Smart Energy Tips Podcast

Tom and Bret discuss window air conditioners. Energy efficiency, general tips about sizing the unit, electric safety, health and safety and more. 

Tom and Bret discuss replacement windows. Reminder that it's important to get a comprehensive energy audit first. Then, knowing when it's time to change. Energy Star and National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) performance data for comparing apples to apples. 

Tom and Bret discuss basic energy and what happens to a home when the thermostat is manipulated up and down. Learn what's going on inside a home with manmade temperature swings.

The Smart Energy Tips team interviews Matt Irving, Director of Production for Today's Power, Inc. TPI is a leader in residential, commercial, industrial and utility solar equipment, systems and installation. Matt explains basic solar 101 and their TPI Residential Solar product. Contact your local electric cooperative for more details. Or, www.todayspower.com

The Smart Energy Tips team discuss how air sealing components and measures are reducing air infiltration. When is a home too tight? What are the consequences of a tight home? And more...

The Smart Energy Tips team discuss the facts, pros and cons about burning firewood. Also, learn about how burning wood may actually cost you more money to heat your home and lessen the interior comfort. 

The Smart Energy Tips team interviews Michael Henderson with Today's Power Inc. Beginning in April 2016, TPI will have 4kW and 8kW residential self-install solar arrays available for purchase. Listen in to learn more and visit www.todayspower.com.  

The Smart Energy Tips team interviews Kevin Clark, General Electric's national sales manager for the GeoSpring water heater. Learn how heat pump water heating is the most energy efficient method for heating water.  (Clarification: During the episode reference was made about residential standby generators. Most have an output 7.2/8.0 kW peaking or 7,200/8,000 watts.)

The Smart Energy Tip team discusses proper attic ventilation. Also, why mitigating moisture within both the home and attic are important. 

The Smart Energy Tips team go into depth about return air filters. Why we need them, the differences, when to change, how often, proper sizing and much more. 

Tom and Bret talk about insulation. Why it's important. R-value and some food for thought.

The Smart Energy Tips team discuss affordable energy efficient gift ideas and the transition to energy efficient holiday lighting. 

The podcast team discusses the things that can cause an unhealthy home. Plus, how to keep your home healthy and comfortable year round and have manageable utility bills. 

Tom and Bret discuss the importance of making sure your heating system is tuned-up before winter. Special guest Joy Rice shares what her house was like before and after some energy efficiency fixes. 

Tom and Bret discuss the findings and results of the 2015, 8th Annual Energy Efficiency Makeover. They discuss the problems found with 17 homes and the appropriate energy efficient solutions. 

Tom and Bret visit with special guest Jay Bowen. Jay is an instructor for FLIR Infrared Training Center. Jay has been behind infrared cameras for decades and is recognized as a valuable resource to those in the residential building science industry. 

Special guest Dave Smith is in the studio to discuss a product designed to improve the efficiency of manufacture homes. Tom and Bret break down the science behind the product and what makes it work.

Tom and Bret discuss readying our homes for the summertime heat and humidty. Learn about why it's important to have your home AC system tuned-up. Listen to learn how manage your utility bills while improving your comfort. 

Tom and Bret discuss the origin and nature of crawl spaces. How they impact comfort utility bill and moisture. Been hearing about the benefits of sealing a crawl space? This podcast will provide useful facts about this important energy component.

Tom and Bret visit with special guest Mark Barr. Mark is Vice President of WeatherBarr Windows in Ft. Smith, Arkansas. Learn about what makes an efficient window.

Give the gift of energy efficiency. Tom and Bret share some interesting and affordable gifts. Gifts that have a return on your investment. Gifts that help others. Gifts that keep on giving...

Tom and Bret discuss the causes of an uncomfortable home during the winter. Also, why moisutre developes inside upon the windows, wall, ceiling, etc. Learn about the problem and solution in this episode. 

Do wood burning fireplaces and natural gas or propane log inserts really lower heating costs? Learn some facts about wood burning and natural gas fireplaces. Are they really energy efficient? Also, how they can impact health and safety.

Learn how Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp retrofits a 1999, single-wide manufactured home with enery efficiency measures and components. The end result is a comfortable home with electric bills reduced by 50-75% depending on seasonal HVAC requirements. 

Consumer appliance expert Chris Burnley is in the studio to discuss energy efficient appliances. Chris is the Arkansas and southern Missouri sales manager for General Electric. 

Special guest AECC Director of Compliance and Support breaks down new Environmental Protection Agency regulations that will cause your electric bill to rise while reliability could go down.  

Learn about how our homes heat-up in the summer. Heat that causes our air-conditioner to run and the electric meter to spin. Heat that causes us to be uncomfortable. Be sure to visit www.smartenergytips.org for solutions to unwanted summer heat gain.

During the hot summer months learn how to use your ceiling fans in the most efficient manner. Also, learn about the heat gain producted by your fan motor. 

HVAC expert Tom goes into detail about why and how some homes have issues with indoor air quality.

Tom and Bret discuss the recent outbreak of tornadoes and how to incorporate the proper energy efficiency measures and components while rebuilding or remodeling your home. Visit www.smartenergytips.org to obtain the "Building Guidelines for Energy Efficiency" booklet. 

Tom and Bret discuss the pros, cons, ideologies, genesis and evolution of thermostat manipulation.

Tom and Bret discuss the importance of servicing and maintaining your air conditioner in preparation for summertime.

Tom and Bret discuss living off the grid. They address facts about being detached from electricity providers, city water & sewage systems, cable TV and other amenities and how doing so could impact the modern day conveniences we've come to enjoy. They also discuss the associated costs. 

Sandy Byrd joins Tom and Bret to discuss pending Environmental Protection Agency regulations.  EPA action could remove affordable, abundant, and American coal from our nation’s base-load generation portfolio, which will cause your electric bill to rise, while reliability could go down. Take action now if you want to keep your electricity affordable and reliable: www.tellepa.com

Think your home may be in need of a comprehensive energy audit? Bret and Tom talk about energy audits and what to expect if you request one. They discuss how to determine if you need an audit, the diagnostic equipment used in the process, results and solutions.

Tom and Bret discuss space heater facts and operational safety. You may be surprised to learn about the cost to operate space heaters and some unknown safety facts. Learn more about how to safely use space heaters to improve your comfort without breaking the bank.

The "Curse of the Groundhog" extreme winter 2013/2014 continues. Tom and Bret discuss winter power outages and gasoline powered backup generators. They also discuss residential appliance power requirements during an outage and generator operation and connection safety. 

Tom and Bret discuss the winter of 2013 & 2014 and how weather, low temperatures, thermostats, human habits and behaviors and more impact your utility bills. Learn how you can improve your comfort with sacrificing conveniences. Also, bookmark www.smartenergytips.org as your energy efficiency resource. 

Meet your show hosts Tom Hunt & Bret Curry. Learn about the details of your electric bill and begin learning how to improve your comfort without sacrificing convenience. Bookmark www.smartenergytips.org as your energy efficiency resource.