They say it’s a buyer’s market and agents love listing those dwellings with solar panels, efficient water heaters and appliances, good insulation and nontoxic flooring and finishes.

Here are a few easy green fixes for your property to reduce your own footprint in coming winter months while hoping to land an offer you can’t refuse.

1. Upgrade to Energy Star Appliances

The Energy Star Symbol on products such as the …

Tags: appliances , buyer's market , eco , energy efficient windows , energy star rating , green , green light bulbs , home sales , insulation , lead , low toxic paint , programmable thermostats , recession , single pane windows , solar , VOC's , water heaters , windows

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The Department of Energy was asleep at the wheel, but  tough new national appliance standards for 26 common household and business products during President Obama’s term could slash total U.S. electricity use by over 1,900 terawatt hours (1.9 trillion kilowatt hours) by 2030.

The savings to the consumers and businesses: Over $123 billion.

This was the findings of a report released by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) and the Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP). It  figures the standards will make a huge contribution to our efforts …

Tags: appliances , battery chargers , Coal , Congress , consumers , Department of Energy , electric grid , emissions , energy , furnaces , Greenhouse Gases , heaters , Obama , power plants , refrigerators , savings , standards , taxpyers , terawatt hours

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Did you know that greening up your home can earn you green? Whether through government subsidies or company rebates, you can get cash back for your environmental efforts in a number of ways.

If you haven’t already switched from incandescent lighting to compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs, now is the time. At many stores, you’ll receive an instant rebate for your purchase. Translation: the rebate is already factored into the cost, which means you don’t have to fill out any forms and wait for reimbursement. And …

Tags: appliances , green , home improvements , rebates , tax credits

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They’re called Eco Started Kits, but they’re more like emergency kits designed to heal what’s hurting our injured planet: greenhouse emissions, energy out the window, water down the drain.

For $97.50, you get a lot more than a Band-Aid. You get essential tools for an extreme green makeover, as well as a method for measuring and monitoring your carbon footprint as your transformation takes place.

What’s the emergency?

“Because of climate change, we need to get people moving as fast as possible,” says Andrea Nyland, the co-founder of Eco …

Tags: appliances , environment , global warming , green , greenhouse emissions , insulation , light bulbs , outlets , reduce , water , weather stripping

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