Greening your home

I was just getting ready to write an article about this. I would say turing the lights off when you leave a room, putting lights on sensors or timers, closing the drapes to keep cold out and opening them to let sunlight in, don't over kill the light bulbs watts....

I just installed my second programmable thermostat (and have in fact been asking related questions here). I havn't ran them through a full billing cycle yet to see the financial savings, but I do know that the furnace is running much less.

 

On the same subject of heating/cooling, make sure you regularly change your air filters. If they get clogged up with excessive dirt/dust, the heat pump/furnace needs to work harder to draw the air. This can make a pretty big diference.

 

Another thing you can do is check the water temperature of your hot water heater, make sure its not set excessively high. 120 degrees should be suffucient for you and your appliances (my dishwasher needs a min. of 120 degrees input water temp) and you could probably go lower if need be.

 

I've also been on a quest to replace traditonal bulbs with CFL's (with mild success). I realize that can get expensive, but try to replace the bulbs that burn the most first (I did my exterior lights that run from dusk to dawn).

 

 

A great place to start out is the wiki on How to Save Energy Around the House.  And of course, feel free to add to it!  :-)

"If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down"

-Bernie Focker

Switch to solar water heating. Use CFL bulbs and dimmable bulbs. Use fans instaed of  air conditioning. Do check out some eco friendly tips on how to save the energy.

Switch to solar water heating. Use CFL bulbs and dimmable bulbs. Use fans instaed of  air conditioning. Do check out some eco friendly tips on how to save the energy.

Apart from energy, another resource that we can save at home is Water. Here are some simple, inexpensive tips on water conservation at home: http://www.bewaterwise.com/tips01.html By saving water at home, we not only reduce our water bill, but can also help the environment in a big way. Water levels in many parts of the world have dropped significantly. It might lead to drinking water shortages. Hence please make a conscious effort to save water at home and workplace and also request your friends, neighbors and family to implement water saving practices.

Another item to check are your heating and air conditioning ducts.  We just put in Geothermal and as a part of the process found and sealed joints in the flexible ducting at main trunk lines and registers.  I used mastic to seal those areas the installer didn't get to and am still finding places to fix.  One of the flexible ducts had actually come nearly off so I was blowing some cool air into the attic.   There are companies out there who can measure the flow and calculate leakage for you.   Might be worth the investment.  

Use your buying power.

 

Through it you can influence other people's energy usage. I mean, if you buy a local product instead of an imported one, you are preventing the item from being shipped to you, therefore you are obliging someone else to conserve energy.

 

Better yet, if you buy a second-hand item or if you repair a broken one, you are conserving all the energy that would be used in the manufacture and transport of a new one.

 

Buying power is awsome!

All of my computer equipment, tv equipment, etc is plugged into a power strip which I turn off whenever they are not in use.  Of course if you use satellite or something like that for your tv, it will have to download for a minute or two before you can watch the tv, but I find that waiting 2 minutes to watch tv is worth not having it suck electricity when not in use.  I also unplug all small appliances, especially in the kitchen, and especially if it has any type of light or clock that constantly draws power when not in use.  That's the cheapest thing I can suggest!

Using dryer balls can cut down on drying time and thus have a positive impact on your energy usage.

Check the following blog please where the author did research on the claim of the dryer balls and found them to be useless.

 

http://urge4lessenergy.blogspot.com/2009/03/dryer-balls-save-no-energy.html

 

 

10 Tips to Stay Cool This Summer

These are good tips. One comment is to make sure and not leave the ceiling fans on when you are not in the room. They don't actually cool the room, just make it feel cooler, so there is no beneefit if you are not in the room.

 

Becasue all the links point to the same website, I have to assume the Author (mrplprice) has a vested interest in this company?  I would check prices..........

So here's a question...while ceiling fans don't cool the room...what about if in the evening, when you open up all the windows to get the cool air in and warm air out.  Does it justify the energy use to have the fans on to try to move some of that warm air out of the room?  Or does it really do zilch?

Hi Eli,

If the fan is moving air through the house and out they would be beneficial.

If they are only recirculating air within the room then they would only be using electricity.

Night cooling is a good and useful concept. Trying to evacuate heat from the mass of the building with night time temps.

Russ is absolutely right. and most ceiling fans do not move air from one room to another. Night cooling needs to be either drawing the air in or exhausting it out. BTW a concept some people miss although it seems simple, is you can draw air in the the house with a fan, or blow it out, but only if you have another opening elswhere to supply, or exhause the air.

I see this a lot in Industrial ventilation.

First of all, great list!  Sounds like you're really committed to reducing your footprint.

Second of all...how does a sawdust toilet work?

Ceiling fans actually make rooms hotter if it's already hot.  All it will do is push the warm air downwards towards you.

 

People should focus on properly insulating their homes.  It's good to say not to use the airconditioner.  But what if it's too hot?  This is why you should insulate your home properly so that it won't happen.

 

Tips for insulating your home

 

 

 

 

Be sure and drink lots of hot drinks in the winter time.  This saves on the heating bill because it warms you up from the inside and you can keep the heat at 68 degrees or lower.

In winter we can save energy, taking care with electric heat.
  - Do not open the windows with the heating on. In 10 or 15 minutes, ventilate the room.
  - Do not cover heat sources of drapes, furniture or similar items.
  - Install a thermostat on the heating and Adjust them to a temperature of not more than 20 º C in winter, for every additional degree will spend about 5% more energy.
  - Periodically check the status of the boiler.
  - Close the radiators that accurate and completely off the heater if your house will be unoccupied.

 

Many good ideas here - but you asked for "cheaper ways you can reduce your home's energy usage and waste" and not all of these are cheap.

 

So my cheap ideas: 

1. Use a clothes line - under $10, of course you can get fancy with some sort of structure (think large umbrella with clothes line instead of cloth) but these are under $100.
2. Buy a bicycle (and use it) - technically not part of your home but perhaps the largest impact.  If you can take one trip a week on the bike instead of the car you will notice the savings and it's better for your health too.  A nice used bike might cost $100 - new 2 to 600 (more of course is possible).  Be sure to get baskets or other cargo options so you can go grocery shopping.
3. Reduce waste with a compost bin for you kitchen and garden waste.
4. Save water with a recirculation pump such as 'D'MAND' (there are other brands too) - this device takes the cold water that would come out of your hot water faucet when you first turn it on and pumps that water back down the cold water line so when you first use your hot water it is hot.  No water down the drain.  About $300.
5. Naturally I assume that you're recycling everything you can - that reduces waste and is free in many communities.

 

That's all off the top of my head. 

of course, good windows are very important. but also, it's important to help insulate the windows further when possible with good curtains or other insulation around the edges. 

don't walk around the house in winter as if you were in the tropics. wear warm clothes and keep the temperature lower. (of course, the reverse for summer.)

make sure to insulate your attic or the space between your attic and living environment well.

as some have said above, insulation is key. one of the cheapest ways to save large amounts of energy.

avoid all those electric kitchen and bathroom gadgets. use your muscles and save some energy, too.

for water, there are so many good toilets that save energy nowadays -- composting toilets are especially good (and are not as weird as they sound). additionally, good to turn the water off when brushing teeth and when lathering your body with soap while showering. low-flow shower heads are also great.

don't keep your fridge too cold.

 

I personally switch all my light bulb to the energy saving type, which can save electricity bill and also environmental friendly.

 

I do not buy plastic dustbin plastic bag to throw all the rubbish. All the bag I used were the bag I got during my shopping. 

 

of course switching the light off and the most important thing, I don;t decorate my hosue with those fancy light, like the wall light which make it looks beauty. It just not necessary although it is beautiful. As home is just a place for us to rest, we do not have to spend extra energy just for this useless beauty decoration.

 

I only buy new stuff for my house only if it is completely out of order. I don;t purposely buy the hand towel. All I use is my old shirt.

 

I'm happy that I can get some idea of other user how post here, which some I have never done before and never aware about it. 

 

Geo Lenses

My wife and I upgraded our old washer and dryer units this year, it's not necessarily a cheap way to reduce consumption but in the long run it pays for itself in energy / water savings;

Check out the before and after photos;

http://www.oureverydayearth.com/upgrading-to-a-high-efficiency-washer-and-dryer/

 

Other changes that we've made;

 

1. Upgraded our security lighting to work with dusk / dawn sensors and movement detectors
2. Changed all of our light bulbs to CFLs and some to LEDs
3. Added timers to our television / cable / dvd power to switch completely off at night (Read more here - reducing standby power consumption)
4. Resealed around our windows to reduce air leaks
5. Installed a low flow shower head (Read more here - low flow shower head with smart heat sensor)

If only it were that simple. In my city there is an effort to recycle furnishings and fixtures from buildings which are being demolished.  The only problem is that many time the refurbished fixtures have been trashed during removal, yet still are priced the same as retail merchandise. 

 

It's like GoodWill refusing donations because your stuff isn't good enough, then charge full retail for the stuff they do get for free.  I won't shop with them anymore. 

 

 

1. You can use household items to clean i.e. vinegar, baking soda, lime juice

2. Replace normal bulbs with CFL bulbs

3. Reduce how much you eat out

4. Use steam mops instead of chemical cleaners

5. Print on both sides of a copy paper

6. Start a compost in your home