Iam writing this column at 5:45 a.m. as I watch the ­beautiful sun rise. Yes, the ­amazing sun. As you may recall, we have discussed ­previously how all energy comes from the sun and how heat travels by three ­methods. We have already discussed conduction and ­convection, and will now discuss what I consider to be [...]

It looks like spring has finally arrived in Illinois. The grass has turned green, trees are budding and the daf­fodils have poked out their heads. And as we learned in the March issue, it was all made possible by the sun. In the April issue, we introduced the three methods of heat transfer and discussed [...]

Recently, I was driving to St. Louis to conduct seminars. With plenty of windshield time, I thought about the great opportunity I’ve been given to help folks across this country enjoy more comfortable homes with lower utility bills. As I looked at hundreds of houses over the six-hour drive, a recurring thought came to my [...]

As I mentioned last month, ­several things have happened to convince me that I should ­dedicate several articles to the very basics of energy efficiency. I have pondered this a lot and even wake up during the night ­thinking about it. I have discussed some of these thoughts with young students, middle-aged adults and some [...]

About an hour before Professor Tom Hunt and I went on the air recently to host our weekly radio program, we were discussing our show preparation for the year. Of course, our goal is to help as many of you as possible. We have been teaching energy efficiency for more than 25 years and realize [...]

About a year ago I was asked by a group of high school students from Star City, Ark. to make an energy efficiency presentation to them and to citizens in their community. I told them that I would be glad to do that and we set a date. This request seemed very unusual to me [...]

What can I do to make my mobile home more energy efficient? That question is often asked when members get high summer and winter electricity bills. The solution may seem difficult and expensive, but there are some things that you can do yourself. Many are affordable, relatively easy and will make an impact on comfort [...]

Fall is such a wonderful time of year. It’s not too hot, it’s not too cold and the leaves are absolutely beautiful. The mums, pumpkins, hay, cornstalks and scarecrows seem to be placed in perfect arrangements. It is also the time of year when I hear this question over and over – “Should we buy an [...]

Congratulations once again to Larry and Nancy Ferrell who were the winners of the 2011 Energy Efficiency Makeover Contest. What a great program to help a family and to teach others the prac­tical ways to improve the energy ­efficiency of their homes. The Ferrells’ house is a perfect example of what I wrote about in [...]

As I am writing this article, we are experiencing what will probably be one of the hottest summers ever recorded for our state. Think about those words, ever recorded. Well, thank goodness for September and October. I am answering dozens of calls each day from folks who have received high utility bills or have house [...]