Hello all. Happy Juneteenth and Happy Father’s Day. We’re going to cover three ways to save money if you were to spend some, and one way which is not Cleantech related, but a good way to start a side business.
- Tesla’s solar options have become even cheaper
Tesla has reduced the interest on solar loans from 5.99% to 0.99%. These are big savings. Here’s an article from Cleantechnica covering the changes. Tesla solar now includes Powerwall, due to excess demand for the Powerwall separately. Check around with other solar providers to see if Tesla is competitive for solar plus batteries. Perhaps you only need solar. The benefit of having solar plus batteries is the ability to disconnect from the grid and still have power. Look for lithium iron phosphate batteries or lead batteries. Different battery chemistries will vary in their ability to charge, discharge, and battery life. If you have the cash, or your loan payment is less than your electricity charges, it might make sense to get solar.
If you are handy, you can buy the parts needed yourself and have a licensed electrician install it for you. If you previously thought about solar and batteries to reduce your electricity bill, provide backup power, or do better for the Earth, it’s worth checking out. The Tesla Energy order page allows you to order the solar roof or solar panels, specify how much you want to purchase in kW, and the number of Powerwalls needed. There are potential federal and state tax credits available.
- Choose Energy Star certified items
If you are looking to get tools, appliances, anything running on electricity for Father’s Day, Fourth of July, or in general, see if the object is Energy Star certified. It’s as simple as filtering your search, clicking Features, then Energy Star. What are the benefits of being Energy Star? According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, there are many impacts. A few that stood out to us are below. They have a great site on ways to save on energy costs, titled Ways to Save.
- Since 1992, ENERGY STAR and its partners helped American families and businesses save 5 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity, avoid more than $450 billion in energy costs, and achieve 4 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas reductions.
- In 2019 alone, ENERGY STAR and its partners helped Americans save nearly 500 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity and avoid $39 billion in energy costs. These savings resulted in emissions reductions of nearly 390 million metric tons of greenhouse gases, roughly equivalent to 5% of U.S. total greenhouse gas emissions.
- Over 800,000 Americans are employed in manufacturing or installing ENERGY STAR certified appliances, including heating and cooling equipment — roughly 35% of an estimated 2.4 million U.S. energy efficiency jobs in 2019.
This is highly relevant to us, as our French door freezer is about to die after 10 years. We searched on Costco’s site for an Energy Star refrigerator and purchased it. In this day and age, there is an Energy Star equivalent item for almost everything. Smaller fridges use less electricity. Buy what you need is the motto.
- A cool way to compost your food at home
Pela Case, makers of the first biocompostable cases, have created a machine that can take food scraps and turn it into nutritious compost, simply at home. We don’t have much trash, but the food we do have to throw away makes me mad. Why not save that food from the landfill and turn it into something useful? I’m sure there are guides on setting up compost stations with worms. It takes a long time, it smells, and takes up some space. I like this product, and will seriously think about getting it in the future.
Here’s a Youtube link on their new Lomi product.
There are several franchises mentioned that we would be interested in. You can save expenses all you want. You should. In many ways, it’s easier to make more money. I tell my kids, you’ll have so many ways to money when you grow older, options that don’t exist today, it will be unbelievable. Those options will allow you to do what you want and get paid. Don’t dismiss doing better in your career or having a side gig to earn more money for your debts, saving investments, and day to day enjoyment. The US economy is booming. Once the world is vaccinated, they will join us. Opportunities will abound. Be prepared and take advantage when the opportunity is available.
I joked with my eldest daughter that perhaps I shouldn’t share this link. Future competition and all. She retorted, rightfully, not many people read this blog and it should be okay. ; )
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Warmest regards,
smilingdad
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