Huntington Beach Green Guide for eco-friendly Orange County California

Tight budget? Your can still switch to green in your home
(from the telegraph.co.uk)

For consumers who want cost-effective ways to eco-friendly energy, there are many options, writes Harriet Meyer

Homeowners battling rising utility bills and concerned about their carbon footprint can go green and cut energy costs. Half of all carbon emissions come from buildings rather than cars and other sources, according to the UK Green Buildings Council – yet there are various eco-friendly methods available to adopt a greener attitude to energy needs.

These vary from simply fitting low-energy lightbulbs, which burn for four times as long as standard bulbs, to installing sophisticated "microgeneration'' equipment such as solar panels and thermal heating systems.

Penelope Chapple, of Good energy, Britain's only 100 per cent renewable energy supplier, said: "Over recent months we have seen a considerable rise in consumers wishing not only to switch to green electricity, but willing to take serious measures to reduce the impact of their homes. "Rising energy prices have had the knock-on effect of generating a large amount of interest in micro-technology and how to create electricity at home." Yet for those on a tight budget but keen to brush up their "green'' credentials, there are numerous options.

For example, electricity display units (EDU) can be bought for the home for as little as £35 from suppliers, and at some branches of B&Q and Carphone Warehouse, and the Good Energy Shop. These show you how much energy you are using when making a cup of tea, for example, or watch your favourite television programme, encouraging homeowners to consider their energy usage more carefully and reduce it – along with their bills.

By 2010 – if approved by the Government – companies will begin installing smart meters, which log gas usage as well as electricity. Other popular changes to create a greener home life include recycling, adding loft and cavity-wall insulation and switching to doubleglazing.

A lesser-known option is simply buying integrated appliances, such as TVs with built-in digital receivers that use less energy and can also cost less than buying a separate TV and digital receiver. By insulating your loft you can save about £110 per year and just under a tonne of C02 every year, according to the Energy Saving Trust, while cavity-wall insulation saves about £90 a year on fuel bills, and insulated floors can save about £40.

The Energy Saving Trust's website, set up after the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, brims with tips and ideas. For example, pipe insulation costs about £10 and helps to prevent heat escaping, saving on your energy bills as well as about 70kg of C02 a year. The site will also show you how to apply for renewableenergy grants that can help pay for installing solar panels, for example. More expensive methods of going green in the home are also growing in popularity. However, examples such as heat pumps and solar panels carry a hefty price tag – although they really work to reduce your carbon footprint over the long- term.

Jack Elam, managing director of Jack Elam Services, specialist heat pump installers and energy-efficient systems designer, said: "Our primary business is installing heat pumps, and there are two types – air-to-water and ground-source heat pumps. "Air-to-water pumps are the most cost-effective and practical, with very low running costs. These are usually 15 to 20 per cent cheaper than natural gas, and if you usually use oil they are 50 to 60 per cent cheaper." These pumps have been around for the past 20 years, although have only become popular in the UK in the past two to three years. They can be installed right across the board – from one-bedroom flats to large country houses, he added. Mr Elam said: "We do several makes, so for an average house at 150sq metres it will cost about £3,500 to £4,000 to fit one. This may be dearer than a natural gas boiler, but it has the advantage of lower carbon emissions, and the cost of gas is only rising.

"People choose to install these because they want to be more environmentally friendly and benefit from lower running costs. "It is surprising how many people are willing to pay a premium to get rid of gas and be environmentally friendly.

Other energy-efficient products Mr Elam installs include underfloor heating and digital thermostats for radiators to control the level of heat in the home more accurately. He said: "Underfloor heating can give a room six different temperatures in a day, bringing the cost of heating down and saving around 8 per cent on bills. The price depends on the property – but for a new-build at 150sq metres, it is in the £4,000 to £6,000 bracket."

After years spent researching "green" renewable energy technology, Matthew Bullock chose to fit an air-to-water pump in his five-bedroom home. He said: "There are hundreds of websites that the government gush about, telling you how much carbon you use and how wonderful it is to go green, but when I asked how do you do it properly I was met with blank expressions." When it comes to doing the really technical things, you're dealing with existing systems in the house – so the problem was finding an effective and economic system to put on to our existing central heating system.

HGTV Launches Eco-Friendly Series
By Paul J. Gough of The Hollywood Reporter - April 8, 2008
Scripps Networks said Tuesday that HGTV will get on board with the move toward green living with three eco-friendly home programs and its annual home sweepstakes that will give away a green home.
The programming will revolve around a new weekly series, "Red Hot and Green," that will make over a room in an environmentally friendly manner. Also planned are two specials: "20 Ways Your Home Can Save the Planet," which premieres this month, and "HGTV Green Home Giveaway 2008," which will showcase and award a Hilton Head, S.C., house in June.
The network announced the shows for HGTV as well as ones for sister networks Food Network, GAC, DIY and Fine Living at Tuesday's upfront presentation at a midtown Manhattan restaurant.
Food Network will launch several new shows, including a primetime show with Rachael Ray titled "Rachael's Vacation" that will see her overseas and spending big instead of sticking to $40 a day; "Food Sleuths," a series debunking misconceptions like the five-second rule; and competition series with the working titles "Eat the Clock" and "Chopped," pitting chefs in challenges. Food Network also will have "The Chef Jeff Project," about a former drug dealer who helps people become chefs, premiering in the fall.
The HGTV shows, along with another run of "Design Star," follow last year's large investment in programming on HGTV that launched 12 series. Scripps Networks executive vp Burton Jablin also said that Fine Living will become a Nielsen-rated network in January.