One of my primary sustainability goals is reducing my energy consumption. While we are in the process of transitioning from a fossil fuel dependent energy system to more sustainable methods of energy production it is important to limit our energy consumption as much as possible. By doing so we will both reduce the amount of greenhouse gasses being emitted and the demand for fossil fuels which drives much of the environmentally disastrous extraction of these fuels.
There are many ways that we can reduce our energy consumption from the novel to the mundane. Since it is December and everyone is obsessed with top 10's and top 100's, I'll give you 10 ways to reduce energy consumption. Not that there aren't a hundred ways, but I do have to get some sleep tonight. So here we go:
1. Declare an electricity free day. This might be best planned for early summer here in the chilly north east. You can cook outside, go without showering (take a dip in the nearest pond if you really need to get wet) and sit around the camp fire late into the night telling ghost stories or having a drum circle (or both), instead of sitting around inside surfing the net, watching TV or going to the Movies.
2. Winterize your house! This is a step that I have just personally taken. There are several things to be considered here: Placing insulating gaskets behind your outlet and switch plates, winterizing the windows (if you cannot afford replacement windows this is an affordable option that is more than worth the investment of time and money) and Increasing the insulation in your attic. This past weekend we spent 300 dollars on 26 bags of Green Fiber insulation. With this purchase we got the rental of the blower free for the day. It took us about 4 hours all together including set up and cleanup. We doubled the heat retention in the upstairs and the investment will probably pay itself back in less than a year.
3. Declare one screen free day each week. You will not only save energy, you will reduce your stress and you will have more time to spend on other interests that you never seem to have time for.
4. Never use the "small load" setting on your washing machine. While it uses less water, it does not use significantly less electricity. Wait until you have a full load.
5. During warm months hang laundry outside to dry (or even in cold months if you are one of those die hard types that doesn't mind a little bit of chapped skin and a frozen nose...)
6.Switch to LED light bulbs. They are even more energy efficient than CFL bulbs and don't have the disposal issues related to the toxic chemicals.
7. Eat more raw foods. They are better for you anyway. Raw foods retain more nutrients and are generally higher in fiber and lower in fat and simple carbohydrates. You may find your waistline likes your new low energy diet as much as the planet does.
8. Install motion sensor switches on your home lights where appropriate. Lights will come on as you enter and will turn off after a period without motion. These lights are particularly well suited to common areas such as kitchen's and dining rooms where folks often pass through briefly and may forget to turn off lights. They may be less appropriate for family rooms and bedrooms (for obvious reasons).
9. Watch out for phantom energy suckers. Any appliance that has a light or clock on it is drawing energy even when not in use. Consider installing a power strip in an accessible place in your kitchen and plugging small appliances into it. Turn the power strip on when using the small appliances and turn them all off with the flip of one switch. After all, do you really need to have a clock on the stove, the microwave and the coffee maker. And how often do you really program the coffee maker to start automatically. We have an automatic coffee maker that we set perhaps twice a month. It takes 5 minutes to start coffee in the morning and how much energy do I save by not having the coffee pot drawing power the other 23 hours a day that I'm not using it? I can't tell you exactly, but I can tell you it is well worth the 5 minutes it takes to make the coffee.
10. Shower less often (I bet that wasn't what you thought I was going to say). Honestly folks, Americans are way too obsessed with cleanliness. We've cleansed ourselves into the advent of super bugs and who knows what else in the way of obsessive compulsive behaviors. If we showered or bathed only every second or third day and used the wash bowl in between, we would be just as clean and use far less water, electricity and heating oil.
That's all I have for you today. I could go on and on, but I hope that you will take these suggestions and add many more of your own. Have fun with it. Make it a competition with yourself to see just how much energy you can save.
7. Eat more raw foods. They are better for you anyway. Raw foods retain more nutrients and are generally higher in fiber and lower in fat and simple carbohydrates. You may find your waistline likes your new low energy diet as much as the planet does.
8. Install motion sensor switches on your home lights where appropriate. Lights will come on as you enter and will turn off after a period without motion. These lights are particularly well suited to common areas such as kitchen's and dining rooms where folks often pass through briefly and may forget to turn off lights. They may be less appropriate for family rooms and bedrooms (for obvious reasons).
9. Watch out for phantom energy suckers. Any appliance that has a light or clock on it is drawing energy even when not in use. Consider installing a power strip in an accessible place in your kitchen and plugging small appliances into it. Turn the power strip on when using the small appliances and turn them all off with the flip of one switch. After all, do you really need to have a clock on the stove, the microwave and the coffee maker. And how often do you really program the coffee maker to start automatically. We have an automatic coffee maker that we set perhaps twice a month. It takes 5 minutes to start coffee in the morning and how much energy do I save by not having the coffee pot drawing power the other 23 hours a day that I'm not using it? I can't tell you exactly, but I can tell you it is well worth the 5 minutes it takes to make the coffee.
10. Shower less often (I bet that wasn't what you thought I was going to say). Honestly folks, Americans are way too obsessed with cleanliness. We've cleansed ourselves into the advent of super bugs and who knows what else in the way of obsessive compulsive behaviors. If we showered or bathed only every second or third day and used the wash bowl in between, we would be just as clean and use far less water, electricity and heating oil.
That's all I have for you today. I could go on and on, but I hope that you will take these suggestions and add many more of your own. Have fun with it. Make it a competition with yourself to see just how much energy you can save.
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