October is National Energy Awareness Month, and to celebrate this joyous eco-occasion, we’ve compiled a list to help you reduce your energy consumption and shrink your footprint even more. Switching to fluorescent lighting and turning the thermostat down are great energy saving starters, but if you’re looking to go the extra mile to save energy in your home, these tips are for you.

The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) approved on October 5 the first large-scale solar energy plants ever to be built on U.S. public lands. The approval of two developments in California grants the U.S.-based companies behind the projects access to almost 6,800 acres of public lands for 30 years to build and operate solar plants. The approved plants could produce up to 754 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy, or enough to power 226,000–566,000 typical U.S. homes. The projects will generate almost 1,000 new jobs.

Norwalk and Darien residents looking to dispose of used compact fluorescent light bulbs, commonly called CFLs, have a variety of options to take advantage of. At a news conference at the Home Depot location on Connecticut Avenue in Norwalk Thursday, state Senator Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) and Norwalk Mayor Richard Moccia detailed the services available to those in the area.

An energy saving house built from hemp is being tested at the University of Bath to see if the eco-friendly resource might be used in construction. The test home was built by a consortium led by the Building Research Establishment Centre for Innovative Construction Materials.

The two companies, in cooperation with PetersenDean Roofing and Solar Systems, announced a partnership earlier this year to pre-install solar panels at no additional cost to homebuyers at The Preserve new home community. Last Friday, September 17, Toll Brothers hosted the official ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the community to the public.

Chicago-based Invenergy Wind will build a farm equipped with 125 giant wind turbines on o surface of about 30,000 acre in Gratiot County, Michigan. Being considered Michigan’s largest, the $440 million project will produce 200 megawatts of energy by the end of next year, enough to supply electricity for more than 54,000 homes.

The U.S. Navy’s Seal Beach facility in California is now home to a new $1.9 million solar parking lot, thanks to funding from the federal Recovery Act. Aside from creating new green construction jobs, the new solar facility will save the Navy more than $30,000 per year in electrical costs. It’s just one part of an all-around solar power makeover for the Navy, which just this summer has commissioned another $100 million worth of new solar projects.

Energy supplier EDF have unveiled a new gadget that allows consumers to turn off their appliances from anywhere in the home. The wireless EcoManager enables householders to control and switch off their microwave ovens, TVs and stereos from any location, allowing them to cut needless energy use and save money on their bills in the process.

There are still funds available to help West Virginians replace home appliances with new, energy efficient models. In fact, residents can now take advantage of two programs aimed at saving consumers money and protecting the environment. Currently, the West Virginia Enery Efficient Appliance Rebate Program and the state's Energy Star® Sales Tax Holiday are both in effect.

A new directly solar powered air conditioning system has been unveiled in China that has the potential to not only make cooling a home green, but also save homeowners a huge amount of money at the same time. The machine is made by a company called Vicot.

Vattenfall's Thanet farm set to open as National Grid confirms wind-generated electricity has hit a new peak. The world's largest offshore windfarm, which cost over £750m to build, is poised to open off the coast of Kent, with 100 turbines producing enough electricity to supply heat and light for 200,000 homes.

There's no "one-size-fits-all" approach to going solar, but whichever option a homeowner chooses, he's almost certain to save money in the long run. And he can begin reducing his carbon footprint immediately, whether he opts for solar thermal or photovoltaic.

Dust, dirt, and the occasional bird-bomb can chip away at the efficiency of solar panels. Hand washing is fine for home-scale installations but that can add up to a huge problem for large installations that cover multiple acres of ground or roofs. Now scientists from Boston University have come up with a solution: self-cleaning solar panels based on technology used in missions to Mars.

There are two types of CFLs in use. One is the integrated and the other is non-integrated. The two main parts of a non-integrated CFL are a gas filled tube called bulb or burner and magnetic or electronic ballasts. An electric current from the ballast flows through the gas filled tube (mercury vapour) causing it to emit UV light.

The rise of the electric vehicle segment, as well as the industries which support it, is making companies not usually linked with EVs get into the heat of the moment and announce their involvement in the market.The chargers, announced by ECOtality this week, will be offered in two models, one for in-home use (residential wall-mount ) and one for commercial use (stand-alone charger). The chargers are currently undergoing testing for Underwriters Laboratories (UL) certification.

Students at Cambridge University look towards hydropower to light up homes in developing countries. Deniz Erkan, Li Jiang and Ned Stuart-Smith have developed a portable hydroelectric generator that is capable of producing up to 1kW of power when installed in free-flowing rivers. The 500kg device designed by these third-year students does not require special infrastructure or equipment, it is very easy to install.

Some young fellows stare at a big TV screen and shout noisily as they are watching a World Cup 2010 football match. Some electric fans run at their maximal speed to soothe the ongoing summer heat. The pigsty system behind the house of Tran Van Tam in Phu Trung hamlet, An Phu commune, Cu Chi district, Ho Chi Minh City also gets cooled with home-made ventilation panels. It is unlikely that the area does not benefit from the national power grid and often incurs power outages.

Two drawbacks to solar power were cost and the bulk of the panels, but newer panels, called thin-film solar panels are lowering the cost of solar and allowing new types of solar panels to be made. Some are flexible and can either be rolled up or formed into roof tiles, so it’s hardly noticeable that you’re powering your home with the sun!

Solar energy solutions are paramount these days and yet solar technology used in homes is in its infancy and ungainly. Most conventional silicon cell photovoltaic solar panels are eyesores.However, there may soon be a less obtrusive, colorful and flexible alternative: the dye-sensitized solar cell or DSC panel.

You plug the appliances into the sensors, and the sensors into your home’s wall sockets. The sensors then relay each appliance’s electricity consumption to an Internet-connected router, via Zigbee, the RF standard crafted for appliances and other devices around the home. You can then view a graphical and numerical chart that shows how much that Vornado air purifier is costing.