Fall Energy Saving Tips

Here are a few Energy Saving Tips for the fall. Sadly, winter is around the corner, and it is time to consider some home improvement projects to get your house ready for the cold air. If you have your own tips you would like to share leave a comment!

Enjoy the Fresh Air
Fall is a beautiful time of year. Try letting the outside in. On nice days, opening a window can do wonders for your indoor environment. Not only will you be comfortable; it’s free.

Change Furnace Filters
If you have a forced-air heating system, replace or clean your furnace filters once a month. This is an easy and affordable way to clean the air in your home while reducing your energy costs. When filters are clogged with dirt, the furnace must work harder to emit warm air. A new clean filter will have your furnace buzzing with efficiency.

Stop Sneaky Cold Air
A common pathway for cold air to get in from the outside is through electrical wall outlets. Electrical outlet sealers found in your hardware store provide a quick fix. Installation of these couldn't be easier. First, make sure power is turned off. Then unscrew your electrical outlet cover, pop out the holes in the perforated foam insulators, place the insulator around the fixture, screw your outlet cover back on, and turn your electricity back on.

Air Leaks Waste Energy Dollars
Caulking and weather stripping will keep your cool air in the house during the summer and keep wanted warm air in your home in the winter. Adding insulation around air conditioning ducts in your attics, crawl spaces and garages will make the biggest difference.

CNT's 30th Anniversary

CNT Energy is proud to be part of the wider organization the Center for Neighborhood Technology that is celebrating its 30th Anniversary on September 17, 2008, at the Garfield Park Conservatory.

CNT was founded in 1978 as a center of innovation for the redevelopment of Chicago’s low and moderate income communities. Run out of a small storefront with tomatoes growing in the windows, our goal was to invent strategies that could turn community problems into assets. We’ve since grown to a national “think-and-do” tank that is leading the movement toward urban sustainability, with programs focusing on resource efficiency, transportation, job creation, and environmental quality.

Over the years, CNT’s work, especially in the areas of climate, energy, natural resources, transportation and community development, has paid off by fueling a generation of community development and learning institutions, earning CNT a reputation as an economic innovator and leader in the field of creative sustainable development.

A key portion of the success of Power Smart Pricing is the dedication that our parent organization has had to the importance of creative and effective solutions. As such Illinois has become a place for new thinking towards a more sustainable future. The real-time pricing option to residential customers is very limited nationwide, and we are proud to be able to offer this choice to customers who have learned a great deal, and more importantly, saved a significant amount of money. So for our past and future successes, we would like to thank all those supporters of the Center for Neighborhood Technology for their 30 years of dedication and tremendous accomplishments.

To learn more or donate go to:

http://www.cnt.org/donate

Tell us about events in your area!

Have you attended a recent lecture, workshop, or community event focused on energy? Do you know of any such events happening in the next few months? If yes, we’d love to hear about it. Although CNT Energy staff members are not able to attend all relevant events across the state, we’re always looking for opportunities to get out of the office and talk to about energy issues. If you belong to a club, neighborhood association, or another community group that holds events and is looking for speakers to discuss strategies for saving energy and money, please get in touch.

To tell us about events in your community, please add a comment below, e-mail us at info@powersmartpricing.org, or call 1 (877) 655-6028.

To get things started, here are two upcoming events that might interest Power Smart Pricing participants.

A Town Hall Meeting on Climate Change
Tuesday, September 9, 7:30 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Forest Park Nature Center, Peoria Heights, IL

Admission is free and open to the public. The event is sponsored by Illinois Environmental Council and Environment Illinois and co-hosted by the Forest Park Nature Center, Heart of Illinois (HOI) Sierra Club, and the Central Illinois Global Warming Solutions Group. This event is part of a series that already visited Decatur, Alton, and Belleville. These events convene local residents, elected officials and community groups to discuss issues related to global warming, specifically soaring gas prices and asthma rates, plus shifting gardening zones. Presentations will focus on possible solutions, specifically energy efficiency initiatives, the Global Warming Response Act (SB2220/HB5254) and the Illinois Clean Cars Act (HB 3424/SB 2238).
Find out more at www.ilenviro.org/news/?item=115

The Cascading Effects of Global Warming – What Can I do Now?
Tuesday, September 16, 5:30 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL

Admission is free and open to the public. The event is sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Jackson County; Shawnee Group Sierra Club; United Nations Association-USA of Southern Illinois; SIU Student Environmental Center, Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, OxFam International and the League of Women Voters-U.S.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Article

Read about Power Smart Pricing in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Illinois Ameren Customers Find Savings in Fluctuating Rate Program

Write a comment and email it to friends and family interested in joining the program!

UPDATE: This article can also be found in the Bloomington Pantagraph!

CNT Energy Impresses at ACEEE

Last week Marjie Isaacson of CNT Energy had the privilege of attending the premier energy-efficiency event in the country, the bi-annual conference of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE www.aceee.org). This meeting, known as “energy camp,” is five days jam-packed from the morning until late at night with the latest in both research and actual practice on how to reduce the amount of energy that is used. These are, as stated by the organizers, “lofty goals related to costs, comfort, and stewardship”. Not coincidentally, these are the goals we’re pursuing with Power Smart Pricing!

The conference is organized in eleven panels, called concentrations on a specific topic. These subjects ranged from analyses of energy use in residential and commercial buildings, to the social dimensions of energy use, to planning for the future. Sessions consist of presentations of peer-reviewed papers. CNT Energy staff had two papers accepted for publication, one describing our energy auditing work, and the other discussing real-time pricing in Illinois. There was considerable interest in the relatively new and unusual concept of RTP for residential consumers, and of course Marjie was happy to be able to provide a good report on how successful PSP participants have been on the program.