Wednesday, February 16th, 2011

Originally Posted – 10-28-2010
Earlier this year, we wrote a series of articles on the Texas Trade Up Appliance Rebate Program. This highly successful program, designed to “promote awareness of Energy Star appliances and decrease energy consumption,” is coming back and we want to make sure that you, your friends and your family are prepared. Don’t miss out on this chance to save energy and money.
The original appliance rebate program, which took place in April of 2010, was responsible for putting nearly $12.5 million back into the pockets of Texas residents. This cash-for-clunkers-esque program offered rebates to residents who took the opportunity to upgrade their aging and/or energy-guzzling appliances like dishwashers, freezers, refrigerators, air-conditioners and more. Rebates ranged from $45 – $1,600 dollars (per appliance). The program was successful, but a strict set of steps had to be followed if you wanted to take advantage of the rebates.
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Tags: appliance, appliances, cash-for-clunkers, date, energy, energy efficiency, powerful smart, rebate, Savings, SECO, Texas, Winter
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Tuesday, April 20th, 2010
Writing a blog is really a personal experience and so I often write about things, events and people that I interact with. This past weekend, I rode in the BP MS 150 (a bike ride from Houston to Austin that helps raise money for MS research) and had lots of time to think about things as I cycled through the Texas hill country. A recurring theme for this ride, my sixth trip for this great cause, was technology and how riders are finding ways to implement it into their cycling. Cell phones, GPS devices, ipods, stereo speakers, etc. It seemed that the majority of riders had found some way to enhance their 150+ mile ride with a bit of cycling tech.
As with any technology, one thing is required for any extended period of time…. power! Most riders carry extra batteries and I even saw some who attempted to use small solar panels to power their devices. Unfortunately, each of these solutions has their own set of problems, including a mostly-overcast ride this year. One possible solution that I have kept my eye on for some time was the use of “pedal power” for our gadgets and devices. Why not use the power of our own legs to generate the juice needed for our devices? Thankfully, the folks of Dahon were working on an answer to the same question. Their answer, released just a few months ago, was the BioLogic ReeCharge.
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Tags: battery, bicycle, Bike, BioLogic, cycling, Dahon, Dynamo hub, energy, GPS, green, iPhone, iPod, pedal, power, ReeCharge, Speaker, USB
Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »
Friday, April 2nd, 2010
We interrupt this regularly scheduled FollowFriday to bring you some very important news about the Texas Trade Up Appliance Rebate Program. A few things have changed, including the date for reserving rebates and some valuable new information has been added to the Official State of Texas Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program Web site. For those of you who are familiar with the program and/or have been following our articles on the topic, you can jump on down to the Changes section. For the rest of you, we have a quick recap.
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Tags: appliance, april, cash-for-clunkers, efficiency, energy, rebate, Smart, Texas, trade up, U.S.
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »