Energy Savers

You Can Still Save on the Road -- Even with No Cash for Clunkers

Just about everybody by now has heard of the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) Program, better known as "Cash for Clunkers," which had pumped $1.9 billion worth of incentives into the ailing car industry by last Thursday, according to the Department of Transportation. The red-hot program enticed about a half-a-million eligible buyers to trade in their late-model cars for new, more fuel-efficient vehicles by throwing in a cool $3,500 to $4,500 toward their purchase. Pretty sweet motivational tool if you ask me. But, unlike those who got off the fence early and hustled into their local dealership, I let this one pass me by.

The CARS program, which was overseen by the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), officially ended on Monday. Never one to dive in without testing the waters, I finally got around to seeing whether my car qualified on the CARS program Web site just four hours before the deadline. One of the criteria for your clunker to qualify was that its original combined city and highway fuel-economy rating was 18 or fewer miles to the gallon when the car was new.

Will You Be Trading in Your Clunker for Cash--and a More Efficient Vehicle?

On Tuesday, Amy told you about the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) Program, widely known as "Cash-for-Clunkers," which provides an incentive to trade in your old vehicle for a new, fuel-efficient model.

Will you be trading in your clunker for cash--and a more efficient vehicle?

Each Thursday, you have the chance to share your thoughts on a question about energy efficiency or renewable energy for consumers. Please comment with your answers, and also feel free to respond to other comments.

Thinking About Buying a Car this Summer? Read This First!

Chances are that if you've seen a car commercial in the last few weeks then you've heard about the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) Program. I know those commercials caught my attention on several occasions. And since my husband and I are planning on buying a new car later this year, I thought I'd do some research into the program to see if we might benefit. It turns out that our potential trade-in vehicle is already pretty fuel efficient and doesn't qualify for the program. However, if your family is considering upgrading to a new, more fuel efficient vehicle in the next few weeks, you may want to investigate whether your car might qualify.

Find Alternative Fueling Stations and Learn Something, Too

A couple of weeks ago it was hybrid electric vehicle week and, always one to be fashionably late, I thought I'd jump in and talk about some of the fun vehicle-related tools we have on the EERE Web site.

It's probably pretty obvious from the sorts of posts I've done in the past, but I love interactive tools and applications on the Web. EERE has a number of interesting applications and gadgets, and today I thought I'd talk about a few hiding in the Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center (hereafter referred to as the AFDC.)

Do You Drive a Hybrid Electric Vehicle?

In Tuesday's entry, Francis X. Vogel from the Wisconsin Clean Cities coalition told us about his plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). He's one of the lucky few in the United States to drive one of these vehicles because factory-made PHEV's are not yet available to the public. Regular hybrid electric vehicles, however, are widely available and seem to be more and more common on the roads.

Do you drive a hybrid electric vehicle? Please share your experience with it in the comments.

Each Thursday, you have the chance to share your thoughts on a topic related to energy efficiency or renewable energy for consumers. Please comment with your answers, and also feel free to respond to other comments.

Honey, Did You Plug in the Prius?

An unexpected snowfall in late March prompted me to take my two daughters, Paloma and Ava, for a memorable afternoon of sledding and hot chocolate. However, before leaving home, I unplugged a cord from the standard 110-volt wall socket in my garage and did likewise from the port on the back of my 2007 Toyota Prius. I rolled up the cord, placed it in my trunk, and smoothly drove off. Nestled in my vehicle's spare tire well, a 200-pound lithium-ion battery pack allowed me to go up to 30 miles on electric power before recharging.

Yes, I’m fortunate to be one of the only private owners of a plug-in hybrid-electric vehicle (PHEV) in the nation, and maybe the only one with toddler and booster seats in the back. PHEVs, of course, are touted by policymakers across the political spectrum as a central near-term solution for kicking our oil jones.

How Will You Save Fuel and Energy this 4th of July?

Independence Day is this Saturday, and July 4th is typically one of the busiest days for auto travel in the United States. All of that traffic could mean lots of idling and stop-and-go driving; plan carefully and follow these tips from fueleconomy.gov to be sure you are getting the best gas mileage possible.

How will you save fuel and energy this 4th of July?

Have a safe (and efficient!) Independence Day!

Each Thursday, you have the chance to share your thoughts on a topic related to energy efficiency or renewable energy for consumers. Please comment with your answers, and also feel free to respond to other comments.

10 Resources to Help You Save Energy Now

A lot of the feedback that I see about the Energy Savers.gov site says, "This is great, but way too detailed. I just want to know what's easy and what I can do now!" And that makes sense; EnergySavers.gov has a lot of information about a lot of topics—you can learn about buying efficient appliances, choosing new heating and cooling systems, selecting windows, and even how to use renewable energy.

But not everyone wants to make a big purchase right now; many of you want to know how you can save with what you have or with just a small investment in time and money. These 10 resources detail easy ways that you can start saving now:

Energy Saver Heroes: Clean Cities Coordinators

The idea of an Energy Saver takes on a whole new meaning when considering the coalition coordinators of EERE’s Clean Cities program. Clean Cities, the deployment arm of EERE’s Vehicle Technology Program, works to support local decisions to reduce petroleum consumption in transportation. We have 86 different coalitions across the country, each of which takes its own local approach to this goal. As the voluntary leaders of these coalitions, coordinators bring together a huge variety of stakeholders, including local businesses, city governments, fuel providers, and community organizations. Working with these stakeholders, the coordinators can help them decide which technologies – including alternative fuels, hybrid vehicles, and idle reduction measures – can decrease their petroleum use. In fact, our coordinators’ on-the-ground work has helped put 579,000 alternative fuel vehicles on the road and reduce two billion gallons of petroleum.

Question of the Week: Do You Use Alternative Fuels?

Alternative fuels can produce fewer emissions that gasoline and be safer for the environment and for lung health, as we learned from Tuesday's entry. If you have a vehicle capable of using alternative fuels (or you're interested in buying one), you can use the Alternative Fueling Station Locator to find fueling stations in your area.

Do you use alternative fuels?

Each Thursday, you have the chance to share your thoughts on a topic related to energy efficiency or renewable energy for consumers. Please comment with your answers, and also feel free to respond to other comments.