax credits for these upgrades. In some cases local utility companies add another rebate above that. Not only do you save on the purchase, but the energy savings can be as much as 45% over your current outdated inefficient system. This is fabulous if you are ready to upgrade for energy saving and efficiency.
There are a few other energy ideas to consider. Topping the list of consideration should be an energy audit. If you suspect that you have areas of heat loss in your home, it might be a good idea to have an energy audit done. Local HVAC Air Conditioning and HVAC Heating Contractors can do this. You might also contact your local utility company for recommendations of energy measurement and conservation. Be sure you check out your insulation. The US Department of Energy website helps you determine what amount of insulation (R-Value) is recommended for your zipcode. Insulation gives seasonal comfort for all seasons and is a very important factor in energy savings. How old are your appliances? The Energy Star logo now appears on everything from light bulbs to water heaters and furnaces to ceiling fans. If you are near the end of life on your HVAC System, do yourself a favor and checkout a new Energy Star System. The choices we can make for energy efficiency are increasing constantly. A few simple solutions to increase your energy efficiency are plugging small holes in the house that let heat out or cold in. A can of expanding foam insulation, available at all building supply and hardware stores, works great for filling holes where pipes, dryer vents, telephone, cable and electrical conduits enter your home. Foam insulating inserts can be placed under your receptacle and switch plates, especially on exterior walls. You might be amazed at how much energy escapes through these openings. Weatherstripping doors and windows is another inexpensive solution to energy loss. In regards to your home, age can be painful! If your house was built before 1970, it could be consuming twice as much energy through loss as its newer counterpart.
As a homeowner you have several potential benefits to consider in light of the Stimulus Bill. The benefits are as diverse as home siding, upgraded doors and windows, HVAC heating and HVAC cooling, water heaters and heat pumps. You can expect some pretty competitive advertising from dealers as they fight over consumers. That is not such a bad thing as competition for your home improvement can cause healthy pricing benefits!

China Household Appliance Industry Will Promote The Application of Energy-saving Technology and New Materials

As reported, the Twelfth Five-Year Plan scheme draft of GPS Antenna industry has been finished, and it also has asked for advices from enterprises level, it is expected to be reported to the relevant departments in recent period. The applications on energy efficiency, major technologies and new materials will have relative quantitative task indicators. The first draft put forward that China will become a powerful country of making solar panel with 10 years of efforts, and according to this objective, it also has proposed specific economic indicators, technological innovation indicators, quality indicators, energy saving and environmental protection home appliances indicators and international indicators for the Twelfth Five-Year Plan.

In order to lay the foundation for kitchen utensil power, the main task during the Twelfth Five-Year period is to guide the household appliance industry to develop toward the connotative direction through restructuring product structure, industry structure and market structure, as well as distributing the industry reasonably, and achieve the transformation of structural adjustment, industrial restructuring and upgrading and the development digital electronic products mode. As for the main objectives and tasks, the discussion draft also proposed specific measures and policy recommendations.

The person who approach drafting the plan disclosed that, at present Chinese home appliances industry must recognize the status that under the fully competitive environment, more companies are repeating the old way–foreign guidance and domestic follow on the one hand, on the other hand, they are reducing cost and achieving profit through scale management. Therefore, the importance of changing ideas and growth mode must be realized first of all. Many companies appeal to that the relevant departments should increase the policy support on developing digital electronic technology, key parts and components, and change the current situation that some key components of home appliance are controlled by others.

However, according to the draftsman, in the current complete draft, energy saving and environmental protection will be an important theme, at the same time it also has put forward relative quantifiable indicators for the specific tasks of household appliance industry development, such as how much the average energy efficiency is hoped to increase, what kind of core technology will be developed and so on; it is also hoped to increase the speaking right of Chinese home appliance standard system in the international world through guiding the technological innovation, and increase the proportion of world-class appliance brand in the industry. The draftsman also stressed that the plan also has proposed requirements for new materials application, it will encourage people to use more appropriate materials under the consideration of energy saving and environmental protection. The reporters also learned that the major technology research project that related to household appliances industry development is expected to get key support from authority department.

Analysts pointed out that it means some enterprises that take the lead in working hard in energy-saving home appliances technology and participating in researching core technology, upstream materials and components will get greater support. Except paying attention to Haier, Chigo and other whole machine manufacturers, which are innovative on energy efficiency, the compressor equipment manufacturing, new materials and other upstream companies also are worth concerning specially by investors, such as Shuangliang energy-saving, Hesheng new materials and so on.

Above provided by SelectChina.com, and find more information on China Consumer Electronics Manufacturers / China Consumer Electronics Products.

When it comes to the field of hybrid and electric vehicles there is one adage that is holding true… if you want better performance and efficiency, then just wait a little bit for the next new thing.

When it comes to mid-size hybrid sedans, you’ve got a selection of the 2012 Ford Fusion, the 2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, the 2012 Kia Optima Hybrid and the 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid.

Currently the Camry gets 43 mpg (miles per gallon) city and 39 mpg highway, the Fusion gets 41 mpg city and 36 mpg and the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid and the Kia Optima Hybrid get 35 mpg city and 40 mpg highway.

The base price for the Camry Hybrid is $25,900, while the Sonata Hybrid is $26,650, the Optima Hybrid starts at $27,250 and the Fusion’s starting price is $28,775. From reviewing the “Build to Order” pages each manufacturer has on the internet, it appears the Ford offers the most in technology and luxury upgrades (and of course, the highest price).

The Sonata Hybrid and the Optima Hybrid both offer 1.4 kilowatt hour lithium-polymer battery packs working with a 2.4L inline-four cylinder gas engine. Currently Ford and Toyota offer four-cylinder Atkinson-cycle gas engines working with nickel-hydride battery packs.

However at the January 2012 North American International Show, Ford introduced its 2013 Fusion Hybrid (which should be available by fourth quarter 2012). Ford’s revised Hybrid will have a higher voltage, lighter weight lithium-ion battery pack coupled with a more efficient, higher output 2.0L four-cylinder gas engine. Although it’s not officially got its EPA rating yet, Ford is projecting its new model to have 47 mpg city and 44 mpg highway. With a combined 46 mpg rating, that’s way better than Camry’s current combined 41 mpg and Sonata’s 37 mpg rating.

Ford will also be introducing the Fusion Energi – a plug-in hybrid which will get a combined mpg rating of more than 100 mpgE (miles per gallon equivalent). The mpgE is a new rating and so with plug-in or all-electric vehicles, this will be the new EPA standard rating. This means the Fusion will have a better economy rating than the Toyota Prius (at 95 mpgE) or the Chevrolet Volt (at 93 mpgE). Also, Ford will also be introducing a new C-Max Engeri, a compact multi-passenger van, which will also be a plug-in hybrid.

But let’s get back to this 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid… this vehicle is set up so that under the right conditions, it can operate off battery power at speeds up to 62 mph. Then it will use its gas engine to add its power to the mix. The four-cylinder engine is estimated to be 180 horsepower and 130 pound-feet of torque. This is a front wheel drive with an electronically controlled continuously variable transmission.

Also, Ford is not relenting on its quest to be at the top of the technology heap. The Fusion Hybrid can come equipped with the newly redesigned MyFord Touch voice-activated touch-screen navigation system, the active park assist system, push button start, eight airbags, adaptive cruise control with collision warning, blind-spot information system and the new lane-keeping system. That’s a lot of technology! Each new owner may need to take a class just to be able to drive their new vehicle.

On top of all of this, Ford’s redesigned this vehicle and it definitely has styling cues reminiscent of the Aston Martin, so we can’t wait to see more of this vehicle. We are awaiting more information from Ford on this new vehicle and if it turns out the way they’ve projected… then this will mean a whole new level of efficiency and performance for mid-size sedan hybrid segment.