It's Easy Being Green

It’s exciting to see that the Home Depot has brought back one of my favorite programs for the fourth year in a row: their annual Eco-Options Christmas Light Trade-In Event. Bring in any old incandescent string of Christmas lights (working or not) and receive a $3 to $5 credit toward the purchase of a new, energy efficient light strand. You can get a credit for up to 5 strands and you have until the 13th of November to participate.

What is exciting about this year’s trade-in is that they are allowing the credit to be used on all three major collections of LED lights they’re carrying including the Martha Stewart brand. Last year I was disappointed to find my Home Depot stores cleaned out of the few options they actually allowed for trade so props to them for expanding the program this year.

Are you wondering why you should trade up to LED Christmas lights? Click here to read more. If you’d like to know more about what Home Depot does to those old light strands once you trade them in, they produced a quick video this year explaining the process. Now go get your energy efficiency on this Christmas!

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In case you missed it, NPR’s Science Friday with Ira Flatow had a great little teaser this past week about their latest SciFri video. Flora Lichtman recently paid a visit to a geodesic dome home built in “Long Guy Land”, New York. The piece is fantastic and gives a tiny glimpse into a life less dependent on the man or the machine.

I won’t give too much away but I have to give props to former NYC firefighter Kevin Shea for taking an arm-chair idea and running with it. I find it especially funny that his neighbors just don’t get it and actually detest the idea. You can be sure though they would be the first ones knocking on Shea’s looking for refuge or help. Special thanks to the crew at Science Friday for bringing this story to light! Watch the video below and then share your thoughts. Would you live in a geo-dome? Do you have an unconventional home that is easy on the environment and your pocketbook?

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It’s taken me a while to jump on the LED Christmas light bandwagon, mainly because the incandescent strands we have still work and the prices on the LED lights are still a little high for my liking.  Last year though, I noticed I had about three strands that weren’t working properly, so I began pillaging them for bulbs.

Mini-LED Lights

This weekend, Home Depot was running a trade-in deal that I couldn’t pass up though.  For every strand of incandescent Christmas lights you brought in to recycle, you got $3 off the purchase of a new set of LED lights.  I ended up picking up 3 boxes of LED lights for about $9 after the discount, saving me 50% off the original cost.  That’s what I call a heckuva deal!

I can’t wait to decorate for Christmas and see how these new LED light strands look and perform compared to their old outdated cousins.  It will be nice knowing I’m using 80% less electricity to light up my holiday display with LED lights, they stay cool to the touch and you can (if you’d want to) plug in dozens more strands to each other before you risk overloading an outlet.

Have you purchased any LED lights?  If so, share your experience with how they’ve performed and if you want to share a photo of your LED light display, that would be great too!

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There’s a lot of talk these days centering around living life on Earth a bit greener than we have been. Green living, alternative energy and sustainability are all buzz words surrounding the movement to live more in harmony with our environment. Some might question though whether that movement can really be partnered with the construction of a new home utilizing modern architectural designs.

A new book profiling 10 modern homes and how they're built with alternative energy useage in mind

Lori Ryker’s book titled Off The Grid: Modern Homes + Alternative Energy shows that you really can live in a beautifully designed, modern home while reducing your demand for energy. The 160-page glossy, hard-backed book profiles ten homes around the globe and shows how they’ve overcome complete dependence on the grid and leave a smaller footprint on the Earth.

Through example and illustrations, Ryker shows how each technology from geothermal heat pumps, wind turbines and solar arrays, can be integrated into the beauty and design of a modern home. The homes profiled in the book aren’t straw bale homes or Earthships. They range in size from small to large and sparse to intricately decorated. If you’re embarking on a journey to build a new modern house and have considered making it more green, Ryker’s book might be just the ticket to turning your visions into reality.

Stop by later in the week for a Q&A chat with Ryker and I’ll also tell you how you can have a shot at winning a copy of her new book.

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Home renovations might look more green in due time thanks in part to the latest economic stimulus plan put in motion by President Obama.  The economic rescue package passed by the Bush administration last Fall renewed the IRS Section 25C tax credit, which credited homeowners 10% of the purchase costs of green renovations with a $500 lifetime cap.  Contractors claimed it wasn’t enough to motivate homeowners to sign contracts and pursue green renovations.

Obama’s latest economic stimulus plan sweetened the tax credit though so homeowners will now have more incentive to make their house more energy efficient and environmentally friendly.  The credit has essentially been trippled to 30% of the purchase cost with a lifetime cap of $1,500.  Some renovations that would qualify for the credits include beefing up your insulation, buying new and more efficient furnaces, air conditioners and heat pumps, installing new roofing and energy efficient windows and doors.  Reportedly the list of qualified items is also about to expand so more green renovations may qualify for a credit.  You have until 2010 to apply for the credits.

For more information on the 25C tax credit check out this link.

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It seems like most portions of the midwest and northeast are gripped by Old Man Winter this week.  I know here in Indiana our temeperatures are down to 18 degrees with wind chill right now and we’re supposed to be down to -10 tonight.  That’s cold but not near as cold as our neighbors to the north of us dealing with -40’s in some places.

While it’s cold outside, it can also be cold inside.  You might feel a winter chill moving through the windows of your house or even the walls so what can you do to stay warm yet be energy efficient?  Here are some simple ideas to help out.

For maximum energy efficiency and lower heating costs, it’s recommended that you set your thermostat around 68 degrees and wear extra layers of clothing.  We keep our heater right between 68 and 70 and it feels alright.  For extra warm, we use a heated blanket or a small space heater in the room we’re currently sitting in.

There are some extra steps you can take to maximize the heating efficiency of your house too.  First, as soon as the sun starts hitting some of your windows, open the curtains or blinds to begin reaping the benefits of solar heat gain.  Keep north-facing windows or shaded windows closed though because you’ll just be letting the warm air out.  As soon as the sun starts setting, crank the blinds and curtains closed to keep the warm air in and the cold air out.  If your home has older, single-pane windows you should think about replacing them with newer double-pane and highly insulated windows.  Also, keep the doors shut and the air registers closed in rooms that you don’t typically use throughout the day.

We used to live in a house that had a programmable, electronic thermostat and it was great.  Setting it to turn down the heat at your bed time and then turn it back up again just before your alarm clock goes off is a great way to slash up to 20% of your heating costs.  It’s also helpful if you have a warm, feather down comforter on your bed to retain your warmth and keep the chill out.

Lastly, double check all your entry doors and make sure they have sweeps installed on the bottom of them and that the weatherstripping is in good shape all the way around the door.  If not, head to the hardware store and buy some replacement stripping to keep the cold out.  Also, make sure you furnace is running as efficiently as possible by checking the filter.  Clean it once a month or as needed to keep air moving efficiently.

Are there any steps you’ve taken to make your home warmer this winter and more energy efficient?  Share your experiences, tips or ideas by writing a comment below!

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As it gets closer to New Year’s Day, more and more people will begin to take down their holiday light displays.  I know I usually like to have it put away by then because I’m done looking at it, at least for another year.  This year I put up very few lights because the house we’re renting has extensive gutters and aluminum siding.  On top of that, I don’t have a ladder that will allow me to get too crazy with the decorations.  I also noticed that several strings of my lights don’t work.

Mini-LED Lights

I’ve been wanting to switch over to LED light strings but am waiting for the cost to come down a little and for my strings to quit working.  If you’re in the same conundrum, wanting to switch over but not sure what to do with the old lights, you should check out this Christmas Light Recycling Program.  Holiday LED’s will recycle the old strands you mail them and give you a 15% off coupon for new strings of LED lights.  That’s a pretty cool deal and a great way to properly dispose of your old lights.

Have you made the switch to holiday LED light sets yet?  If so, what do you think?  If not, what’s keeping you from doing it?

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