Do this |
Because |
|
| Limit the water flow in the shower |
Less
hot water flow means less use of water per time period when you take a
shower. I used a coin the size of a penny, drilled a 1/16" hole in it
and put it between the shower head and the water line. The shower now
uses less than 1 gallon of water per minute even at full force. Cheap
and very effective. It may work best with a shower head that is
designed to work with less water, e.g. water saver shower head. The
coin reduces the water flow even further. |
significant |
| Purchase "green energy certificates" |
You
may have the option in your area to purchase electricity from companies
that create electricity from renewable and/or clean sources such as
wind, water, sunlight, and others. This way you support companies that
create electricity with much less pollution and you still have the same
comfort at home. |
noticeable |
| Disconnect stand-by devices |
Any device that can be operated with a remote control uses electricity
just sitting there waiting for you. Unplug the device if you
are not using it. Plug it back in if you want to use it. If
the device has lights on even when not in use or is warm to
the touch it uses electricity just sitting there waiting.
Leaving them plugged in results in many devices (TVs, stereo
systems, some lamps,...) using more electricity when not in
use than when used. |
noticeable |
| Spin-dry clothes | Use a spin-dryer to get the last bit of water out of your laundry
before you put it in the clothes dryer, or even better hang it on the
line to dry. Drying times are significanly reduced. Google: spin dryer. | significant |
| Hang dry laundry |
Clothes
that are hung outside to dry do not require the huge amounts of
electricity that a clothes dryer requires. The clothes also last
longer. Yes, the clothes may be stiff and will not smell the way you
are used to. Sorry. |
significant |
| Turn off lights when not in room |
When you are not in the room you don't need the lights and turning them
off saves electricity. If you walk in and out a lot and you
use fluorescent bulbs consider leaving them on. Fluorescent
bulbs (tube shaped; straight or curled) use a lot more energy
on start-up than regular incandescent bulbs. |
noticeable |
| Replace incandescent light bulbs with CF bulbs |
Fluorescent
light bulbs (straight tube) or compact fluorescent bulbs (curved or
wrapped tube) require much less electricity to operate while giving off
the same amount of light and while lasting significantly longer. |
not enough |
| Properly dispose of fluorescent bulbs |
Fluorescent
light bulbs (straight tube) or compact fluorescent bulbs (curved or
wrapped tube) contain a small amount of mercury and should not be
thrown away in the regular trash. Dispose of them through your toxic
waste collection system. |
noticeable |
| Use LED lights |
Light emitting diodes are becoming more popular for good
reasons. They require very little electricity to deliver light
that is bright and cool to the touch. They are very shock-resistant
and last for ten thousands of hours. |
noticeable |
Use rechargeable batteries |
Rechargeable batteries can be recharged hundreds of times.
That saves the landfill from disposed batteries. Try to use
rechargeable batteries that can be disposed off through the
regular trash once they have reached the end of their useful
life. Some rechargeable batteries contain heavy metals that
are very toxic and are hazardous waste. |
not enough |
| Turn off computer |
Turn it off when you are not using it. It saves electricity and keeps
the room/ your house/ your office cooler in the summer. |
not enough |
| Turn off devices if not really used |
Most
electric devices create heat as a by-product. Turn them off when you
are not using them. It saves electricity and keeps the room/ your
house/ your office cooler in the summer. Why have the radio, TV, fans,
air-conditioning, etc. on if you are not there using them? |
noticeable |
| Do tasks that require light during the daytime. |
If
you need light take advantage of day light. It is available free of
charge, does not require the use of additional energy, and does not
pollute. Open the curtains if there is not enough light coming in to
the house. |
significant |
| User toaster oven instead of full-size oven |
A
toaster oven uses less electricity and will cook/bake the food faster.
It is smaller of course, and do not forget to adjust the cooking and
baking times. It may cook much faster. |
noticeable |
| Eat cold meals |
Cooking
requires energy. If you do not heat up the food you do not use energy.
That is especially smart in the summer when you do not want to create
heat inside the house. |
significant |
| Close refrigerator door |
Every
time you open the refrigerator or freezer some of the cold air falls
out and the refrigerator/ freezer has to turn on to cool down the
contents again. Open the door briefly. Make sure it is shut tight
afterward. |
noticeable |
| Keep fridge/ freezer full |
If
your fridge or freezer are not filled up very much consider putting in
bottles filled with water. A fridge or freezer that is full warms up
slower and does not turn on as often as one that is basically empty. |
noticeable |
| Put freezer in coldest room of house |
You
freezer is working to keep its contents very cold. The warmer the
outside air, the more energy is required to keep the contents cool.
Move the freezer into the basement or any other unheated room that
stays cool by itself. |
noticeable |
| Don't put fridge next to stove |
Your
fridge is working to keep its contents cold. The warmer the outside,
the more energy is required to keep the contents cool. A stove gets
rather hot on the outside. Putting it next to the fridge results in
using more electricity just because the fridge and stove are next to
each other. At least put something insulating (but heat resistant)
between the two devices where they are touching. |
not enough |
| Cool food outside during winter |
Instead
of putting food that is still warm in the fridge for storage (which
results in the fridge using a lot of electricity to cool the food), let
it cool outside in the winter and put it in the fridge when it is cold.
|
significant |
| Store blocks of ice in fridge |
Use
the outside during the winter time to freeze some water in containers
(such as gallon milk jugs) and put the frozen water in the fridge. This
way you can cool your fridge contents without using electricity. |
significant |
| Wash your laundry less often |
Your washing machine uses electricity. Using it less often saves energy.
How dirty can your clothes really get if you work in an office?
Does the stain come out with a little soap, water and hand
scrubbing or do you need to wash the whole thing with a machine?
|
noticeable |
| Use mechanical toothbrushes rather than electric toothbrush |
Keeps your upper body in shape (look at those muscles!) and saves some electricity. |
not enough |
| Do it without electricity if possible |
Electric can openers, electric scissors, electric knives, electric
mirrors, and whatever else product that really does not need to be
electric do a task that can be done without using electricity and
without pollution. If you also consider the energy required to MAKE
those products, not using them is noticeable |
noticeable |
| Use solar battery charger |
The
sun shines without creating pollution. If you need to purchase a
battery charger purchase one that uses sunlight to charge batteries.
Making the solar panel may require more energy than you ever save.
Better not to use battery powered devices at all. |
not enough |
| Run outside rather than on treadmill |
Treadmills and many other fitness machines require electricity to operate
while running outside does not. Is it not ironic that we need
electrically powered machines to be able to use human power?
|
noticeable |
| Use hand tools when possible |
If
you can do it by hand do it by hand. No electricity required but it may
take a bit longer and be a bit harder to do. Less pollution though. |
noticeable |
| Reduce temperature setting on hot water tank |
The
higher the temperature difference between the hot water and the
outside, the harder the water heater has to work. By reducing the
temperature setting on the tank you will pollute less. Make sure it is
not below 140F or 60 C though because certain dangerous bacteria thrive
in warm water. |
noticeable |
| Install insulating jacket on hot water tank |
The
water inside the tank will cool down much slower if the tank has
additional insulation. The water heater has to work less often |
significant |
| Put right size pot on appropriate stove burner |
A pot that is too small for a burner lets much of the heat escape without heating up the contents of the pot. |
noticeable |
| Put lid on pots when cooking |
The contents of a pot with a lid heat up much faster and keep the heat longer than without a lid. |
noticeable |
| Use a steam cooker |
A
steam cooker uses pressure and temperatures that cannot be reached with
a regular pot. The contents cook much faster and require less energy to
be prepared. |
significant |
| Buy energy-star rated products |
Energy-star
rated products are designed to use less energy than the same products
without this rating. If you need to purchase an item, look for the
energy-star rating and compare. |
noticeable |
| Keep functional devices longer - ignore fashion pressure |
It requires a lot of energy to develop, manufacture, and distribute
appliances and products. Resist the fashion pressures - don't
purchase something new to replace a perfectly functional device.
|
significant |
| Control outdoor lights with light- and motion-sensitive switches |
If
outdoor lights are necessary, connect them to motion and light
sensitive switches. That way they are only on when someone is around
who may need them, and are only on when it is actually dark. Adjust the
motion sensor to be less sensitive if it activates the light for every
little movement. Cats and flying leaves don't need a light. |
not enough |
| Resist the temptation to heat you yard/patio/terrace with infra-red
heat lamps. |
An
outside heat lamp heats the outside. Other than creating pollution
there seems to be little reason to do this. Put on more clothes or go
inside if you are cold. |
noticeable |
| Don't heat your swimming pool |
Heating your pool requires a lot of electricity or energy. |
noticeable |
| Go swimming in a lake or take a brief cool shower if you are too hot. |
Swimming
pool pumps require electricity to stay clean. They also often require
chemicals that turn a huge amount of drinking water into water that is
not suitable for drinking any more. |
significant |
| Recycle what needs to be thrown out |
If
a product needs to be thrown out because it cannot be repaired any
longer, take it apart and recycle the parts. Most plastic parts can be
recycled, most metal parts as well. It is important to avoid throwing
out items though since recycling often results in toxic by-products. |
not enough |
| Repair what can be fixed |
Even
if it is more expensive than buying new, repairing a house hold device
is more energy efficient than purchasing a new one. Especially if it
can be repaired locally. The longer you can keep a product that does
not pollute while in operation, the better. Do not fix cosmetic damages
though. That wastes energy and pollutes more! |
significant |
Reuse rather than recycle |
Reusing
a product means that you do not purchase a product that was made new
for the same purpose. Recycling rarely results in the materials being
returned to becoming a product of the same quality. Recycling also
requires energy, even though it is generally much less than creating
new materials and uses less resources. |
significant |
| Wash your recycling last |
If
you need to wash the plastic or aluminum containers you are about to
recycle, use the dirty dishwashing water before you drain the sink. Why
wash what you throw out with hot clean water? It may not even need to
be washed at all. |
noticeable |
| Don't toast your bread |
Not toasting is more energy efficient than toasting. |
noticeable |
| Use toaster - not toaster oven |
If
you have the choice between a toaster and the toaster oven, use the
toaster. It toasts your bread much faster and, as a result uses less
energy. |
not enough |
| Wash laundry with cold water |
Doing
your laundry with hot or warm water requires MUCH more energy and
creates more pollution than washing it with cold water. Most likely it
will get clean just fine, especially if you let it soak for a long
time. |
noticeable |
| Install two handle faucets to avoid running any hot water
when you really don't need it |
If you are installing a new faucet (because you have to,
not because you want to) single lever faucets do not use hot
water IN ONLY ONE position and it is easy to use hot water
even if you do not want to. If you already have a single lever
faucet be aware of the fact that you may be using a little
bit of hot water in almost all positions of the lever. |
not enough |
| Wash full loads only |
If
the laundry machine of dishwasher are not full wait a bit longer to
wash only a full load. The dishwasher uses the same energy when it
washes only a small load. The laundry machine can usually be adjusted
but all you saved is the amount of water. It still takes the same
amount of electricity. Washing only full loads is even more important
if you use warm or hot water for doing the laundry. |
not enough |
| Fix dripping faucets |
Dripping
faucets waste drinking water that has to be made and pumped. Hundreds
of gallons of water go down the drain every year if it just drips once
per second. |
not enough |
| Fix dripping hot water faucets |
Dripping
faucets waste drinking water that has to be made and pumped. Hundreds
of gallons of water go down the drain every year if it just drips once
per second. And, since it is hot water you are wasting energy for
heating the dripping water. Get it fixed. |
noticeable |
| Cook with microwave |
Cooking with the microwave may be more expensive than cooking with gas, it is however more efficient and uses less energy. |
noticeable |
| Unplug microwave |
A
microwave that is plugged in uses a small amount of electricity all
year long. It may use more electricity when it is not in use than when
it is actually used. |
not enough |
| Turn electric stove top and oven off earlier |
Turning
off the stove tops or oven does not mean that the cooking stops right
away. It takes a while for foods to cool below boiling temperature.
However, turning off the stove and oven results in the immediate end of
use of energy. |
noticeable |
| Keep oven door closed until the end |
Every
time you open the oven door or, even worse, leave it open for a while,
the temperature inside the oven drops and the stove has to work to get
to the set temperature again after you close the door. You can open the
door (and leave it open to heat the house) once you are done and want
to take out what is inside. |
noticeable |
| Get a wind-up version of radio or flashlight |
If you have to, buy one that needs no batteries ever. |
not enough |
| Hard wire your smoke detectors |
It may be already required. This way smoke detector uses regular household current and will never need batteries. |
not enough |
| Avoid battery powered products and batteries |
A battery requires many times more energy to be manufactured than the battery will ever create itself. Every time you use one battery you are actually using the equivalent of the energy of dozens of batteries.
Not only is this a waste of energy for a product that (most of the
time) has little importance if looked at the big picture on this
planet, in addition batteries are hazardous waste and need to be
separated from regular trash to be stored in "safer" landfills. If you
never begin using battery powered products, the pollution that is the
result of making those products is avoided as well. If you already
started - stop now, recycle battery-powered products, and end your
share of the manufacturing of batteries and the resulting toxic waste. |
significant |
