The Story of Going Green at Home
Your Home
Besides choosing energy Star appliances for your home, there
are many things you can do to increase your homes energy
efficiency. Many of these things are fairly easy; it's just a
matter of knowing what they are.
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Your Home
Washing Machines
An Energy Star rated washing machine uses half the water and
electricity used by less efficient models. Washing machines use
about 14% of the water consumed in the home. You can save
water by waiting till you have a full load of clothes to wash.
Washers use 32 to 59 gallons of water for each cycle. Up to
90% of the energy used for washing clothes goes to heating
the water. Here's something you might not know - the
temperature of the rinse doesn't affect the cleaning of the
clothes. A warm water wash and a cold rinse will work just as
well as a hot water wash and a warm rinse on nearly all
clothes.
Dishwashers
An Energy Star dishwasher can reduce your energy usage by
25% and save water too. You'll save even more if you fill your
dishwasher before running it and don't use the pre-rinse or
the heat dry cycles.
Refrigerators
Refrigerators with an energy Star rating can cut electricity use
by 15% to 40%. Save even more energy by letting air circulate
around the condenser coils in the back, by checking that the
door seals are secure, and by setting the temperatures to 35 to
38°F and 0°F for the freezer. Clean the condenser coils on the
back or bottom of your refrigerator at least once a year. Keep
the door gasket clean to make sure the seal is not broken.
Air Conditioners
Air conditioners - if we all raise the settings of our air
conditioners by 6°, we could save 190,000 barrels of oil every
day. Don’t switch your air conditioner to a colder setting when
you turn it on. It won't cool the room any faster and it will waste
energy. Clean or replace the filters once a month; otherwise
the fan works harder and consumes more electricity.
Stoves
Stoves/ovens - for gas stoves, an electronic ignition system
will use about 40% less gas than a pilot light. The pilot light
and burner should burn with a blue cone shaped flame. If the
flames yellow, burners and ports are clogged and need to be
cleaned.
Utilities
Your local electric utility is a good source for information on
energy conservation. They often provide low-cost home energy
audits, and have literature that details tips about energy
conservation.
How to Make Your Home "Greener"
Here are a few suggestions on how to start turning your house into a "greener," more environmentally friendly living space.
Clothing
Going green with clothing may be harder for some than for
others because it gets down to buying fewer but better quality
clothes, wearing them longer, and repairing, repurposing, and
recycling them. That means buying products from natural
materials, grown without the use of pesticides or chemicals.
Conclusion
Green Living isn’t just about us. It is about our future. Our
children’s future, and their children’s future. We can choose to
continue our wasteful ways, or we can decide that a healthy
environment is to become our legacy. It is the most valuable
heirloom we can pass down to our families.
Living green might seem like a pebble compared to a boulder
when it comes to the environment. While in some ways it is,
don’t forget that a pile of pebbles can quickly tower over a
boulder.