IDT Energy Now Offers Renewable (Green) in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Maryland

With energy deregulation comes choice and responsibility for our environment. In addition to who supplies your home’s electric, you can choose the type of supply you buy as well.  Renewable Energy is the way to go if you are concerned about your environment. IDT Energy is now able to serve its customers electricity generated from “renewable” sources. “Renewable”, also often referred to as Green energy is generated from sources such as running water, wind, solar or biomass. IDT Energy customers in Pennsylvania can rest assured that when they choose a renewable energy supply option, 100% of their electricity usage is matched with renewable energy certificates or renewable energy attributes. For just a few cents more per kilowatt hour than standard electricity, you can gain security in knowing that your dollars are helping the environment, our economy and national security. When you choose an IDT Energy renewable electric service you will be contributing to cleaner, healthier air, reduced dependency on foreign oil and nuclear power, and growth of more domestic job opportunities. Visit www.idtenergy.com/2free or call us at 888-474-2339 for more information and a special service offer. IDT Energy CEO, Geoff Rochwarger commented, “IDT Energy has more to offer than a suite of rebate programs and competitive rates on electric and natural gas supply. We live and work in the markets we serve. Conservation and protection of the environment is important to all of us. Now, IDTEnergy customers can choose not only who supplies energy to their homes, but the type of energy supplied as well

With all of the rain coming down in the Northeast, it looks like Niagara Falls is right outside the window’s at IDT Energy.  Wouldn't it be great if someone harnessed all of this energy and transformed  it into electric supply?  Oh wait – someone has! In fact, if you live in NYS you can choose to have 100% of your electricity supplied from IDT Energy’s hydro power.

How does hydro power work?

Water power is generated from the energy of falling water and harnessed for usefully purposes. It can be derived from waterfalls and rivers.

Of course you could also be harvesting all of this water for your garden!

Vegetable Electricity: Potato Power

Can your everyday vegetable power a light?  How about a clock?  You betcha.  Looking for a fun weekend project with the kids that just might 'jolt' some excitement into learning?  We gotcha covered.

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Electricity generated at power plant is generally generated from burning fossil fuels.  The heat from the fuel heats up water and the water becomes steam.  This steam then spins turbines which turns a generator (or magnet) and unbalances the charges in atoms and supplies a current of electricity. That electricity then flows through the utilities lines and into our homes.

Batteries are able to generate electricity through a chemical reaction between two types of electrodes (like zinc and copper) and an electrolyte.  The connection of these substances creates a circuit that allows a flowing path of electricity.

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Here's how you do it:

Materials
2 Potatoes
2 Short pieces of copper wire
2 Galvanized nails
3 Alligator clips
1 Piece of sand paper
1 Low voltage clock

Directions

1. Remove the battery from the clock
2. Number the potatoes "1" and "2"
3. Insert one nail into each of the potatoes
4. Insert one piece of wire into each of the potatoes
5. Connect one alligator clip to the copper wire in potato #1 to the positive (+) terminal in the clocks battery compartment
6. Connect the other alligator clip to the nail in potato #2 and the negative (-) terminal in the clocks battery compartment
7. Connect the last alligator clip to connect the nail in potato #1 to the copper wire in potato #2

A pretty neat alternative energy supply right? Talk about going green!

Now, of course, this method of electricity is not that reliable. So we suggest keeping your utility and an energy supplier like IDT Energy for a more reliable source of electricity.

Check out more cool energy related projects on our Pinterest.

Sources: Education.com and teachengineering.org/ 

Oil Prices Determine Renewable Energy's Attractiveness

IDT Energy has been scanning the news for information about the developing renewable energy industry. What we’ve found a few factors influencing the shape of the industry today.

1. Energy Prices: The higher oil and natural gas cost, the more attractive renewable energy becomes. The opposite is also true. Lower prices for oil and gas make renewable energy less attractive.

2. Availability of Credit: When loans are hard to get people cannot install various types of energy technology. Even if it will save money in the long term, if people don’t have the cash to install, for instance, a solar system in their home, if the bank won’t lend them the money, it won’t get installed.

3. Federal Tax Credit: There is a tax credit of 30% on the installation of renewable energy projects for commercial and residential use. The $2000 cap was removed for residential systems, and the incentive was extended to utilities. The credit, originally enacted in 2005 has been extended until 2016.

4. Election of President Obama: Setting a goal of 25% of U.S. electricity to come from renewable sources by the year 2025 and calling for $150 billion in invests over 10 years in clean energy and infrastructure, it is clear that for this administration green energy is a priority.

Here Comes the Sun

IDT Energy‘s green program offers its customers the ability to choose renewable sources of energy as part of the source of their electrical production. Among the more popular types of renewable energy is solar energy.

Ultimately almost all types of renewable energy are derived from the sun. Secondary solar energy sources such as wind power, wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass in addition to primary solar energy resources like light and heat make up just about all of the Earth’s renewable energy resources.

At the moment we use only a tiny fraction of the potential energy from the sun, but we are beginning to develop ever more advanced technological methods of harnessing the sun’s energy.

IDT Energy Helps You to Save

IDT Energy is committed to improving awareness of the effects energy use has on the planet. As an ESCO IDT Energy empowers its customers so that they can make informed choices about how much they spend on their energy as well as where their energy comes from: whether it is from traditional sources such as coal or other fossil fuel, or to begin to make the move to renewable energy sources, such as wind or sun.
But people don’t always have to leave this movement to the big guys like public utilities. Each individual can make a difference. Here are some tiny ways each of us can help improve the quality of life here on planet earth.

1. Turn off your car’s engine. When you let your car’s engine idle it emits 6-7 grams of pollutants into the air each minute, and you’re not even getting anywhere! And you’re also wasting precious gasoline. You can drive a full mile on the amount of gas wasted by idling for just two minutes.

2. Eat less meat. Raising livestock, processing, packaging and shipping of meat products has been estimated to cause 18% of all global greenhouse gas emissions. By just eating one less meat meal per week the Environmental Defense Fund estimates that there would be the equivalent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions as if we took off one-half million cars from the roads.

3. Use less electricity. It takes about two cars worth of fossil fuel carbon dioxide emissions to power the average house. Reduce your electric bill whenever possible; by turning of lights when not in use, unplugging appliances when not needed such as cell phone chargers and other appliances which continue to use energy even when not in use, as long as they are still plugged in. A power strip lets you turn off and “unplug” several appliances at the same time.

4. Pay bills on-line and save on paper consumption. You’ll also save money on postage and it will be even easier to keep track of your bills and payment history.

More tips next time.

10 Green Websites You Should Be Reading

Lighter Footstep has compiled a list of relative newbies to the green blogging space and highlighted blogs they felt worthy of mention (full article here).

What I like about this article: it focuses on up-and comers, not the heavy hitters.

What I don’t like about this article: the IDT Energy Blog is not on it! A glaring omission, in my opinion.

Here is the list, with my two cents inserted where necessary:

1. Daily Fuel Economy Tip: Tips that help you increase your gas mileage and save money at the pump.

2. Eco-Chick: “The blogteam at Eco-chick includes a model who has a degree in entomology, an alternative health freak who’s used herself as a guinea pig, a science nerd, a news junkie and a Barcelona-based expat; the site is run and hosted by an anarchist webmaster.” Intriguing, if a bit tricky to navigate.

3. Ecorazzi: According to Lighter Footsteps, it’s “People magazine for the Green set — without all the wasted trees.” Fun way to combine love of gossip with civic responsibility.

4. Frugal for Life All about the money – clearly still finding its way.

5. Green Options Kind of overwhelming, but seems like it is all there.

6. Jetson Green – For green building.

7. Maria Energia Love the title. Covers a business angle.

8. No Impact Man Too gimmicky. Begging to be made into reality show.

9. The Sietch Blog: solid content.

10. Vegetarian Meal Plans Works if that’s your thing…