Make Tuesday an Energy-Efficient Earth Day
Every year, automobiles and electronic equipment become more of an integral part of our daily lives, but that convenience comes at a cost. Every wired, automated, electronic and gas-powered device that we add to our daily routines consumes more of our planet’s finite energy resources. Reducing your daily energy usage needn’t be an expensive or time-consuming activity. Often the answers to minimizing our energy footprint are literally right in front of our noses, but we overlook them because we have taken for granted the role our energy-using equipment plays in our lives. That is why, in the spirit of Earth Day, we are happy to give you this list of easily-implementable tips to help you reduce energy and make a difference for the planet.
1. Green your PC: You’d be surprised how many unnecessary applications your computer is constantly running while you are away from your desk. Big energy savings can be just a click away by retooling your settings to optimize your computer usage. Often it’s as easy as turning off your screen saver, which consumes energy while your computer isn’t even being used, dimming your monitor while it’s idle, or unplugging your printer and other peripherals while they are not in use. Fortunately, a wealth of information on this subject can be found on the internet that warrants complete articles of their own.
2. Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs): Energy-efficient light bulbs use 3/4 less energy than standard incandescent lighting and last up to 10 times longer. So despite their higher up-front cost, which has been dropping lately, they can yield life-time savings of up to $50 per bulb.
3. Install low-flow shower heads: Heating water for our daily needs such as showering, cooking, dishwashing and cleaning can account for a large percentage of your monthly energy bill. Installing low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators can be the single most effective water conservation project you can do for your home. Inexpensive and easy to install, low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators can reduce your home water consumption and energy cost of heating the water as much as 50 percent. Within a few months, the new shower heads will have paid for themselves, and all water savings from then on will go straight to your wallet.
4. Mind your home’s insulation and leaks: Sealing leaks and using the proper home insulation for your region of the world can cut your home energy costs. In a recent interview with ReGeneration.org, Kateri Callahan, president of the Alliance to Save Energy, told us these practices can “cut your heating and cooling bills by up to 20 percent. With home energy costs estimated at $2,200 for the average U.S. household in 2008, and just over half of that going for heating and cooling, those savings can amount to about $225. Added benefit: Eliminate drafts and hot and cold spots for greater indoor comfort.”
5. Don’t stand for stand-by power: Even while they are turned off, older appliances account for an estimated 5 to 10 percent of household electricity consumption. This needless use of energy can be stopped completely by simply unplugging these appliances when not in use. Another way is to purchase appliances that have a true off switch (i.e. without a stand-by mode).
6. Obey the speed limit: While certainly safer, obeying the speed limit when on the road can also yield tremendous energy savings. According to the Alliance to Save Energy, each 5 miles per hour you drive over 60 mph costs you about 20 cents more per gallon of gasoline. This, as well as eliminating rapid braking and acceleration, can lower your gas mileage by up to 33 percent. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can also try hyper-miling on longer road trips. I can personally attest to this method’s effectiveness.
7. Make the most of laundry day: Large loads of laundry sitting idly in the hamper may not necessarily be a sign of laziness. It also makes good energy sense. Since the average washing machine uses more than 40 gallons of water per load, running one large load as opposed to several smaller ones uses less electricity to power the machine’s motor and heat the water, and overall water consumption will be lower as well. Also, instead of machine drying your laundry, hang them up. It doesn’t take any energy at all, and your clothes will be saved the stresses of a heated machine, and will last longer as a result. Not only are you saving energy, but you’re helping the environment by extending the life of your clothing.
8. Cool it: The heating and cooling of our houses accounts for a majority of our energy usage at home. While purchasing a more energy-efficient air conditioner may not be in your budget, there are some simple things you can do to keep your home comfortable without overworking your AC. These include closing the blinds and curtains on the sunny side of your home, keeping your AC unit itself out of the sun, and keeping the vents of the unit clear so it operates and maximum efficiency. Also, purchase a programmable thermostat. While the $50 price tag may seem high, if you use it to set back the temperature by 10 degrees for eight hours every night, you’ll lower your heating bills by 10 percent. When used this way, your digital thermostat will pay for itself in less than a year.
If just a few of these practices are implemented, the amount of energy saved is eye opening, especially when the utility bills arrive. Of course, every little bit adds up, and there is no lack for good tips to help you reduce your energy consumption every day. The above list is by no means complete, and should serve as a starting point to a new life of reduced impact on our beloved planet. What other energy saving tips do you have? Let us know in the comments section. We’d love to hear from you.
Happy Earth Day Eve!
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Cutting you bills 20% by using the proper insulation is a great way to help the environment. But what exactly is the proper insulation? Maybe you should try Oil Heat. It’s biodegradable and conserves energy. It affordable and always available since oil is produced in over 50 countries. It burns less fuel and is a lot safer, especially if you have little ones running around. Just imagine what it does during the cold seasons. Unlike fireplaces it isn’t messy and spreads through out an entire house. If you would like to help out the environment all year around and not just on earth day, try investing in oil heat. Believe me its well worth it
by Michelle / April 21, 2008
Want to protect the earth and save energy? Then stop all wars, conflicts and terrorism. How do you do that? Make the United States free of foreign oil. When the US is energy independent there will be no more oil wars and the terrorists will no longer be able or interested in reaching us. This will save lives AND energy. Let’s study what Denmark, France, Brazil, and Australia have done on diversifying their energy supplies and do likewise. Let’s drill wherever we have oil and put a new nuclear power plant in every state. Let’s use all our coal and natural gas. We don’t need foreign energy. And we will be safer, greener, and richer with out it. All of the earth’s natural resources will be eventually used by someone at some time. Would your rather these resources be recovered in an ecological friendly and sustainable way by the US or that some dictator who could not care less about the environment exploit the earth. All alternative sources of energy will take decades to bring online because their conversion efficiencies are not yet high enough. Eventually, the US will lead the world into a sustainable green economy, but energy independence comes first. It is the low hanging fruit and gives immediate benefits now.
by poetryman69 / April 21, 2008
Don’t wash at all until you get smelly.
Wear a coat indoors in winter.
Walk, cycle, bus or stay at home!
Go to bed when it gets dark, and get up with the light.
Oh yes, and ditch the computer (what am I doing?)
We may all have to do these things one day!
by Sue Arrow / April 22, 2008
As someone who sells light bulbs for a living, I am less enthusiastic than most about compact fluorescent bulbs. This is due to the fact that the ones currently available contain significant amounts of mercury. If one of these bulbs should break inside of a person’s home, it could cause a challenging disposal situation. It is my belief that the technology should progress to a point at which the mercury levels are low or nonexistent before people changeover their entire homes. Another consideration is that as these bulbs burn out, they will most likely be thrown away as though they are normal rubbish and landfills will have incredibly high levels of mercury in their soil as a result.
by Bruno / April 24, 2008
Most CFLs today on the market contain less than 5mgs of mercury and there are CFL options out there that contain as little as 1.5mgs of mercury- which can hardly be called a “significant amounts of mercury” considering that many item in your home contain 100s of times more of mercury including your computer. Mercury levels in CFLs can never be “nonexistent” since mercury is a necessary component of a CFL and there is no other known element that is capable of replacing it. But CFLs actually prevent more mercury from entering the environment. According to the Union of Concerned Scientist, “a coal-fired power plant will emit about four times more mercury to keep an incandescent bulb glowing, compared with a CFL of the same light output”.
by Kristina Richardson / May 27, 2008
hi.
by lodk / November 25, 2008