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These solar shingles from Dow could be showing up on Waterloo Region roofs some time soon. They are about the size of a normal asphalt shingle, and can be installed like asphalt shingles too – with just a hammer and nails.

The cost is still prohibitive – about $25k for a bundle capable of cutting your home electrical costs by between 40% and 60%. Government grants in some places could bring the cost down to about $10k.

According to this Consumer Reports video these shingles will pay for themselves “far sooner than some solar water heaters we’ve tested.”

I am always happy to provide as much information as I can about suppliers in the Waterloo Region area for products such as these.

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The warm kitchen that seemed so inviting when there was snow on the ground can easily become a sweltering oven in K-W’s summer. The saving grace is that many of the strategies for keeping a kitchen cooler in warm weather are also energy savers that help the environment as well. Sometimes you really can get a double bonus.

Energy efficient items such as electric frying pans, slo-cookers, and toaster ovens can be used to cook a dish instead of firing up your large stove or oven.

Microwave ovens and pressure cookers can cook an item quickly, using fewer kilowatts of energy and saving quite a bit of time as well. Use them in place of your large oven.

Foods cook more quickly if they are chopped into bite-sized pieces. Less cooking time translates to less energy use and a cooler kitchen.

Foods will cook in less time and save energy if you put lids on the pans and the right size burner is used.

The kitchen stays cooler if you preheat the oven only when the recipe calls for it.

Baking an extra item in the oven simultaneously doubles your efficiency.

Opening the oven door needlessly can cause an oven’s temperature to fall by 50F (25C) or more. It is more efficient to use the oven window.

Run the dishwasher only when packed with a full load and allow the dishes air-dry without running the final heat cycle.

Do you wish you could pitch all those harsh commercial cleaning products and use something “greener”? Here is a video explaining how you can make your own cleaners out of ordinary things found in just about every Waterloo Region home.

Recent studies have compared the incidence of asthma in homes where commercial household cleaners are used on a regular basis to homes where such cleaners are not used. In one study the researchers found the product users were up to twice as likely to develop asthma.

In spite of what the television commercials say, household cleaners are not the pleasant things they are made out to be. Most contain harsh chemicals and ingredients that harm the environment in one way or another. They also contribute to things like asthma and allergies – especially among children.

If you’re like most Waterloo Region homeowners you want to save money wherever you can. And the cost of energy to run your home is a good place to start. So what about installing a few solar panels to generate some solar power.

Here’s an article that discusses the costs of building a solar system large enough to power your home. You might be surprised at the cost.

Have a look at the article right here: Powering a House With Solar Cells.

In most areas people are realizing that pesticides and herbicides poured on our lawns do not mix with a healthy environment.

The Waterloo Region area is no exception. Thankfully, in the Kitchener-Waterloo area many homeowners are becoming more environmentally sensitive.

In this article the author offers some suggestions for maintaining a beautiful lawn without using large amounts of harmful chemicals – Green Ideas for a Great Lawn.