Do You Know Where Your Energy Dollars Are Going?

The typical household uses more than 11,300 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity each year. On average, that is an annual cost of $1,340, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Where are all of these energy dollars going?

In most homes, air conditioning uses more energy than any other appliance. Add to this the significant amount of power used by a furnace blower—even in a gas-fired unit—and space conditioning is the first place to look for energy-saving opportunities. Have your furnace and air conditioner cleaned and inspected annually by a qualified professional. Make sure your home is properly insulated and weatherized around doors and windows. Consider installing a whole-house fan; they use far less energy than a central air-conditioning system.

If you use an electric water heater, the best way to reduce costs is to use less hot water. Taking shorter showers and installing low-flow fixtures on faucets and shower heads will help; along with waiting until you have a full load to run your clothes washer and dishwasher. Additional energy-saving tips include the following:

• Turn off lights when you leave a room and install energy-efficient, compact-fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).
• Unplug devices such as stereo equipment or TV set-top boxes that continue to use power when switched off.
• Install a programmable thermostat to adjust temperatures when you are asleep or not at home.
• Air dry laundry whenever possible; it saves energy and extends the life of clothing.
• Open windows during the summer to take advantage of natural cooling. Use ceiling fans to increase air circulation; making the house feel cooler.
• Use window treatments to reflect hot summer sun and insulate your home on cold winter nights.

In the following table, you can see the average monthly energy use for some of the most frequently used appliances and devices in your home. Armed with this information, you will be able to make better decisions when it comes to reducing energy use.

Average Monthly Energy Use of Common Household Devices
Central Air Conditioner*	720 kWh
Electric Water Heater	400 kWh
Dehumidifier	230 kWh
Furnace Blower*	105 kWh
Whole House Fan	96 kWh
Clothes Dryer	80 kWh
Clothes Washer	75 kWh
Refrigerator/Freezer	60 kWh
Lighting	60 kWh
Flat Screen TV	35 kWh
*Heating and cooling estimates apply only during summer and winter months and can vary depending on climate.

 When replacing home appliances and electronic equipment, purchase models that are ENERGY STAR certified for efficiency. ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which encourages the use of energy-saving practices and products.

SIMPLE TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR CREDIT SCORE

Here are some tips on how to improve your credit score before seeking a pre-approval letter.  Understanding "how" banks look at your credit and credit history is important.  If you don’t know what can hurt your score, you could make the wrong move.  Lenders are very interested in the ratio of your current balance to the available limit. They like to see that you can handle credit, but that you also won’t give in to temptation and use all your available credit.  For this reason, don’t consolidate all your cards onto one card. This will most likely change your ratio for the worse.  Let’s look at an example.

 

Say you have the following cards:

 

Credit card #1: balance $5,000/limit $10,000. Ratio 50%.

Credit card #2: balance $1,500/limit $7,500. Ratio 20%.

Credit card #3: balance $3000/limit $5000. Ratio $60%.

 

These are all in a decent range, which helps you have a good credit score. Now let’s say you consolidate, so that you take the total debt of $9,500 and put it on a card with a $12,000 limit card. This would put you up to nearly 80%, which would hurt your score. Even though your debt is the same, the ratio is now very high, which worries lenders.

 

You should also never request to lower your limit on a credit card. If you do, the ratio will increase, lowering your score.

 

For instance, if you had $1000 on a credit card with a $5000 limit, you’d have a 20% ratio. This is very good. If you request that they cut the limit to $2000, your ratio would increase to 50%. Even though your debt is the same, it is now a higher percentage of the total limit.

 

Another mistake people can make is to get rid of a bunch of older credit cards. They worry that lenders might not like that they have so many cards. The problem is that lenders like to see that you have a long track record with your creditors.

 

Lenders want to know that you can handle debt on a long-term basis because they are considering loaning you a large sum of money for 30 years. If you cancel your old cards, your score will go down. If you want to get rid of cards, start with the more recent ones.

 

It is also a bad idea to close an account which has a balance. If you have $20 on a card with an available limit of $0, that maxes out the card and drives your score down.

 

On the other hand, if you raise your limit you can lower your overall ratio and improve your score. The trick here is to have discipline and make sure that you don’t use the extra funds you now have available.

 

These tricks and tips might seem counter-intuitive until you understand the logic of the credit-scoring system. Following these guidelines can help raise your score and qualify you for a good mortgage loan.

Now's the Time to Prepare Your Lawn for Next Spring

 Just read this great article from Popular Mechanics on what to do for your lawn now, to prepare it for next Spring.  I'm not one to get into doing yard work, but it seems doing a little now, really helps down the road.
 
"Many homeowners think lawns need less care in the fall because the grass grows more slowly. In fact, just the opposite is true. During this time of year, grass is busily absorbing energy, moisture, and nutrients in preparation for a long, dormant winter. Give it a little attention now, and you'll be rewarded with a lush, healthy spring lawn. Just follow these six tips.

Keep on Mowing
Continue to water and mow your lawn, as needed, throughout the fall. Then as the season draws to a close, drop the mower's blade to its lowest setting for the last two cuttings of the year. That will allow more sunlight to reach the crown of the grass, and there will be less leaf to turn brown during the winter.

*Note: As you lower the blade, just remember not to trim off more than one-third of the grass blades at any one time. If necessary, gradually lower the cutting height until the time of the final two cuttings.


Aerate the Soil
Fall is also an ideal time to aerate your lawn so that oxygen, water, and fertilizer can easily reach the grass's roots. You can rent a gas-powered, walk-behind lawn aerator for about $70 per day. The self-propelled machine will quickly punch holes into the soil and extract plugs of dirt. If you've got a very large yard—say, more than 3 or 4 acres—and don't feel like aerating it yourself, hire a landscaping contractor.

Rake the Leaves
I know raking leaves is no one's idea of fun, but it's important to remove fallen leaves from your lawn as soon as possible. Don't wait until all the leaves have fallen from the trees to start raking. If you do, the leaves will become wet from rain and morning dew, stick together, and form an impenetrable mat that if left unmoved will suffocate the grass and breed fungal diseases.

An alternative to raking leaves is to use a lawnmower fitted with a collection bag or vacuum system. These methods are particularly effective if you have a very large yard with many deciduous trees. Regardless of whether you use a rake or a lawnmower, just be sure to remove the leaves before they turn into a soggy, suffocating mess.

Fertilize for Future Growth
Most lawn experts agree: If you fertilize your lawn only once a year, do it in the fall. The reason? Grass leaves grow much more slowly as the weather turns cool, but the grass roots and rhizomes continue to grow quickly. (Rhizomes are the horizontal plant stems that lie just beneath the soil's surface; they produce the blades of grass above and the roots below.) A fall application of fertilizer delivers essential nutrients for the grass to grow deep roots now and to keep nutrients on reserve for a healthy start next spring.

Wait until mid-to-late fall, then apply a dry lawn fertilizer to all grassy areas; be careful not to miss any spots. You could use a crank-style broadcast spreader, but for optimum coverage, consider using a walk-behind drop spreader. It takes a little longer, especially on hilly yards, but a drop spreader provides the best way to apply an even, consistent layer of fertilizer.


Fill in Bald Spots
Autumn is also a great time of year to fix any bare, bald spots in your lawn. The quickest, easiest way to do this is with an all-in-one lawn repair mixture. Sold at most garden shops and home centers, this ready-to-use mixture contains grass seed, a special quick-starter lawn fertilizer, and organic mulch.

Use a garden rake to scratch loose the soil at the bald spot in your lawn. Then spread a thick layer of the lawn repair mixture over the area. Lightly compact the mixture, then water thoroughly, and continue to water every other day for two weeks.
 
Weed Control
If broadleaf weeds like dandelions have taken over your lawn, now's the time to fight back. Weeds, like most plants, are in the energy-absorbing mode during the fall. They're drinking in everything that comes their way, including weed killers. Apply an herbicide now and the weeds won't return in the spring.

Read the package label before use. Most herbicide manufacturers recommend applying the weed killer during early-to-mid autumn, when daytime temperatures are consistently above 60 degrees Fahrenheit."

Read more: Fall Lawn Care: 6 Steps to Take Right Now - Popular Mechanics

Home Sales and Prices Continue to Rise

More good news for the Housing Sector as reports of Home Sales and Home Prices continue to steadily rise.  This is a press release from the National Association of Realtors:


WASHINGTON (August 29, 2012) - Pending home sales rose in July to the highest level in over two years and remain well above year-ago levels, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
The Pending Home Sales Index,^* a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 2.4 percent to 101.7 in July from 99.3 in June and is 12.4 percent above July 2011 when it was 90.5. The data reflect contracts but not closings.

Lawrence Yun , NAR chief economist, said the index is at the highest level since April 2010, which was shortly before the closing deadline for the home buyer tax credit. "While the month-to-month movement has been uneven, more importantly we now have 15 consecutive months of year-over-year gains in contract activity," Yun said.

Limited inventory is constraining market activity. "All regions saw monthly increases in home-buying activity except for the West, which is now experiencing an acute inventory shortage," Yun added.

The PHSI in the Northeast increased 0.5 percent to 77.0 in July and is 13.4 percent higher than a year ago. In the Midwest the index grew 3.4 percent to 97.4 in July and is 20.2 percent above July 2011. Pending home sales in the South rose 5.2 percent to an index of 111.7 in July and are 15.6 percent above a year ago. In the West the index slipped 1.7 percent in July to 109.9 but is 1.3 percent higher than July 2011.

Existing-home sales are projected to rise 8 to 9 percent in 2012, followed by another 7 to 8 percent gain in 2013. Home prices are expected to increase 10 percent cumulatively over the next two years.

Fact or Fable? Household Electronics Use More Energy When They Are Turned Off

This is both a fact and a fable. The typical American household contains 24 electronic products, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. Many of these devices continue to draw power when they are turned off, or are not actively being used. This is commonly known as standby power. While electronics draw more power when they are turned on, certain devices, such as cable boxes and laptop computers, are typically in standby power mode for such long periods of time each day that it makes up the majority of their total energy use.

A study by the Consumer Electronics Association found that for electronics as a whole, 68% of total energy use takes place during active use. Off mode accounts for 24% of energy use, while idle or sleep mode makes up the remaining 8%. Off mode means the device is turned off, but still plugged in, while equipment in idle mode is turned on, but not being used. (Roth 2007)

Energy use varies by device, however. The following table compares the active and standby power use of commonly used consumer electronics equipment:

Annual Energy Use of Electronics Devices By Power Mode
Device	Active	Idle	Off
Compact Audio, such as CD Player/Alarm Clocks	23%	15%	62%
DVD Player	12%	27%	61%
TV Set Top (Cable or Satellite) Box	32%	N/A	68%
Laptop Computer	82%	3%	15%

As the table indicates, the off mode accounts for more than 60% of the energy use of set-top boxes and audio video equipment, while active mode dominates energy consumption for laptop computers. Why the difference? Electronic devices vary in how they are used and in their power draw (how much energy they use at any given time). For example, set-top boxes and laptop computers are generally in active use about one-third of the time. However, laptops have a substantially higher power draw in active mode, while the power draw of a set-top box is about the same whether turned on or off. That is why two-thirds of set-top energy use takes place in off mode.

Reducing Standby Energy Losses

The average U.S. household spends $100 per year to power electronics and appliances while they are in standby power mode, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. So what can you do to stop wasting your energy dollars?

• Unplug devices that are rarely used. An example would be a television and DVD player in the guest room.
• Unplug battery chargers for electronic devices when the batteries are fully charged.
• Use a power strip as a central shut-off point for a  cluster of electronics products, such as a home office or entertainment console.
• Purchase ENERGY STAR qualified electronics that have low standby power and other power management features. When installing a Pay TV service, ask the supplier to provide an ENERGY STAR qualified set-top box.