Heat And Hot Water
For example, it doesn’t cost a thing to simply turn
down your water heater’s thermostat setting. "Most
people run their water heater too high anyway," says
Jensen.
Most homeowners should keep their water heater at
about 120 degrees, she says. If you have a high,
medium and low settings, keep it on medium. "If it’s
any hotter, you end up mixing it with cold water
anyway so it makes sense to just lower the
temperature," says Jensen.
For each ten-degree reduction in water temperature,
you’ll save between 3 percent and 5 percent in
energy costs, according to the Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy (EERE) online consumer’s guide from
the Department of Energy.
And don’t forget the outside of your water heater
either. A simple insulation blanket costs just $10
to $20 and can reduce standby heat losses by up to
45 percent, saving you up to 9 percent a year in
water heating costs.
Programmable thermostat
Why spend money heating or cooling your home when
you’re at work or gone for the weekend?
For a one-time cost of about $300, you can purchase
a programmable thermostat. It adjusts your home’s
temperature using preset information that triggers
your system to turn on just before you get home so
the house feels comfortable.
The Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing,
a volunteer group of homebuilders, product
manufacturers and federal housing agencies, notes
you’ll offset the cost of the thermostat in one to
two years through savings on your energy bill.
By setting your thermostat to 78 degrees or higher
in the summer and 62 degrees or lower when you’re
not at home, it notes, you’ll save roughly 10
percent a year in energy costs.
Lighting
At a cost of just a few extra dollars, replacing
your incandescent light bulbs with compact
fluorescent bulbs (which use 30 percent less energy)
wins the no-brainer award.
If every homeowner in America replaced his five most
frequently used light bulbs with ones that have
earned the ENERGY STAR rating, the nation would save
nearly $8 billion each year in energy costs -- as
well as prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the
emissions from nearly 10 million cars, according to
ENERGY STAR, a joint program of the Energy
Department and Environmental Protection Agency.
Jensen also urges homeowners to consider
light-emitting diode, or LED, lighting. "LED
technology has made great strides in recent years so
they’re ten times more efficient than even compact
fluorescent lights," she says.
Landscaping
In the battle to reduce energy waste, sustainable
landscapes provide an equally big bang for the buck.
It’s all about plant selection and placement.
Homeowners in the arid south, for example, can
significantly reduce water consumption (and
destructive erosion) by replacing a portion of their
lawn with landscape beds filled with native plants
and mulch. Once established, native plants are low
maintenance and do not require fertilizers,
pesticides or watering.
In other parts of the country, planting deciduous
trees, (which lose their leaves in the fall) on the
south side of your home, can also help shade your
house during the warm summer months, while letting
the sun shine in during winter.
Though the upfront cost of a landscape make-over can
be pricey, the EERE reports most homeowners see a
return on investment in less than eight years due to
reduced heating and cooling costs. Additional tips
are available here.
Appliances
According to ENERGY STAR, the average home spends
roughly $1,900 a year on energy costs.
By changing to appliances that have earned the
ENERGY STAR seal of approval, they could save $80 a
year in energy costs, while doing good for the
environment.
Need more incentive? If just one in 10 homes used
ENERGY STAR appliances, it would be like planting
1.7 million new trees.
Click here for ENERGY STAR’s searchable database of
qualified appliances, including clothes washers,
dehumidifiers, dishwashers, refrigerators and room
air conditioners.
Jensen adds homeowners who keep a second
refrigerator on hand for drinks and overflow food
should kick the habit as soon as possible. "That’s a
huge energy drain," she says.
Homeowners also should eliminate as many dryer loads
of laundry as they can. "ENERGY STAR doesn’t even
rate clothes dryers because they are so hideously
inefficient," she says. "Get a simple clothing rack
and hang your clothes to dry. I used to do a couple
dryer loads a week and now I do maybe one a month."
For $40 or less, you can significantly reduce water
consumption in your home with a low-flow showerhead
and be no worse for the wear. Not only will you
achieve water savings of between 25 percent and 60
percent, but you’re also reducing the energy it
takes to heat that extra water.
According to the EERE, there are two basic types of
low-flow showerheads: aerating, which mix air with
water to form a misty spray; and laminar-flow, which
form individual streams of water.
Lowimpactliving.com offers a comparison of 10
different efficient water fixtures on its website.
Insulation
Insulating your home is another cost effective way
to improve energy efficiency while making your house
more comfortable.
ENERGY STAR estimates that a skilled homeowner or
contractor can save up to 20 percent on heating and
cooling costs -- or up to 10 percent on the total
annual energy bill -- by sealing and insulating
their home. Click here for a do-it-yourself guide.
It notes homeowners should focus on sealing leaks
around doors and windows, as well as those in the
attic space and foundation. They should then add
insulation with appropriate R-values (which
indicates thermal resistance) throughout the house,
from attic to crawl spaces.
Higher R-values mean more insulating power, but
different R-values are recommended for various parts
of your home. Here’s a look at what ENERGY STAR
recommends.
The EERE also provides a consumer’s guide to the
various types of insulation available, and the
advantages of each.
For its part, lowimpactliving.com recommends
insulation made from recycled or reused materials,
like shredded newspaper (cellulose) and denim.
Many state and local governments offer tax
incentives for insulation installation, says Jensen,
so check with your local utility for information.
Consultants
If you’re really serious about going green and want
to take more aggressive steps to minimize your
impact on the planet, you can also hire an
environmental technician to conduct an audit of your
home’s energy use and recommend a plan to reduce
waste.
According to the EERE, many state or local
governments maintain a database of residential
energy auditing services, which may charge from $100
for a basic inspection to more than $500 for
infra-red analysis. Some electric or gas utilities
also perform the service for free.
Homeowners needn’t think of eco-friendly living as a
sprint to the finish line but rather a marathon that
begins with a few simple – and low cost -- steps.
Recycle, reuse, replace. It’s so easy to do that it
seems silly everyone doesn’t. Our resources on this
planet are precious and we have to take care of
them. |
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