Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Resources and Links

For members of the public, homeowners, green congregations, earth stewardship groups, environmentalists, businesses, and local governments wanting to reduce pollution and waste, save energy, and save money there are a number of free resources available on the Internet. The following list can provide a good starting place for solving energy problems.

If you have a web site, please consider posting some or all of these web resources on your web site for others to use. The more available this and related information is to the public and the business community the more rapidly we can convert to an energy efficient economy. An energy efficient economy can mean improvements in prosperity, security, energy independence, and health as we reduce pollution, waste, expense, and dependence on imported fuels.

Money saved on energy means more to save or spend on family needs. It means more money available to support local economies and higher profits for local businesses, which can mean more local jobs. Reduced waste and pollution mean a healthier environment for all of us. A healthier environment is also better for the biological and hydrological resources that are the basis for our economy and our existence.

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Web Sites

The South Carolina Energy Office, through the Plan for State Energy Policy, provides a broad range of resources designed to help citizens, businesses, and public entities save energy - and money - through greater efficiency, better information and enhanced environmental quality.

http://www.energy.sc.gov/

U.S. DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Home Page

US Department of Energy web site for information on energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies.

http://www.eere.energy.gov/

Energy Star for information on products, home improvement, assessing problems, green building, and other aspects of energy efficiency.

http://www.energystar.gov/

EERE Energy Savers www.energysavers.gov

Home Energy Saver www.homeenergysaver.lbl.gov

ZIP Code Insulation Program www.ornl.gov/~roofs/Zip/ZipHome.html

Roof Savings Calculator (RSC) Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

http://www.roofcalc.com/

White Roofs Cool the World, Directly Offset CO2 and Delay Global Warming, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

http://coolcolors.lbl.gov/assets/docs/fact-sheets/Global-cooling-2pp.pdf

PV Watts Solar Energy Calculator     The National Renewable Energy Laboratory developed PVWATTS to permit non-experts to quickly obtain performance estimates for grid-connected PV systems within the United States.

www.pvwatts.org

U.S. Solar Radiation Maps Resource Maps www.nrel.gov/gis/solar.html

http://www.dsireusa.org/

http://www.irecusa.org/

American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy www.aceee.org

PACE NOW For information about property assessed clean energy (PACE) legislation.

http://pacenow.org/blog/

A PACE bond is a bond where the proceeds are lent to commercial and residential property owners to finance energy retrofits (efficiency measures and small renewable energy systems) and who then repay their loans over 20 years via an annual assessment on their property tax bill. PACE bonds can be issued by municipal financing districts or finance companies and the proceeds can be typically used to retrofit both commercial and residential properties.

The PACE bond market has the potential to dramatically accelerate the energy retrofitting of America’s building stock due to the below advantages.

PACE Impact: Property tax lien oriented financing that dramatically improves the economics of energy retrofits (efficiency measures and micro renewable energy)

Scientific American Magazine for articles on science, including energy and energy issues.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/ [search by topic or article title]

‘Tools for doing your own energy audit,’ Scientific American

http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=tools-for-doing-your-own-energy-aud-

2010-01-03

‘Cylindrical Solar Cells Give a Whole New Meaning to Sunroof,’ Scientific American

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=cylindrical-solar-cells-give-new-meaning-to-sunroof

‘Green Buildings May Be Cheapest Way to Slow Global Warming,’ Scientific American

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=green-buildings-may-be-cheapest-way-to-slow-global-warming

http://www.usgbcsc.org/

http://www.columbiagreenbuilders.com/

http://scsolarcouncil.johnstondesigngroup.com/

http://www.ases.org/

Build it Solar www.builditsolar.com

Find Solar www.findsolar.com

Home Power Magazine www.homepower.com

North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners www.nabcep.org

Building Green www.buildinggreen.com

Rocky Mountain Institute www.rmi.org