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More Tips for Improving Mileage
Streets in Copenhagen are designed to provide safe access for bicyclists. Photo: Alex Wilson. Click on image to enlarge.Last week, I touched on some of the strategies coming out of the "hypermiling" movement to boost automobile fuel economy. Here are a few more:
1. Lighten the load. The more weight we haul around in our cars or trucks, the more energy we use. If you keep sandbags in the bed of your pick-up for winter traction, remove them in the summer. Empty your trunk of those unneeded items you've been hauling around.
2. Use air conditioning only when absolutely necessary. In some cars, running the A/C on max reduces mileage by as much as 25%. Around town, open a window. At highway speeds, it's usually better to keep windows closed to reduce aerodynamic drag. If the fan alone doesn't provide enough cooling, this is when the A/C makes sense.
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August 17, 2010
| Average Mortgage Rates | ||
| 30 Yr FRM | 4.36% | 0.02% |
| 15 Yr FRM | 3.76% | 0.03% |
| FHA 30 Year | 4.42% | 0.02% |
| Jumbo 30 Year | 5.59% | 0.01% |
| 5/1 Yr ARM | 3.45% | 0.03% |
| View Current Mortgage Rates | Compare Rates | Updated: 8/17/10 4:39 PM | |
Latest Commentary
Mortgage Rates Marginally Higher After Industrial Production Data. No Reason to Panic - Mortgage Rate Watch
Following the release of Industrial Production data, stocks extended overnight gains and benchmark interest rates rose. This pressured mortgage backed securities prices lower...before most lenders published loan pricing. Consequently, consumer borrowing costs increased slightly today. The losses were not large enough to say the par 30 year fixed mortgage... Read More
Overbought Bonds Give Back Extra Gains as Risk Rallies. MBS at Session Lows - MBS Commentary
Equity markets are rallying out of oversold territory and benchmark interest rates are retracing gains that forced the long end of the curve even deeper into overbought status yesterday. Volume isn't impressive and money really isn't leaving the bond market in any size, more or less there are a lack of willing buyers out there at the moment... Read More
Provided by Mortgage News Daily
This information is not an advertisement to extend consumer credit
as defined by Section 226.2 of Regulation Z. This is not an offer to
enter into an agreement regarding interest rates. The rates quoted do
not include discount points, origination points, or loan level risk
based price adjustments. Rates and terms are subject to change without
notice.
...(read more)
Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.
August 16, 2010
| Average Mortgage Rates | ||
| 30 Yr FRM | 4.34% | -0.02% |
| 15 Yr FRM | 3.73% | -0.02% |
| FHA 30 Year | 4.40% | -0.01% |
| Jumbo 30 Year | 5.58% | -0.02% |
| 5/1 Yr ARM | 3.42% | -0.02% |
| View Current Mortgage Rates | Compare Rates | Updated: 8/16/10 4:32 PM | |
Latest Commentary
What Might Move Mortgage Rates in the Week Ahead? - Mortgage Rate Watch
Look for mortgage rates to be indicative of competitiveness in the primary mortgage market. There are several factors that go into the determination of mortgage rates besides the ups and downs of mortgage-backed securities prices. One example of why two similar-sized lenders would be offering different base mortgage rates (before Loan Level Price Adjustments... Read More
The Week Ahead: Housing Conference, Building Permits and Starts, Manufacturing Data, Auction Supply Terms - MBS Commentary
The week ahead brings new data on manufacturing, housing sentiment and construction, industrial production and producer costs. Last week, the Dow shed 350 points and 10-year Treasury yields dipped below 3.70% as a series of weak data points confirmed the economic recovery was slowing down. This week, new data “should allay fears from investors that... Read More
Provided by Mortgage News Daily
This information is not an advertisement to extend consumer credit
as defined by Section 226.2 of Regulation Z. This is not an offer to
enter into an agreement regarding interest rates. The rates quoted do
not include discount points, origination points, or loan level risk
based price adjustments. Rates and terms are subject to change without
notice.
...(read more)
Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.
Grundfos (and Wilo) "Smart" Circulator Pumps for Hydronic Heating
The Grundfos advanced, variable-speed, "smart" pumps for hydronic heating systems can reduce pumping energy use by 80%. Photo: Grundfos USA. Click on image to enlarge.For the past couple years, I've been helping All Soul's Church in West Brattleboro, Vermont, save energy. While developing a plan to improve the performance of the building envelope of this early-1970s, heavily glazed and horribly inefficient building, one of our committee members found out about a grant program from the state that would support a heating system upgrade.
To make a long story short, we replaced the massive oil-fired boiler with a compact Buderus model that takes up just a fraction of the space; we got rid of the 6,000-gallon underground storage tank, replacing it with two 330-gallon tanks in the boiler room; we replaced the failed zone valves with new thermostatically controlled, electric zone valves; we stopped using the boiler to make hot water for three small lavatory sinks (for which the boiler would operate off-and-on all summer); and--the topic of this blog--we replaced the constant-speed, 1-horsepower (hp) pump with a high-tech pump from Denmark that should dramatically reduce the electricity we use for circulating hot water.
The pump we installed is a variable-speed Grundfos Magna with ECM motor and a unique AutoAdapt feature that uses an integrated logic board to "learn" the building's usage patterns and calibrate the pump operation accordingly.
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August 12, 2010
| Average Mortgage Rates | ||
| 30 Yr FRM | 4.36% | -0.03% |
| 15 Yr FRM | 3.75% | -0.03% |
| FHA 30 Year | 4.41% | -0.02% |
| Jumbo 30 Year | 5.60% | -0.05% |
| 5/1 Yr ARM | 3.44% | -0.01% |
| View Current Mortgage Rates | Compare Rates | Updated: 8/12/10 3:01 PM | |
Latest Commentary
Dealers Absent from Bond Auction. Watch Out for Fade. Expecting Retest of Rally - MBS Commentary
Reprices for the worse are unlikely at the moment but I expect to see a retest of the recent interest rate rally in the near future, especially the positive progress that has been made in "rate sheet influential" long end of the yield curve over the past two days. This might not occur today, it might not happen tomorrow, but eventually this... Read More
Mortgage Rates Move Lower as Flight to Safety Pours into Bond Market - Mortgage Rate Watch
While mortgages definitely lagged Treasuries, mortgage rates improved again today. We are now seeing most lenders offer 4.25% on rate sheets and are even seeing a few more who are willing to go down to 4.125%. This rate will cost nearly 2-points at closing though. Again these rate quotes are only available to borrowers whose pricing is not subject to... Read More
Provided by Mortgage News Daily
This information is not an advertisement to extend consumer credit
as defined by Section 226.2 of Regulation Z. This is not an offer to
enter into an agreement regarding interest rates. The rates quoted do
not include discount points, origination points, or loan level risk
based price adjustments. Rates and terms are subject to change without
notice.
...(read more)
Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.
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