Let's look at some really easy ways to REDUCE resource use around the house. As an aside, I have had a lot of fun with these easy measures by involving my children as well. I find once I take the time to explain what we are doing and why it is good, they end up corrective my behaviot. For me it will be changing behavior, but for them it will be instilled in how they live. Ideally making small improvements which are then multiplied overhundreds of thousands of families and multiple generations will have dramatic impacts.
You don't have to do all of these at once, or think that if you don't do all of these then you shouldn't bother with any. Even small change is a step in the right direction. Remember the key is to pick what you can change easily and build upon it.
ENERGY:
1. Shut off the lights or other electronics when you are not in the room. The kids love busting me on this one but I must say after a few months of consciously doing this it has become more second nature.
2. Plug your TV, cable box, DVD, and receiver into a power strip. At night before bed flip the power switch so all power to your electronic devices is off. There is very small current constantly flowing to these devices when plugged in to power on the little red lights or the clocks. Even if it is powered back on all day, just think for 8 hours or a third of every day its now off.
3. Use a programmable thermostat, see a separate blog
posting for the details.
4. Use CFL's to replace incandescent lamps. I must admit the light quality is different and it takes some getting used to. I haven't made a wholesale conversion yet, but I have swapped out lamps in basement, garage, hallways, some of the more utility spaces in the house.
5. Lower your water heater setpoint to the lowest temperature that is comfortable for you. Try setting it to 120°F. Each 10°F reduction in water temperature will generally save 3–5% on your water heating costs.
WATER:
Water is a very low cost item and readily available in the U.S., so because of the economics its easy to waste water. However it is not so available or affordable in many parts of the world. I feel if we are not careful, this resource could become much more limited and expensive over the next 100 years. Lets not let water become a crisis before we take action.
1. Shower - use of low flow shower head and not letting the shower run for an extended time while waiting for the temperature to warm up are two easy steps. The EPAct 1992 required all showerheads to have a flow rate of 2.5 gpm @80 psi. This is a good minimum. You can take it to the next level by changing to a low flow head which would be 2.2 gpm. This would save an estimated 2,200 gallons per year. You could also consider a shower head that automatically shuts off when the water is preheated to 95 degrees. That way if you turned the water on, then walked away to pick out your clothes in the closet, the water would stop when it was warmed up and wouldn't be running the entire time waiting for you to come back. Here is a
demonstration.
2. This one is real easy. Shut the water off when you are brishing your teeth. Again the kids love busting me on this one!
3. So this one may be really hard for some people...lawn irrigation. The
numbers are staggering. 30% of residential water use, 7 billion gallons a year. I made a conscious decision to not put in an irrigation system, to not water my lawn, but rather plant the yard with native trees, plants, flowering trees and shrubs etc. While my lawn burns out every August and is the brownest in the neighborhood, It gives me pride to know I am not dumping this precious resource out on my weeds.
ENERGY STAR
This is good for both power and water. When it comes time to replace your appliances, shop for Energy Star appliances. I would encourage you to do a little homework on the model you are shopping for to make sure the Energy Star claim is accurate as there have been some challenges to the Energy Star rating system. Doing a little research online is very quick and easy to do before you make your purchase to make sure your new appliance uses less power and/or water.
