Less is more, Going Green

by Heather Stephenson

As utilities bills skyrocket faster than you can say, “My electric bill this month was what?” everyone’s looking for creative ways to save water and energy. But you don’t have to tear apart your plumbing or start installing solar panels to help the earth and lower your bills. There are lots of simple, low-cost ways to make energy consumption around the house more eco-friendly. These easy tips for each room add up to savings that benefit your budget—and the world around you.

IN THE KITCHEN
Air it out Install aerators on faucets (a good thing to do on the bathroom sink as well). Aerators mix air with water to decrease H2O consumption.They also have the handy side effect of increasing the feel of water pressure and reducing splashes. Penny Bonda, founding chair of the US Green Building Council Committee for Leadership in Energy and Environ- mental Design, recommends Niagara Conservation’s Swivel Aerator ($7.50, niagaraconservation.com) which can be installed without calling a plumber.
Savings: 1,700 gallons for all faucets (All savings based on a family of 4 per year.)

Scrub in stages When washing dishes by hand, don’t send water savings down the drain. For double sinks, fill one side with sudsy water, turn off the faucet, then wash. Place soapy dishes in the second sink, and when that’s full, rinse. Or simply wet dishes, add soap to the sponge, then turn off the tap. Wash dishes until the soap runs out, rinse those and set in a dish rack, then repeat.
Savings: 2,372 gallons, plus the energy it takes to heat all that water

Don’t do the dirty work When using a dishwasher, there’s no need to pre-rinse plates before loading. Most dishwashers are now built to do the job themselves. Consumer Reports found that pre-rinsing doesn’t get dishes any cleaner during the cycle and it just means more work for you. Also, run the dishwasher (and washing machine) only when it’s full.
Savings: 6,500 gallons, plus energy for heat and electricity

Downsize dinner Prepare entrées in 8x8-inch baking dishes or regular loaf pans (they’re just the right size for four servings), then bake in the toaster oven for an eco-friendlier hot meal.
Savings: Up to 50 percent of energy used by conventional ovens

Put the freeze on energy drains When it’s chilly outside, cold drink consumption goes down, but automatic ice makers keep chugging along. Switch to hand-filled ice trays, or turn the ice maker off when the bucket is full to keep it from running constantly.
Savings: $13.80

Perform some strip-ease Did you know that if you only use a microwave less than seven minutes each day, the oven’s clock requires more power than the microwave itself? Automatic coffee pots and CD players are also major electricity drains when left plugged in. Not to mention cell phone chargers, which use only 5 percent of the electricity they draw to juice up a phone. The rest goes to waste while the charger is left plugged into the wall, according to the CarbonNeutral Company in London, an organization dedicated to cutting carbon dioxide emissions. The solution? Power strips with on/off switches and multiple plugs. They make it easy to cut the current flow to several devices at once, no cord-yanking necessary. Just flip the power strip switch when you turn on or off the lights in the room.
Savings: $100 and up

IN THE BATHROOM
Stop the flow By turning off the faucet between rinses while brushing your teeth or washing your face, you save up to 10 gallons per day.
Savings: 3,650 gallons of water

Ditch the drips One drop of water per second from a leaky faucet can waste as much as 300 gallons each month (enough to take six baths or do eight loads of laundry), according to the Water Conservation Coalition of Puget Sound, WA, which promotes utility conservation programs. For loose taps that you can’t completely close, call a plumber (average cost: $24). For tight faucets that test your wrist every time you try to turn them off, spray WD40 on the joint to make it easier to turn.
Savings: 3,600 gallons of water

Rub-a-dub—just avoid the tub Everyone loves a nice, hot bath once in a while—the key words here being “once in a while.” Go with a shower for daily scrubs: A long, hot soak can require up to 50 gallons of water while a typical five-minute shower consumes less than 20 gallons. Tip: Use a kitchen timer to keep showers short and sweet.
Savings: 44,000 gallons

Rinse with the right tap Health experts say that unless you’re handling meat or work in food services, washing hands with cool water is as effective at killing germs as washing with hot. Switching to the cold tap will cut costs (both water and energy—waiting for water to heat up takes even longer in winter) by up to 5 percent. And a brisk rub with a towel will heat hands better than hot water; the fabric friction stimulates circulation for longer-lasting warmth.
Savings: $75

Head off waste Install new showerheads: Those made after January 1994 are required to use no more than 2.5 gallons of water per minute. Older low-flow showerheads spray up to 5 gallons each minute.
Savings: 10,950 gallons of water for five-minute showers

IN THE LAUNDRY ROOM
Banish lint bunnies To improve dryer efficiency by 30 percent, remove lint from the filter after every use. A clear filter eases the strain on airflow, making it easier for the dryer to pull moisture from clothes.
Savings: $40

Reload right away Dry batches of laundry one right after another so your dryer doesn’t have to reheat between loads. (This will still work if your dryer has a 10-minute cool-down period at the end of the cycle.) Clothes will dry faster and the chore will be done in less time.
Savings: 10 to 20 minutes’ worth of electricity per load

Hang up bad habits Rather than tossing the day’s outfit in the hamper after only one wear, put it back in the closet. You’ll trim laundry by two to three loads per month. Savings: 1,100 gallons of water Think warm, not hot Laundry detergents have improved to the point where hot water is no longer necessary to remove smells and stains. Because about 90 percent of the energy used for washing clothes goes to heating the water, setting the cycle on warm instead of hot can cut a load’s energy consumption in half. Going cold will save even more.
Savings: $43 or more

AROUND THE HOUSE
Lighten up Incandescent bulbs may rule the sockets, but a mere 10 percent of the energy they use is converted to light. According to the Environmental Defense group in New York City, replacing just 10 of these bulbs with longer-lasting compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) can spare the environment the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the average SUV in a year. And fluorescent bulbs don’t mean your home has to look like a classroom: Brands such as O-Zone and Fresh2 have made that harsh white lighting a thing of the past, but still give better illumination than classic bulbs. Ask your local power company about CFLs—you may be eligible for a free supply.
Savings: $67 for 10 bulbs

Warm up with wind power There’s nothing you can do to beat that age-old law of physics—heat rises—but ceiling fans can certainly help you win out when it comes to heating your home. Installing fans isn’t very expensive or difficult, and when you set them to spin counterclockwise in winter they force warm air back down to living areas. Not only does this keep your space warmer, it helps maintain a steady temperature for the thermostat, so your heating system doesn’t kick in and cut off intermittently.
Savings: $180 for four fans

Dress (your water heater) for success For about $20 you can save up to 9 percent on water-heating costs when you purchase and install a water heater insulation blanket. “It’s one of the simplest ways to reduce energy waste and save money,” says Christina Page, a consultant at Rocky Mountain Institute, a non-profit focused on energy policy in Snowmass, CO. Wrapping your water heater in insulated warmth takes only 30 minutes. (Note: Newer models already come equipped with a blanket, so make sure you need one before heading to the hardware store.)
Savings: $102