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Originally Posted by willravel
This guy is on a roll today!!
That's true! Solar panels on a hot roof = energy effiency. Warning: they're still expensive. I'm waiting for the price of solar shingles to go down, myself.
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I researched solar panels, and found that for a fraction of a fraction of the cost we can buy into NCGreenpower - $4/share per month buys a certain amount of renewably-generated energy, so you're basically displacing non-renewable energy with renewable. 5 shares per month would save more energy in a year than a 5KWH solar system that costs $27K AFTER the $10K tax credit and only saves about 10% on our energy bill. Buying 5 shares for 12 months removes carbon emissions equivalent to not driving for an entire year. If we save up we might consider solar panels but it hardly seems worth the cost - they don't seem very efficient.
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You need to cool upstairs. You need open windows and shades on the side of the room facing the sun. You might also want awnings over the windows that get the most sun. Is the upstairs somewhere you live in often? Or are you downstairs types during the day? Also, heat can be decreased by planting trees to cover areas of your home that get too much sun. I've found that the trees in my front and court yards are my best energy efficient things. They cover about half my roof most of the day, and prevent a great deal of direct heat from the sun. Also, they're renewable. 
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Unfortunately we are RIGHT on a busy street (we have a postage-stamp front yard, and if I look straight down from the windows on the south side of our house I see sidewalk and bus stop) so there's no planting anything on the south/west sides of our house. The other side of the house gets shade pretty much all day thanks to the giant oak trees next door. We already have shades on the windows, but awnings might be a good idea.
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Fridges can be recycled, and many states pay you a bit when you get energy efficient appliances.
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ORLY? I will look into the local recycling program and our state's policy on appliances.
Keep 'em coming!
