Jason Hastings

There's an exciting, brand new BUILDING TECHNOLOGY aimed at reducing a building's carbon footprint. Does it have applications for residential homes? We think so.

The BUILDING TECHNOLOGY is called EMMA (Environmental Management Solution) and it was developed by Australia-based sustainability consultancy Knowledge Global. EMMA is an automated solution for monitoring, tracking and forecasting a building's carbon footprint. EMMA collects information about electricity use, human traffic, weather forecasts, waste and even air quality to build a daily snapshot of a building's carbon footprint. EMMA then compares that snapshot against historical data to determine an "optimal forecast" for that day's carbon footprint. If the energy efficiency of the building deviates from the optimal forecast, building owners and managers are alerted via cell phone or e-mail (or both) about the issues.

Perhaps the most interesting feature of EMMA is the wireless "eggs" that the systems uses to keep occupants aware of their energy efficiency. These eggs are placed at the end of hallways, in lobbies and other places and they glow green or red based upon a building's energy efficiency. This way, people are constantly made aware of the energy they're using and are more conscious about their affect on the environment.

It's not a far cry to think this could be easily implemented in residential homes. Monitors could be set up in a home to track electricity use, water use and other metrics and fed into an online interface.

This way, consumers could log in to a web interface and get updates on their home's energy efficiency at any time. With this BUILDING TECHNOLOGY you can also place the wireless egg monitors in a home, which would be a fantastic way for average consumers to keep aware of their energy efficiency.

Imagine seeing an egg glow red in your home, checking the energy statistics of your home online and making adjustments based up on that information. With this BUILDING TECHNOLOGY using green products/services, the future of our environment can look pretty promising.

Pretty neat, huh?

Here are some easy tips for putting Money in your Pocket, Protect your future

Everywhere you look in the news and media today you see stories about global warming and our effects on the earth. While it seems to make sense that we should all be a little kinder to Mother Earth, what exactly are some of the benefits of going green?

Going Green Benefit 1: Save the Earth

Pretty obvious huh? We are not going to spend much time discussing this benefit as it’s the overall point of the going green movement (and this site for that matter), but saving the Earth is the biggest benefit of going green. While our collective actions have done huge amounts of damage to our planet, it is those same collective actions that can save it. In turn its Money in your Pocket, Protect your future

Going Green Benefit 2: Save your Health

Most folks are unaware of the dangers in common household cleaning supplies and pesticides, but they all have a cumulative effect on our bodies. From switching to greener cleaning supplies to eating more organic foods, we can all take small steps to positively impact our own personal health and Protect your future

Going Green Benefit 3: Save Money

One of the side benefits of going green that many folks are just now realizing, going green can save you money (I know…sounds like the used car commercials on late night TV, but it’s true). We have a whole section on “Save Money Going Green” with tips and hints for doing just that. From saving money on home energy costs to easy ways to increase the gas mileage of your car, there are hundreds of ways to save money while going green, and who doesn’t want to save money? Again Money in your Pocket, Protect your future

Going Green Benefit 4: Save the Economy

As our Economy is currently in a nasty recession, many folks claim that this is not a good time to be focusing on going green. We think this is the exact time we should be focusing on going green and green technologies in particular.

Looking at the world economy, it is very difficult for the United States to compete in many traditional areas like manufacturing. One of the best ways for us to “keep our edge” and continue to compete is by being the leader in green technologies. The U.S. has always been an innovator and its part of what has kept us as a world economic power… green technology just may be the next big thing to be a leader in. That’s why its encouraging to see that part of President Obama’s economic plan includes the creation of 5 million “green collar jobs” over the next decade.

Another side benefit of developing greener technologies is that it will also lessen our dependence on foreign oil. As we discussed in our article about the Pentagon Going Green, this not Money in your Pocket at the pump but saves lives as well.

Going Green Benefit 5: It Just Feels Good

Deep down we all know we SHOULD be trying to be GREENER.. it just makes sense. It’s good for the Earth, good for our health, good for the wallet, etc. etc. etc. Do we really want to hand our children and our grand children a steaming pile of rubbish for a planet?

So why not avoid all that guilt and also reap all the other benefits outlined above? (I am sure my mother could have done a better job of making you feel guilty – I know she can sure do it to me – but she was not available while writing this article). Take that extra 10 seconds to recycle that can or bottle and enjoy that little feeling that you are doing the right thing.

In the end, just remember that going green will not only save the Earth… it will also improve your quality of life and provide many other benefits as well. So the next time someone asks you “Why are you so concerned about being green?” you just might have a few new answers up your sleeve.

What do you think are the main benefits of going green? As always, let us know your thoughts in the comments, and again enjoy Money in your Pocket, Protect your future