Flat Fee MLS Blog

                                                                     Let the light of day brighten up your night! Powered by a built-in photocell, solar night-lights require no wiring and no electricity, and they turn on automatically at night. Now you can harness the sun to illuminate your driveway, paths, steps and decks with easy to install solar lights that recharge (for free) during the day. Your curb appeal is also enhanced for night time viewing by potential home buyers while you are marketing your home.

Designed to look great whether you like traditional or modern, these energy-savers are available both in-store and online. There is a vast array of holiday night lights available online, including Christmas and Halloween. They are becoming increasingly popular, particularly since they are so much easier to install than traditional wired systems. If you decide you don’t like where you put them, or simply want to expand or mix things up, they are also much easier to move than wired units.

By harnessing the sun for your night time lighting projects, you are saving money, saving energy, and enhancing your home’s curb appeal-this is an easy way to go green.

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Yes, you heard right…according to expert Brian Clark Howard, the latest announcement from Sam’s Club (the big box retailer of modern consumerism) is that they are poised to market solar panels at nine Southern California Clubs: Corona, Murrieta, Glendora, Ontario, La Habra, Chino, Long Beach, Fountain Valley and Torrance. These locations  have Home Effieciency Centers that have been created to showcase green products and appliances.

Sam’s Club is working with Borrego Solar Systems and BP Solar, and buyers can expect to save in the neighborhood of $500. Consumers can expect to see kiosks in participating stores that tout the benefits of solar energy.  The company is also ramping up offerings of Energy Star appliances, low-flow fixtures, DFLs, LEDs and other green building products.

The news from Sam’s Club echoes recent reports that IKEA is investing $77 million into its GreenTech energy fund, with the goal of producing and selling solar panels, efficiency meters, and energy efficient lighting. The green trend is finding its way into home marketing, as a selling tool and to educate homebuyers and sellers regarding energy efficiency that saves them money.

That Sam’s Club and IKEA are making forays into home renewable energy is big news. This will make a real dent in our current energy crisis and pave the way for a cleaner future. Alternative technologies available in stores across the Heartland will make this possible.

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              Here are some eco-friendly suggestions for living greener, ranging from the simple to the more extreme:

 1. Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents. Switching to compact fluorescent lighting could save you $30. a year in electrical costs, and the bulbs last 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs.

2. Turn off your tap while brushing your teeth. It will save you 10 gallons of water each time you brush.

3. Put your computer on sleep mode when you are not using it during the day. This can reduce the compter’s energy usage by 80 percent.

4. Buy groceries in bulk, not only to save costs, but also to reduce the amount of excess packaging you are throwing away.

5. Unplug appliances and other devices such as cell phone chargers, when not in use.

6. Skip the dry cycle on your dishwasher.

7. Start a backyard garden and produce as many of your own vegetables and fruits as you can.

8. Sell all but one car and use the bus-system to get around. If that isn’t possible, at least reduce the number of car trips your family makes. Carpool, walk or ride a bike.

9. Buy 120 watts of solar panels, LED lights and a solar refrigerator to reduce energy consumption.

10. Reduce your debt and consumption of resources and goods, even if it means living in a smaller house than you currently own.

11. Don’t isolate yourself from nature. Take time to enjoy the natural world and share the experience with others.

Think GREEN, people are realizing the environment is worth taking care of…be an optimist…there are big challenges, but we’re capable of dealing with them.

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                           If you don’t think that hot water is a hot  topic, think again. The average electric water heater serving a family of four uses 6,400 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, releasing eight tons of CO2, according to the University of Wisconsin’s Solar Energy Laboratory. That’s more than a typical automobile! Gas-fired heaters release about two tons of CO2 a year.

Investing in a solar water heater is a simple and affordable way to save money on your utilities while helping to protect the environment. Solar water heaters are very reliable and can work in any climate. There are several different types, including those with pumps and those that work passively. You will need a storage tank and some type of solar collector. Some homeowners use the devices exclusively or sometimes with a gas or electric tankless water heater as a backup, while others pair them with other systems as pre-heaters.

You don’t have to go off the grid and the good news is that home solar water heating systems cost an affordable $1,500 to $3,500 and pay for themselves in four to eight years. If you are selling your home  ” fsbo ” or advertising on the MLS, why not schedule one into your next renovation?

Shop for a solar water heater online at: solarhome.org and solarroofs.com

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     According to the Rocky Mountain News, a new factory that will make affordable solar panels from ordinary window panes is set to open in Colorado this year.

The AVA Solar Inc. project uses a technological breakthrough by Colorado State University researchers, and promises to produce solar panels at a price that is comparable to other forms of energy…potentially catapulting solar energy into the mainstream once and for all according to energy expert Dan Shapley.

Reaping what the sun gives naturally everyday is smart and efficient. The fewer “conversions” energy goes through the more efficient it is. If the sun drives the growth of a plant, turning that plant into fuel adds a conversion, and energy is lost. Letting that plant cook underground for millions of years until it becomes coal or oil is yet another inefficiency.

Solar power has never been very appealing, that’s the problem with it and it just costs too much. But the AVA Solar plan-should it prove to be as good as it says it is-along with other innovations are transforming solar power into a mainstream commodity. The project is one of 10 Photovoltaic Module Incubator projects funded by the Dept. of Energy’s Solar America Initiative. The program has the goal of driving technological innovations that makes the cost of solar energy competitive with traditional forms of electric production, like burning coal, oil and natural gas, says Shapley.

If every house had affordable solar panels supplying a portion of its electricity, the demand for electricity from heavy-polluting sources like coal-fired power plants would drop, along with emissions driving global warming, causing acid rain and poisoning lakes and streams with toxic mercury.

And the jobs created at the factory–as many as 500–show that dreams of a “green collar economy” that has at its heart technological innovation and high-tech manufacturing are a very real and lucrative path toward the future.

Energy is a necessity and clean renewable energy is an obligation to our earth and our future. Solar energy is currently available, cost effective and clean. It’s time for us to adopt solar energy systems. 

For competitive cost estimates and expert advice check out www.energy-guru.com

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