Climate change is a growing concern in North America. We’re already seeing some of its consequences, with warmer temperatures and more extreme, less predictable weather over the past decade. Nevertheless, we continue to burn massive amounts of fossil fuels to satisfy our energy needs, sending troublesome levels of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. How can we best combat the phenomenon? Numerous studies show that energy efficiency is the cheapest, easiest way to meet our climate goals.

Inexpensive to Deploy

The climate goals of the United States are currently defined through the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan, which dictates CO2 levels that states need to meet by 2030. In a recent report, the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) assessed six different studies on the effects of the new rules. In all six, there is a common thread – improving our efficiency is the most cost-effective way to achieve the standards.

The studies were conducted by a variety of different observers: the EPA, the Clean Air Task Force, Energy Ventures Analysis, National Economic Research Associates (NERA), the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Rhodium/Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“Despite starting with different assumptions, all of the studies project that energy efficiency will be the most used and least-cost option for states to implement the plan, and that overall electricity consumption will decline as a result,” C2ES fellow Jason Ye writes on the organization's blog. “In addition to being relatively inexpensive to deploy on its own, energy efficiency reduces the need to build new, costly power plants in the future.”

Show Me the Money

The average consumer might be more worried about what the plan means for their household utility bills. Fortunately, the news isn’t too bad; the plan could cost the average home as much as $87 per year, or 25 cents a day – nothing to sneeze at, but not crippling to the family budget, either.

More optimistic forecasts project that households could actually save money under the Clean Power Plan. The savings would be due to an increased reliance on cheap renewable energy as well as investments in household efficiency technology, which would reduce the amount of consumption and therefore lower utility bills.

The total savings could be much greater. None of the plans take into account the savings the nation could realize by averting some of the more devastating impacts of climate change, nor do they assess improved health care outcomes that could result from a reduction in airborne pollution.

Take Climate Change Into Your Own Hands

You don't have to wait until 2030 to do your part in the fight against climate change. Look for some easy ways that you can reduce your energy consumption around the home, or ask an electrician to conduct an energy audit and point out even more ways you can cut back. The environment, not to mention your pocketbook, will thank you.

Electrical jobs should never be turned into a DIY project, unless you have formal training and experience in the field. While electricity is extremely useful and necessary, if it isn’t handled correctly, it can be pretty dangerous too. If you get a novice to handle the job for you that can result in overloaded circuits, poor wiring connections or even faulty grounding, which can be extremely dangerous to you and your family and result in a fire outbreak as well. Here are some common services for which you would need to call in an electrician:

The main electrical panels provide electricity to your entire house. If you have older panels with fuses and older wiring, those may not be able to bear the load of any new appliances you decide to install on your property. The latest electrical appliances tend to add heavy loads on the system and your older wiring installations won’t be able to support those loads. If you are getting new appliances, call in a licensed electrician to test and inspect the wiring and circuit breakers on your property.

If you need any new outlets installed or need existing ones converted to USB ports, you would have to call in an electrician for the job. Oftentimes, electrical codes necessitate that a minimum of 1 outlet in your kitchen and bathroom be a GFCI outlet. These are specifically designed to shut off the power in case there is an imbalance in electricity or if water comes in contact with any of the electrical equipment or fittings; this helps in preventing shock in these areas.

It’s important that there be certified and licensed electrician should handle. They will take all the necessary precautions while doing any kind of electrical work on your property.

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A rocker switch allows for two levels of light, but the fixture can also be dimmed with an electronic low-voltage (ELV) dimmer. Up to 10 under-cabinet fixtures can be joined in a series with our interconnect cables. The low-profile white aluminum fixture has 120V AC operation and is designed to last 30,000 hours—three times longer than equivalent fluorescent fixtures.

With a Nest thermostat, you can enjoy a lot of benefits made possible by the utilization of smart thermostat technology. Some of the more common questions that we hear regarding the use of Nest thermostats is whether or not they are compatible with zoned heating and cooling systems, and whether one Nest thermostat can replace the multiple thermostats that zone controlled systems typically use. We’ve got the answers for you in the following post, so read on and remember to schedule your thermostat services in Dover, MA with a member of our staff. We’ll make sure that you’re able to regulate temperatures effectively and reliably.

The short answer to the questions posed above is: yes. Nest thermostats can certainly be used in conjunction with zoned HVAC systems. However, you are indeed going to require multiple Nest thermostats throughout the house. While you can choose to use one Nest thermostat in a main area of your home, and to continue using more basic thermostats in other zones, this is not really advisable if you are looking to truly benefit from the use of smart technology in your home. By using multiple Nest thermostats, those devices can communicate with and benefit one another in ways that pairing a single Nest thermostat with other devices simply won’t allow for.

A key feature of the Nest thermostat is its Auto-Away coordination, which helps homeowners to save energy when the house is empty. When you use multiple Nest thermostats in your home, you won’t have to worry about certain zones going into an Auto-Away mode just because those particular zones are empty, while others are still occupied. The Nest thermostats can communicate with one another, so that Auto-Away settings won’t go into effect until the whole house is empty. When you come home at night, the Nest thermostat in your living room will let your Nest thermostat in the bedroom know, so you won’t have to go upstairs to adjust it before bed.