5 Easy Ways To Go Green At Your Home
If you are wanting your home to be more green, then there are five easy ways for you to Go Green. Below is a fun list to help make your home as green as possible.
1. Only Purchase Appliances With This Label
• When you need to replace your old household appliances, start purchasing new appliances that have the Energy Star label. This label is sponsored by the EPA and the DOE, and having this label guarantees the products are energy efficient. Another benefit is that you may be eligible for a tax credit.
• The best thing to know about Energy Star appliances and products is they use 30% less energy, and this can greatly lower your home utility bills - making your home very green!
2. Monitor Your Energy and Save Money
• Be sure to adjust your thermostats. Always set your thermostats a few degrees higher in the summer and a few degrees lower in the winter to help save you money on cooling and heating expenses.
• Also, remember before you go to bed or away from home adjust your thermostats to three to five degrees lower. Also check out your hot water heater and make sure it's at 120 degrees - this will save you between six and ten percent in energy costs.
3. It's Time to Buy New Light Bulbs & Revamp Areas That Use Energy
• When your old bulbs burn out, buy some compact fluorescent light bulbs. This will help save both your energy and money by consuming a whopping 75% less electricity, and the bulbs will last up to ten times longer.
• It's a good idea to unplug all appliances and other things when not in use. You can buy a smart power strip that senses when appliances are turned off, and it will also eliminate phantom energy use. Believe it or not, unplugging your appliances can save you around $200 per year.
• Also by washing your clothes in cold water will help save energy costs, because about 85 percent of the energy used is spent on heating the water. Also be sure to use full loads by waiting for laundry to accumulate. A lot of water and energy is wasted on half-loads. Also, this applies to your dishwasher too - only full-loads! By cutting out half-loads, using short cycles, and using only cold water will dramatically improve your savings and energy use per year.
• When it's time to dry your clothes, don't use the dryer! But rather hang them outside on a clothesline or on an inside drying rack.
• Do you have a drippy faucet or toilet? A dripping faucet can waste around seventy-four gallons of water a day and a toilet around two hundred a day. So be sure to fix anything dripping - this will cut down on energy costs and help you to be more green!
4. Go Ahead and Recycle!
• You can actually recycle most of everything you use, such as phone books, waxed milk cartons, mail, plastic, glass, steel, foil, newspapers, aluminum, and so much more! Go ahead and purchase some containers for recycling purposes and place them in your garage.
• It's good to know that some items, such as computers, computer printers, power cords, televisions, and cell phones need to be properly disposed of so they can be reused. Go to mygreenelectronics.org to find the nearest recycling center in your area.
5. Farmers Markets Are More Than A Lifestyle Change
• Did you know that the produce at your grocery store travels about 1,500 miles before it gets there? This amount of traveling year around takes lots of energy and burns lots of fuel, which also creates carbon emissions. So go ahead and buy fresh produce at your local farmers markets or at local farms - you will be helping the environment and will also benefit by having fresh food on your table!
Check out these great sections
