Energy Conservation Tips
Sunday, April 22 is Earth Day. 

While Earth Day is a day when many people hold rallies and demonstrations to show their concerns about the environment and conservation, they also hope to bring a wider awareness to the cause, since a healthy, clean environment is good for everyone on this beautiful Earth. To help make every day an Earth Day, encourage your friends, family, 'net buddies, and local government and businesses to take reasonable steps toward responsible use of our natural resources.

Below are a few ways to save energy and help the environment. My three choices for the easiest and least expensive ways to save a lot of energy are the first three listed. Click each link for details.

 Turn off lights, appliances, TV's, etc. when you don't need them.
Insulate your home and save money instantly.
Install low-energy lighting.  
Save energy
Use less water
The other 3 R's
Handle toxics properly

And for the workplace:

Commute for the environment
Green your building
 Reduce energy use with Energy Star
Reduce, reuse, and recycle office products

Turn off lights, appliances, TV's, etc. when you don't need them. This one's obvious, and doesn't cost a cent. But many people don't realize what a huge difference it makes! If you use your electrical devices just 10% less, it could translate to hundreds of dollars in savings over a year. All it takes is a little more attentiveness, and if you have children, a little extra training.

Most children I know accidentally leave the lights on when leaving a room. However, most children also enjoy being helpful, so maybe you could give them a "helpful" approach to turning off the lights instead of being upset that they always forget. If you have a good teaching method you'd like to share, email us and we'll add it to our website. 

Email your tips

Insulate your home. If you have a home which is over 20 years old, you probably have insufficient insulation. I spoke to an insulation expert about improving heating and cooling efficiency in our warehouse. After getting a bid on insulating it (6,000 sq. ft. of floor space, 20 feet high ceilings) I told him I simply didn't have the money to do it all, and apologized for wasting his time. He said that the magic of insulation is that even if you can't do an entire project at once, you receive a direct and immediate benefit from any little bit you did do. For instance, he said, if you insulate just one square foot of your 6,000 square feet, you will lose one square foot less energy. In other words, the whole thing doesn't have to be done in order to benefit from it. Do what you can afford right now, and begin realizing the savings right now. Finish the job as you have the money to do so. 

Install low-energy lighting. I'm just guessing, but I think that lighting is probably the largest portion of one's electric bill, second only to electric heating (furnace, stove, water heater). For general household lighting, it is well known that fluorescent lighting will reduce energy consumption by over 50%, and now today's Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) make replacing the 75 watt incandescent bulbs an easy switch. One downside is that some (perhaps most) fluorescent bulbs use mercury gas inside, so you don't want to break these bulbs when disposing of them. 

Another option, LED lighting (you didn't think I'd forget to mention LEDs did you?), is an incredibly efficient means of illuminating those things which stay lit most of the day or night such as accent lamps, spotlights for art and photos, nightlights, and seasonal lighted decor such as light strings and patio lights. 

LED lights use 80-95% less energy than traditional bulbs, and last from five to ten years longer! LEDs also generate only a fraction of the heat that incandescent bulbs do, and don't have mercury in them like the fluorescents.  Most LED light strings will pay for themselves on your electric bill in 30 days. The more expensive engineered LED bulbs can take up to two years to break even (or just a couple months if used commercially, like in a restaurant or office). 

Please send me your ideas, and I'll build a web page geared toward helping people save energy and conserve resources. Remember, what seems like a basic idea to you, may be a revelation to someone else. 

Here are some more ideas for saving money. These tips are provided by you, the American taxpayer, via earthday.gov.
 

Save energy
  • Use the Energy Star program http://www.energystar.gov to find energy efficient products for your home. The right choices can save families about 30% ($400 a year) while reducing our emissions of greenhouse gases. Whether you are looking to replace old appliances, remodel, or buy a new house, the can help. ENERGY STAR is the government's backed symbol for energy efficiency. The ENERGY STAR label makes it easy to know which products to buy without sacrificing features, style or comfort that today's consumers expect.
  • Turn off appliances and lights when you leave the room.
  • Use the microwave to cook small meals. (It uses less power than an oven.)
  • Purchase "Green Power" for your home's electricity. (Contact your power supplier to see where and if it is available.)
  • Have leaky air conditioning and refrigeration systems repaired.
  • Cut back on air conditioning and heating use if you can.
  • Insulate your home, water heater and pipes.
  • Keep in mind that every trip adds to air pollution. Learn more at It All Adds Up http://www.italladdsup.gov.
  • Replace incandescent light bulbs with Energy Star qualified Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFL). If every household in the U.S. replaced one light bulb with a CFL, it would prevent enough pollution to equal removing one million cars from the road. http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls


Use less water

  • Look for the WaterSense label to identify water-efficient products and programs. The WaterSense label indicates that these products and programs meet water-efficiency and performance criteria. WaterSense labeled products will perform well, help save money, and encourage innovation in manufacturing. http://www.epa.gov/watersense/index.htm
  • Don't let the water run while shaving or brushing teeth.
  • Take short showers instead of tub baths.
  • Keep drinking water in the refrigerator instead of letting the faucet run until the water is cool.
  • Scrape, rather than rinse, dishes before loading into the dishwasher; wash only full loads.
  • Wash only full loads of laundry or use the appropriate water level or load size selection on the washing machine.
  • Buy high-efficient plumbing fixtures & appliances.
  • Repair all leaks (a leaky toilet can waste 200 gallons a day).
  • Water the lawn or garden during the coolest part of the day (early morning is best).
  • Water plants differently according to what they need. Check with your local extension service or nurseries for advice.
  • Set sprinklers to water the lawn or garden only – not the street or sidewalk.
  • Use soaker hoses or trickle irrigation systems for trees and shrubs.
  • Keep your yard healthy - dethatch, use mulch, etc.
  • Sweep outside instead of using a hose.
  • Learn how to plant trees, build a pond, compost, and more from the Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/feature/backyard.


Reduce/reuse/recycle
Practice the three R's: first reduce how much you use, then reuse what you can, and then recycle the rest. Then, dispose of what's left in the most environmentally friendly way. Read the tips below and explore the Consumer's Handbook for Reducing Solid Waste http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/reduce/catbook

  • Reduce:
    • Buy permanent items instead of disposables.
    • Buy and use only what you need.
    • Buy products with less packaging.
    • Buy products that use less toxic chemicals.
  • Reuse:
    • Repair items as much as possible.
    • Use durable coffee mugs.
    • Use cloth napkins or towels.
    • Clean out juice bottles and use them for water.
    • Use empty jars to hold leftover food.
    • Reuse boxes.
    • Purchase refillable pens and pencils.
    • Participate in a paint collection and reuse program. For information on handling household solid waste, visit http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/osw/citizens.htm.
    • Donate extras to people you know or to charity instead of throwing them away.
    • Reuse grocery bags as trash bags.
  • Recycle:


Handle toxics properly
What's under your kitchen sink, in your garage, in your bathroom, and on the shelves in your laundry room? Learn more about what's in these products, about potential health effects, and about safety and handling. A database of household products is available at http://hpd.nlm.nih.gov

Common household items such as paints, cleaners, oils, batteries, and pesticides contain hazardous components. Although we cannot completely stop using hazardous products, we can make sure that leftovers are managed properly. The best way to handle household hazardous waste is to give leftovers to someone else to use.

Many communities have set up collection programs to keep hazardous products out of landfills and combustors. More than
3,000 HHW collection programs exist in the United States. More information is provided at http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/reduce.htm#hhw

In addition to items listed here, check the Earth Day sites of various agencies for more tips and events in your area.

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