We all want to feel good about the choices we make – not just the food we eat, the products we purchase at the local store, or even the cars we drive. We, as Americans of conscience, want to feel like we make informed and educated choices that carry consequence. Sometimes that means we spend an extra nine cents on a bag of fair trade coffee; sometimes it means we spend an extra nine thousand dollars on a hybrid or electric car. In a consumers society, the most powerful vote we exert as customers is with the all-powerful dollar bill. 
The best part for us? When we as consumers can make our pocket-books line up with our conscience. While it rarely works out as often as we would like it to, looking for opportunities to actively save money and make forward-thinking choices should be a priority. There are plenty of opportunities out there, big or small, that we can participate in every day. Recognizing this fact, retailers are making it easier for us to spot those opportunities from day to day. While we haven’t yet figured out how to grow money on trees, we’re getting closer everyday.
One area in which Colorado – and Colorado Springs, especially – excels at this is by rewarding its utility customers for making green choices. It might seem weird to contemplate – why would a utility want to reinforce conservation? What reward does a power generating company get out of what seems to be a self-defeating program? That’s an easy answer – they want to save money, too. Power generation is not a cheap game on any level – and as Americans migrate towards technology, we are using more electricity; recent trends suggest that we are starting to observe more conservative usage per capita, but this is an uphill battle with migration to larger metropolis areas and the skyrocketing number of personal electronics.
Global history shows that each era of development in civilization comes at the cost of energy. During our industrial era, that energy came from steam, coal, petroleum, and whale oil. As we approach another ‘virtual’ era, we rely more on a wide variety of power sources (fossil, solar, wind, nuclear, biomass, hydro, etc.) that is granting us a greener footprint – but utilities need our growing populations to consume less and help spread the limited quantities further throughout the grid. Utility prices have been rising steadily because generation prices increase as we explore renewable technologies, and consumption keeps going up. Bottom line is utility giants do themselves a favor by convincing people we need less energy.
Colorado is decidedly in favor of reduced consumption and independent power generation – they offer incentives, rebates, and tax credits for windows, insulation, HVAC upgrades, water heater, solar and wind rebates. Read more here. “Investing in Colorado’s Future”, indeed! Colorado Springs Utilities, not to be left behind, also offer a wide array of financial rewards for lighting upgrades and system improvement – and not just residentially, in your home, but also commercially, at your business. While each division has separate programs, they have the same focus – conservation, efficiency, efficacy, and independent generation. Visit CSU.
More efficient lighting means less electric waste and heat generation. Better windows means less radiant heat during the day and less heat loss at night. Higher insulation ratings mean a slower thermal exchange with the outside (read: keep your air conditioning inside). Solar thermal hot water or on demand hot water heating means that giant tank of hot water won’t have to waste the natural gas you keep throwing at it. Independent power generation means not only does your home make you money while you’re out working, but you can protect yourself from grid failures, brownouts, and blackouts. All these things mean saving money to a savvy consumer.
Even better – we’re getting paid for being smart, for having a conscience, a heart, and making the right choices.
Swartz Electric – Your Colorado Springs Electrician performs electrical work throughout Colorado Springs, Monument, Black Forest, Fountain, Falcon, Woodland Park, and everywhere in between. We are the electricians in Colorado Springs to solve your electrical problems and meet your electrical requirements.
Call, e-mail, visit our website, or stop by our office today, and allow Swartz Electric to serve YOU.
This is an original article written by Mai Bjorklund for Swartz Electric. This article may not be copied whole or in part without the express permission of Swartz Electric, LLC.
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