Eco-Logical Communities is a proposed outreach program of the Applied Sustainability Center at the University of Arkansas. The University is located in Fayetteville, so naturally, Fayetteville is the first eco-logical community, the pilot city. The goal for the pilot is to enroll as many households as possible and see if there is a measurable difference in KWH used, water consumer, or waste generated. If successful, the next step will be to explore ways to expand the pilot to additional cities.  This program utilizes MyEnergy.com

Energy Savvy is a home energy audit tool that attempts to simplify the process the home energy audit and make it more manageable to understand.  With this tool you can calculate an energy score for your home by answers a few, easy-to-understand questions, understand energy efficiency related topics, manage potential rebates, tax credits and other incentives that can help you finance your project and connect you to qualfied contractors that can carry out an improvements that result if you aren't a do-it-yourselfer.  Based your score, the site gives you advice on how to improve your score and even has a section that allows you to ask industry experts direct questions. 

The 'Your MPG' to help you calculate and track your fuel economy and compare it with EPA test ratings.  You can also share your MPG with other users.  If you register, you will be able to save your MPG information and view, edit, or update it later. You will also be able to share your MPG with others. Fueleconomy.gov retains no information that could be used to identify any individual with a user name or password.

As a non-registered guest, you still have access to all MPG tools, but you cannot save your data or share your MPG

This is a helpful calculator to calculate emissions (C02 and equivalents) using several different factors and conversions.  Once you've determined an emissions amount, it automatically calculates various scenarios that allow you to see what the number looks like.  Examples include trees plant, gasoline use in a car and amount of electricity used in a home.

You can use the following online calculator to get a rough “ballpark” estimate of your personal or family’s greenhouse gas emissions and explore the impact of taking various actions to reduce your emissions. 

Home Depot offers some general calculations for Energy Star appliances and Water Sense fixtures.

This tool allows you to compare the energy mix of Arkansas compared to the rest of the U.S.  In some other states, consumers are allowed to choose which utility provider to use because of deregulation.  One aspect of this site is to help educate consumers and encourage them to opt for a provider with a relatively cleaner portfolio.  In Arkansas this primarily serves as an awareness tool.  This toold can help you:

• Determine your power grid region based on your ZIP code and electric utility
• Compare the fuel mix and air emissions rates of the electricity in your region to the national average
• Determine the air emissions impacts of electricity use in your home or business

This site is the most comprehesive and most  up-to-date resource that displays' our state's energy production, consumption, resources and costs and compares with national averages.

Below are resources that can help you begin to determine whether the installation of a small scale renewable energy system is feasible for your home or office.  We certainly advise consulting a professional before making any final decisions, but these tools should be able to help you determine whether these are realistic options for you in terms of potential energy production.

WIND AND SOLAR:  Ever thought about putting up solar panels on your house or live in an area that might be conducive for a small wind turbine?  The In My Backyard (IMBY) tool estimates the electricity you can produce with a solar photovoltaic (PV) array or wind turbine at your home or business. Homeowners, businesses, and researchers use IMBY to develop quick estimates of renewable energy production at locations throughout the continental United States, Hawaii, and northern Mexico. IMBY uses a map-based interface to allow you to choose the exact location of your PV array or wind turbine. Based on your location, system size, and other variables, IMBY estimates the electricity production you can expect from your system. The In My Backyard tool was developed by NREL's Electric Systems Center Distributed Energy Systems Integration Section.

SOLAR:  PVWATTS calculates electrical energy produced by a grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) system. Researchers at DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory developed PVWATTS to permit non-experts to quickly obtain performance estimates for grid-connected PV systems within the United States and its territories. In a grid-connected PV system, PV modules, wired together to form a PV array, pass DC electricity through an inverter to convert it into AC power. If the PV system AC power is greater than the owner's needs, the inverter sends the surplus to the utility grid for use by others. The utility provides AC power to the owner at night and during times when the owner's requirements exceed the capability of the PV system.

This Solar & Wind Estimator will estimate the size and cost to install an energy system for your home or building. Technology options include solar electric (PV), solar water heating, pool or spa heating, space heating & cooling, and wind turbines. The financial analysis provided is based upon energy bill savings you can expect and the net system cost, after tax credits and other incentives are applied. The results are based upon many assumptions and the limited data you will enter. An actual site assessment by a trained professional Contractor will be needed to determine the actual costs and benefits of installing an energy system.