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The Most Useless Energy-Related Home Products

November 27, 2009 in Save Energy, Save Money by Jennifer | No comments

There’s an interesting list up over at Green Building Advisor about the most useless energy related products around. The list is pretty cool but I don’t agree with all of it. Of course I’m not an official green building advisor or anything.

Blogger and advisor Martin notes the following as a waste of money and not great energy savers to boot…

Tyvek ThermaWrap
Fafco plastic solar collectors
Passive fresh air inlets
Vinyl siding laminated to rigid foam
Powered attic ventilators
Programmable thermostats
Inexpensive LED lamps
Foil-faced bubble wrap
Power factor correction devices
Vent-free gas space heaters

I’m not so sure I agree with the whole programmable thermostats being useless argument. Martin notes that they’re not totally useless — “they’re just unnecessary and insufficient.” He also notes that “Study after study has shown that installing programmable thermostats makes no difference in energy use.” Mainly because homeowner behavior is far more important than the hardware. However on the flip side I’ve known people who have used them and note that they have saved money. I had one in a previous home and while I didn’t feel it saved as much money or resources as the programmable water heating thermostat I also had, it still did save money on my energy bill. It may depend on how you use the device along with your normal habits surrounding electricity use.

I also think that powered attic ventilators can work to reduce costs in a newer home. My pal installed one and his energy costs are lower than before BUT he has a newer and soundly built home. Martin notes that most aren’t as efficient because most U.S. homes have leaky ceilings so instead of helping the ventilators commonly draw conditioned indoor air into the attic through ceiling cracks which of course will increase not decrease costs. He also notes that canned foam to seal leaks in your ceiling or additional insulation for your attic floor will be more useful.

In any case, if you disagree or not it’s a good read. He makes some excellent points and it’s lame to waste money on what won’t work for your home.

The Four Energy Saving Areas in Your Home

November 24, 2009 in Save Energy, Save Money by Jennifer | No comments

Basically, you’ve got four major energy saving opportunities in your home…

Lighting
Appliances and electronics
Heating & cooling
Water heating

You could, of course, break it down even more. Each of us has hundreds of ways we could be saving more energy, but the above four are major and a good place to start.

For lighting you can save more by incorporating day lighting into your home with energy efficient windows, skylights, and light tunnels. You can buy energy efficient bulbs and keep the lighting to a minimum or as needed basis. You can also remind family members to simply turn off the lights.

Appliances and electronic equipment makes up about 20% of your home energy usage and costs so it’s smart to purchase energy efficient versions of things like televisions, microwaves, refrigerators, washers and dryers, audio equipment and anything else you plug in. You may be able to get rebates on many of the items you buy. To further use these items efficiently, use them sparingly – i.e. hang dry many clothes instead of using the dryer each time. Plug all items in one space into one power strip then turn the whole darn strip off when you leave the room. Also, cook wisely – you don’t need the stove for everything.

For heating and cooling think ahead of time. Make sure you build or buy a home that’s got energy saving features such as good orientation, evergreen windbreaks, try passive solar design, and weatherize properly for winter. Also little adjustments such as turning the heat down a few notches adds up over time.

Heating your water can actually account for as much as 25% of your energy use. Try a solar water heater or the next time you upgrade, upgrade to the most efficient model you can. Insulate your hot water pipes and heater, install a water timer, and do the little things like taking shorter showers.

If you do all of the above it will not only save you energy but it will put money directly in your pocket – good timing with the holidays here.

Three bad habits to ditch that cost you big time

October 19, 2009 in Save Money by Jennifer | 1 comment

If you’re going to ditch bad living habits, you may as well get rid of the ones that cost you the most money first. Following are three bad habits that cost the planet and you a lot over time.

Ditch water bottles and buy a filter: You can buy a recyclable water filter along with a nice stainless steel reusable water bottle for pennies of what bottled water will cost you over a lifetime and you eliminate a major landfill contributor – the plastic water bottle. Not to mention, you’ll have fewer toxins in your body because stainless steel, unlike plastic won’t leach chemicals. Triple play! Annual savings, even if you buy the world’s best water bottle and a basic filter is about $300 if you drink one bottle worth of water a day, but if you drink as much water as you should (eight 8oz glasses 64 oz a day) you’d be saving about $700 per year and that’s factoring in bulk bottled water.

Ditch paper towels: Cloth napkins, old cloths to clean with, and actual hand towels can save you scads over daily paper towel use. Annual savings of switching to cloth about $83, but over ten years you’d save about $800.

Ditch toxic cleaners: Making your own green cleaning products will cost you very little. You’ll need some essential oils, baking soda, and lemons. Not a lot of money. Maybe about $40 per year. If you buy the following monthly (general household spray, toilet cleaner, kitchen cleaner, tub + tile cleaner, and glass cleaner) if these are cheap $3 each you’d still be paying about $180 a year, and that’s fairly conservative compared to what research says people spend on cleaners. For example, The U.S. market for natural household cleaning products sells about $100 million annually, but this represents just one percent of the total household cleaners market. So you likely spend more than $180 annually. Still, if we go with a conservative figure, annual savings are about $140.

Above are totally rough but fair estimates of what you can save by ditching just three bad habits. Annual savings if you ditch these three bad habits – about $900, in ten years that’s a savings of about $9,000. What could you do with an extra $9,000?

Locate Special Offers and Rebates from ENERGY STAR Partners

August 11, 2009 in Save Energy, Save Money by Jennifer | 1 comment

Just an FYI, ENERGY STAR makes it pretty darn easy to save energy and money at the same time. At the ENERGY STAR website they’ve got a deep search function that’s built to help encourage customers to buy energy efficient products. The benefit to you – the customer is that you might score a killer deal.

Some of the current price reductions you can search for include sales tax exemptions or credits, or rebates on qualified products via ENERGY STAR and their partners. Sometimes you’ll also be able to find partner sponsored recycling incentives for the proper disposal of old products.

How to get a deal:

Head to the ENERGY STAR special offers page of their website.
Enter your zip-code (many rebates depend on where you live) and click to see if there are any special offers or rebates currently available on ENERGY STAR qualified products in your area.
You can also drill the search down by choosing specific products, such as a washer or a refrigerator.

We all want to buy the best and most energy efficient products to save money and to support a healthy planet, and this ENERGY STAR feature just offers a little help and incentive in doing so.

7 Ways To Conserve Water and Energy in the Bathroom

August 4, 2009 in Save Energy, Save Money, Water by Jennifer | 1 comment

Keep it green from the get-go. If you’re building or remodeling, invest in an earth-friendly tub. Diamond Spas and Durat both have eco-friendly options. Durat is especially cool making tubs of solid material with recycled plastics (see Durat tub example above). Check for water leaks: You can do this by checking your water meter say, at 8am. Wait two or three hours but run no water during that time. Re-check your meter and if it’s changed, there’s a leak.

Insulate hot water pipes for hotter water even after changing your heat to a lower setting.

Insulate the water heater tank: It only takes about a year to get back the money you save on this investment and you’ll conserve energy.

Water softeners may cost you: Only use if seriously necessary. According to American Water & Energy Savers, you can “Save water and salt by running the minimum amount of regenerations necessary to maintain water softness. Turn softeners off while on vacation.”

Install water-saving low-flow shower heads.

Take shorter showers – technically you should wash up and get out not linger.

Buy an inexpensive tank bank or float booster for your toilet. This alone could save you ten or more gallons of water per day.

How To Cut Heat Loss and Conserve Energy with Evergreen Tree Windbreaks

August 3, 2009 in Green Your Home, Organic Gardening, Save Energy, Save Money by Jennifer | No comments

The following is a special report from Fast Growing Trees Nursery about how to effectively lower your energy costs, improve your landscaping, and save money all due to trees!

According to The Department of Environmental Protection, evergreen windbreaks are the most effective component in cutting winter heat loss. Research indicates that heat energy savings of up to 40 percent are possible resulting from diminished wind velocity and reduced air infiltration into your home. Considering the U.S. average, that could mean a savings of as much as $400 per winter!

Location is the most important factor in effectively planting a windbreak. The evergreens should be planted north and northwest of your home. That will place them perpendicular to the strongest and coldest winter winds. Plant the trees in a “U” or “L” shape to block the wind most effectively. The best zone of wind protection occurs from 2 to 7 times the height of the trees you plant. For example, if the mature height of the evergreens you’re planting is 20 feet, then the zone of maximum protection will occur 40 to 140 feet downwind. Keep this zone in mind when figuring out how close to a structure you’ll need to plant your trees for the greatest effect. Finally, decide how far apart to plant your trees. Plant them more closely to have them grow together quickly. Or plant them farther apart to save money but wait a little longer for them to fill in.

Keep a few things in mind as you plant your evergreen trees. Evergreens like full to partial sun and just about any soil conditions. Dig a hole slightly shallower and about twice the diameter of the root system. Use your shovel to scrape the walls of the planting hole so the roots can easily penetrate the soil as they grow. Then, set each tree in the planting hole and spread out the roots. The bottom of the hole should be firm enough to keep the tree from sinking after it’s planted. The top of the root ball should be about an inch above the surrounding soil. Then make sure the tree is straight up and down in the hole. A level is very helpful for accuracy.

Finally, apply water as you backfill the hole with soil to remove any air pockets. Break up dirt clods and remove any grass, stones or other debris. After the transplant is complete, water each tree again well. To keep the soil moist, it is recommended that you mulch around the tree. Use enough mulch to reach a depth of 2 to 3 inches. This will keep the moisture in and slow down the growth of weeds and grass.

For more detailed info on how to plant evergreen trees, visit Fast-Growing-Trees.com and check out their planting information.

Low-cost help for the poorly weatherized home

August 1, 2009 in Save Energy, Save Money by Jennifer | No comments

I know it’s hot as blazes, (it’s been around 100 in Oregon) but this is actually a good time to think about your home’s energy use during the winter. Right now there are programs available for low-income families that can help to weatherize your home so that once fall and winter come your home will stay warmer and your wallet fuller as you save energy.

Saving home energy and conserving resources can be expensive if you need to make changes to your home. However, The U.S Department of Energy (DOE) offers a Weatherization Assistance Program that, in the last 32 years has provided assistance to more than 6.2 million families. The Weatherization Assistance Program enables low-income families to permanently reduce their energy bills by making their homes more energy efficient. How the program works is, “Weatherization service providers install energy efficiency measures in the homes of qualifying homeowners free of charge. These are not expensive upgrades—the average expenditure limit is $2,826 per home—but they are effective, and energy savings pay for the upgrades within a few years.”

Savings to you: On average, weatherization of your home reduces your heating bills by 32% and overall energy bills by about $350 per year at current prices.

Are you eligible?

The DOE estimates that around 20 to 30 million U.S. families are eligible for services. Home owners and renters may qualify and if you get Supplemental Security Income or Aid to Families with Dependent Children than you are automatically eligible. Preference is given to those 60 years or older, families who have one or more members with disabilities, and families with children. Mainly they’ll go by your income to see if you qualify. If you are eligible you may get things like a microwave for low energy cooking, a wrapped water heater and more.

Contact your local state weatherization program to see if you are eligible and to learn how to apply.

If you can’t get assistance through the DOE you might qualify for:

Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
Many local energy suppliers offer assistance programs. Programs vary greatly though so contact your local provider and ask about consumer assistance in paying your bill.

What is low-impact living?

July 23, 2009 in Green Your Home, Save Energy, Save Money by Jennifer | No comments

Low-impact living, in basic terms, is living lightly, or as lightly as you can on the planet. Everything we do, from the day we’re born, affects the planet. Your goal as someone who wants to live green and protect the planet is to lower your impact when you can. You can’t have a zero impact – it’s impossible, but you can take small and major steps to green all aspects of your life.

First of all, if you don’t know you’re impact you’re stumbling around in the dark. Calculate your own eco-impact using the new and improved Low Impact Living Environmental Impact Calculator. Once you enter your zipcode this powerful calculator will show you your personal carbon footprint along with the energy, water, wastewater, trash, and stormwater runoff footprints of your home and lifestyle. Additionally, it recommends projects based on your specific inputs that can save you money, reduce your environmental impact, or in many cases both at the same time.

Once you have your score the next step is decisions and research. It’s hard to lower all your impacts at once so you can choose a couple to work on, and once you get those impacts parred down, choose some more. You can make decisions based on a few factors:

Choose an impact that will save you money – i.e work on energy savings for the home.
Choose an impact you believe in – i.e. if you’re passionate about ocean life work on buying sustainable seafood and doing some beach clean-ups.
Choose an impact that affects many aspects of sustainability – i.e. choosing to work on your transport impact can save you money, help halt the effects of global warming, and make air quality better in your direct area.

Here are five common impacts we make on the planet and some tips for lowering your impact…

NEW Eco-Performance Kitchen Faucets from Moen

July 21, 2009 in Save Energy, Save Money, Water by Jennifer | No comments

Moen has just introduced a new line of green kitchen faucets. They’ve already been carrying other green faucets for a while but their new eco-performance line of kitchen faucets is being touted as the first real green water saving faucets for the kitchen. The new Lindley Eco-Performance kitchen faucet offers beautiful, traditional styling, consumer-preferred high-arc pulldown spout – and a multi-function spray wand featuring water-saving settings.

Kevin Campbell, director of retail marketing for Moen notes, “While homeowners are concerned about saving water, the thought of waiting at the kitchen sink to fill a pot or pitcher is not very appealing… We are so excited to be the first in the kitchen category to offer homeowners a water-saving kitchen faucet that still provides the exceptional performance they have come to expect from Moen.”

What makes these faucets eco-friendly?

Faucets offer three unique water-flow settings. For everyday tasks that require constant, yet low-water flow, such as washing dishes or preparing foods, homeowners can choose new eco-performance standard stream or aerated spray modes. These special setting help you save water and money by providing a reduced flow rate of 1.75 gallons per minute (gpm), which translates to a 32 percent water savings. For tasks that require a set amount of water, such as filling a pot or pitcher – you can switch your faucet to the fast-fill mode, which flows at the standard 2.2 gpm rate.

Other perks:

The pulldown wand offers an ergonomic design with a fiber hose and a ball joint at the end of the wand.
Lindley faucets offer Moen’s patented Hydrolock installation system which connects the faucet and supply lines together with a telltale “click” for a quick, easy and secure connection.
Lindley faucets are available in LifeShine Classic Stainless or in Moen’s new Mediterranean Bronze finish.

The faucets are available at Home Depot or through the Moen website.

Seven Ideas for Extra Home Energy Savings

July 12, 2009 in Save Energy, Save Money by Jennifer | 1 comment

There are so many ideas for energy savings that there are solutions for almost any home out there. Even if you’re already doing the basics; turning off lights, using energy efficient appliances, you can always try to save more energy and money. Here are ten ideas recommended by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy that we haven’t looked at here before.

Replace any older windows with energy efficient windows OR at the very least caulk leaky windows.
If you’ve got a waterbed, make sure you make the bed daily. Simply covering a waterbed up can save you one-third of the energy it typically uses.
Insulate any hot water pipes and ducts that run through unheated areas.
When buying a new dishwasher look for a no-heat drying feature which uses fans powered by room air vs. electricity.
You should routinely look at your energy and utility bills to see which areas you could be doing better in. Some homes are energy guzzlers, but do ok with water conservation. You won’t know how your home is doing if you always pay the bill without stopping to think.
Your heating and cooling systems need to be tuned up twice a year to keep them running at maximum performance.
All those little cracks in your house can add up to the energy lost through, say a door kept open 24/7. Go through the house and check for all those tiny cracks. Seal up the largest air leaks in your home first (i.e. you can hear them leaking on windy days). The largest cracks are usually found near utility cut-throughs for pipes (”plumbing penetrations”), gaps around chimneys, recessed lights in insulated ceilings, and in unfinished spaces behind cupboards and closets.

Green Home Sale: Memorial Day Eco-Sales!

May 24, 2009 in Save Money by Jennifer | No comments

The problem with eco shops is that many don’t hold the same traditional sales that you’ll see at conventional shops. That said, a few do, and I hunted them down. I also found some cool green home gear on general sales – i.e. not so much Memorial Day based, but still stellar deals.

A.R.E Naturals has so much green goodness for the home and while they’re not throwing down a Memorial Day sale, they do have some killer sale items for your home (see above – and links below).

Read the rest of this entry »

What is an ENERGY STAR qualified home

May 11, 2009 in Green Building, Save Energy, Save Money by Jennifer | No comments

An ENERGY STAR qualified home is a simple concept. For a home to earn the ENERGY STAR qualified rating, it must meet strict guidelines for energy efficiency set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. ENERGY STAR homes need to be at least 15% more energy efficient than homes built to the 2004 International Residential Code (IRC). These homes usually include additional energy-saving components as well that can pop their energy efficiency rating up to 20–30% more efficient than your standard home.

The major features of an ENERGY STAR home include:

Effective Insulation
High-Performance Windows
Tight Construction and Ducts
Efficient Heating and Cooling Equipment
Efficient Products
Third-Party Verification – this simply means that an outside qualified party (Home Energy Rater), conducts “Onsite testing and inspections to verify the energy efficiency measures, as well as insulation, air tightness, and duct sealing details.“

WHY BUY OR BUILD AN ENERGY STAR HOME:

It can simplify the green home buying process. Since it’s ENERGY STAR you have fewer decisions to make, because a home needs to meet eco-specifications to qualify.
Compared with standard homes, ENERGY STAR qualified homes have much lower owner costs when it comes to energy and water use. You can also save money with lower financing options.
According to ENERGY STAR< energy efficient homes are a smarter investment, “To date, more than 6,500 home builders have partnered with EPA to construct nearly 940,000 ENERGY STAR qualified homes. The trend is clear. By choosing a home with the ENERGY STAR label, you can be confident that it will have an increasingly valued feature when the time comes to sell.” Of course they’d say that, but really green home are doing well on the market, so it’s not just company fluff.
You’re helping to keep the planet green. Houses can generate more greenhouse gas emissions than your car.

If you’re building, not simply buying an ENERGY STAR home you can check out some home plans that are Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR rating or click here to find home builders and developers that build ENERGY STAR qualified new homes, lenders that offer energy efficient mortgages, utilities that offer special incentives to buyers, and home energy raters that can verify the energy efficiency of a home.

You can take a tour of an ENERGY STAR home to learn more about the features offered.

Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency Improvements

April 21, 2009 in Green Building, Green Your Home, Save Money by Jennifer | 2 comments

If you made eco-changes to your home in 2008, then you were entitled to some tax credits, but not many. 2008 energy efficient credits included:

geothermal heat pumps (30%, up to $2,000)
solar water heaters (30%, up to $2,000)
solar panels (30%, up to $2,000)
small wind energy systems (30%, up to $4,000)
fuel cells (30%, up to $500 per .5 kW of power capacity)

THE BETTER NEWS:

Now is an excellent time to plan for eco-home changes. Energy efficiency improvements that are eligible for a tax credit IF you make the changes January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2010 include: Read the rest of this entry »

Beyond Basic Compact Fluorescent Bulbs

April 8, 2009 in Save Energy, Save Money by Jennifer | No comments

We’re always hearing about compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL) – and for good reason. CFLs are more earth friendly and last longer than typical bulbs. CFLs are an inexpensive way that any household can incorporate greener standards. BUT, what other greener lighting options are there? CFLs are not the only lighting choice if your goal is a green home. Following are two more green lighting options.

LIGHT-EMITTING DIODES (LEDS): Led lighting is actually more efficient (about three times more so) than CFLs and ten times more efficient than typical incandescent bulbs. They don’t give off much heat and last far longer than CFLs or standard bulbs. For example, the typical lifespan of a CFL is at most 10,000 hours while a LED can last up to 50,000 hours.

A downside of LED bulbs is that they’re more expensive to get started with. They do pay off in energy savings and lifespan in the long run, but in the short run you’ll need a larger budget to start using them. Also, LEDs are and are not handy depending on your needs. They make sense for smaller spaces where direct light is needed, but won’t work as well to light up large areas. See more tips on where LED lighting works best.

COLD CATHODE BULBS: These are actually a type of CFL but they run at room temperature, unlike average CFLs that work (in simple terms) by heating up. These can also be used for dimmers and any other light situation where flashing lights are needed. and last longer than other CFLs. You won’t have to fork over much extra cash for cold bulbs either, they’re not too much more than other CFLs and save you a little more over time due to their long life span. Cold cathode bulbs used to be used more like LEDs – i.e. in smaller, direct light situations, but currently you can find all sorts of bulbs for all kinds of applications.

Where to find these bulbs:

Your local hardware or home improvement store.
Litetronics
LED Light
1000Bulbs
EcoLEDs

Quick Energy Saving Tips for Empty Rooms

February 27, 2009 in Save Energy, Save Money by Jennifer | No comments

We all know that we should turn off the lights when we leave a room. However, there’s more you could be doing in order to save energy on empty rooms.

Close off the vents in unused or less used rooms of your house.

Make sure the doors aren’t leaking cool air into your home via a large bottom opening. If you can feel cold air coming into your home from an empty room, place a towel or a made to order door draft stopper like the one below.

In unused rooms with fireplaces make sure you close the damper.

In empty or less used rooms close the drapes or blinds so that less cool air comes inside, which can result in air leaking under the door and into your used rooms.

Unplug items in underused rooms – i.e. lamps and TVs.

My family (and maybe your family) are killing trees in one fast swoop

February 17, 2009 in Reduce, Reuse, & Recycle, Save Money by Jennifer | 2 comments

The other night I went to a family dinner at my dad’s house. There were maybe 15 people there. We had pizza (good), salad (good), ice cream cake (even better) and LOADS of paper napkins. Oh my.

At my own house, all we use are cloth napkins. We’ve never used paper napkins, and we don’t even use paper towels. I was a little shocked about all the paper napkin use at dinner the other night, and almost considered wiping my hands on my jeans just to cut down on the excess. On a given day, (not a family dinner night) there are still about 5-8 random people at my dad’s. If you do the lowest math that’s about 5 people x’s three meals and snacks a day. That’s possibly:

20 paper napkins a day.
140 paper napkins a week.
7,280 paper napkins a year! For ONE household. Not to mention the family dinners.

Wow right?

How many trees is that affecting? Let’s use a basic bulk pack of Bounty Quilted Napkins, 100-Napkin Packages (Pack of 20) for our calculations. If you buy in bulk, that’s about 12 pounds of paper napkins. In my family, you’d need about 3.5+ bulk packs for the year.

Semi-fuzzy math calculations: Read the rest of this entry »

Quick Tip: Just In Time for Tax Season – Toilet Rebate!

January 30, 2009 in Save Energy, Save Money by Jennifer | No comments

Keetsa has the goods on how you can get a rebate ($100) on a eco-friendly toilet. Good news if like me, you live in Portland, Oregon. If you don’t happen to live in good ol’ pdx, check with the resources below to see if you qualify for a rebate on an energy saving appliance in your neck of the woods.

Can I Get a Rebate for Trading in Old Appliances

Energy Star rebates and special offers

DSIRE – offers, “Fast and convenient method for accessing information about renewable energy and energy efficiency incentives and regulatory policies administered by federal and state agencies, utilities, and local organizations.”

Green Product Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Buy

December 30, 2008 in Green Your Home, Save Money by Jennifer | 1 comment

With New Year’s right here upon us, it’s time to make some green goals. If you haven’t gotten your own goals squared away yet, then you may want to consider a nice big green purchasing goal.

Having a green shopping goal is smart, and covers a lot of ground. By flexing your green buying power you can accomplish energy saving, conserve resources, cut down on pollution, support local economy, support green businesses, and lower your footprint.

When shopping for home products, groceries, or anything, you can ask yourself the following questions. If you answer truthfully, you’ll be able to make greener shopping choices the whole year… Read the rest of this entry »

Save Money with Great Discount Codes for Green Gifts

December 9, 2008 in Holiday, Save Money by Jennifer | 1 comment

I found some nice discount codes for green gift items this month. I’ve posted them just about everywhere, but then thought, HEY, Best Green Home Tip readers might like these too.

Save on Dwell goodies:

Not all Dwell items are eco-friendly. Many are though, and this is a nice sale. Just check materials before buying if you’re looking for all perfectly green items.

Save on Night Owl Paper Goods items such as, eco-cards, reusable bags, sustainable calendars and more! (see items below code – click on the product image to learn more)

:: Night Owl Paper Goods Owliday Discount :: www.nightowlpapergoods.com

:: Receive 25% off ALL ORDERS now thru Dec. 31st! :: Coupon Code friend08

:: Share with friends! :: Use over & over!

Green Christmas Shopping – 3RLiving Exclusive Discount to Unplugged Living – 3R Living has the coolest green gear, and now, you can score it for less.

Easy, less expensive, green holiday shopping! Gotta love it.

Quick Energy Saving Tip – DIY Energy Audit

November 30, 2008 in Save Energy, Save Money by Jennifer | 1 comment

You can hire someone to run a home energy audit for you, or with the help of Home Energy Saver, you can actually do an energy audit easily by yourself.

At Home Energy Saver, you enter your zip code, and what shoots out is a typical round up of energy costs in your area. For example, after I enter my zip code, it shows that the average home’s energy costs are $1395 a year, while an energy efficient home in the same area costs about $737 a year.

There’s also a graph that shows which appliances typically drain the most energy in your area.

Next there are some questions to answer – all were pretty easy, so you don’t need technical know-how for this audit. Questions like…

Does your house have foundation or floor insulation?
Do you have a clothes washer?
How many freezers do you have?
What kind of heating equipment do you have?
And so on.

After filling out all the answers, the site will show you where you can make changes, cut costs, and save more energy. It’s a really nice site, and even if you aren’t planning on making any immediate changes, it’s cool to know your options.

Visit Home Energy Saver

Green Toilet Paper Tips

October 29, 2008 in Green Your Home, Reduce, Reuse, & Recycle, Save Money by Jennifer | No comments

Green toilet paper has many pros, and one major con. The con – cost. Recycled toilet paper is a lot more than basic toilet paper; especially if you have a large family and go through many rolls a week. We’ll look at how you can save money further down. First the pros…

Green toilet paper pros:

Green toilet paper is actually recycled toilet paper. Seventh Generation, one manufacturer of 100% Recycled Bathroom Tissue, notes that if every home in America replaced one 12 pack of 400 sheet virgin fiber toilet paper with 100% recycled we could save 1.7 billion gallons of water annually and more than 1,000,000 trees. Also purchasing recycled toilet paper can reduce overall pollution and drastically reduces the chemicals in the environment and on our skin, (there’s chlorine in normal toilet paper).

What to look for in green toilet paper:

Chlorine free.
Made from 80-100% recycled content.
No added dyes or fragrances.
Safe for low-flow toilets.

How to save money on recycled toilet paper:

Seventh Generation offers coupons for their recycled toilet paper and other products. They change periodically though, so you have to stay tuned to their site.

Buy in bulk – places like Amazon.com and warehouse stores sell bigger packs of recycled toilet paper for less.

Look at size. Many recycled rolls have more squares than typical toilet paper, so the initial sticker shock may be uncalled for. Although this depends on brands.

Order online direct from a company vs. buying in a store. Check with various companies to see if you can get a deal for buying a lot at one time. Go in on the purchase with another family.

Places to buy recycled toilet paper

Read some green toilet paper reviews

Green Your Home On the Cheap

October 17, 2008 in Green Your Home, Save Energy, Save Money by Jennifer | 1 comment

Hey folks; sorry that I’ve been missing in action. My laptop motherboard died – we’ll skip that story because it’s highly depressing. That said, stay tuned for some extra green home and living posts over the next few days to make up for my absence.

Since I’ve been having to spend massive amounts of cash on computer issues, saving cash has been on my mind. The good news is that there are plenty of ways you can go green without spending a lot of green. For example…

Free – $5 energy-efficient compact fluorescent (CFL) light bulbs – Every once in a while places like Home Depot or your local energy company give out free CFLs (check your local resources). Even if you have to buy a bulb, the cost is low compared to the green savings and money saving over time.

$10 weather stripping – weather stripping at most will only cost you about $10 per roll, and it’s a great way to conserve energy resources and costs.
Read the rest of this entry »