Blog Action Day-Conserve Energy at Home

Written on October 15, 2007 by Amanda M. Gladden

It’s Blog Action Day- a day with one important purpose for the organizers and bloggers who chose to participate — to bring attention to the importance of feeling a sense of responsibility for the world in which we live. (the issues of global warming and doing our part to make a difference).

October 15, 2007 is the day that bloggers worldwide participated in this effort by blogging about global warming, recycling or some aspect of the energy conservation theme. This is my contribution to the awareness effort– asking my blogs readers to remain aware in four words, conserve energy at home.

Here’s why-
Conserving energy not only saves you money on utility bills, doing so also reduces the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) released into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is considered one of the chief culprits of global warming.

Here are my top 5 ways to conserve energy at home, thereby reducing the amount of CO2 being sent back into the environment:

1- Wrap your water heater, lower heater temperatures

Wrap your water heater in an insulating jacket, if the heater was installed prior to 1989. This will reduce the heat lost through the heater’s walls. Completely wrap electric water heaters with insulation, but wrap gas water heaters on the sides only. Also for gas heaters, make sure that the pilot light access door is not covered and that air isn’t blocked from the burner. This is estimated to save 1100 lbs. of CO2 per year for an electric water heater, or 220 pounds for a gas heater. Set the top and bottom elements of your tank’s temperature at 120 degrees, fahrenheit. Newer hot water heater models usually have built in insulation and may not need to be wrapped.

Additional Information:
US Dept. of Energy, Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy on water heaters
http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/water_heating/index.cfm/mytopic=13070

2- Insulate your walls and ceilings.

This can save 20 to 30 percent of home heating bills and reduce CO2 emissions by 140 to 2100 pounds per year. If you live in a colder climate, consider superinsulating to save even more

Additional Information:
Insulation and Air Sealing- US Dept of Energy

3- Modernize your door and windows.

Replace you old doors with new, energy conserving doors and all regular windows with argon filled, double-glazed windows. These can save 2.4 tons of CO2 per year for homes with gas heat, 3.9 tons of oil heat, and 9.8 tons for electric heat.

Additional Information:

American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy

Efficient Windows Collaborative

4- Plant shade trees

Shade trees and other well placed plants can modify the climate around a home and reduce both heat gain in summer and heat loss in winter by limiting solar radiation on windows and exterior walls.

Additional Information:

Colorado State University Extention- Horticulture
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/PUBS/garden/07225.html

Energy Conservation Landscaping from Austin Utilities
http://www.austinutilities.com/pages/residential_savingtips_landscaping.asp

5- Consider switching to a solar energy system

This includes solar powered systems, passive solar heating, photovoltaic systems, solar hot water, t and space heating and cooling.

Additional Information:

Solar Energy Technologies Program
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/sh_basics.html

National Renewable Energy ’s Renewable Basics
http://www.nrel.gov/learning/re_solar.html

North Carolina Solar Center
http://www.ncsc.ncsu.edu/
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RELATED POST:Grants, Incentives & Other Assistance Available Update Your Home to Conserve Energy

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