Working from home can mean surprise energy bills. Green power can help.
CBSN
Many people working from home during the pandemic have gotten a rude surprise: higher energy bills. But improvements in technology and a last-minute tax credit extension is making it easier for homeowners to save by retrofitting their house, adding new sources of power or even creating a backup energy system.
"Because a lot of us are working from home, we're consuming more energy — and people are investing a lot more to improve their homes," said Vikram Aggarwal, CEO of EnergySage, an online marketplace that lets users compare solar installation services and costs. Aside from potentially lowering energy costs, many of these home improvements are also eligible for tax credits. Options for plugging into the green energy boom will vary depending on the state and city you live in, but here are some to consider.President Joe Biden said France was America's "first friend" at its founding and is one of its closest allies more than two centuries later as he was honored with a state visit Saturday by French President Emmanuel Macron aimed at showing off their partnership on global security issues and easing past trade tensions.
The Consumer Federal Protection Bureau last week launched an inquiry into what the agency is calling "junk fees in mortgage closing costs." These additional fees, involving home appraisal, title insurance and other services, have spiked in recent years and can add thousands of dollars to the final cost of buying a home.
Retired Maj. Gen. William Anders, the former Apollo 8 astronaut who took the iconic "Earthrise" photo showing the planet as a shadowed blue marble from space in 1968, was killed Friday when the plane he was piloting alone plummeted into the waters off the San Juan Islands in Washington state. He was 90.