This is the last of a three-part series on Energy Eye Openers—TEN THINGS I BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT ENERGY–thanks to the experts at EnergyProfessionals who opened my eyes.
- You know about LED lightbulbs and that they cut energy use. But do you know by how much? They’re the light-emitting diodes, a type of solid-state lighting system that uses a semiconductor to convert electricity into light. But do you know that today’s LED bulbs can be eight times more energy efficient than regular incandescent lights and cut energy use by more than 80 percent?
- Did you know homeowners have the same options as fortune 500 companies when it comes to monitoring their energy usage? New technologies like smart thermostats and e-meters not only alert homeowners when an appliance is wasting energy, but automatically turn down their consumption when electricity prices are rising. How about that?
- Polar Vortex’s like the one the Midwest is experiencing right now cause the prices of energy to skyrocket. Did you know you can protect your business or home by locking in a multi-year, fixed rate energy contract to protect you from weather events that put a dent in your budget?
- And finally, did you know that you can sell your unused energy back to the grid through something called Demand Response? That’s right. Demand response offers energy consumers a unique opportunity to reward operational efficiency and reliability in their systems by selling back supplementary or curtailed energy to the grid, promoting grid stabilization during times of peak demand, volatility, or outages. Now what do you know about that!
Champ or Chump?
So how many of the 10 facts about energy that I gave you over the last three MaddenMischief blogs did you know? Be honest! Those who got all 10 right are Energy Champs. If you missed five or more, I’m sorry, but you’re an Energy Chump and you need to get more Energy Educated. TM