ReCircle: State of the Union, Heating Your Home for Free, The Greenest Buildings of All, and more!

Did the State of the Union Miss the Boat on Energy Efficiency?

Allison Bailes of Energy Vanguard points out that in a roughly 7,000 word speech, President Obama dedicated about 800 words to energy, only a short paragraph of which covered energy efficiency. On the other hand, he did at least mention energy efficiency in buildings. What’s your take? (From Energy Vanguard)

Targeting Energy Efficiency from Both Sides of the Meter.

Utilities often encourage customers to adopt energy efficiency measures, but often without a clear understanding of how those measures will be implemented or what effect they will have. A new tool could fix that. (From Green Tech Media)

Opower Hits 25 Million Home Energy Reports.

The energy software company will send out its 25-millionth report to a utility customer by the end of the month, and expects to hit 75 million by the end of 2012. Is consumer awareness of home energy consumption on the rise? (From GigaOm)

How to Heat Your Home for Free (or Profit).

Heating costs are on the rise, particularly here in the Northeast. The Street discusses the philosophy of “if you can’t beat em, join em,” and how to invest in heating oil to makeup for the high prices you’re paying to heat your home. Of course, you could always just get a home performance upgrade. (From The Street)

Are Historic Buildings Greener than Green Buildings?

It’s often said that the greenest building is the one already standing. A new report shines a new light on this theory, by comparing the energy savings of renovated historic buildings versus newly built, energy efficient homes. (From GOOD)

A Warning About Tankless Water Heaters.

Tankless water heaters are often touted as one of those easy ways to reduce energy consumption and go green. But the reality is that the water heater is just one piece of the puzzle, and a tankless heater won’t have much of an impact unless thoughtfully integrated into the whole system. (From Networx)

Another Energy Related Blog We Love:

Peak Oil Blues.

This blog focuses on "emotional reactions to peak oil, climate change, and economic collapse." Doomsday-talk, you may say, and you may be correct, but the blog nonetheless provides an interesting perspective on the challenges that we're facing -- one shaped by individual experience rather than statistics -- which is reason enough to check it out.