Happy Birthday Earth Day! With Love from IDT Energy Geeks

Earth Day turned 43 today! Happy Birthday Earth Day!

How many countries do you think celebrate Earth Day?

Earth Day via

Did you guess 192 countries? If so, you are correct! That is 98% of the world.

According to www.earthday.org "the idea came to Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, after witnessing the ravages of the 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara."

Over 20 million American's took part in the first Earth Day. "The first Earth Day lead to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species Acts."  The focus was about air and water pollution.

In 1990, there was a big push to go global and it reached 200 million people in 141 countries.  This gave a huge boost to recycling efforts.

Ten years later, in 2000, there was another push for Earth Day.  This year the focus on the need for more clean energy.

What can you do to make the world a more clean and green place?

• Sign-Up for IDT Energy Green
• Support Efforts for New Technology in Energy Generation
• Maybe create a little power from potatoes? ;)
• Be Green in the Garden
• Follow the DOE Energy Saving Tips
• Just use LESS energy!
• Follow IDT Energy geeks on Facebook and Pinterest for more energy saving tips and trip

Supplying Energy: One Step at a Time

"Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another." - Albert Einstein
Finding ways to store energy from everyday tasks to be usable in other parts of your life would be ideal.  No energy wasted.

To the marathon runners in Paris, France this could not be a more true statement. The Paris Marathon organizers laid tiles that harvest energy across the road.  These tiles were made from recycled tires. Recycled products producing clean energy - what could be more green?

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Created by Pavegen Systems Ltd has created this new type of energy technology to go off-grid and "make a low-carbon contribution wherever there is high footfall, regardless of weather." (source)

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Each footfall creates 8 watts of electricity.  How does that compare to the usage in your house?  Well an average household uses about 8,000 kilowatt hours each month.  It takes 1,000 watts to get a kilowatt. So 80,000 watts need to be generated to supply your house with electricity. That equates to 100,000 steps.

That may sound like a lot. But according to TheWalkingSite.com you should walk 10,000 steps in a day to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Wouldn't it be neat if they could harness the energy from everyday walking to power your house? It would take 10 days of walking the recommended amount. (Of course this will change depending on your household usage)

Can you imagine if we could put the foot traffic of NYC to work to generate power to light  up the night?

It looks like the US Army is already cultivating this type of technology with infantrymen.

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As technology develops and is used more in the field, soldiers must carry that battery power to operate the devices.  Carrying that much energy storage can become very cumbersome on an already heavy load.  This technology would allow a solider to charge two AA batteries after walking 85 minutes.  In an emergency situation more energy could be generated by doing knee bends.

Of course because walking is not always continuous, the power generated comes in burst   The team working on this have built a "capacitor circuit that filters these energy spikes into a usable form for recharging AA batteries.  The energy is then stored around the ankle.  (source)

In case you don't have the technology to supply your own energy buy walking - IDT Energy still has your back! Happy to be your energy nerds, buying green and conventional energy to supply your home with the power it needs to keep working!

Find more bright energy ideas on Facebook and Pinterest.

The Freezer- A Power Consumer

Energy companies, like IDT Energy, can attest to the fact that using your appliances correctly can lower your electricity bill. Here is a good example of an appliance that many people neglect, which consumes a lot of power on a regular basis- the freezer.

Lots of freezers are put in a corner and are surrounded by walls or cabinets on all sides. It would be better to leave at least 5cm worth of space around it, to allow heat to circulate away from the compressor and condensing coil. Also, keep the back and underside of your freezer clean and free of dust. Defrost and clean the inside of your freezer once a year, and sooner if the ice buildup is more than a quarter of an inch thick. Always ensure that the door seal is intact and secure.

Also, make sure to keep your freezer at 18⁰C. Each degree lower than that causes your freezer to consume 2% more power.

Five Quick Energy Saving Tips: IDT Energy

We all want to save money on our energy bills. Whether you’re using IDT Energy or another company, you’ll want to stay on top of your energy use and minimize your superfluous expenditures as much as possible. Here are five quick ways to stay on track with your energy spending.

1. When you wash dishes and clothes, try to do so with a full load. One full load certainly uses less energy than do two half loads.

2. To save water, make sure to only boil the amount of water that you actually need.

3. Pay attention to your water taps. Fix leaky taps and make sure that your taps are always fully turned off. A tap that is continually dripping even a small amount makes enough hot water to fill half a bath in a week!

4. Pay attention to the light bulbs that you purchase and look for the ENERGY STAR label. Energy efficient light bulbs can save you a great deal of money over the life of the bulb, and they last up to 10 times longer than do ordinary bulbs.

5. Have a home energy check done on your house. Many companies conduct these checks and they will offer you other suggestions for saving on your electricity and gas bills and will provide quick tips for saving in the home.