On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, making great changes to the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.

Under the new Stimulus bill:

• Tax credits previously expiring in 2009 will now be effective until December 31, 2009.
• Tax credits have been increased from 10% to 30%.
• Instead of limiting the tax credits to a specific dollar amount (ex: $300 for tankless water heaters), tax credits are up to 30% of the cost.
• The maximum credit has been raised from $500 to $1500; however some improvements such as geothermal heat pumps, solar water heaters, and solar panels are not subject to the $1500 maximum.

Tax credits are available to consumers for 30% of the cost, up to $1500, in 2009 & 2010 (for existing homes only) for:

• Gas Tankless Water Heaters (non-solar, non-electric) placed into service before December 31st, 2010
• Water Heaters
• Windows and Doors
• Insulation
• Roofs (Metal & Asphalt)
• HVAC
• Biomass Stoves

Tax credits are available at 30% of the cost, with no upper limit through 2016 (for existing homes & new construction) for:

• Solar Water Heaters
• Solar Panels
• Geothermal Heat Pumps
• Small Wind Energy Systems
• Fuel Cells

How to get your tax credit:

• Choose a qualifying tankless water heater (see list above) that suits your needs.
• Manufacturer’s Certification Statement* is required.
• Save your receipts and Manufacturer’s Certification Statement for tax purposes.
• Use IRS Form 5695.
• Improvements must be “placed into service” (this generally refers to the installation, not the purchase) within the specified dates.

See the DSIRE database of state incentives, or contact your state energy office or local utility service providers for more information about tax credits and rebates in your area.

How Tankless Water Heaters Work

A tankless water heater is the perfect solution for those who want hot water and to save money. Tankless water heaters, which are also called instantaneous or demand water heaters, are becoming extremely popular these days because of their efficiency. Cold water travels through a pipe into the water heater and is then heated by an electric or a gas-fired element. As a result, hot water is instantaneous, and you don't need to waste your time waiting for the water to warm up. These electric water heaters can also simultaneously produce and supply endless streams of hot water to multiple outlets without the hassle of temperature fluctuation.  These units are so popular that even the U.S. Department of Energy recommends them.

Federal Tax Credits for Tankless Water Heaters is brought to you by http://www.heater-home.com

A server room is the brain of any effective well-networked company. However, this area is also most susceptible to failure. 

 Your servers aren’t the only thing you’re paying heavily for in your office environment.  For every $1 you sped on computing equipment and services, chances are that you probably spend another $1 for the power and cooling to keep that equipment running. Even with all the cost funneled through just to this one sector of your business, it remains that over heating (in even an otherwise well-cooled establishment) is the number one cause of malfunction and data loss. 

The Emerson Network Power, in coordination with the U.S. EPA and the Lawrence Berkeley National Labs, released survey data entitled “Report to Congress on Server and Data Center Energy Efficiency”.  The report  received participation from more than 150 Digital Communications User Group members and companies, as well as non-member Fortune 500 companies.  Central issues within this report included issues of power management, precision cooling, energy efficiency, technology implementation and consolidating. 

Why Traditional Systems Don’t Work

Computer equipment ages quicker when hot, and for individual machines such as home or office desktops, the internal fans and cooling mechanisms are often sufficient at keeping temperatures within safe operating limits. However, in data centers and server rooms, this may not be the case. Modern server equipment generates enormous amounts of heat, and today's machines run faster and hotter. Moreover, server rooms may even be prone to "hot spots" which can build up behind equipment racks or near larger machines, and if not addressed, this can cause premature failures.

Increased humidity levels can also affect your server room because high humidity levels can damage equipment by causing corrosion and rust. Thus, preventing humidity changes and variations is imperative in order to avoid environmental conditions where there may be excess condensation, so the optimal humidity levels for a server room or data center should range from 40 to 55 percent. Lastly, another problem that can plague server rooms is insufficient airflow often due to the server room's design. As such, all of these environmental temperature problems and fluctuations usually call for the installation of separate cooling systems.

What You Can do to Safeguard Your Server

As seen through the convergence of top companies and associations, cooling and energy efficiency is a major concern in any IT related industry.  In a nutshell, the failure to meet requirements that are energy efficient and capable stems from miscommunication between IT professionals and facilities management.  As such, even the best and most well-conditioned environments face considerable temperature gaps when it comes to the server room.  The best way to gauge the temperature of your server room is with a Honeywell programmable thermostat. 

Monitoring Server Room Temperatures is brought to you buy  http://www.honey-well programmable thermostat.