IDT Energy World

When you look to purchase major appliances, light bulbs and electrical items today, you’ll usually see some with the Energy Star label. Are these better products? Are they worth purchasing? Here, we explain the Energy Star rating to help you to make an educated decision for yourself.

The Energy Star rating indicates that a product has met strict energy efficiency criteria set by the US Environmental Protection Agency or the US Department of Energy. These products use less energy and save you money on your electricity bill. At the same time, they are good for the environment, as they cause less emission from power plants.

Some examples of Energy Star products and their benefits include:

1. Energy Star TVs use 3 watts or less when switched off, while standard TVs consume almost 6 watts.
2. Refrigerators that are Energy Star are 15% more efficient than what the federal efficiency standards require.
3. Light bulbs with the rating use two-thirds less energy than the standard bulb. They also have to meet additional operating and reliability guidelines.

One easy way to try to save money around the house is through your energy bill. Doing a yearly audit of your energy usage and issues can greatly help you to reduce costs and to fix problems. IDT Energy offers these simple tasks that should be done as part of any self audit.

Each year, make sure to inspect your heating and cooling equipment. Replace filters as needed, and have a professional come in and clean your equipment once a year as well. Check all ductwork for dirt streaks which can indicate air leaks. These should be sealed with a duct mastic.

If your heating and cooling unit is more than 15 years old, you should consider purchasing a new unit that will be much more energy-efficient. A new unit will reduce your energy use. These quick checks and small changes can make a big difference in your energy bill overall.

The way you cook can be energy efficient or wasteful. Two people cooking the same meal can use vastly different amounts of energy doing it. By simply covering a pot when boiling water can save half the energy and time than trying to boil water in an uncovered pot.

The types of pots and pans used in the kitchen can also make a big difference. If you have an electric stove, make sure the pots you use are flat bottomed and make full contact with the eyes.

On gas stoves, keep the grease catchers under the burners clean. The shiny metal that they are made from actually reflects the heat back up into the pot and reduces cooking time.
Use the smallest pot that you can for the meal that you are making. Heating up a large pot to cook a small amount of food is a waste of energy. Also, whenever possible use a toaster oven or microwave to warm up leftovers of make small amounts of food. Microwaves are among the most energy efficient appliances around, using two thirds less power than electric ovens.

It is possible to save energy when you cook. You might consider purchasing a new type of stove which uses “induction” to heat your food. Induction creates heat more quickly by accelerating metal molecules magnetically in such materials as steel, cast iron and some stainless steel pots. When the pot is removed from the eye of the stove it cools much faster than ordinary stoves.

A stove that heats using induction transfers about 90% of its heat to the pot due to the fact that induction conforms to specific metals. An electric burner transfers about 70% of its heat, and a gas stove only about 35% to 40%. Be warned though. Induction stoves can cost double to triple or more that what a gas or electric stove costs.

Gas stove tops are very popular, but are they more energy efficient than electric stove top burners? IDT Energy is going to explore this little discussed issue with you.
Because of the fact that, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, approximately 4.5% of all household energy use is spent on cooking, Energy Star, the government’s way of measuring energy use of home appliances, does not rate or give a standard for cooking stove tops. 4.5% is just not considered enough usage to mandate stricter standards of efficiency, at least not at the moment.

Even so, are there any advantages, energy wise, of using gas over electricity for cooking? Well, it turns out that yes, there is. Gas burners are instantly hot, whereas electric burners take time to heat up and cool down. Cooks prefer gas because it is easier to control the intensity of the flame. Old fashioned gas stoves had pilot lights that were always on, wasting precious fuel, but now, with electric igniters up to 40% less gas is being used.

Abiogenic formation of natural gas happens very deep within the earth’s crust.  Here there are found carbon molecules and gases rich in hydrogen molecules. These gases slowly rise towards the earth’s surface, and as they rise they can interact with underground minerals. This interaction can result in the formation of a variety of compounds which are found in the atmosphere, like nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, argon and water. Given enough pressure as the gases move towards the earth’s surface it is likely that methane deposits will form, similar to thermogenic methane.

In our exploration of the genesis of natural gas we have already seen the process of thermogenic formation which requires extreme temperatures to transform plants and animals into fossil fuels.

Another process, which could help us in today’s world produce methane as a renewable resource is called the biogenic production of methane. In this process methane is produced by the breakdown of organic matter by means of microorganisms which are found on the surface of the earth in which oxygen is not found. These microorganisms are so common that they are found in the intestines of most animals, including humans.

Presently methane formed this way is almost entirely lost to the atmosphere. Sometimes, however the methane can be trapped underground and then harvested and used as natural gas. This happens at landfills, where relatively large amounts of methane are produced when the materials in the landfill decompose with the help of the microorganisms found there.

IDT Energy hopes that this new understanding of what natural gas is and where it comes from will increase your appreciation of the wonder of natural gas.

There are three major ways we know of in which natural gas is formed. The first and most famous way is called thermogenic formation of methane. This process happens when organic matter, such as dead plants or animals become compressed under the earth. The living matter is slowly transformed over millions of years through high temperatures which exist below the surface of the earth, and extreme pressures caused by the accumulation of materials on top of the organic matter over time.  The carbon bonds are broken down by the high temperature and pressure. The higher the temperature and pressure, the more natural gas is created. Therefore it is usually found that the deeper the oil deposit is found underground, the more methane (natural gas) is found there. Some extremely deep deposits are pure methane. Coal, on the other hand, found closer to the earth’s surface, and usually a smaller amount of methane is associated with the coal deposit.

We hear so much about “fossil fuels” these days, but what is meant by this expression?  Fossil fuels are formed during millions and/or hundreds of millions of years, through extreme heat and temperature exerted on organic materials (living things) such as plants and animals. Fossil fuels range in form from extremely volatile, such as gases like methane, through liquids such as petroleum, up to totally non-volatile materials like anthracite coal.

Electricity is great. Life is almost unthinkable without electricity. From the simplest appliances like phones or light bulbs, to the most sophisticated such as jet planes and computers, electricity is a huge force in our society today. But what about IDT Energy’s other resource, natural gas? How does that fit in to our lives? Let’s explore.

Natural gas is one of the cleanest, safest and efficient forms of fossil fuel that we have. Although it is related to other things we call “gas” such as gasoline to run our cars and “gas” for the grills for backyard Barbecues, natural gas is a very different substance.