CONSERVATION TIPS
1. Free
2. Inexpensive – Moderate cost tips that pay for themselves quickly.
3. Big Gain - More expensive tips that pay for themselves in years but lead to big savings and big impacts.
4. More Resources
Important note: Everything you do to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions also saves you money. Most of our emissions come from expensive fuels, if we cut down on those, our bills go down too!
- Hang your clothes out to dry. Dryers use a lot of energy to do their job (about 5% of home electricity).
- Use cold water to wash your clothes. Switching from hot water cycles two times a week can reduce your CO2 emissions up to 500 lbs with an electric water heater or 150 pounds with a gas water heater.
- Make sure your dishwasher is full when you run it. Also, avoid using the drying cycle. That hot air cycle can be responsible for 20% of your dishwashers energy use.
HVAC and water
- Turn down your water heater thermostat. Most water heaters are set to 140 degrees when 120 degrees would be fine. If every home in the US turned down their water heater by 20 degrees, we could prevent more than 45 million tons of annual CO2 release, the same amount emitted by the entire nation of Kuwait.
- Switch to washing laundry in cold water. Detergents formulated for cold water get clothes just as clean.
- Check and clean your furnace and AC filter monthly. Dirty filters prevent good airflow, increasing energy usage and decreasing the life of the furnace.
- Turn it off. Turn off lights, computers, TV’s, and other appliances when not in use. That alone helps a lot.
- During hot months, keep window coverings closed on south, east and western sides of the house. In the winter, open them up.
- Dress appropriately for the weather and keep your thermostat at it’s coldest possible setting when it is winter. Add an extra blanket to the bed.
- When hot, use fans as much as possible instead of AC. This might be most practical at night. Fans use much less energy than AC. Swamp coolers are also a good alternative to AC.
- Only heat or cool rooms you need. Close vents and doors of unused rooms.
- Unplug devices that are always on. Some devices like chargers, stereos, and other appliances continue to draw power when they are off (phantom draw). In average households 75% of the electricity used to power appliances is consumed when the appliances are off. Unplug them or plug them into a power strip that can be switched off.
- When cooking, especially when boiling water, cover pots with lids. They will get hot more quickly, saving energy and reducing emissions.
Transportation
- Walk more, you can walk anywhere as long as you have the time. Our bodies also benefit from the exercise.
- Ride a bike. Another good form of earth saving exercise.
- Carpool more and combine errands into one trip.
- Don’t idle your car when you are stopped for more than 30 seconds
- Accelerate slowly, that burst of speed really sucks up the gas.
- Avoid high speeds. Driving 75 mph rather than 65 can lower fuel efficiency by 15%.
- Use the motor oil recommended by the manufacturer, keep tires properly inflated, keep car tuned up, and replace clogged air filters. All these increase fuel economy.
- Empty the trunk. Extra weight wastes fuel.
- Replace your incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). Only 10% of the energy used by an incandescent light bulb makes light, the rest just makes the bulb hot. Switching can save ¾ of the electricity used.
- Low flow showerheads and sink aerators reduce hot water use.
- Seal and weather strip doors and windows.
- Water heater insulation wrap is cheap ($20) and easy to install and can pay for itself in a few months if the water heater is uninsulated.
- Adding another layer to windows in the winter, such as with plastic sheeting can greatly reduce heat loss.
- When buying new products, look for the ENERGY STAR label. It is available on 40 different types of products and appliances.
These tips cost more to implement but can provide the greatest emissions reductions and long-term savings.
- Replace the old inefficient fridge. Replacing a typical 1973 refrigerator with a new energy-efficient model, saves 1.4 tons of CO2 per year.
- ENERGY STAR rated appliances are worth it. Remember, when buying a large appliance, there are two cost to consider, the initial purchase price and the lifetime energy costs. Many high quality appliances may cost more up front but save money in the long run, as well as be gentler on the environment.
- Buy a more fuel efficient car. Transportation is one of the greatest emitters of CO2. A more fuel efficient car can reduce your carbon footprint by as much as a third to one half depending on how much you drive, as well as save you money on gas.
- Install solar panels on your house. Not only do you greatly reduce your emissions, but you save on your electricity bill and, in areas that support net metering, you can even make money selling electricity to the grid when you are creating more power than you are using.
MORE RESOURCES:
A GREAT, wacky, informative website about CFL and LED light bulbs. Make sure to watch the videos and explore: http://unscrewamerica.org/
US Department of energy tips on saving energy and money at home: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/pdfs/energy_savers.pdf
http://www.ase.org/uploaded_files/powersmart/PowerSmartBklt-web.pdf
Energy Star action guide: http://www.energystar.gov/ia/news/estar_action_guide_4-8-04.pdf
A collection of informative white papers on data center efficiency: http://www.thegreengrid.org/library-and-tools.aspx
Six ways to green your BBQ: http://climateprogress.org/2009/06/14/six-ways-to-green-your-bbq/