ReCircle: Mushroom LEDs, New Appliance Efficiency Standards, Energy Audits Reshaping Real Estate, and more!

Energy Efficiency Standards for Home Appliances Set to Increase.

The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy and the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers reached an agreement to increase the efficiency of most major home appliances, which are estimated to reduce home energy consumption by about 6% overall. (From Green Tech Media)

What Energy Efficiency Type are You?

It used to be that only the tree-huggingest of hippies were fawning over front-loading washing machines and fretting about home energy consumption, but new research shows that more and more folks of all stripes are beginning to tune into the economic benefits of energy efficiency. (From Energy Efficiency Markets)

Infrared Camera Runs an Energy Audit on Belgium.

No joke, a group of municipalities ran an energy audit on, well, not all of Belgium, but the city of Antwerp, using a plane-mounted infrared camera. (From TerraPass)

Hope in the Midst of Climate Despair.

Craig Severance at Energy Economy Online makes the case that the failed climate bill was a means and not an end, and that the most effective carbon-reducing tactics contained the bill can be pursued anyway. (From Energy Economy Online)

Energy Audits Will Change the Way We Buy and Sell Homes.

Jim Alexander, a real estate agent in Atlanta, decided to have a home energy audit conducted to determine whether he should recommend them to his clients. His verdict? “Home energy audits are going to change the way we buy and sell houses in America.” (From Associated Press)

Cool Design: Mushroom LEDs Sprouting from Reclaimed Wood.

Okay, this is relevant because LEDs are some of the most energy efficient lights in the world, and there’s a good chance they’ll be the lighting of the future. In addition to their energy benefits, the design potential is boundless, as these cool pictures show. (From Inhabitat)

An Offbeat Energy Blog We Like:

Tech2Energy.

Written by Joel Greenberg, Tech2Energy is an all-encompassing energy blog rooted in the belief that a thorough understanding of energy is a prerequisite for informed dialogue in the political, economic and personal spheres. “Why?,” he asks, “Because energy is the foundation for our lives. Electricity is directly correlated with the wealth of a society.”