In recent exciting energy news, the Department of Energy has just awarded $92 million for groundbreaking energy research projects.  These awards will accelerate innovation in clean energy technologies, increase America’s competitiveness and create new jobs.  The funding will help 43 cutting-edge research projects to improve how the U.S. uses and produces energy.  Learn more about these projects and the money that they have just been awarded.

Most of us spend a lot of time in our kitchens, and we use a great deal of our electricity and gas in this location.  During the hot summer months, there are some clever and easy-to-follow ways to reduce your bills while still feeding the family delicious foods.

1. If you’re in the market for a new oven, look for a convection oven.  It will consume a third less energy than a standard oven!  It creates a more evenly distributed cooking experience and requires less cooking time.
2. Only run the dishwasher with a full load to cut down on electricity costs.  Use your range hood while the dishwasher is on to vent excess heat and humidity.
3. While this may sound strange, you should vacuum your refrigerator’s cooling coils every three months.  If you have too much dust building up, it will hamper your refrigerator’s energy efficiency and the life expectancy of the compressor.  Also make sure you don’t have any gaps in the door seal.
4. Don’t stuff your refrigerator or freezer.  Cool air is needed to circulate through the interior of the appliance and you make it work harder and less efficiently when you stuff items into the space.

IDT Energy, and other energy service companies, offer a number of ways to heat the home.  More than 50% of people use natural gas for this process.  The process of heating and cooling the home actually uses more energy and drains more of your electric bill than does any other system in the home.  In general, 43% of the utility bill is from heating and cooling.  In addition, heating and cooling systems add to global climate change, with 150 million tons of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere each year in the United States.
With all of this said, there are sage ways to save on your energy bill and to help the environment at the same time.  Here, IDT Energy explores a number of important tips to help you to save on your bottom line.

1. Set the thermostat as low as you can handle it in the winter and as high as possible in the summer.  Purchase a programmable thermostat as well so that you’ll only be using energy at key times throughout the day.

2. Clean filters on furnaces once a month and clean warm-air registers, baseboard heaters and radiators as necessary.

3. Turn off exhaust fans in the kitchen, bath and other areas within 20 minutes after you’ve finished cooking or bathing.  If you need to replace exhaust fans, use high-efficiency, low-noise models.

4. Pay attention to your drapes and shades (or install some if you don’t already have them).  In the winter, keep drapes and shades on your south-facing windows open during the day for more sunlight and closed at night to reduce a chill from cold windows.  During the summer months, keep the windows closed during the day to prevent extra heat from the sun.

One interesting renewable energy source that seems to be catching on across America is hydropower.  Hydropower is the energy we make from moving water, and it’s a great source of renewable energy.  Hydropower consumption in the U.S. increased 4% for the first eight months of 2009, according to the Energy Information Administration.

In both Washington and Oregon, which are the highest hydropower-producing states, consumption actually decreased just a bit.  Interestingly, Alabama recorded the biggest increase by 54.6%.  Kentucky came in second, with an increase of 52.1.%.

Hydropower is one of the many interesting and useful forms of renewable energy sources that IDT Energy supports as part of its “Buying Green” program.