Keeping it Real Homes

Archive for May, 2011

If you are one of the many people looking to keep your energy costs low then you will find a few easy ways to get you on your way. A couple of the areas that come to mind when you mention energy savings are the appliances and the heating and cooling systems. These contribute to the majority of our energy use in our homes, so they are prime things to change.

Our appliances are easily some of the biggest energy sinks in our homes. Thanks to the needs of modern society, there is no easy way around this either. You could do like people did hundreds of years ago, or you could simply replace them with more energy efficient models. Depending on the age of your appliance, it could be using twice the amount of a newer model. Just imagine doing everything twice, that is what you are essentially doing. New appliances may not be in the cards, but there are still a few things that you can do lower your energy use either way.

Running your appliances in the heat of the day is a quick way to raise your energy costs. Your appliances create heat when you use them, and this will contribute to the temperature in the house. This forces your air conditioner to work harder to keep your house cool. Simply using them in the mornings, or the evenings will help reduce the strain on your air conditioner.

Talking about your heating and cooling systems, installing a programmable thermostat can go a long way to keeping your costs down. These allow you to program when your heating and cooling systems change temperatures, which allows you to regulate their use much easier than trying to keep up with it manually. This will allow you to set the temperatures at different levels to coincide with your tasks during the day. That way your systems aren’t working to normal levels when they aren’t needed, like when you are at work.

With our appliances, and our heating and cooling systems, it is important that they get serviced on a regular basis. Regular maintenance will not only keep them running in tip-top shape, it will prolong the life of them as well. It will cost you a bit of money to have this done occasionally, but you will find that it saves you more money in the long run.

These two areas are prime spots that you can work on to reduce your energy bills. Changing your appliances to newer models will cost a bit at first, but in the long term you will save more money. Replacing your thermostat with a programmable model is a cheap, and easy, fix as well. In both cases you should keep things maintained in order to keep your energy use low.

If you are thinking about going green, a great place to start is with your kitchen. This one room can be responsible for a good amount of energy that can be easily wasted. There are a few easy changes that you can make to save some cash and help the environment at the same time.

One of the easiest things you can do is simply cook more at once. This is not to suggest that you should eat the same things over an over, but simply to plan out your meals in advance and cook in ways that reduce the amount of waste. This could be as simple as cooking roast beef for dinner one night, but cooking extra so you have sandwiches for a few lunches.

You could also cook more of the same meal and simply freeze it for later. Most foods can be stored with this way which would reduce the amount of energy wasted by cooking whole meals each time. If this is something that doesn’t appeal to you, you could always add more fruits and vegetables to your diet.

Fruits and vegetables are a more economical option from the word go. They are more natural to produce, is cheaper in price compared to meats and breads, and is even cheaper to produce. These three things make them a much better option without even considering the dietary benefits.

Another area where you can go green in the kitchen is with your water consumption. While the surface of the earth is primarily water, there can be high costs associated with getting it ready for our needs. Because of this, being able to reduce our use of water is important.

The easiest thing you can do is to stop buying bottled water. Not only does bottled water use the same production costs as normal tap water does, it has the additional costs of packaging, transportation, and waste. In many cases this water is no better for you than the water you can get from your own sink making it nothing but a waste of money.

The simple solution is to use a bottle or cup that can be used multiple times. This will allow you to keep water around for your personal needs, it will eliminate the extra costs associated with the packaging. You could easily purchase a water filtration system to make your water taste better with the money you are wasting by buying it bottled.

Going green in the kitchen doesn’t need to be difficult. Simply cooking more when you cook your meals will save you money on your energy bills while eliminating bottled water can drastically reduce your grocery bills. It may seem difficult to get these things started, but once you do you will be glad you did.

Nobody ever said that going green only happens at home. There are quite a few ways we can be eco-friendly at the office as well. Many of these changes can be made without spending any money, which is sure to make your boss happy. This article will cover a couple of the less expensive options for you to go green at the office.

Office Equipment

The biggest culprit of wasted energy at work is the office equipment. In some cases the computers and printers are left on around the clock, which is a huge waste. Simply turning them off is not the answer either, though it is much better than leaving them on.

The easiest way to fix this is to make sure your equipment is plugged into a power strip that has a switch. This will allow you to switch it all off at the end of the day, eliminating power to the equipment completely. Most office computers and printers are already hooked into a power strip, so it is a matter of turning it off and not spending money buying new ones.

Paper

Most offices go through a bunch of paper each day. Having the ability to eliminate, or at least reduce, our need to use paper is important to helping the environment. While there are some paper use that can be avoided there is plenty that can be.

You can start by asking your boss to switch to a paperless billing system. Most payments can be handled electronically now making this an easy change. If your boss is reluctant to fully switch, ask him to give his customers the option. This way the clients that want to continue getting paper can, while you eliminate waste on the clients that are willing to switch.

Around the office you should limit as much paper use as you can. Items, like memos, can be sent via email to reduce some waste. Giving your employees the ability to receive their paycheck by direct deposit is another. Simple things like this will add up over time and will save your company a lot of money.

Of course there is some waste that is going to happen. Setting up a recycling station at work could easily handle this waste and reduce the carbon footprint of your business. Most trash companies offer this service and in many cases will use the money they make from recycling to credit your trash bill.

These are some very simple things you can do to go green in the office. Eliminating paper use will reduce the amount of trash that winds up in landfills while unplugging unused equipment will reduce the amount of energy your company uses. Both of these are easy to implement and will make your company eco-friendly in no time.

With the current state of the economy it is no wonder people are looking at energy efficient appliances as a way to save some money. These models take much less energy to run, which will help keep your utility bills down. I am sure you are also aware of the environmental benefits to these types of appliances. When you combine the two you have an amazing one-two punch that is hard to beat.

Unfortunately, many people have difficulty in choosing the most energy efficient model for their needs. In this article we will help you choose the right appliances as well as teaching you why you should make the change sooner rather than later.

The first thing to consider is the age of your appliances. Older models may have been released before the government started enforcing stricter regulations on energy consumption. It is quite possible that the model you currently own is using twice the energy of a newer model. Simply upgrading to a newer model will save you some money each month.

The downside to energy efficient appliances is that the more efficient models tend to cost more initially. In some cases the cost can be trivial, but in others you could be talking a few hundred bucks. So it is important to find a model that is within your budget that still allows the savings over time. Here are a few other things to keep in mind before you spend your hard earned money.

Size

You must be sure that the model you purchase will be big enough to handle your household tasks. Buying a model that is too big will have you spending more money than necessary as it is designed to handle bigger jobs. A smaller appliance will have a similar effect in that you will be doing more loads to keep up with the current workload. You should be able to gauge the size you need in comparison to the model you currently own. If you feel the model was too big or two small, now is the perfect time to step into one that is just right.

Labels

Every new appliance must carry an Energy Star label. This allows consumers to quickly be able to compare estimated energy usage among the various models. Some savvy sales people may try to con you into buying a model claiming it has an Energy Star label, when in reality all models will. He is likely looking to get a bigger commission and is simply looking to make you spend as much as possible. Don’t let some salesman’s bottom line come before yours.

Incentives

In 2010 the Federal Government created a tax break for individuals that purchased certain energy efficient products. As of now these tax breaks no longer exist, but it is best to check into them again before you make your purchase. Even without the federal breaks, some other groups provide rebates on the purchase of these products. Check with groups, such as your electric company, as they may give you a rebate or an offer to help influence your decision.

Each type of appliance will have its own list of things to check for to ensure the proper fit for your situation. Simply buying the right model for your needs will do wonders for your monthly savings. Purchasing the correct energy saving appliance may cost you more in the short term, but you will save money in the end.

Many people equate the words “going green” to things you can do in the house. While there are a ton of things you can do inside to go green, outdoors is where it really can shine. Here are a few things that you can do in order to be more environmentally friendly outside.

Planting a Garden

This is a simple way to not only help the environment, it can also help feed your family. Heading to the local hardware store in the spring can present you with a variety of options for your garden. The types of plants you pick is up to you, they all share the same environmental benefits as the others. The best thing you can do is pick the plants the grow the vegetables that you like, or use, the most.

It is important not to use chemicals for pest control or fertilizer. These can leech into the soil, end up in the water supply, and simply hurt the environment. This is not to say that you do not need to feed and protect your plants, but there are natural ways to do this.

For feeding you might think about making your own fertilizer. You can do this with a compost made up from your family’s food scraps. Instead of throwing them away, put them somewhere outside where they can decompose naturally. This works great and can save you a bit of money.

You could also buy a natural compost, but this will cost some money. You may live in an area that may not like you making it your self, leaving this as the only option.

Water Conservation

This is another area that we can address in order to be more eco-friendly outside. Simply reducing the amount of watering that we do can make a huge difference, but may not always be an option. If you do find yourself needing to water your plants, do it in the early morning when the ground is at its coolest. As the temperature heats up you will have some instant evaporation, leading to wasted water.

You could put up some barrels around your house to collect the rainwater as well. This water is perfect for your garden. You could easily set them up around your downspouts to maximize your return.

These two things can make a big impact on the environment. Growing a garden will help the environment in reducing carbon dioxide while changing our watering habits will reduce the energy needed to purify more for our daily needs. Going green requires us to change our habits, and these are easy changes