Practice Green Living and Save Money
Green Living Can Reduce Your Carbon Footprint and Your Energy Bill
by Derek Campbell
Not only will greening your home make it more attractive to buyers, it will also reduce your energy bills.
You can certainly add expensive green elements to your home such as a solar roof, but it’s most cost effective to do the easy things first.
Day-to-Day Use
One of the simplest ways to green your home is by working with the weather. In the summer, open windows and shades during the coolest point in the day, letting cold air in and warm air out. Close your shades well before the heat of the day to trap the cool air. In the winter, trap the warmth by opening shades facing the sun and closing them when the sun moves.
Every day you turn your lights on and off dozens of times. Your first green home improvement should be swapping you existing high usage light bulbs with energy-saving ones. The U.S. government’s Energy Star program states that energy-saving light bulbs can save a homeowner $40 in electricity costs over time and the light bulbs are fairly inexpensive, especially when compared to materials associated with other green improvements.
Unplugging electronics such as your TV, stereo or coffeepot when they’re not in use will not save massive quantities of energy, but it will make a small difference in your energy bill and reduce your carbon footprint.
The majority of energy used in a home goes to heating and cooling. Regularly changing the air filter in your furnace will help it run more efficiently and therefore use less energy. Energy Star recommends changing furnace filters once every three months. Insulating your furnace and sealing heating ducts will conserve energy as will having a yearly HVAC checkup.
Installing a programmable thermostat will also reduce energy costs. These thermostats are relatively inexpensive (about $100) and fairly easy to install.
Green Updates
Once you’ve taken care of the easy day-to-day greening of your home, address bigger ticket items. Old appliances waste significant amounts of energy. Replacing appliances is more costly than changing a few light bulbs, but if you’re at a point where you need to replace large appliances, look for Energy Star-rated ones. These appliances have been approved by the government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Installing energy efficient doors and windows will also reduce your energy bill and carbon footprint by seven to 15 percent, according to Energy Star. If your windows and doors are installed incorrectly, they will let in drafts so if you don’t know what you’re doing, pay the extra money to hire a contractor.
Many larger ticket energy-saving improvements come with tax credits. Before making your updates, check the Energy Star website for tax credit information.
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