Offsetting our Unavoidable Carbon with Carbon Credit Cart

We are committed to living as lightly as we can as we go about our daily work and family business. We are grateful that there are now resources available to help us be carbon-free. We try to reduce the amount of climate-changing greenhouse gases we put into the environment by driving electric vehicles when we can, reducing our air travel and, of course, by powering our home and business by the sun, but in the course of living our lives and doing business, we still have an impact. Thankfully, we were able to track our carbon footprint by consulting with Evergreen Carbon and, now, we are able to easily offset our carbon emissions each year through the services of Carbon Credit Cart.

Barefoot College Empowers Women Around the Globe

At Sun Path Electric, we are proud to donate a portion of the proceeds from each sale to support the work of Barefoot College. Recently, we were able to make a donation of $3,000 to support the empowering skill-building work of this phenomenal organization. 

We are so pleased to share that on December 12th, 2022 Barefoot College received a Presidential Medal for their work training women to install solar in Guatemala. This work is changing lives as it teaches skills that fight climate change.

The mission of Barefoot College's solar and other programs is to ensure that every woman and girl has the skills and knowledge she needs to be a catalyst for change to the benefit of herself, her family, and her entire community. They achieve this by making vocational and educational opportunities accessible to women and girls from the most marginalized communities around the world. By training women to become Solar Engineers, even if they are illiterate or have no formal education, rural resilience is forged by each village at a time.

To date, their solar program has trained 2,200 women to be solar engineers in 93 countries around the world installing 18, 047 solar home lighting systems.

Click here to learn more about the world-changing work of the Barefoot College International.

Eco Kitchen Tips - Privanka Nalk - Washington Post

I know this may come as a shock, but I spend most of my time in the kitchen. And I use a ton of kitchen appliances ― blenders, mixers, air fryers ― you name it, I probably have it. But since living on my own, I’ve always had my parents’ voices echoing in my head ― “Turn the light off if you’re not in your room,” “Don’t keep the hair dryer plugged in,” and so on. 

When my parents were growing up in India, they were conscious of their energy consumption because ― like many countries outside of the United States ― central heat and air weren’t readily available and the electricity would frequently go out. My parents’ voices and my international experiences have encouraged me to further research how our daily choices about energy use make an impact on the environment.

In 2020, the average annual electricity consumption for U.S. households was 10,715 kilowatt hours (kWh), an average of about 893 kWh per month. Residential energy consumption amounts to over 20 percent of total U.S. energy consumption. In layman’s terms, 1 kWh is the amount of energy an appliance or machine needs to run for one hour.

As consumers, why should we be concerned? According to the Environmental Protection Agency, nearly all parts of the electricity system in the United States affect the environment, creating greenhouse gas emissions, air pollutants, water pollutants, wasted water, solid waste and hazardous waste. All of those things detrimentally affect plants, animals and ecosystems.

Here are tips to reduce energy consumption in your kitchen: 

 

Unplug energy vampires

Kitchen appliances ― and appliances anywhere in your home ― that are plugged in but aren’t being regularly used are using up energy. Some common kitchen counter vampires include your toaster, air fryer, coffee maker, electric kettle, stand mixer, blenders, food processors, juicers and rice cookers. Together, they can account for up to 20 percent of energy bills. Keep them unplugged when not in use and make long-term changes where possible. For instance, I use a stovetop Italian Moka pot to make coffee instead of an electric coffee maker. When I travel, I unplug everything in my home before leaving.

Set your fridge and freezer to the right temp

Not setting your refrigerator to the right temperature can lead to your fridge and freezer over-consuming energy and working in overdrive. Best practices include setting your fridge to 35-38 degrees Fahrenheit, not leaving the doors open for long periods of time and placing the fridge/freezer in a cool, dry place (away from the stove or another direct heat source). Additionally, even the slightest bit of dust on fridge coils can reduce the energy efficiency, so cleaning them regularly will improve efficiency.

Use your cooktop efficiently

We don’t always have a say in what kind of cooktop we get in our homes. But there are still ways we can use our cooktops efficiently ― consider adding a lid to boil water quicker, boiling water in a teapot for tea and coffee (versus an electric kettle), and cooking items on the stovetop that may normally be made in ovens. For example, make eggplant parmigiana in a skillet on the stovetop instead of baking it in the oven. Regulate the flame when cooking on a gas stove ― a higher flame means more gas use. The same applies for electric cooktops ― generally, a mid-heat setting is sufficient versus the highest setting.

 Power down an electric cooktop a few moments before your dish is complete ― this will allow the cooktop to cool down sooner and not prolong the use of energy. Similarly, for induction cooktops, which are the most energy efficient option, make sure to align the size of your pan with the size of the heating element on the stove to not overuse electricity when cooking or prolong the heating process.

 Don’t overuse the oven

Ovens need energy to heat up and to cook. Some things to consider are a self-cleaning oven (they’re better insulated and more energy efficient) and using the convection baking setting on your oven (it uses 20 percent less energy). Here are some additional tips on how to efficiently use your convection oven.

 And two things to consider before jumping to preheat your oven: If the amount you’re making is small, can you use your toaster oven instead? A toaster oven uses one-third to one-half less energy than a conventional electric oven. And depending on what you’re using the oven for, you may not actually need to preheat it. When roasting veggies, for example, you can throw them in as soon as you turn on the oven. (Other items, like cakes, do need a fully preheated oven of course.)

 Limit your dishwasher usage

Consider running your dishwasher only when the machine is full. If you’re in the position to, you can look into purchasing an updated energy efficient dishwasher, which could use less than a quarter of the energy that hand-washing dishes would use (provided that scraps are simply scraped off dishes, not rinsed beforehand).

 

 

Solar Mamas, our Featured Non-Profit, is Doing Great Things!

 

 

Summary of Senate Inflation Reduction Act as of 8-8-22

As of August 08, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has passed in the Senate but is still awaiting passage in the House of Representatives and then must be signed by the president. The summary below reflects what is in the most recent available draft of the legislation. This legislation contains the most significant investment in resources and technologies to combat the impacts and advancements of climate change our nation has made to-date. The impact of this investment could be transformative for our  industry, country, and dare we say, the world. Please read here for details.

30% for Solar Is Part of Senate Anti-Inflation Bill!

In a surprise victory for the solar and clean technology industries, Senator Joe Manchin and Democrats reached an agreement July 27th on a reconciliation bill, dubbed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. The bill includes $370 billion in spending for renewable energy and climate measures. One of the most impactful provisions in the bill, which can be read in full text here, is the long-term extension of the Investment Tax Credit, which has been instrumental in launching the solar industry we know today. The bill calls for a 10-year extension at 30% of the cost of the installed equipment, which will then step down to 26% in 2033 and 22% in 2034. The tax credit applies to individuals, businesses, and utility-scale developers of solar technology. The 30% credit also applies to energy storage whether it is co-located or installed as standalone energy storage. This enables the retrofit of a battery to a solar array while taking advantage of the credit. “With long-term incentives for clean energy deployment and manufacturing, the solar and storage industry is ready to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs and get to work building out the next era of American energy leadership. This is a crucial window of opportunity that we cannot miss, and now Congress must seal the deal and pass this legislation,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association. The bill is expected to head to the Senate floor for a vote as early as next week. Solar investment tax credit to be extended 10 years at 30% – pv magazine USA (pv-magazine-usa.com) Statement from Vote Solar