It's Easy Being Green

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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Can you believe we’re already sliding into mid-July?  As we hit the hottest part of the year for many locations, the amount of electricity you’re using to cool your home is going to surge through the roof.  With energy costs on the rise right along with gas, it’s going to cost you more this year than it probably has in the past.  But you can put a stop to the waste of energy and the cash flowing right out of your pockets.

For every degree you raise your thermostat in the summer, you can slash a minimum of 3% off your total bill.  Experts recommend that you don’t cool your home below 72 degrees, the point at which things get insanely expensive and wasteful.  When you’re away from the house, they say you can set your thermostat between 80 and 85.  To make it even more simple, buy a programable thermostate from your local home improvement or hardware store.  They don’t cost much (between $30-$100) and can save you oodles of money by automatically maintaining your temerature settings.  We had one at a previous home we lived in and it was great at helping to control our bills.

You might also want to think about installing some ceiling fans if you don’t already have some.  According to Consumer Reports, they cost very little to run and can help you feel up to 7 degrees cooler than the ambient air temperature.  Just think, if you have your thermostat set at 80 the fans could help you feel like it’s 73 in your home.

Here in Flagstaff, daytime temperatures rarely climb above the 90 degree mark.  Most homes here don’t have A/C, so to compensate and keep your home cool you have to get creative.  At night, we open all the windows in our house and use two box fans to blow in the cool, nighttime air.  In the morning, we shut the fans off and begin to close windows on the sunny, warm side of the house to prevent having warm in flowing in.  We also shut the blinds on the sunny side.  But, we keep the shady side open to allow for the continuous exchange of air.  Once the sun shifts, so do the opened and closed windows.  While it may be chilly in the morning when you first wake up (about 68 degrees), we can prevent the temperature in the house from going above 78 degrees during the hottest point of the day.

Do you have any creative tips to cut down on your cooling bill?  Let us know!

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Here’s four more tips showing you it really can be easy going green:

5. Adjust your home’s thermostat to be lower in winter and higher in summer. Learn how to heat and cool your home simply by venting windows at certain times of the day and when it’s cold, bundle up and put on your sweat pants!

6. Clean and replace dirty air filters in your home’s heating and cooling system. A dirty air filter can use 5-percent more energy while your a/c unit is running.

7. Replace the standard incandescent light bulbs in your home with the new compact fluorescent bulbs.

8. Help your water heater to be even more efficient by wrapping it with an insulating blanket specifically designed to go around your water heater.

Check back tomorrow for four more easy green living tips!

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