Energy TBC

With 2010 almost over, the IRS reminds taxpayers to take advantage of the numerous tax breaks made available earlier this year in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

The recovery law provides tax incentives for first-time home buyers, people purchasing new cars, those interested in making their home more energy efficient and parents and students paying for college. But all of these incentives have expiration dates so taxpayers should take advantage of them while they can.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides tax incentives for individuals to invest in energy-efficient products.

Treatment of Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit as a Personal Credit Allowed Against AMT: Starting in 2009, the new law allows the Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit, including the tax credit for purchasing hybrid vehicles, to be applied against the Alternative Minimum Tax. Prior to the new law, the Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit could not be used to offset the AMT. This means the credit could not be taken if a taxpayer owed AMT or was reduced for some taxpayers who did not owe AMT.

Conversion Kits: The new law also provided a tax credit for plug-in electric drive conversion kits. The credit is equal to 10 percent of the cost of converting a vehicle to a qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle and placed in service after February 17, 2009. The maximum amount of the credit is $4,000. The credit does not apply to conversions made after December 31, 2011. A taxpayer may claim this credit even if the taxpayer claimed a hybrid vehicle credit for the same vehicle in an earlier year.

Plug-In Electric Vehicle Credit: The new law also creates a special tax credit for two types of plug-in vehicles certain low-speed electric vehicles and two-or three wheeled vehicles. The amount of credit is 10% of the cost of the vehicle, up to a maximum credit of $2,500 for purchases made after February 17, 2009, and before January 1, 2012. To qualify, a vehicle must be either a low speed vehicle propelled by an electric motor that draws electricity from a battery with a capacity of 4 kilowatt hours or more or be a two-or three-wheeled vehicle propelled by an electric motor that draws electricity from a battery with the capacity of 2.5 kilowatt hours. A taxpayer may not claim this credit if the plug-in electric drive vehicle credit allowable.

Plug-In Electric Drive Vehicle Credit: The new law modifies the credit for qualified plug-electric drive vehicles purchased after December 31, 2009. To qualify, vehicles must be newly purchased after December 31, 2009. To qualify, vehicles must be newly purchased, have four or more wheels, have a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 14,000 pounds, and draw propulsion using a battery with at least four kilowatt hours that can be recharged from an external source of electricity. The minimum amount of credit for kilowatt hours that can be recharged from an external source of electricity. The minimum amount of the credit for qualified plug-in electric drive vehicles is $2,500 and the credit tops out at $7,500, depending on the battery capacity. The full amount of the credit will be reduced with respect to a manufacturer’s vehicles after the manufacturer has sold at least 200,000 vehicles.

Residential Energy Efficient Property Credit: This nonrefundable energy tax credit will help individual taxpayers pay for qualified residential alternative energy equipment, such as solar hot water heaters, geothermal heat pumps and wind turbines. The new law removes some of the previously imposed maximum amount and allows for a credit equal to 30% of the cost of qualified property.

Residential Energy Property Credit: The new law increases the energy tax credit for homeowners who make energy efficient improvements to their existing homes. The new law increases the credit rate to 30% of the cost of all qualifying improvements and raises the maximum credit limit to $1,500 for improvements placed in service in 2009 and 2010.

The credit applies to improvements such as adding insulation, energy efficient exterior windows and energy-efficient heating and air conditioning systems.

A similar credit was available for 2007, but was not available in 2008. Homeowners should be aware that the standards in the new law are higher than the standards for the credit that was available in 2007 for products that qualify as “energy efficient” for purposes of this tax credit.

For property purchased before June 1, 2009, homeowners generally can rely on the manufacturers’ certifications and Energy Star labels that were available at the time for those products. Manufacturers have been advised that they should not continue to provide certifications for property that fails to meet the new standards. The IRS has issued a notice that will allow manufacturers to certify that their products meet the new standards. Please note, not all ENERGY STAR qualified products qualify for a tax credit. For detailed information about qualifying improvements, visit the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Star Web site.

If you’ve at any time come across a field containing a large number of big magnifying mirrors directed in the direction of the sun you have been observing a solar powered energy system. These kinds of systems work to center the sun rays to one area and use it to heat up the liquid that runs through the pipes they are focused upon.

Such a mechanism will be able to heat oil which is flowing through pipes which will then be employed to heat up water and build steam. Oil is used as it can by nature preserve the heat very effectively and as a final point the steam produced may be used to pump an electrical generator in order to create electric power.

These categories of systems perform so well is mainly because the magnifying mirrors are created to harness the sun’s energy while focusing that power on to particular parts identified as receivers. The receiver absorbs heat and exchanges it into a substance like oil which helps to run the generator.

Pressure involved with heating the liquid may also be used to directly furnish propulsion to a motor. The action of heating causes the fluid to increase in size against the pistons of the powerplant which yields mechanical power. This style of energy may be used to drive such things as generators directly that will provide a source of electricity.

Some of these devices might also utilize salt water instead of oil particularly when there can be forecast gaps regarding the point in time of becoming heated and the occasion the het energy will be released. One of the many unusual attributes of salt water is its facility to keep thermal energy.

When the salt water reaches boiling point it can easily produce electrical energy by using a steam power generator and the salt can store the heat for a few days before it will have to be transformed into electric energy.

Considering that these systems use such large numbers of parabolic mirrors they are specifically used for commercial solar power where large areas of property might be dedicated to an array of reflectors. There can be enough electrical power within these types of systems to create electricity for a few days or higher. Given that these systems are so extensive they are able to allow the heat energy saved to be transmitted days later.

Through the use of these particular projects and other solar power projects we can start to recognize how solar powered energy operates and can be employed. If we observe how much power is saved making use of these mirrors we can also understand exactly how much energy is lost on a daily basis as we do not thoroughly use it properly.

Making use of focusing solar powered energy systems are beneficial to the operations that exploit them and useful to everyone by conserving various other sources of energy. Industrial solar energy can attract and capture large amounts of heat from the sun throughout the day, by employing specially manufactured mirrors which will magnify that sunlight.

Within our very own lives making use of solar power continues to be an expensive concept to put into operation. The setup expenditures remain quite high and whilst they are generally balanced out across the functional life of the mechanism if you do not possess the resources to install it then that doesn’t in fact mean anything.

Recently a lot more people have been becoming attracted to build-it-yourself residential solar energy products. The technological know-how of what it really requires to build and deploy these types of units is considerably more openly obtainable and the truth is ,building and putting in your very own solar technology system is not truly that tough if you seek out the proper advice.

The seven Chakras are the hidden energy centres in your body through which you receive, process and transmit life energies. They act as “energy transformers” and influencers of change.

Your thoughts, emotions or actions can either block or activate these hidden energy centres. In this article, I address ways to activate each of the Chakras to improve your article writing.

1. Base Chakra the energy of existence

This energy source is associated with survival, self-preservation and security. The major blockages to activating the Base Chakra are “self-sabotage” or self-talk that is full of self-doubt. The real tragedy is that, unless you can manage these self-doubts, you cut yourself off from the other six sources of energy.

You can activate the Base Chakra by: * Confronting your doubts as self-sabotage and challenging them * Visualising your completed article and the sense of achievement you will experience with publication * Sharing your concerns with others who have been successful in article writing * Listening to your body and learning to release any tensions associated with article writing

2. Naval Chakra the energy of activity

This source of energy is experienced as “excitement” and is associated with doing, movement, creativity and achievement. The major blockage to this energy source is inactivity brought on by procrastination and self-doubt.

You can activate the Naval Chakra by: * Checking out online forums and article directories for potential topics of interest to readers * Making notes on an article topic * Aiming for a rough first draft (do not let your perfectionist streak intervene!) * Trying “speed writing” – write what comes to mind without concern for grammar, sentence structure or spelling (helps to thwart perfectionism) * Taping your ideas – try using an audio tape to get ideas down

3. Solar Plexus Chakra the energy of control

This energy is experienced as clarity and is associated with your sense of personal power and self control. The major blockage to this energy source is a lack of order through the absence of planning. You can tap into the energy of control by creating order, structure, form or guidance.

You can activate the Solar Plexus Chakra by: * Capturing potential article topics in a document or Excel file * Matching your task to your energy level if you are a morning person do your creative writing in the morning and your related routine tasks at night * Capturing ideas on how to write articles and creating your own set of guidelines * Setting up documents on your computer with article headings and doing occasional brain dumps * Building your own list of preferred article directories for submission of articles (include submission URL and key requirements, eg. word length, format) * Establishing output targets and a routine for article writing

4. The Heart Chakra the energy of community

This energy is experienced as connection – brought about by your relationships with others and by engaging them in collaborative activity. The major blockage to this energy source is isolation cutting yourself off from supportive relationships.

Heating water for domestic purposes – showers, laundry, dishes, and the rest – accounts for 12% to 26% of a home’s energy use. That’s between $240 and $520 for an average US household. But you can put your hot water system on an energy diet without sacrificing comfort. The 6 strategies below range widely in cost and complexity but all will reduce your energy bills and your carbon footprint.

#1 – Insulate Your Water Tank

If your water storage tank was made before 2004 there is a very strong possibility you are throwing money down the drain in standby heat losses.

Insulating an older water tank can reduce standby heat loss by up to 45 percent!

#2 – Insulate Your Homes Hot Water Pipes

It is a fact that every inch of bare hot water pipe running through your home is costing you money. As hot water is transported through through bare pipes there is significant heat loss which translates into wasted energy and dollars.

#3 – Find and Repair Leaks and Drips

Leaky faucets can be a pain and in a lot of cases just ignored. However, if your leaky faucet happens to be on the hot water side you could be throwing dollars down the drain every day.

Good news is most leaks are easily handled by homeowners and translate into immediate savings.

#4 – Add a Thermal Expansion Tank

When the water inside your water tank is heated it actually expands. When there is no expansion tank the water can leak out of the tanks pressure valve or cause a leak in your piping or worse case actually ruin the tank.

The easy solution is to install a Thermal Expansion Tank.They are fairly easy to install and will literally protect your entire hot water system.

#5 – Add a Gravity-Fed Recirculation System

A typical household can waste up to 11,000 gallons of water each and every year waiting for hot water to make the trip from the water tank to the shower or sink.

Recirculation systems use a pump and are capable of deliver instant hot water to everyone, eliminating the wait.

#6 – Throw Your Old Tank Away and Try Newer Technology

Install a newer more efficient tank. Current models are a lot safer and come with better insulation which makes them cheaper to run.

Try a Tankless System – on demand water systems eliminate the need for a storage tank and deliver heated water as it is needed throughout the house.

Plug into the sun. Of course there is an upfront charge but from that point forward your heated water is basically free. Solar water heating systems routinely deliver savings from 70 to 80 percent.

The energy suppliers have become a basic requirement to complete our daily tasks, whether for cooking or cleaning. And the dependence on these utilities has increased the demand for electricity and gas supplies. Comparatively, the boost in demand has influenced the number of energy providers. There are many gas and energy suppliers in the UK. There is cut throat competition between suppliers and each of them tries to reach the next level.

Several plans and profit rates are offered by these energy suppliers to attract more and more users. Despite the fierce competition suppliers have benefited greatly and people at the same time. In a physical market it’s really difficult to analyze the services of these energy suppliers. And it is even more difficult to compare plans, rates and prices. It requires a great deal of effort, time and money and even after this it’s hard to decide whether the selection is correct or not.

The solution to this problem is provided by the virtual world. The presence of gas and electricity providers online has provided a convenient platform for people. There are so many websites dedicated providing full details on energy suppliers. Here users can view all the details of any provider.

The acquisition of these services and changing to a new one is not an easy task in the physical marketplace. A person is supposed to fulfil various appointments to discuss the details of the different energy suppliers. And the comparison of two suppliers in price and service is almost impossible. But on the Internet, many online comparison portals facilitate the user to select the best provider and most affordable one.

Here a person has to complete a single offer to acquire the services of a particular vendor. In addition when switching to a new energy suppliers it is also easier, because there is no paper work. There is another way to choose the cheapest energy provider. Along with these online portals comparisons you can analyze effectively. People can rely on these companies due to its practical analysis.

Price to hire these energy suppliers is a major problem for everyone and people try to avoid the changes in the market. A solution to this problem is presented in the form of price caps. Capped tariff means a specified price during a specified period of time and this will not be influenced by the change in market price. But as a major drawback it requires a contract with terms and conditions.

All information and details of the energy suppliers is provided on the Internet and online comparison portals have simplified the method of selection of suppliers of cheap energy. These websites will definitely help in finding energy suppliers by saving a lot of effort, time and money.

The authorized websites of the suppliers are very active in this view. You can visit these sites to obtain information about the current prices of gas and electricity.

On the other hand, there are several websites that allow members to see the prices of different energy suppliers in one place. You also get the facility to compare prices and services of these providers and can choose the most appropriate to meet their needs.

For information about energy suppliers must enter their postal code area as well as details about your current provider. After this you will get a complete list of energy suppliers with their prices, available in your area.