|
Welcome to Home Subject - Useful Ideas And Tips For Your Home!
» Sanitation-&-Health-Tips >> View Article
|
 |
|
 |
| Keeping up with Trends with your Green Home |
By:
Melissa Teems |
|
Over the course of the past few decades, there has been an increase in the number of home owners considering eco-friendly or 'green' issues, especially those with a focus on energy reduction. As environmental issues become more prevalent, consumers are taking more responsibility for the improvement of their surroundings. In fact, home owners are becoming more 'green' savvy every day and are identifying new ways to become more environmentally conscious. Green building and remodeling has become very popular with home owners. Building a home considered green can include simple elements such as using recycled resources for fixtures and finishes, to considerable changes such as moving towards powering your entire home with solar or wind energy. Many home owners are taking on the challenge of using renewable energy, but for those not seeking such a drastic change in lifestyle there are still many affordable ways to become more energy conscious within your home. Being environmentally conscious and conserving energy is a must-have in today's home and, when properly applied, will stand the test of time. Saving energy saves money and is better for the environment. Going green in your home does not have to be complicated and can vary from making simple product changes inside your home to installing some of the latest trends in energy conscious home building materials.
CONSERVING ENERGY, SAVING WATER
One of the easiest things you can do is change the types of light bulbs you use. GE Energy Smart light bulbs use 70 to 75 percent less energy than typical incandescent bulbs. For example, by using a 26-watt compact fluorescent light bulb" equivalent to a 100-watt incandescent bulb " home owners can save up to fifty-nine dollars over the life of the bulb. Whether you're remodeling a kitchen or replacing a refrigerator, an appliance with the Energy Star rating exceeds regular federal standards for energy efficiency. When shopping look for the black-on-yellow Energy Guide label. It provides estimates of how much energy the appliance consumes, compares its energy use with that of similar products and details approximate annual operating costs. You'll notice a difference in your energy costs. In fact, replacing an older refrigerator with a new Energy Star qualified model would save enough energy to light the average household for more than four months, according to the government's energystar.com web site. Another thing you can do is change out your faucets, shower head or toilet with newer, low-flow options. You can achieve water savings of 25 percent to 60 percent just by doing this. Did you know that hot water heaters account for 20 percent of the home's annual energy bill? By converting to a tankless water heater you can enjoy a substantial savings. Tankless versions heat water only as it is used. When a hot water tap is opened, sensors in the heater kick-on to activate the heating elements, which then deliver a constant supply of hot water. The instant, on-demand, tankless design means water is heated instantly, but only for as long as the hot water is being used. Conventional tank water heaters, on the other hand, heats water 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The benefit of using a tankless water heater is that you only pay for the hot water you use. This can result in an energy savings of up to 14 percent to 50 percent on your energy bills.
ENERGY CONSCIOUS VENTILATION
Slash your utility bills with a whole house fan. A whole house fan works by bringing cooler air that's outside into your home. A whole house fan is installed in your attic, mounted onto the ceiling. A small hole is cut into the ceiling and a grill is placed over the hole from inside your living area. When turned on, the whole house fan creates a negative pressure in your living area. Opening windows will cause the cooler outside air to flow into your home, cooling the inside of your home. But that's not all. "Once the air flows through your home, the whole house fan pulls the air into your attic, also cooling your attic area. This constant flow of air removes the stored heat that has built up during the hot day in the attic. It works like a vacuum, sucking all the extraneous air and lifting it up to the attic and out through the attic vents," says whole house fan manufacturer, Nancy Flock. In fact, using the whole house fan is a great alternative to air conditioning. Flock's Smart Breeze whole house fan is a tremendous energy saver because it only uses 92 watts of energy" that's less than the typical 100-watt light bulb used in today's home! "With today's energy prices and the cost to run a five ton air conditioning unit (5000 watts), the Smart Breeze System is the energy efficient alternative for the cool comfortable home."
For more information please visit: www.smartbreezesystems.com
About the author:
Melissa Teems is a writer with Home&Living magazine |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
It's easier to copy the whole article if you are logged in.
|
|
