Heating Oil Weekly Roundup: Quake Moves Earth, Beer Bottles Make a House, and a Natural Gas Company Appeals to Kids
A map of the Chilean earthquake. (image: NOAA via latimes.com)
The devastating earthquake that struck Chile will have a lasting impact on the Earth itself. Scientists have calculated that the earthquake actually shifted the Earth’s axis by three inches and shortened the length of an Earth day by 1.26 microseconds (a microsecond is one millionth of a second).
Do you recycle beer bottles? So does Tito Ingenieri, but he does so by building a house out of them, reported Paula Alvarado at TreeHugger. His house in Quilmes, Argentina, about an hour from Buenos Aires, is made of six million beer bottles. Don’t worry, he didn’t drink them all; many were picked up from the street or saved by neighbors.
Are you on Facebook? Chesapeake Energy is. Tom Fowler of the Houston Chronicle tipped off his readers that the natural gas company, which is garnering money and controversy in the Marcellus Shale, recently held a giveaway on its Facebook page. Help with your utility bill? No, a coloring book! Chesapeake wanted to give away five of the books aimed at teaching kids about natural gas, but as the comments show there was quite a bit of interest in them. The last comment is from Chesapeake itself, saying it’s trying to track down more of the coloring books.
Tobacco Could Be the Next Source of Biofuel
Tobacco leaves. Today’s second-hand smoke producers may be tomorrow’s biofuel. (image: tradeindia.com)
One day, burning tobacco could be good for your health. At least that’d be the case if researchers at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia get their way. As reported Tuesday by USA Today, they believe that tobacco could be a good source for biofuel, including biodiesel and biofuel heating oil.
Scientists have discovered how to tweak tobacco’s genes to increase its production of oil by up to 20 times. That would make it an excellent stock for conversion to biofuel. Moreover, as one of the authors of the research study noted, “tobacco is very attractive as a biofuel because the idea is to use plants that aren’t used in food production.” That way, biofuel production doesn’t compete or conflict with growing crops to eat.
HydroFill Uses Water to Charge Electronic Devices
(image: cnet.com)
The annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was held this week in Las Vegas, turning the city into gadget central for the duration. Amidst the games consoles, tech toys, and televisions there were some items designed to save energy rather than just consume it, like Horizon’s HydroFill home hydrogen fuel cell system. The HydroFill is an ingenious piece of technology that uses water and power supplied by solar, wind, or wall outlet to fill fuel cells that can be used in mobile phones, digital cameras, GPS units, and other portable electronics. The rechargeable fuel cells replace batteries containing heavy metals, and the only byproduct of the charging process is the water vapor released when the hydrogen is extracted. The HydroFill is expected to go on-sale later this year. Learn more about other new developments that may help us all to conserve energy in the near future by browsing our green energy technology section.
iPhone App Measures Carbon Intensity of UK Electric Grid
The GridCarbon app as it appears on the iPhone. (image: alphagalileo.org)
Engineers at the University of Southampton in the U.K. have developed an application for Apple’s iPhone that allows users to monitor the U.K.’s electricity grid, the site alphagalileo.org reported on Thursday. The app, called GridCarbon, was developed by Drs. Alex Rogers and Perukrishnen Vytelingum, and Prof. Nick Jennings at the university’s School of Electronics and Computer Science. When downloaded to an iPhone, GridCarbon enables users to monitor the grid’s carbon intensity—the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere when one unit (1 kilowatt hour) of electricity is used by a consumer.
Rogers said that, “The app shows people how using appliances and machinery at different times of the day can reduce their carbon footprint.” For example, running washing machines and dishwashers overnight rather than at peak evening hours can reduce carbon emissions by as much as 40 percent, depending on the time of year.
Whirlpool, Best Buy, and Others Collaborate on Energy Information Display
A previous energy information display from OpenPeak could provide a model for the new HEM. (image: openpeak.com)
In case you don’t have enough high-tech gadgets, next year you’ll be able to buy one that offers an interesting array of information, reports earth2tech. Whirlpool, Best Buy, energy reseller Direct Energy, and developer OpenPeak are planning to launch an energy information display, called the Home Energy Management (HEM) center. The HEM will be unveiled at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show on January 7.
The HEM will use an open platform that uses smart meter data, and it will be compatible with Whirlpool smart energy dryers and Lennox smart thermostats. In an effort to consumers who might ignore a simple energy device, the HEM will also be able to interact with social networks like Facebook.
Survey: 85% of Americans Will Conserve Energy Next Year
Looking toward a greener and happier 2010. (image: timeinc.net)
The “somewhat likely” is a bit underwhelming but the overall direction represents progress. In a recent poll of 1,000 U.S. adults, 85 percent said it was “at least somewhat likely that they would reduce household energy consumption in 2010,” reports Treehugger.
The 85 percent who will try to improve household energy conservation was followed by 84 percent who said they would recycle more frequently, and 76 percent who will buy from more environmentally responsible companies. The poll, taken by Tiller, LLC, one of the nation’s leading consultancies on the design and implementation of advocacy marketing programs, also found 72 percent of those surveyed plan on carrying their own bag into the grocery store. Two years ago, just 42 percent of Americans were willing to do this.
Peak Oil Task Force Helps Kentucky Town Prepare for its Future
(image: madaboutasia via flickr.com)
The people of Lawrence, Kentucky, have had oil on the brain. That’s why the community has started its own organization to address the matter. With worries about what the community would do if global oil supplies were to dry up (and the world was to reach what’s dubbed “peak oil”), or the price of crude was to spike significantly, city officials last year created the Lawrence Peak Oil Task force.
Chad Lawton of the Lawrence Journal-World & News writes that the group, which has been meeting since January 2009, has been coming up with both conventional and not-so-conventional ideas about how Lawrence would cope with less oil. One idea includes converting all of the city’s vehicles to electric hybrids. On the more dramatic end, to address a world where modern transportation as we know it is more difficult, the group is considering programs geared at getting residents to make large-scale gardens in their homes, cutting down on the need to leave the house for food. As one member of the task force told Lawton: “When people start feeling the effects of Peak Oil and their budgets are pinched and their mobility is impaired, people will start doing lots of things on their own.”
Reducing Environmental Impact and Saving Money by Living Off the Grid
The community of Scoraig gets its energy, in part, from wind turbines like the one above. (image: africanwindpower.com)
Living off the grid isn’t just for “hippies and environmental mavericks,” CNN reports. The news service, in a piece filed from England, says thousands of people across the pond have unhitched themselves from the power grid, generating their own electricity (through the use of things like home-installed solar panels) and water. While some say it’s a green effort, others are doing it for financial reasons, seeing it as “an antidote to rocketing energy prices and fears of economic collapse.”
Relying predominantly on wind and solar energy, the off-the-grid lifestyle isn’t just being adopted by pioneering individuals, either. A number of communities are, as CNN puts it, opting to “live unplugged.” Scoraig, a small peninsula town on the northwest coast of Scotland, is such a community. And as one local explains, the impression that residents there live a tech-free lifestyle because they’re off the grid is off base. Fifty-seven-year-old resident Hugh Piggott told CNN: “We have the same sort of facilities as everybody else—televisions, computers, fridges and washing machines. The difference is that we’re doing it with renewable energy rather than connecting to the national grid.”
Bio-products Could Soon Lower Oil Prices by Replacing Petroleum in Plastics
Cereplast CEO Frederic Scheer (pictured) hopes that a higher price for crude oil will soon make bioplastics attractive to major manufacturers like Dupont and SASF. (image: france24.com)
The Agence France-Presse ran a profile on Monday of Frederic Scheer and his company Cereplast, which makes biodegradable, compostable plastics that are slowly working their way into use in a host of disposable items.
Cereplast plastic compounds can currently be found in take-out cups, flatware, plates and packaging – Solo, manufacturer of single-use cups in the billions, now has a line using Cereplast, among a growing list of other bioplastic companies. Bioplastic resins are made from the starches in tapioca, corn, wheat and potatoes, and hold up well under heat and stress. For more intensive uses, Cereplast also has a “hybrid” line that incorporates a maximum of 50% petroleum derivatives, and which can be used in items such as toys and car parts. The growth of bioplastics as an industry should be of interest to any oil consumer, because plastic manufacturing takes a sizable bite out of the available supply of crude oil—in the US alone, 1.5 million barrels per year go into just the production of plastic water bottles. Read More »
Forward to the Past: Online Contest Participants Brave Cold to Conserve Heat
(image: imagecache2.allposters.com)
Conservation is good. That’s why we provide helpful tips on how to insulate your home; how to maintain your heating system for maximum efficiency; energy audits and how they can help you save; even how roof color can reduce your carbon footprint and energy consumption.
However, there may be taking a good thing too far. As USA Today reported Tuesday, across the nation, many people are challenging themselves and others to see how long they can go without heat this winter. There’re going back to the pre-central heat past and living—at least temperature-wise—like our ancestors did. (Obviously, northern and western residents only need apply—no boasting about not needing heat in the winter, Floridians!)
Overall, the goal is two-fold: save money and help the environment by reducing fuel usage and carbon emissions. Of course, for any one person or family, one or the other goal may predominate. For example, Laura Nichol of Maplewood, New Jersey, who won a trophy last year for going without heat, is focused on saving money, which she certainly did—she received a $1,000 credit on her utility bill. On the other hand, Deanna Duke, creator of the environmentally focused blog Crunchy Chicken, gladly takes any monetary savings, but puts helping the environment first.
Obama Talks Benefits of Home Energy Conservation at Home Depot
Obama talks weatherization and energy efficiency at a Home Depot in Alexandria, Virginia. (image: reuters.com)
Standing in a Home Depot in Alexandria, Virginia, President Obama yesterday made known his most private thoughts on home weatherization. “I know the idea may not be very glamorous, although I get really excited about it,” the president said, according to ABC News. “Here’s what’s sexy about it: saving money.” Rather than ignite a Clintonian scandal, Obama’s candid fetishizing of home energy efficiency is meant to make retrofitting more appealing to the general public. Mindful of the old advertising adage “sex sells,” the president has made himself the campaign’s leading spokesperson, one who’s unafraid to talk dirty if it means making American homes more energy-efficient.
President Obama’s “Cash for Caulkers” proposal would reimburse homeowners for energy-efficient appliances and insulation as part of a broader plan to stimulate the economy and create jobs. The proposal includes designation of money for homeowners who undertake home efficiency improvements, while also offering funding to companies in the renewable energy and energy-efficiency sectors. Individual homeowners could receive up to $12,000 for weatherization-related expenditures. Backed by the promise of cash rebates, retrofitting suddenly becomes a rather—uh—enticing prospect.
Using Microorganisms to Make Diesel Fuel
The rainbow pool in Yellowstone National Park. The pool's yellow and orange colors come from nonphotosynthetic algae, organisms similar to those that could produce a new form of biodiesel. (image: Dr. Doc via flickr.com)
A new program at the Advanced Research Projects Agency—Energy (Arpa-e) is looking to develop alternative liquid fuels using microorganisms. On Thursday, Technology Review reported that Arpa-e, a division of the U.S. Department of Energy, will begin funding research for biodiesel development.
Endeavors to create alternative fuels using microorganisms are hardly new. In July HeatingOil.com reported that biotechnology firms are working to develop biofuel using nonfood plant matter in order to avoid sacrificing food for fuel and contributing to rising food costs.
What is new about Arpa-e’s research is the goal of creating liquid fuels using organisms that do not require photosynthesis. According to Arpa-e director Arun Majumdar, photosynthesis is highly inefficient. Although not proven, the hope is that nonphotosynthetic microorganisms will allow for more efficient biofuel development.
Researchers also hope that the use of nonphotosynthetic microorganisms will allow for the creation of an alternative diesel fuel. Should Arpa-e researchers prove successful, the use of nonphotosynthetic microorganisms could potentially be used to create other alternative fuels that are chemically similar to diesel, such as heating oil.
This Week in Heating Oil: Cash for Caulkers
While Copenhagen was the big story this week in energy news (our own Kristy Kershaw has been providing coverage all week long), President Obama made an announcement that may hit closer to home. On Tuesday Obama proposed a “Cash for Caulkers” program that would offer rebates to homeowners for a variety of energy-efficiency measures, from home energy audits to a buying a more energy-efficient washing machine. Though no details have been finalized, early statements suggest that homeowners could save up to $12,000. Energy conservation can help give heating oil consumers control over their home heating bills.
Chevy Volt Electric Car to Debut in California Next Year
The Chevy Volt. (image: the-grayline.com)
The much-ballyhooed Chevy Volt is set to debut in California in 2010, CNET reported Wednesday. The Volt will launch commercially in October 2010 with the 2011 model year. Prior to that, 100 Volts will be tested by three Californian utilities, which will use them as fleet cars.
The four-seat Volt is between Chevy’s Cobalt and Malibu in size. In contrast to the Toyota Prius, the Volt does not use its electric motor to supplement a gasoline engine. Instead, electricity is the primary fuel, and the Volt’s small gas engine is really just a generator—it fires up to recharge the battery, after the initial 40-mile charge is used up. All the motive power comes from the electric motor. The idea is that with most American commutes being 40 miles round trip or less—according to Chevy’s parent, GM—Volt drivers will usually travel on electricity only, without burning gasoline.
Despite a not-weak electric motor (though it’s 0-60 mph time of 9 seconds will not set hearts racing), the Volt may have trouble gaining traction—at least if people crunch the numbers on its economics. While no price has been firmly set, recently ousted GM CEO Frederick “Fritz” Henderson quoted a target price of $40,000. For comparison, the Cobalt starts at $15,000 and the Malibu at $22,000.
Assume all travel is within that magic 40-mile round-trip distance, so the Volt never has to fill up. Let’s even assume electricity is not just cheap, but free. You’d probably use 1–2 gallons of gas a day in a Cobalt or Malibu, costing around $4.50 a day. That means you could drive a Malibu 4,000 days, or 11 years, before its total cost equals the Volt’s purchase price; you could drive the Cobalt 5,555 days, or 15 years. (If you drive more than 40 miles a day, so that you have to put gas in a Volt, the comparison is worse for it.)
There may be good (mostly environmental) reasons to go electric, but at $40,000 for a mid-size car, the cost of gasoline is not one of them.
Read on for more about electric cars, hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars, and hydrogen fuel cell cars.
How To Build Your Own Electricity-Generating Wind Turbine
Ever wanted to build one of these? (image: scienceprog.com)
Feeling crafty and green? Then check out Viking M. Services instructional video on “How to Build a Cheap Wind Generator.” The video is really well done. John Park is easy to understand and thorough, explaining how to get the job done, as well as some of the science that goes into the process. The end result promises to charge a 12-volt storage battery, as well as “demystify the process of turning wind into electricity.”
Keep in mind that this project does require some intermediate-to-advanced technical skills, some power tools, and materials that may be tough to find. If you already have some know-how and access to tools, it’s a great way to save some money on your electricity bills.
If, on the other hand, this project is too ambitious for you (as it would be for me!), there are plenty of other ways you can make your home more energy efficient. Check out our own Steven Zweig’s piece on basic green improvements that can save you a lot of money.
Whatever route you choose, good luck and let us know how it goes!
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GE Distributes First Smart Appliance
The control panel on GE’s “smart” water heater. (image: appliancist.com)
General Electric this month began distributing a hot water heater that can link into the so-called “smart” electric meters being distributed nationwide, according to a post Wednesday on The New York Times’ Green Inc. blog. Industry experts believe that GE’s water heater is the first “smart appliance” to be made commercially available in the US.
The water heater has a port resembling an Ethernet port that can theoretically plug into a converter box that, in turn, connects to the utility’s meter. The consumer or utility will be able to switch to an electricity-saving mode at times of high electricity use, such as the late afternoon.
Unfortunately, smart meters are not currently installed in many households, although millions are on their way. In addition, the way that electricity is priced will have to change in order for the smart meters and smart appliances to be truly useful.
Heating Oil Weekly Roundup: Peak Oil vs. Peak Rock Music, the Irony of Conservation, and the Environmental Benefits of Plastic
(image: overthinkingit.com)
Patrick James at GOOD takes a look at the above chart (from Overthinking It), which compares yearly US oil production with the number of songs from each year that Rolling Stone named as one of the 500 best songs. Many worry that peak oil is coming; did “peak rock music” already pass us by sometime in the 1970s?
What to do about conflicting predictions about the supply and price of oil? “Let them eat data,” says oil analyst Gregor Macdonald at Gregor.us. The IEA and the EIA have been “abysmal” at forecasting during the entire decade. A good dose of skepticism might be in order when confronted with long-range forecasts.
Introducing HeatingOil.com
The view from HeatingOil.com's headquarters in Tribeca, NYC. (image: Nicholas Whitaker
As we approach the four-month anniversary of HeatingOil.com’s soft launch, we are pleased to introduce ourselves to the world in the form of a short video (posted below).
As many of you have already discovered, HeatingOil.com’s mission is to provide valuable heating oil information to heating oil consumers around the country. First, HeatingOil.com provides comprehensive coverage of all things heating oil. Our writers and editors scour every corner of the news universe to bring you the latest and most valuable information on heating oil prices, crude oil prices, heating oil equipment, home energy conservation, energy policy, and green energy technology. Second, HeatingOil.com provides heating oil consumers with quotes from the most reliable and trustworthy heating oil dealers in their area.
Looking for better heating oil prices? Try HeatingOil.com. Want to know why oil prices are going up or down? Visit HeatingOil.com. Need to find out when to replace your oil-fired burner? Curious about what a US cap and trade system might cost you? Well…you get the idea.
Take a look at the video and tell us what you think! Thanks for visiting.
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Canadian Physicist Invents Heating System that Uses Hot Air Stored During Summer
This is the heat injection box at the Thomsen house that extracts warm summer air and pumps it underground. (image: volkerthomsen.com)
In Ron Tolmie’s Ontario house, it’s summer all year round, reports the Kanata Kourier Standard. That’s because the Canadian physicist has created a way to heat his come with stored summer air. The Atmospheric Energy (AE) Street system collects hot air from the summer and feeds it underground through heat injector pipes. The air moves very slowly through the ground, heating it even more, and is then extracted when needed by heat-exchange boreholes drilled into the ground. The system is connected to a heat pump, which not only warms the home but serves as an air conditioner during summer months.
“Essentially it’s cheaper and simpler than a conventional system,” said Tolmie, who previously worked for Atomic Energy, Ltd., before starting his own company. “It doesn’t produce any greenhouse gas at all. The energy is the heat in the air.”
Providence, RI Company to Turn Waste Cooking Oil into Heating Fuel
(image: blog.wholefoodsmarket.com)
Newport Biodiesel, a Newport, R.I.-based firm, is turning discarded cooking oil into green fuel, reports the Providence Journal.
Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline appeared with several leaders of Newport Biodiesel at a news conference at Gregg’s Restaurant on Wednesday to announce a partnership between the firm and about 100 Providence restaurants. The “green dining network” includes restaurants in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts.
Chris Benzak, Newport Biodiesel’s managing partner, described the process by which the firm collects used cooking oil from neighborhood restaurants and converts it into clean, biodegradable, nontoxic fuel. Benzak said that the fuel doesn’t pollute and can be used in diesel-powered vehicles.
Recycled cooking oil can also be used for heating homes.
Benzak also said that with residents producing about 2 million gallons of used oil each year, it’s possible to convert that into nearly 1 million gallons of fuel that would not be bought from the petroleum industry.
Newport Biodiesel sells the clean fuel to local heating and oil companies for a bit cheaper than the suppliers rate. “We’re essentially competing with OPEC. If the going rate is $2.11 a gallon, we sell ours for $2.03,” Benzak said. “We see this as a recovery resource that keeps jobs and dollars in Rhode Island.”
Alterra Energy Services, who is planning to build a biodiesel storage and blending facility in North Kingston, Rhode Island, may use discarded cooking oil from local restaurants, as well as soybean and vegetable oil diesel blends.
