July Comparisons

Here are the July energy comparisons:

Electricity
888 kWh - July 2009
1309 kWh - July 2008

Gas
17 therms - July 2009
12 therms - July 2008

We were away for a week and and a weekend during last July. So, I am going to figure the 5 therm difference is that last year we weren't taking showers, washing dishes, laundry etc. and this year we did. Beyond that blip, the electricity is still trending downward. Hopefully, next month we will get that electricity back into the 700 kWh range.

Singing in the Rain!

Yep, that has been me when it rains, because our new rain barrel is filling up! I can use the stored contents for future watering, window cleaning, auto cleaning and more! It also functions as an education diversion as our five-year-old runs out to check the level after it rains! He gets so excited when the level has increased. Me too!

Why do you care as your hose is right there? Well here are some reasons from Sustainable Neenah's rain barrel project. Rain barrels:

• Lower household water bills and who can't use that?
• Reduce the amount of potable (drinkable) water used on lawns and gardens.
• Save municipal resources by reducing volume of water treated on use for plants (chemicals, electricity, storage costs). We all want to save our towns $$$ in these times.
  
• Decrease the negative impact of storm water flowing to our rivers and lakes.
• Lower the percentage of roof top rainfall as a component of urban runoff. (This is a type of water pollution.)
  
• Provide a backup source of water during times of drought or between rain showers.
• Provide naturally softened water that is better for delicate houseplants, auto cleaning and window washing.
• Provide chlorine-free water for plants, which helps maintain a healthy biotic community in the soil.
• Provide an educational tool for teaching residents, and our kids about water conservation and other sustainable practices.

Interested? You can get rain barrels at many different garden stores, online, or you can do it yourself.

P.S. Check your state laws. If you live in a dry state a.k.a. UT you may have some regulations that prevent using rain barrels on large scale. Check laws and maybe even write your state rep.

Clean Up the Laundry

Why? Your clothes smell clean, right? I am sure they do, but regular laundry detergent is made out of oil, has harsh solvents, synthetic fragrances (with molecules very similar to hormones), and one of my biggest gripes - are not concentrated so you are paying more for the shipping and packaging of WATER. Here are a few more tidbits on laundry detergent from Ideal Bite:

• Oil (not mind) control. If every U.S. household replaces one box of 48-ounce, petroleum-based powder laundry detergent with a vegetable-based one, we'll save enough oil to heat and cool 5,300 homes for a year.


• Less irritation. Fragrances and harsh solvents such as ammonia in some conventional detergents can trigger allergies and asthma, and cause skin irritation.


• Joining a cult of fresh fragrances. You'll wanna take a nice, long whiff.


• Not losing concentration. All our fave liquid options are concentrated, so their production and transport uses less energy and packaging.

I use Seventh Generation - but there are lots of earth friendly and more people friendly options of laundry detergent out there!

Timing is Everything

So many of us have clocks, timers, routers, servers, ovens, TVs, cable boxes, DVRs, DVDs, CD players and many other appliances burn electricity even when we turn them "off". This wasted standby power drain is a.k.a as the phantom load, vampire load or leaking energy. LBNL estimated that this load was approximately 5-6% of the total residential energy cost - that costs the U.S. over 3 Billion (yep, that is with a B) a year. That is a lot of wasted cash in these times, and a lot of wasted energy. Here is how you start to get rid of the phantom load.

1. Unplug things that are not in use. Think - cell phone chargers, ipod, unnecessary radios, clocks etc. Leave your alarms and smoke detectors plugged in!


2. Beat standby mode - Turn off computers, servers,routers, monitors (at work too!), TVs, and all other electronics completely. The easiest way to do this is to have all of these items plugged into a power strip and turn it off when you are done or leaving. Honestly, I have a hard time remembering to turn all this off in the evening, so I have made two sites in our home automatic with a timed power strip. I have everything power down at 11:00 pm and turn back on at 6:00 am. The kind I got were a bit painful to program. They were $34 + shipping, but phantom loads run the average home anywhere from $40-120+ per year depending upon the size and quantity - so I think we should make back the $70 back within the year. Interested? http://www.gardeners.com/ or fish stores - I guess these are quite useful for larger aquariums. Who knew?


3. If buying new - buy low or no watt off mode appliances.


4. Consider wind up or solar instead of plug in.


5. Use voicemail - not answering machines.

Want more info?

http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~recycle/ssec/download/Phantom%20Load.pdf

http://www.uwsp.edu/cnr/wcee/keep/Mod1/Flow/leaking.htm

http://www.uwsp.edu/cnr/wcee/keep/Mod1/Flow/leaking.htm

Cooling Down Without the Hot $Tag!

Hey, it is getting hot! But that air conditioning can suck up precious dollars and resources. What else can you do?

1. Use ceiling fans and other fans around your home. Supposedly, even if you ran a power hungry fan 12 hrs/day for 30 days it should only cost you $10 - still less than running your air for the same.

2. Close your shades, blinds and curtains in the am - especially on the east side. The sun won't be able to heat up the air in your house - air or no air.

3. Don't put a lamp or other heat generating appliance next to your thermostat. Your air will run and your house will be an ice box.

4. Switch light bulbs. Incandescents give off a lot of inefficient energy in heat. Every little bit makes a difference.

5. Service your A/C. A clean A/C cost less to run than a dirty one.

6. Plant trees and /or shrubs around your air conditioner. An A/C in the shade costs less to run. Just don't block the airflow! While you are at it - plant trees strategically to shade your home. Less heat in - less energy to cool it down. Avoid the south - so as not to block your winter solar passive heating.

7. I am not big on this one - but hey it would work - you can change to a white roof, or paint yours white. Not sure what the neighbors would think, but if you have a barn etc. This might work.

8. Humidity makes a room feel hotter. Minimize humidity creating activities in the middle of the day.

9. Upgrade your attic insulation if it is not up to par. A switch from 3 inches to 12 inches of insulation can cut you cooling costs by 10%.

10. If you are buying a new A/C make sure it is sized to your square footage and is as efficient as possible.

11. Seal your ducts in your crawl, basement etc.

Drops in the bucket!

All add up!
So what changes have you made - big or small - they all count!
Post 'em here - they might help someone else.

I'm a what?

So, we went to the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair this weekend. http://www.the-mrea.org/energy_fair.php (check it out!). I was commenting to Jason that we would get to meet some real tree huggers there. Well come to find out, as my husband has informed me, I am a tree hugger. I knew I was green, but had not yet embraced the official status of "tree hugger." After pondering Jase's comment further I have decided he might be right. I mean we did go on a date to the MREA, and I was excited to learn about solatubes, flexible PV film, integrated PV building materials, net-zero homes, and the list goes on. Seriously, the coolest thing was that there were no plastic water bottles - just places to fill up the reusable one you brought. They also had composting pails, recycling bins, and garbage containers. Yep, I guess I really am a tree hugger. Here's hoping there are many more out there!