10 Orange County homeowners NEEDED to form a group to attend an OCHEEP workshop to increase home energy efficiency and obtain a gov't rebate up to $1,000 per homeowner.

If interested - reply to me at facebook and info @ PaulFDavis.com

OCHEEP! (Orange County Homeowner Energy Efficiency Program).  Because OCHEEP! is mainly an educational program to help homeowners make informed decisions about the energy efficiency options available to them, we consider the rebate portion of the program to be secondary.  In order to receive a rebate, you have to follow some steps:

1)      Form a group of at least 10 Orange County homeowners and register for an OCHEEP! workshop  (links to all documents are on our website:  www.ocfl.net/ocheep)

2)      Sign the online Orange County Energy Star Pledge (https://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=globalwarming.showPledge&cpd_id=15605)

3)      Attend a free OCHEEP! energy efficiency education workshop—rebate applications are distributed at the workshop

4)      Hire a certified energy rater to conduct a Class I energy rating on your home.  (Orange County will rebate up $300 of the cost of the rating)  (http://securedb.fsec.ucf.edu/engauge/search_rater?state=FL&county=Orange&class=R1&l_name=&zip=&rater_type=all)

5)      Use the energy rater’s findings to choose which upgrades you install in your home, and hire contractors to do the work.

6)      Pay the contractors and apply for a rebate. (up to $700 in energy efficiency rebates are available)

If interested - reply to me at facebook and info @ PaulFDavis.com

http://www.PaulFDavis.com - consumer advocate, licensed real estate professional and Orange County resident (Florida)

Obama just wrapped his first address to the nation from the oval office, discussing the federal response to the BP Gulf spill and how the event relates to energy policy in general. The speech was pretty standard Obama -- plenty of powerful rhetoric and sweeping appeals to look forward. What I was listening for, however, weren't vague reassurances and calls to rally around clean energy. I was looking for any hints of the actual policy ideas the president intends to support to actually set those appeals into action. Here's what I found:

Every single week day, people come back home after a day of work and almost simultaneously start using lots of energy intensive-things; they turn on the television, the computer, turn on the lights if it's dark, they plug in their cell phones and gadgets... And then they start cooking food.

We're all getting more aware of our energy consumption when it comes to cars (hybrids and electric cars are getting more popular) and to lighting (compact fluorescents took over in only a few years), but most of us are still in the dark when it comes to energy-efficient cooking. Here's a few common sense tips to get your started on the road to low energy cooking.