Heating system upgrades are a great way to help you save energy (and money). Though upgrading may seem like an intimidating project, you can break it down into manageable steps:
This past Friday, the Chretien family traded in our fabulous 2002 Toyota Prius and bought a 2015 Chevrolet Volt. After three months of research and test drives, we decided to go with the Volt if we could find a Chevy dealer we could tolerate. It was a difficult choice because we also liked the Prius Plug-In Hybrid and the all-electric Nissan Leaf. We would have been happy with either of those, especially given that we loved our 2002 Prius and still love our 2008 Prius. In fact, we even thought about holding off on buying a plug-in for a year or two because the 2002 Prius has been running great. On recent highway drives, it was getting 55 miles per gallon (mpg).
Before he died in 2011, Dr. Paul Epstein of the Harvard School of Public Health researched the impacts of global warming on public health. The work he did brought complicated science down to a very basic fundamental point – how does changing our climate affect human health? He illustrated the many ways that we are being harmed. Shortly before he died, he wrote a great piece for the Atlantic.
After a lot of deliberation, my family has decided to pursue buying a 2015 Chevy Volt rather than the Nissan Leaf or Toyota Prius Plug-In. We are not done yet, but here’s why we have settled on the Volt for our electric vehicle:
We like to keep our members and the general public updated on renewable energy progress in New England. Our green power updates will tell you a little more about what’s going on in renewable energy construction. All of these up-and-coming projects are being supported by Mass Energy/People’s Power & Light members!
Is there such thing as peace of mind when it comes to heating oil bills? A budget plan may be the answer. Signing up for a budget plan through your oil dealer is a good way to spread out your oil bill into 10 to 12 monthly payments, making oil bills more like a regular utility. Your cost is fairly even and there are no surprise huge oil bills that sneak up on you. It also helps dealers plan, reduce their costs and become more efficient.
Larry Chretien is the Executive Director for Mass Energy Consumers Alliance and People’s Power & Light. This blog is the third in a series about the Chretien family’s experience purchasing an electric car. Download our e-book and read the series up until now!
Coming up on July 27th is Mass Energy and People’s Power & Light’s 4th annual Berkshire East Wind Turbine Festival in Charlemont, MA (get your tickets here). Local wind turbine power at Berkshire East is a huge success story—it literally helped keep this family-run ski and zip-lining resort from shutting its doors. Mass Energy/PP&L was able to play a role in Berkshire East’s success by contracting to purchase renewable energy certificates (RECs) from their local wind turbine long-term.
Larry Chretien is the Executive Director for Mass Energy Consumers Alliance and People’s Power & Light. This blog is the second in a series about the Chretien family’s experience purchasing an electric car. You can read the entire series in our e-book, available for free download.
Some of us are big soccer fans, especially when it comes to the World Cup, now being played in Brazil. On Monday, we witnessed an excellent match between the United States and Ghana. As Americans, we can be proud of the 2-1 victory. But there is more to that match than just the final score. We also learned that Ghanaians were quite stressed out about the possibility that they would be unable to watch the big game due to electricity shortages. For them, the World Cup is the equivalent of the World Series, Stanley Cup, Super Bowl and NBA Championships all rolled into one.
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