IDT Energy: Helping New Yorkers Save

IDT Energy BrownstonerWhen IDT Energy was founded in 1990, by Howard Jonas, no one imagined it would have the kind of impact on New York’s energy market that it has. Surely there would be no complaints when people are saving money.  IDT Energy provides electricity and gas in a way that has concern for the environment and at the same time IDT Energy keeps its prices competitive.

In terms of the future IDT Energy looks forward to pursue sustainable solutions to today’s energy challenges.  Whether its better energy infrastructure or alternative energy sources such as wind or solar, IDT Energy has a forward thinking outlook.

With this in mind IDT Energy offers is t customers great savings, while keeping their bills the same.  With no negative, the advantages with IDT Energy are unmatchable.

Surviving the Heat wave Financially

Everyone is having a hard time with the heat these days.  Temperatures are rising like never before.  People feel like they are almost suffocating.  So, inevitably, the air conditioning unit goes on from morning until night.  That in turn will mean rather large bills.  But what are you meant to do?  Swelter?  No.  If you just follow these few tips then you will reduce your bills significantly:

a)    Check for air conditioning efficiency:  bring in a professional to check that your unit is running at its peak.  A leaking duct can reduce it by up to 20% so that’s a significant saving.

b)    Hire a trusted company to install your air conditioning: you want to make sure the company knows exactly what they are doing; you need to get a unit that will suit your needs; don’t be fooled into getting an extra-large unit that you don’t need as this will just waste energy and won’t be as effective in reducing humidity.

c)    Regularly clean air ducts: a dirty unit will reduce efficiency.

d)    Use a thermostat: this could bring a saving of up to $180 a year if you allow higher daytime temperatures.

If you follow these few tips you really could end up saving a lot of money without having to go without.  No one expects you to limit the air conditioning use in crazy heat waves, but, by implementing these easy tips, you can really make a difference to your bill.

25 by 2013 New York State Goal

By the year 2013 New York hopes to reach the goal of having at least 25% of all its power coming from renewable sources. This policy is embodied in the ‘Renewable Portfolio Standard.’ The RPS is now undertaking the objective of increasing the amount of electricity New Yorkers use which comes from renewable sources, such as solar, wind, biomass and some hydroelectricity.  The NYSERDA is offering monetary incentives in the form of grants to help lower the costs to consumers and retail customers of these clean resources.

Big Trucks in New York Going Hybrid

Odyne Corporation, headquartered in Hauppauge, Long Island, New York, is a company which develops plug-in hybrid electric motors and stored energy systems for heavy-duty vehicles like trucks and busses, which could weigh 20,000-80,000 pounds each.  Roger Slotkin is the chairman and CEO of Odyne, which recently became a publicly traded company, finds alternative solutions for trucks and other heavy vehicles which start and stop frequently, or are in “idle” much of the time. Mr. Slotkin explains that the electric motors in these vehicles get their energy from a battery pack that keeps its charge using a generator place on the vehicle, and also from brake systems which are able to convert kinetic energy into electric energy.

Among Mr. Slotkin’s vehicles is a converted diesel New York City garbage truck which is now a plug-in hybrid truck in Hempstead, Long Island, New York. According to Mr. Slotkin “bucket trucks equipped with plug in technology can idle all day “in zero emissions mode,” greatly reducing pollution and costs.”

Currently Mr. Slotkin is part of a project to convert 500 government cars in Mexico City into electric cars.

New York’s East River Alternative Source of Power

There are six tidal turbines in the East River of New York City which produce electricity from the flowing water. Trey Taylor, owner of Verdant Power, says that these turbines are “the first underwater turbines to be connected to an urban grid generating electricity for American customers.” The power produced is presently being delivered to the supermarket Gristedes located on Roosevelt Island.

Mr. Taylor explains that fish in the river are not in any way harmed or bothered. Verdant has a local headquarters found on Roosevelt Island, an ecologically designed “Octagon” building close to the water where the turbines are located. The turbines blades are turned by tidal currents and not by waves, according to Mr. Taylor, and they rotate about 17 hours per day.  Further explaining the technology, Mr. Taylor asserted that although this technology is categorized as a type of hydro-power, it really is more closely related to wind power.

New York’s Hudson Valley Home to Zero-Energy Homes

For Jeff Irish, a licensed engineer who attended Harvard Business School, the goal is to create homes with no oil, gas or electricity bills.  In 2002 Irish installed a solar electric system in his own home in the Hudson Valley of New York, and as a result founded a business based on friends and neighbors requesting that he do the same for them.

Mr. Irish envisions an increase of about 100 times the use of solar energy in the Hudson Valley, and he is beginning to work on developing a geothermal heating and cooling system which would further his dream of a ‘zero-net-energy’ home one day becoming a reality.

One Man’s Trash Turned to Everyone’s Treasure

To Stephen Paul, a research physicist at the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab, if it is biodegradable, then it is a source of energy. Using refuse produced locally, Paul can turn such New York garbage as pizza boxes, paper plates, ice cream containers, leaves, sawdust and tissues into fuels for local use.

Biomass as a source of fuel has many advantages, not least of which is that using garbage for fuel reduces the need to dispose of it, reducing landfills and the methane that their deterioration creates, which in turn harms the atmosphere. Using a process called hydrolysis and not fermentation, which is used for the production of ethanol, Mr. Paul compares this process to placing stomach acids in a pressure cooker and getting out fuel that can power cars and other engines. Right now Mr. Paul’s intention is to open a plant in Trenton, New Jersey with the capacity to produce 4 ½ million gallons of renewable diesel fuel each year.

Wind Power Meets the Big City in New York

Lackawanna, New York is the site of an old Bethlehem Steel which has been converted recently into a wind farm which produces enough electricity to power 7,000 homes. In the summer of 2010 Paul Curran oversaw the creation of what he described as “the first large-scale wind project inside an American city.” Mr. Curran is the managing director of BQ Energy which, together with UPC Wind of Newton Massachusetts, placed eight wind turbines on the old steel mill site, whose blades actually reach higher than the Statue of Liberty.

Mr. Curran, age 50, chose the site in Lackawanna, a suburb south of Buffalo for several reasons. For one, he received tax credits for converting a brownfield site; also, there were already roads there, and the old steel mill was already hooked up to the electricity grid, which saved Curran the trouble of installing new power lines. The site also abuts and active port on Lake Erie, allowing easy access to equipment requiring delivery via barge.

ENERGY STAR Homes Residence of Energy Savings in New York

People considering building a new home in New York State should consider the benefits of building a New York ENERGY STAR home. Utilizing technologies which have proven to be beneficial and advanced building techniques will guarantee that the new home will use energy in the most efficient possible way.

The New York ENERGY STAR® Homes Program offers the following benefits to those planning on building a new home in the near future:

•    It has been shown that New York ENERGY STAR homes use about 30% less energy than ordinary homes which were built in the conventional method.
•    Because the ENERGY STAR home is more energy efficient utility bills are lower, reducing the overall cost of owning and running the home.
•    Technologies used in ENERGY STAR homes are proven through their use in tens of thousands of homes.
•    Experience enhanced quality of life and comfort in a quieter, healthier home which you and your family will enjoy in any and all types of weather conditions.
•    Enjoy the satisfaction you will get from knowing that you have built a more durable, valuable and environmentally sound home.

New York Incentives Program Encouraging Green Energy Use

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) offers a large array of incentives to a variety of important sectors so that alternative energy resources can be explored as options to improve cost effectiveness, increase the use of clean energy, and help the environment in general as well as save precious non-renewable resources.

Some of the sectors most likely to benefit from a switch to alternative energy sources are agriculture, colleges and universities, commercial/industrial, commercial real estate, residential, schools, and a lot more.

The NYSERDA is ready to provide audits of energy usage of each workplace, home or school to help identify the feasibility and cost benefits of utilizing solar, wind or other alternative energy resources. The audit will show which improvements and to what extent those improvements will provide lower energy bills, increase productivity, and help to reduce the impact on the environment. In the case of the agricultural sector, the NYSERDA offers incentives to farmers who utilize the recommendations which the audit provided.