My sister recently called me for some insight on a discussion she was having with her roommates on how they could save money on their heating bills in their house in WY. She was trying to convince them that when they left the house, they needed to lower the thermostat from 64° F (which is already...
As I mentioned in Wind Intro, the most important part of deciding whether to install a wind turbine is making sure there is enough wind!
The 8 slide mini-presentation below is a great intro to familiarize yourself with some wind basics, and calculating how much power your wind turbine your produce...
Once you've decided to replace your energy wasting incandescent bulbs with CFLs, you need to develop the right strategy. Ideally, you would like to replace all your bulbs at once, but some people may not be able to tackle this expense all at once.
When my wife and I bought our townhome in Feb. '...
As I discussed in monitoring intro, knowing how you are using your power is one of the most important steps to take for your energy conservation efforts. While we wait for the smart grid to arrive, we have a few options on the monitoring front.
While actively reviewing your account history with...
While waiting for my breakfast (which was insanely delicious) at the Alpine House in Jackson Hole I picked up a copy of the Jackson Hole Daily. I love reading the local papers to get a real feel of the atmosphere. I certainly didnt think I'd find an article as interesting as the one I did.
I've...
As a mechanical engineer, I love wind turbines because unlike solar panels, I can see things move! It's hard for me to to do a better job than the American Wind Energy Association in going over some of the basics of wind power. Their website is fantastic.
The most important things to consider...
Solar PV (photovoltaic) is different than Solar Thermal (ST). While PV is a newer and more advanced technology, installing a PV system is easier and more straightforward. This isn't to say one technology is better than the other. They are just different.
The biggest question I get asked about...
Solar Thermal (ST) water heating is a great way to take advantage of free energy from the Sun. Before we go in-depth on how solar thermal water heating works, let's go over the bare essentials.
1) Solar Thermal water heating is different from Solar PV (electricity)
2) Solar Thermal water...
Our first night in Jackson, WY had us staying at the amazing Amangani Resort. The Amangani was constructed to blend in to the natural habitat and look as if it is part of the mountain. The builders did a very good job achieving that! By building the resort into the hill it is able to achieve...
I'm sure I'll be writing a fair amount about CFLs on this blog, because even though they make so much sense, there still seems to be a fair amount of misconception about them by some in the public.
The biggest drawback to these light bulbs is the small amount of mercury contained in them. As...
On my recent trip to Jackson Hole, we took a snowmobile tour with Rocky Mountain Snowmobile Tours up to Granite Hot Springs. Aside from the beautiful day we had and the spectacular views we were fortunate enough to see on our way to the hot springs, there were a few things that caught my...
I love "world at night" pictures and being able to see electricity consumption around the world.
While I dont know much about the Global Energy Network Institute, I do know they have one of the most informative "World at Night" posts I've seen. While the base picture is from NASA, they provide a...
(continued from Part 1)
After Elizabeth Hightower discusses Ecology of Commerce, she also mentions Gus Speth's new book, The Bridge at the End of the World (which I haven't read but his Red Sky at Morning was one of the firsts environmental books I ever read back in the Summer of 2004) and Amory...
Check out the Sustainable Books section after reading!
The March edition of Outside Magazine has a great article written by Elizabeth Hightower concerning books that would help Obama in his environmental decisions.
While I have heard of most of these, I was pretty alarmed at the fact I had hardly...
What's a Watt? (for non-engineers) - Part 1
I'm an engineer. While having a discussion on energy efficiency once with a non-engineer, they exclaimed, "I'm not an engineer, I don't have to know what a Watt is to save energy!" Well, needless to say (I am spending my night writing this blog after...
I know, the name sounds crazy, but get past the visions of crazy space cults, and you'll see that there is some sustenance here.
Almost two years ago, my wife (then gf) headed down with my parents to visit the town they purchased a plot of land in: San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. They purchased a...
While the purpose of Mapawatt is to focus on things you can do to directly lower your energy and water consumption, I just can’t help writing a blog about the other big player in our life: Food!
While searching for my wife and my Valentine’s Day meal at Whole Foods, I stumbled upon a beautiful...
As you may be able to tell, Mapawatt is a big fan of Amory Lovins. He talks the talk, and walks the walk. Not only that, but he has been walking the walk for more than 30 years.
His energy efficient Colorado home was built in 1982 and the conservation technologies he used back then were many of...
You may have never heard of TED (no, not The Energy Detective), but they have some amazing speakers. You can really get lost for a day just perusing their website and watching the presentations.
Two of my "sustainability all-stars" have spoken at some of their events and I highly recommend...
If you don't have a programmable thermostat, then buy and install one!
Hopefully, you do have this energy saving device already installed, but that is only half of the battle. The programmable thermostat does no good just sitting on the wall looking pretty. It actually requires you to use your...