From Guest Blogger Jessy Troy: 5 Green Energy and Carbon Monitoring iPhone Apps

There are fewer more important tasks for green living than curbing our energy use. With summers hotter than ever and winters more cold, it is difficult to do this. But we can at least help minimize our usage through other means.

Many of these tricks are simple common sense. Turn off lights when you don’t use them. Try not to use a washer, dryer or dishwasher for small loads. Limit television and computer use. Put PC’s and laptops on energy saving settings. Buy appliances that have an energy saver rating. Use fans instead of the air conditioner or swamp cooler. Bundle up in winter and keep the heater low. All of these are great tips for reducing your impact on the environment.

Do you want to go even further? Your iPhone can help you out there, with these five helpful apps dedicated to carbon monitoring and green energy (here are more best iPhone apps for you from Mobile Phone Finder).

1. Carbon Track

Do you own a business? Maybe you just work in an office environment and want to encourage the company as a whole to start reducing their carbon footprint? This app helps businesses calculate their CO2 emissions and see what affect their practices are having on the environment. From there you can find tips on becoming more energy efficient, among other tricks for a more eco-friendly company.

2. Home Sustainability Mobile Assessor

How sustainable is your own, really? Many of us do our best, but we miss crucial (if subtle) elements to the process that uses more energy and resources than we were expecting. This can be rectified using this great app that works offline. Get a real assessment of your sustainability, and then find tips to help you improve your rating.

3. Easy Energy Calculator

It took my ages to convince my spouse to switch to energy efficient light bulbs due to the price. Thanks to this app, I was able to calculate the price of both and show the difference, effectively ending the argument. Now our entire home is run on energy efficient bulbs, which were well worth the price. Even if they glow green for a minute after you turn them off.

4. Clean Energy Fuel Finder

Finding Clean Energy Fuel stations can be such a pain. Especially since the use of this technology hasn’t caught up in the mainstream. This app allows you to track down local stations so you can make sure you are covered no matter where you are. It provides both maps and directions to locations, for even more convenience.

5. Light It Right

Want to teach your kids about turning off lights when they aren’t using them? Skip the endless lectures and have them learn that habit in a fun way. This app features a game about the Greens family, who are on a mission to make their home more energy efficient. Your children can help them do it, while learning those skills for themselves.

Do you have any carbon monitoring or energy efficiency apps that we haven’t mentioned? Let us know in the comments.