Well, winter seems to be knocking here in Southern California and I'm sure it has already moved in and crashing on the couch of all my Midwest friends and family. So, I wanted to compile a quick list of free and easy tips that will save you money and keep you warm this winter.
1 Reverse the direction of your ceiling fans. A counterclockwise rotation will pull down all the warm air near the ceiling into the living area.
2 Move furniture away from vents. Make sure you're not heating the backside of your couch, but your own.
3 In the morning, open the blinds and curtains of all south facing windows to let the warm light in during the day. Make sure to close them back up again at night to keep out the cold.
4 Turn down the thermostat when you're not home and at night. That should save you 1-3% on your heating bills.
5 Put those ridiculous Christmas sweaters to some good use. Layer up in cotton clothing and add 2 to 4 degrees of warmth to your body.
6 Make some draft dodgers. Simply roll up a bath towel and place them at the threshold of your exterior doors. It may remind you of your college dorm, but those drafts can waste up to 30% in energy use.
7 Drain all hoses and air conditioner pipes. If your AC unit has a shutoff valve, use it. And make sure all exterior water spigots are turned off as well.
8 Clean the furnace filter. Dirty filters can prevent airflow and force your furnace to use more energy. They also trap in air pollutants like bacteria, mold, and pollen.
9 Get an overall heating system tune-up. A clean furnace can save up to 5% of heating costs. Many utility companies, manufacturers and dealers offer free annual inspections.
10 Install foam outlet and switch gaskets on exterior walls. I know, I said these were "free" tips, but these things cost around 10 cents each and will save you a lot more down the road. Just unscrew your outlet or switch plates and pop these things in. Props to my mom for showing me how it's done.
In an earlier post I mentioned that I am competing to become a "Green Architect" blogger for Re-Nest, an online home decor magazine. Well, they just posted my second article entitled "Go Green, Save Green". Check it out. Comments are more than welcome.
GreenHab is a semi-finalist for a small business grant! Please help us and show your support by going to the link above and voting. Registration is required, but you can opt-out at any time (a confirmation e-mail is all I've received from them since registering in June). Voting closes on November 1st so please, get those votes out!
Last month I wrote about Assembly Bill 758 and how it would require the California Energy Commission to develop and implement a comprehensive program to achieve greater energy savings in existing buildings by March 2010. I also asked that you send a letter to support this bill and urge Governor Schwarzenegger to sign.
Well folks, on Monday he did! This is especially encouraging news on Blog Action Day and it's cause: climate change. This energy retrofit program will be equivalent to removing over 3 million cars from the road for one year. Lower energy consumption means a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, less stress on the power grid and putting thousands of people back to work. Great job guys!
**UPDATE Oct 14, 2009: This article has been submitted to Re-Nest for their "Green Architect" blog competition. Please check it out here
I'm back from the West Coast Green conference held in San Francisco last weekend and I'm so excited to share with you some of the great innovations out there. The top three that really caught my eye are:
#1. Bright Spark by Econetix A Do-It-Yourself Kit which helps you monitor your home's power, HVAC and electrical consumption. It's all done via WiFi- that means absolutely no wiring. Some of the cool features are a touchscreen thermostat, a "Sleep Mode" to put your home to sleep at the touch of a button and it can all be controlled from your computer or iPhone! And I have to say, these guys were young, energetic, intelligent and really excited to be offering such innovation. Definitely the most enthusiastic bunch on the showroom floor.
#2. Perfect Flush by Brondell The beauty of this product is in it's simplicity. The system easily installs in your existing toilet leaving you with a dual-flush button on top of the tank. Installing one of these is more sustainable than buying a new energy efficient toilet, performs just as well and can save you up to $100 a year.
#3. Solar Clover by Armageddon Energy All right, i have to admit that I was drawn by the name, but you should see these things, they're really designed well. Basically, a single solar "clover" consists of a triangular frame, a micro-inverter and three lightweight silicon hexagonal solar panels. These solar electric systems are roof-top ready out of the box which will save you time and money on installation. You'll have to wait though, the solar clover is yet-to-be-released but plans are to start prefabbing and shipping commercial volumes in less than a year.
In addition to these amazing products, I also met a lot of great people at West Coast Green. There is definitely a strong workforce out there trying to develop and push green to the top of our agenda both environmentally and economically. I'll have more about that in my next blog and will leave you with this:
"The best way to predict the future is to invent it." - Alan Kay
On Monday I posted an article from The Huffington Post regarding a correlation between energy efficiency and job opportunities. Over the last year, 1 in 5 California workers who have lost their jobs came from the construction sector. Assembly Bill 758 could put these people back to work.
The bill would require the California Energy Commission (CEC) to develop and implement a comprehensive program to achieve greater energy savings in existing residential and commercial buildings by March 2010. They project that electricity can be reduced 9% and natural gas 6% through cost effective measures which translates to approximately $4.5 billion dollars in consumer savings.
By developing a comprehensive plan to retrofit our homes and offices, not only would it decrease the effects of global warming, but also put thousands of people back to work, put money in the pockets of consumers and boost local economies in as little as seven months.
Please join me in supporting AB 758 by asking Governor Schwarzenegger to sign. Global Green provides a simple form to fill out and send online: http://bit.ly/44ai7P
Just wanted to give a shout out to my alma mater, the University of Minnesota, for their new, LEED silver football stadium. It is the first LEED certified collegiate or professional football facility in the country! Please see story below.
Matt Petersen of Global Green USA posted a great article @ Huffington Post. We hope to contract several of these out-of-work construction workers for green remodels, retrofits, PV installations etc.
Thanks, Global Green USA, for sponsoring AB 758. The future is looking greener!
