Monday morning brings the greatest Groupon deal in the world!!!! And ways to reduce electricity consumption in your home!

So we went to a solar panel seminar at Home Depot.. they are trying to sell you on switching to solar and using them to install it.  There are companies out there who will rent your roof space.. basically they put a system on your house, and you pay them for electric usage.  But it doesn't give you free electric, and you don't get any of the money earning credits for having a solar system.    What I really learned from that is my 1000 sq ft. of roof that is southern facing and is optimal for a solar panel setup is only enough to provide HALF of our current electricity usage.. and what we REALLY need to do now is cut down how much we use!  Here are some tips I looked up.  Anyone else have any great electricity reducing tips?  The scary thing for us is that with my background we've already done a bunch of this!!

Turn your refrigerator down. Refrigerators account for about 20% of Household electricity use. Use a thermometer to set your refrigerator temperature as close to 37 degrees and your freezer as close to 3 degrees as possible. Make sure that its energy saver switch is turned on. Also, check the gaskets around your refrigerator/freezer doors to make sure they are clean and sealed tightly.
Set your clothes washer to the warm or cold water setting, not hot. Switching from hot to warm for two loads per week can save nearly 500 pounds of CO2 per year if you have an electric water heater, or 150 pounds for a gas heater.
Make sure your dishwasher is full when you run it and use the energy saving setting, if available, to allow the dishes to air dry. You can also turn off the drying cycle manually. Not using heat in the drying cycle can save 20 percent of your dishwasher's total electricity use.
Turn down your water heater thermostat. Thermostats are often set to 140 degrees F when 120 is usually fine. Each 10 degree reduction saves 600 pounds of CO2 per year for an electric water heater, or 440 pounds for a gas heater. If every household turned its water heater thermostat down 20 degrees, we could prevent more than 45 million tons of annual CO2 emissions - the same amount emitted by the entire nations of Kuwait or Libya.
Select the most energy-efficient models when you replace your old appliances. Look for the Energy Star Label - your assurance that the product saves energy and prevents pollution. Buy the product that is sized to your typical needs - not the biggest one available. Front loading washing machines will usually cut hot water use by 60 to 70% compared to typical machines. Replacing a typical 1973 refrigerator with a new energy-efficient model, saves 1.4 tons of CO2 per year. Investing in a solar water heater can save 4.9 tons of CO2 annually.

Be careful not to overheat or overcool rooms. In the winter, set your thermostat at 68 degrees in daytime, and 55 degrees at night. In the summer, keep it at 78. Lowering your thermostat just two degrees during winter saves 6 percent of heating-related CO2 emissions. That's a reduction of 420 pounds of CO2 per year for a typical home.

Clean or replace air filters as recommended. Energy is lost when air conditioners and hot-air furnaces have to work harder to draw air through dirty filters. Cleaning a dirty air conditioner filter can save 5 percent of the energy used. That could save 175 pounds of CO2 per year.

Buy energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs for your most-used lights. Although they cost more initially, they save money in the long run by using only 1/4 the energy of an ordinary incandescent bulb and lasting 8-12 times longer. They provide an equivalent amount of bright, attractive light. Only 10% of the energy consumed by a normal light bulb generates light. The rest just makes the bulb hot. If every American household replaced one of its standard light bulbs with an energy efficient compact fluorescent bulb, we would save the same amount of energy as a large nuclear power plant produces in one year. In a typical home, one compact fluorescent bulb can save 260 pounds of CO2 per year.
Wrap your water heater in an insulating jacket, which costs just $10 to $20. It can save 1100 lbs. of CO2 per year for an electric water heater, or 220 pounds for a gas heater.

Use less hot water by installing low-flow shower heads. They cost just $10 to $20 each, deliver an invigorating shower, and save 300 pounds of CO2 per year for electrically heated water, or 80 pounds for gas-heated water.

And on to the good deals :)

I am so excited about this one!!!  I woke up to have an email from Groupon telling me about this deal for the Body Shop!!  Anyone else addicted?  $20 for $40 worth of anything from the Body Shop!! Valid at any body shop in the US!!!!!  It can't be used online :( but anyone can buy it even if they aren't in Philly. 

Go to groupon! and be sure to select Philadelphia!

Blockbuster Express: Free Rental (10/25 Only)

If you have a Blockbuster Express Kiosk nearby, then use this new promo code BBXMDY (only valid thru midnight, tonight, 10/25) to score a FREE rental! You can check Blockbuster Express locations here. Remember, you can use this code once per credit/debit card, so if you have 3 cards, you can snatch up 3 FREE rentals!

 

Free Nordic Naturals Vitamins Sample Pack !

Sign up for a free Nordic Naturals sample package.

 

Buca Di Beppo FREE Spaghetti Today Only

To celebrate World Pasta Day, Buca Di Beppo is giving away FREE spaghetti in your choice of marinara or meat sauce when you purchase a Buca small or large pasta or entree today only!