Skip to content

Tools

Get Involved!


Air Quality

Alternative Energy

Conserve Energy (and money)

Climate Change Preparedness

(mostly from this blog cause that’s what we’re all about!)

Divest from Fossil Fuels

Insulation and Energy Savings Calculators

  • Energy Savings Calculator – a dead simple calculator from USA Insulation. I have no idea who these people are, but their calculator is okay by me, and it is within range of the more fancy calculators below.
  • Insulation Savings Calculator – from the Cellulose Insulation Manufacturers Association. This pretty simple calculator is only for estimating savings and CO2 reduction for heating.
  • For some of the following calculators you will need to determine your “degree days” for heating and cooling. You can do that here. Be sure to select “Average” breakdown to get a yearly number to use in the calculators below.
  • Insulation Investment Calculator – determines savings from insulation for both heating and cooling. From Chuck Wright Consulting (I have no idea who that is, but his calculator is nifty). Chuck says…. “Insulation resists the flow of heat. Knowing the R values before and after an insulation upgrade and the average temperature difference across the insulation, you can calculate the amount that the insulation upgrade reduces heat flow. Knowing the cost of energy and the cost of the insulation upgrade, you can calculate the rate of return on your investment in insulation.” He also has a bunch of other interesting calculators on his site.
  • Home Energy Saver – a fairly comprehensive to complex calculator from a US DOE Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. They say… “The Home Energy Saver™ (HES) empowers homeowners and renters to save money, live better, and help the earth by reducing energy use in their homes. HES recommends energy-saving upgrades that are appropriate to the home and make sense for the home’s climate and local energy prices. The money invested in these upgrades commonly earns “interest” in the form of energy bill savings, at an annual rate of 20% or more. HES also estimates the home’s carbon footprint and shows how much it can be reduced.

Great Blogs

  • Climate Central –  www.climatecentral.org – “An independent organization of leading scientists and journalists researching and reporting the facts about our changing climate and its impact on the American public.”
  • Real Climate – www.realclimate.org – “Climate science from climate scientists”
  • DeSmog Blog – www.desmogblog.com – “Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science”
  • Environmental Health News – “… team of journalists and researchers reviews upwards of 200 news stories, opinions and editorials a day. We aim to connect dots, putting events driving the day’s news in a larger context for our audience and sharing our perspective as reporters with considerable expertise in the field”.
  • High Country News – www.hcn.org – “For People Who Care About the West” — “Our mission is to inform and inspire people — through in-depth journalism – to act on behalf of the West’s diverse natural and human communities.”

Podcasts


If you have a tool or resources please comment below or send an email.  Thanks!

comment here...