Daily Tip : August 7, 2007

The average house creates double the greenhouse-gas emissions of the average car. Audit your home’s energy use -- and see how you can reduce it -- at http://hes.lbl.gov/.

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Comments

[kelly]

i think this is a really important point, and indicative of where our efforts need to rally. folks are becoming aware of greenhouse gas issues as far as cars go, but very few recognize the even greater risks building development poses. university of colorado denver has a terrific architecture program (MA) that my sister currently attends, which specializes in green building and restoration. she shares info with me that is mainstream in her specialized field but absolutely lost on most of the rest of us. people think that changing light bulbs, recycling, and conserving water are the only problems. these are major ways to dent the environmental costs of private home ownership, but to only focus on these nearly overlooks the larger issues of VOC emissions due to building materials, paints, carpets, insulation, etc. shifting some of our efforts from the car-front to the home-front will go a much longer ways towards reducing the pollutants both of these issues share (the most?) responsibility.

[kelly]

i think this is a really important point, and indicative of where our efforts need to rally. folks are becoming aware of greenhouse gas issues as far as cars go, but very few recognize the even greater risks building development poses. university of colorado denver has a terrific architecture program (MA) that my sister currently attends, which specializes in green building and restoration. she shares info with me that is mainstream in her specialized field but absolutely lost on most of the rest of us. people think that changing light bulbs, recycling, and conserving water are the only problems. these are major ways to dent the environmental costs of private home ownership, but to only focus on these nearly overlooks the larger issues of VOC emissions due to building materials, paints, carpets, insulation, etc. shifting some of our efforts from the car-front to the home-front will go a much longer ways towards reducing the pollutants both of these issues share (the most?) responsibility.

[Jason Chen]

I think education is one of the best way to prevent Americans use way too much energy more than we need, which is the current situation. European have similar (or even better) living quality but consume much less energy than we do. Not only because the government promote industry/individuals using energy efficient equipment, but also people understand that we need to act now or it will be too late. Many small things in our daily life, for example, turn off the light and AC while you're not in the room, or not at home; bring your own bags when you do shopping; turn the AC a few degree higher (most buildings/homes over-cooling in the summer);change your light to CF bulbs, recycle anything recyclable ....etc. These things are already integrated in daily life of many developed country (such as Japan who has very limited natural energy source), but still not common in the US. At least around me, most people throw their bottles/cans in the trash, not recycling bin, never turn off their AC in the summer and always over-bagging during their shopping. These small thing won't affect our life quality much, but can greatly save the planet if everyone do so. I personal believe that most American are willing to do these thing small things, but not many people even notice that they should or they could help the environment without sacrificing. If schools can teach our next generation to understand that the planet need our attention/protection, then there's a hope for saving the planet. The power of the great majority of the human population is usually more powerful than technology development, at least in the short-term. That's my personal view of the most effective way to save the planet.

[Linda Pohle]

I think this is a great tool--but only potentially. I tried to calculate lighting energy usage and the drop down menu I was told to refer to wasn't there. Back to the drawing board I think.

[carolk]

The best part is you save money at the same time.

I live in Seattle. During the summer months the daily temp ranges from the mid 60's with rain to the high 80's and sun. I turn my heat off in May or early June and don't turn it on again until late Sept or Oct. If we have a string of cool days, and the house gets too cold, I schedule my showers, washing and drying, cooking, etc., so it warms up the house early in the day. It generally stays warm after that.

When it's too warm, at night I open all the windows once the outside temp dips below the inside temp. It helps if you have at least one low window and one high as it encoruages the hot air to rise out the high window, while the cold is pulled in the low, thus creating a draft. I leave them open until the outside temp warms up to the morning house temp in the morning. Then I close everything up and pull all the shades. That way it generally stays cool inside. If you aren't home in the morning, you can just close everything when you leave. I never use the warm wash or the dryer, the oven or even the stove when it's hot. Most things can be cold washed and hung dry and there are plenty of foods that don't need to be heated.

I also turn off the pilot light on my fireplace, and turn it back on again in the fall when I start to use the fire.

[carolk]

The best part is you save money at the same time.

I live in Seattle. During the summer months the daily temp ranges from the mid 60's with rain to the high 80's and sun. I turn my heat off in May or early June and don't turn it on again until late Sept or Oct. If we have a string of cool days, and the house gets too cold, I schedule my showers, washing and drying, cooking, etc., so it warms up the house early in the day. It generally stays warm after that.

When it's too warm, at night I open all the windows once the outside temp dips below the inside temp. It helps if you have at least one low window and one high as it encoruages the hot air to rise out the high window, while the cold is pulled in the low, thus creating a draft. I leave them open until the outside temp warms up to the morning house temp in the morning. Then I close everything up and pull all the shades. That way it generally stays cool inside. If you aren't home in the morning, you can just close everything when you leave. I never use the warm wash or the dryer, the oven or even the stove when it's hot. Most things can be cold washed and hung dry and there are plenty of foods that don't need to be heated.

I also turn off the pilot light on my fireplace, and turn it back on again in the fall when I start to use the fire.