Energy Savings Videos

How do you get your house ready for the Winter Season? Win this toolkit. Click on the picture to learn how! Hint: valid use of duct tape wins! Join the Handyguys in a not-so-methodical checklist for the winter season.  This is not your every day handyman (or not so handyperson) checklist.  We have some extras you may not see on other lists. Listen to the podcast as we discuss these items. True Value had all the supplies we needed to get our houses in order. As the days get shorter and darker, it is a good time to check all of your outdoor lights.  Make sure they work. Paul was able to discover these fancy CFLs at our local True Value. They look great don’t you think? Perhaps it is time to install a light with a motion detector to secure your outdoor entrances and windows. Also, you can now get some wife pleasing outdoor CFL lights.  You don t have to settle on the curly cue CFL bulbs Watch out for leaks and/or water penetration. gutters/downspouts grade flowing toward house clear insulation around soffit vents to avoid ice dams Bring in your outdoor furniture Replace the grates and flavor bars on your Grill.  True Value has the parts you need for this. Why not refresh your busted down grill and enjoy a few more cookouts this season. Paul picked up the new flavor bars and grate at True Value. The steaks came from the cow he bought. Winterize your yard tools Seal/weatherstrip and caulk around window and doors and latch those windows for the winter Insulate your unfinished basement.. especially around the rim joist Clean your Dryer Vent before it is too cold to work outside Install some heavy drapes on your windows to stop drafts.  That s what they did in the old days. Last chance for pre-winter fertilizer. Final chance for exterior touch up paint Is it time to stain the Deck in the fall?  Isn t the sun closer to earth in the Winter?  Brian says no.  Paul says yes. Which is it? Disclosure We were one of five bloggers selected by True Value to work on the DIY Squad. We have been compensated for our time commitment to the program and our DIY projects as well as our posts about our experience. We have also been compensated for the materials needed for our DIY project and this giveaway. However, our opinions are entirely our own and we have not been paid to publish positive comments.

In college Dean Blevins was recycling, and even met a certain someone across the street because of it. Now he s involved in paring down servers at Intel to save energy and costs. More on IT Sustainability from Intel

Furnace filters are a critical component of your heating and cooling system. Make sure they are changed regularly. We discuss the myriad of choices in furnace filters in this podcast. The Handyguys group filters into three different categories, good, better and best. Whats best for one person may not be the best for another. The standard filters are good for most people. They permit the furnace to operate as it was designed. When selecting a filter you would typically replace with one equal in size and type to the filter already install on your furnace. This may be a a non-pleated fiber type filter. This type is also the least expensive, costing about $1.50 or $2.00 at the local True Value hardware store. If you desire a replacement filter that has a higher MERV or MPR rating (see below for definitions) there are several choices at True Value. Go into the store with your measurements and pick one out. A higher rated filter will catch and filter more particulates from the air. The high end filters will have electrostatic capabilities and can actually filter microscopic bacterias, smoke or other fine particulates from the air. The industry provides ratings for filters. MERV, or Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value, is a number from 1 to 16 that is relative to an air filter’s efficiency. The higher the MERV, the more efficient the air filter is at removing particles. At the lower end of the efficiency spectrum a fiberglass panel filter may have a MERV of 4 or 5. At the higher end, a MERV 14 filter is available. MPR is a term used by 3M and stands for Microparticle Performance Rating. It is actually part of the MERV rating, and measures how efficient an air filter is at capturing particles between 0.3 and 1 micron in size, which make up 99% of the air s particulate matter. Smoke, bacteria, and smog particles fall within this size range, so if filtering these out of the air is important to you, MPR is a good standard to examine. MPR is used to compare furnace filters to one another, and cannot accurately predict how a furnace filter will actually perform in your particular home environment. The higher the MPR, the more efficient the filter is at capturing these small particles. Lastly Don t forget about our contest. We are giving away this awesome toolkit. Check out the details on how you can win by listening to Episode 87 of The Handyguys Podcast. Win this tool kit! Disclosure We were one of five bloggers selected by True Value to work on the DIY Squad. We have been compensated for our time commitment to the program and our DIY projects as well as our posts about our experience. We have also been compensated for the materials needed for our DIY project and this giveaway. However, our opinions are entirely our own and we have not been paid to publish positive comments.

Wetlands play an important part in our enviorment, helping to purify water - myinboxnews.com

Open land preservation is an important cause, keeping areas beautiful and allowing animals to retain their natural habitats - myinboxnews.com

Bishop Fox's Community School in Taunton (~1000 users) has migrated its servers to Linux which authenticate to a combination of Windows, Mac and Linux desktops using OpenLDAP. Impressive kit for a UK school including blades and large amounts of storage for music and video editing. Huge energy savings have been realised both on the desktop and in the server room.

Sundance Resort collects old glass and hand blows it into beautiful creations - myinboxnews.com

Drought resistant plants are an eco-friendly way to landscape at the Swaner Preserve in Park City, UT - myinboxnews.com

There are many opportunities to use household water efficiently without reducing services. Whether it's in your bathroom, kitchen, laundry room or outdoors, let The Home Depot show you how you can get started down the path to saving water with our list of helpful tips. For more energy saving suggestions, visit http://www.homedepot.com/energy

Learn how installing the right exterior door can protect your home from the elements and control the air flow in your home. In addition, storm doors can create an insulating barrier that can reduce energy loss by as much as 30 to 50%. For more energy saving tips, visit http://www.homedepot.com/energy

Learn how to save money and energy with 10 helpful tips from The Home Depot. This video is filled with money and energy saving tips including information on ENERGY STAR efficient products. Saving the planet starts at home, and at The Home Depot. For more energy saving tips, visit http://www.homedepot.com/energy