Your Home Remodel: Before and After Greening
Free Fix for Water Heaters and Furnaces
Before: A water heater set above 120 degrees uses more energy than necessary and raises your bills.
After: Turning the water heater down to 120 degrees saves 500lbs of CO2/year and reduces your monthly bill.
Cost: Just a trip to the basement. While you are down there, check your furnace
filter. Clean filters can save you 5% of your heating costs.
Washing Machines and the Original Eco-Fashion Tip
Before: Washing clothes in hot water dulls fabrics and costs an average of $1,310 over the lifetime of the machine.
After:
Washing clothes in cold water reduces your carbon footprint by 500lbs
of CO2/year. Installing an Energy Star rated washer saves an average
700 gallons of water and $550 in operating costs over the life of the
machine.
Cost: The price tag may be
more upfront for Energy Star machines, but get
$125 or
$200 off
with rebates. Energy Star does not rate dryers, because the
energy use is similar
between models. The best option is a clothes line, perhaps the oldest
eco-fashion practice in the book. The cost is minimal, or you can spend
more
an automated clothes line.
The following information originally appeared in our monthly
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Envision
the following improvements on your home and the resulting reduction in
carbon emissions and utility costs. In addition to our exclusive coupon
offers, we tracked down the local rebates and
federal tax credits
available to you if you make your home more efficient. If you have a
vision but need the tools, register and check them out of the
Tool Lending Library
(at the Oakland Public Library in Temescal) for free if you are a
resident of Oakland, Piedmont or Emeryville. Experienced remodelers or
those just brimming with ideas will love the non-profit
Build it Green, which has a directory of builders, product lists, lists of loans for green building, and a useful
spreadsheet of the incentives and tax credits
available to us in the East Bay. You can also call their "Ask and
Expert" hotline at 888-40-GREEN for any home building questions, so if
you get stuck on one of these projects, you know who to call.
Insulation and Leaky Ducts
Before:
Uninsulated attics in older homes release as much as 40% of home
heating and cooling costs into the air. Leaky ducts release home air
into attics and walls.
After: Insulation reduces heating and cooling costs and increases home comfort.
Cost: Rising Sun Energy Center gives a sample cost of $500 to insulate a 1,000sq foot attic through their co-pay program. PG&E also offers a
rebate of $0.15 per square foot on attic or wall insulation and a duct sealing
rebate of up to $600.
Roofing
Before: Roofs absorb heat, causing home temperatures to rise and increased use of air conditioning.
After: Using cash incentives through
Go Solar California, you can install solar panels for electricity or for solar hot water.
Cost:
Up to 50% of the project can be covered through cash incentives and
income tax deductions, then bask in the reduction in your monthly
energy bill. A second option is a Cool Roof, which reflect sunlight.
PG&E has
rebates up to $200 per 1,000 sq.ft.
Materials for Floors, Decking and Cabinetry
Before:
Lumber may come from a poorly managed forest far outside of North
America. Lack of accountability makes it difficult to know the impact
and can disguise habitat destruction and social impacts.
After: Forest Stewardship Council
(FSC) certified wood comes from managed and protected forests, and
ensures loggers meet social, economic and environmental criteria.
Cost: Square foot per square foot, building with FSC lumber does not have to mean spending more. We love the comparison
Green on a Budget
by ecohaus, a business in EcoMetro cities Seattle and Portland similar
to our own Ecohome Improvement. They compared FSC wood flooring with
non-FSC wood and found the FSC cost $6,435 for 1,500sq.ft while the
non-FSC wood cost $10,365. Make use of bamboo, cork, marmoleum, and
recycled tiles from new or salvaged sources.
Smaller Fixes and Adjustments
Water
Before: Older
model toilets, showerheads and faucets use more water than needed.
Toilets are the largest home water hogs at 4 gallons per flush, matches
by showers at nearly 4 gallons
per minute.
After: By
purchasing dual flush toilets (with a half-flush option), you use less
than 2 gallons per flush and save up to 6,000 gallons/year.
Cost: Aerators and efficient showerheads are free to pick up through EBMUD, or ask for
a
free home water survey and have them brought to you. Toilet
rebates of $150
are available to EBMUD customers until June 30th.
Phantom Power
Before: Phantom power from TVs, gadget chargers, appliances, and more sucks up power and costs you money.
After: By plugging all appliances into a power strip or purchasing a self-regulating Smart Strip, you can save 1,000-1,500 Co2/year.
Cost:
About $30 per strip, which the company claims you will save in several
weeks of regular use.
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