Green Loans

On one of my other blogs I talk mainly about loans. Mortgages, auto loans, personal loans, etc. As part of that whole endeavor I found an affiliate which I've included ads for on that site to increase revenue. They are a peer to peer online lender/investor. Basically they connect folks that are looking to borrow money with folks that have extra money they'd be willing to lend. The borrowers get the cash they need, and the lenders make some interest on the cash that wasn't doing much for them right now anyway. The site tracks all this and keep a small fee and everyone wins.

 

What I found really interesting about this site is one specific category of lending that they offer as something to focus on. They have credit card refinancing, and auto loans, and home improvements. What interests me here though is a specific part of home improvement loans that they focus on. Green loans! They have a whole category of lending for Green Home Improvements! While I'm sure there are many banks out there offering loans for home improvements which you could choose to use for green improvements, I don't think I've seen ads before focused specifically on lending for green projects!

Maybe there really is hope out there that we can save this planet after all. I mean there are lots of folks talking about the fact that we need to do something. And there are plenty of places you can go to find out the kind of things you can do to start turning things around to save the planet. But really until you see the business world focusing on it, it's not really happening. At least not on a large scale.

That's basically the point of this whole blog, savings green. Sure everyone wants to do the right thing if you ask them. But really until the better alternative actually costs less then the easy alternative, then people aren't going to start doing the right in on a large scale. Now that I've seen a bank taking interest I have some amount of renewed hope though. I mean they obviously did a little homework and found that this is a category that they could make a little money with. Once there are ads out there it'll get people thinking, and maybe then actually doing.

So come on board big business and large banks. Let's save the Earth, and Save Some Green!

Basic Solar Light for the Front Door

So for some time now my wife has been complaining that when we get home there is no light at our front door. Well actually that isn't true. There is a light there, but it's not on a motion sensor, so it doesn't come on automatically. And being the green guy that I am I don't like to leave it on when we leave the house.

Of course I have a CFL in there so it's only drawing watts in the teens, instead of 60+, but I still don't like wasting electricity. Less electricity is good, but none is better. Why light up my front step for 6 hours, when I really only need it to be lit up for the 20 seconds I'm out there looking for my house key?

The trick is that the light fixture that is installed out front is basic and doesn't lend itself well to a motion sensor. I actually totally agreed with my wife that we need a light. The trick is that I need to run a line through the walls, install a switch, etc. That isn't a 10 min project. It's not terrible expensive (probably $10-$30 worth of materials). It's just that it's going to take a number of hours to do it. And depending on how I find a path to run the lines through the wall, I may have to cut some holes. Then I have to putty, and it'll take a day to dry. Then I have to paint over the putty. Now this whole thing is really sounding like work. It's all stuff I know how to do, I just didn't feel like doing it, so I procrastinated for quite some time.

Then one day I was walking through Home Depot with my sons and found the solution. I tend to be in Home Depot quite a bit. If I'm not in a total rush I'll usually make a quite walk through the main aisles of the store to see if anything is on sale. I've found some really crazy deals doing this. Sometimes they are just looking to get things off the shelves.

So I see on sale, an exterior solar powered LED flood light. It comes with a small solar panel to mount on the roof (or anywhere that will catch the sun with in the 10 feet or so of wire that came with it). Inside the light unit there was 4 rechargeable AA batteries. I really liked that they were basic rechargeable AA batteries. At some point they are going to wear out and they will be very easy to replace.

$44.97 - Not bad!

So out my sons went to install the light. The whole thing to about 20 mins (keep in mind my sons are 7 and 6, so if I had done it myself it might have taken 10 mins :). With three screws I installed the solar panel on the edge of the roof, and pointed it to the sun. Then I put the batteries in the light and installed it up under the eve, and pointed the light down. Bingo.

The only pitfall I ran into was the first night I came home the light came on but was VERY dim. At first I was thinking that that was as bright as it was going to be and it had been a waste of time. Then I realized that since I had the motion sensitivity turned all the way up it was going on every time a car went by the house. It was doing this as soon as it got dark and was draining the batteries. I adjusted the sensitivity so it just came on when I stepped onto the front step. The next night the light was great!

It's called a flood light, but it shouldn't be confused with a halogen floor light like you would like up a large area with. It's just not that kind of bright, but what do you expect from four AA batteries right. It is however, plenty bright for finding you key and opening the front door. The whole thing cost be about $40, and 20 mins. My wife is happy and so and I ;)

Small Solar Panel Facing the Sun

Light Installed to Cover Area When we are looking for house key

The best part is that it doesn't use any electricity from the grid. All the power is created from the sun. Some day I'd like to save up and cover my roof in solar panels. But until that happens, this is a great start and great example of what can be done.

What is Green Tech?

These days I seem to hear the term "Green Tech" more and more, which is a good thing! I kind of thing of Green Tech and two things but really the definition that most people think of when the say it means the invention of new technology which will reduce green house gases and be good (or better) for the environment. 

Examples of Green Tech


So what is green technology? An example of green technology would be a new light bulb with puts out the same amount of light with less energy usage. So the new invention is going to use less energy and therefore less CO2 is going to get released to power that light bulb.

Green technology doesn't have to be what we typically think of as technology though. Even if something isn't electronics or science it could still be considered green tech, at least according to my green technology definition. New green technology could be something as mundane as a new sponge that somehow required less soap to wash the same amount of dishes. This would help the environment because the company wouldn't have to make as much soap, so the the energy involved in the manufacture and delivery of bottles of soap would be reduced.

More typically though green tech is associated with clean energy though. So a new solar panel would be a great example of what most people associate with green tech. Or lets say a wind turbine which can get more energy out of the same amount of wind would be a nice fit as well.

My other meaning of Green Tech

So for me the other meaning for green tech has more to do with fixing the issues we have caused with the environment. So the planet is dirty with oil spills, the air is full of small particles from industry, and the atmosphere is full of green house gasses. Another meaning of green technology for me is a new invention which would directly remove this mess from our environment. So maybe a machine that would fly around and filter out the particles from the air, that would be great. Or something that would extract the CO2 from the atmosphere and store it some where.

The key difference to me between the two is that one is something that reduces the impact of what we do to the planet and the other cleans up the effects of what we do to the planet. Both are very important and likely necessary if we are going to save the day before we ruin Earth for all of us!

Chevy Volt vs. Nissan Leaf

I admit there are many other competitions out there when it comes to green vehicles (namely the Prius) but these are the two that I'm really thinking about when it comes time for my next new car. They both have the advantages and disadvantages. 

Nissan Leaf


The Leaf a a true electric vehicle. There is no gas or other fuel that you put in it other then electricity which is stored in batteries. This is a great. I mean, just like any other electric vehicle, how green it is really depends on where you get the electricity from. Ideally you have solar panels or wind turbines and it's totally zero emissions. But if you plug it in you wall then coal or natural gas (maybe nuclear) is being burned to get those batteries filled. It is still going to cost you much less per mile then gas though.

The trick is that depending on the weather it sounds like the Leaf can go 80-120 miles per charge on new batteries. For most people in America this will definitely take care of their daily commute which is great. You can plug in every night and just run off the batteries to get to work and back and you are set. The trick is if you want to take it on vacation you are not going to make it. You are still going to need a back up gas car for something like that, unless you have a series of friends 100 miles apart along your route to the beach that will allow you to plug your car in overnight!

Chevy Volt


The Volt is also an electric car but it can burn gas as well. The difference between the Volt and the Prius model though is that the gas is used to generate electricity to run the electric motor, which the Prius is a true Hybrid of gas engines and electric motors. Basically the Volt will go about 40 miles on a full charge and then switch over to the gas and give you average gas mileage. It's range is shorter then the Leaf mainly because it has the added weight of the gas engine. It's a give and a take.

Even the 40 miles is enough for many American's round trip commute. Even if it isn't most people will only use a very little bit of gas for the end of their trip each day. The other perk is that you can take the Volt on long road trips if you like. You'll drive the first 40 miles on the battery charge and then change over to gas. Then it's just like a gas engine vehicle for the rest of your long road trip. But you have the option of long trips and don't need a back up vehicle with the Volt.

So it's a give and take depending on how long your daily commute is and if you need to use it as your only car and would be stuck having to rent a car if you wanted to go on a long trip. I'm really torn and don't know which I'll choose. My wife and I both need a car so we would have the option of buying a Leaf and having the other car be a gas engine which we'd take on long trips. I also don't have solar panels or a wind turbine at the rental home we have now so that is a concern for me as well. But realistically if you compare the coal/natural gas electricity to the gas from the pump the impact is still bad. At least with the electric car we've have the option of finding a zero emission source where with gas there is no such thing. In a couple years when we buy a new home I am planning to incorporate solar panels so hopefully it'll be a non issue then.

I'm excited with either option really but I'm really torn. As I think of it maybe I would go with the Leaf first, and then when it's time for the 2nd car to be replaced go with the Volt. Then which ever of us that has the shorter commute could drive the Volt and the Leaf would go for the longer commutes (either way the Leaf would be enough for either of out daily commutes). Then when we want to drive on a longer trip for vacation or work we would just take the Volt.

Holiday Guilty Pleasure - Christmas Lights

So if you think of almost any Christmas scene in your mind which brings that nice warm fuzzy feeling to your heart and brings you back to your childhood, you will more likely then not notice that there are at least a few Christmas lights. Now being that I'm constantly trying to do what I can to reduce my carbon footprint and save money at the same time, I am constantly walking around the house turning off lights behind my kids. I always make sure to mention that they left the light on and I had to turn it off for them so we weren't wasting power. I have to admit there are occasions where they catch a light I left, which is annoying and makes be proud at the same time.

So I am really conflicted when it comes to Christmas lights. I grew up with them. It was a holiday tradition at our house growing up to string the lights out on the front bushes and on the roof line. I remember how cool I thought it was when technology came around so that we could have the traveling lights along the roof and twinkling ones in the bushes. Cool stuff for sure. The problem is there is no real need for the lights so really I'm just wasting power to put them out there. But there has to be some joy in life right?

The happy medium for now is that I at least make sure that all the lights we are using are LED lights. This saves quite a bit of power and they don't get as hot at the old style Christmas lights so I don't worry about fires either. That's a win win for sure! I also make sure to have them all plugged into a photocell timer as well. No point in having the lights on at 2 in the morning. If someone happens to drive by the house at 2 and misses out on seeing my lights, I'm OK with that. The photocell timer is pretty cool and I picked it up a few years back for like 2 bucks. It has different settings on it, but the one I use turns on the lights when it gets dark and keeps them on for 8 hours. Really simple, and saves me money. I'm sure it's paid for itself by now!

The new things I've heard about but don't have yet is solar Christmas lights. My understanding is that there is a solar panel of some kind that you put on the roof and let it charge the batteries during the day. Then when it gets dark they kick on and run until the battery dies. I'm not sure how long they are able to run and how bright they are but for me the concept at least is the ultimate in guilt free Christmas displays! I mean if its all solar then why not put up as much as you want and run them as much as you want right? Like I say I'm just not sure how well they actually perform. If possible I'll probably buy at least one set of the solar ones this year and see how they go...so I'll report back.

I'll also put a link to all the kinds of products I've mentioned here below.

So I guess I can't always be the power grinch all the time, even though most of the time it's needed so we can save this planet, so go ahead and deck the halls. Just make sure you are at least using LED Christmas Lights!

Solar Roof Shingles in the US

I've yet to jump into the solar panels on the roof idea but I am very eager. I have been hesitant for a couple of reasons. One has been the initial cost to buy and install and wire the panels. The other is that from everything I read, unless you get some really solid governmental subsidies, then the life span of the panels (25ish years) aren't long enough to repay for themselves in electrical savings. This blog is called Saving Green for a reason. Yes I am all about the environment and I want to save the planet for sure, but I want to do it in a way that will save people money too. Otherwise I believe the masses just won't do it.

So one other option that I've really been eyeing for quite a while from a far is solar roof shingles. These are roof shingles similar to asphalt shingles commonly used. However these shingles has solar panel on top of them and wires run from them into your attic and eventually wire into the grid to save you money on your power bill. I really just think this is a great idea.

Well I noticed on a blog today that they are going to be come largely available in the US for the first time in 2012. They are going to roll them out in Colorado with many more states coming by the end of 2012. Check out some of the details here.

Apparently these shingles' solar panels are made of a less efficient type of solar panel without the silicone. The bad news is they are less efficient but the good news is that they are much more durable. So they can take the beating of being walked on and a hail storm now and again. And since you are going to cover your entire roof edge to edge with them then you are still going to get a good amount of electricity from them.

One nice side effect is that since these panels are soaking up the sunlight they are also keeping that heat from transferring to the roof below them. So you are going to use less power to cool your house anyway.

In the long run I'm not sure that these shingles will become more widely used then regular panels but I really think they have the cool factor down! I did see someone mention that because each shingles is it's own panel then there are obviously going to be a lot of electrical connections on your roof. That alone is fine but the problem is there is a high change of needing lots of maintenance as those connections begin to fail with time.

Over all I think solar of any form is a great idea and I really want to push in that direction myself. In the next couple years I hope to buy the house that I'll retire in, and hope that the cost of solar panels/shingles will have come down to a point where it makes financial sense as well as green sense too!