Most people I know are always looking for ways to save a little money and help out the environment while they are at it. Here are 8 habit changes that save energy and money courtesy of www.GroundworkDenver.org. See if you can adopt just some of these this year and see the savings.
1) $83 a year by lowering the heat 3 degrees for 9 hours a day and raising the cooling 2 degrees. Over a 1000 pounds of C02 emissions a year. It takes less energy to bring a home back to a desired temparture than it does to leave the heat or AC on for extended periods of time. Program the heat and cooling to be lower or higher when not home or sleeping.
2) $45 and 500 pounds of CO2 emissions a year by lowering your hot water heater. Most hot water heaters are set at a higher temperature than the recommended setting.
3) $42 a year by washing your clothes using cold water. 488 pounds of CO2 emissions a year. Almost all energy used to wash laundry comes from heating the water.
4) $22 a year by filling your dishwasher and not hand washing dishes. 371 pounds of CO2 emissions a year. Fill the dishwasher completely before running it. Use the air dry, heat off or energy saver feature for more energy and money savings.
5) $20 a year by air drying just 20% of your laundry. 357 pounds of CO2 emissions saved for electric dryers. Add a half cup of white vinegar to the rinse cycle to reduce stiffness.
6) $12 a year per computer that you turn off at night. 230 pounds of CO2 emmissions a year. Turning a computer off and on does not create extra wear and tear on your computer. Change settings to sleep mode after 15 minutes and turn it off after the end of the day.
7) $8 a year for each light turned off for 4 hours a day, 455 pounds of CO2 emissions a year. Lighting is the single biggest inefficiency of all wasted energy.
8) $3.50 a year for each device moved to a power strip. 115 pounds of CO2 emissions. Many devices use energy even when turned off or not in use. Plug devices into a power strip and turn the power strip off when not in use.
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