In previous blogs, I’ve covered power factor, surges and spikes, and harmonics. I was thinking about what topic to write about next…..I needed to stay in the GREEN field (that’s what it’s all about, right?) so I thought I’d offer up some green tips. Now I must admit, the list below is not entirely my work; some of it came from a website of a Twitter follower.
5 Easy Things you can do to be GREEN and cut your carbon footprint!
1. Give up bottled water - Average household reduction of CO2 emissions: 216 pounds a year
2. Wash your laundry in cold water - Average household reduction of CO2 emissions: 327 pounds a year
3. Switch to compact fluorescent lightbulbs - Average household reduction of CO2 emissions: 566 pounds a year
4. Set thermostat at 68° in winter, 78° in summer - Average household reduction of CO2 emissions: 553 pounds a year
5. Cut your gasoline use by one quarter - Average single car reduction of CO2 emissions: 2500 pounds a year
Pretty easy, right? I must admit that #4 is a tough one for me. We keep our thermostat at 68° in the winter as suggested, but 78° in summer is just too hot for me. I guess I’m a wuss. We keep it at 74° which is close, but no cigar…..anyway….
So how can you do all of the above? Well, let me give you some suggestions….
1. Bottled water….some people just HATE the taste of their tap water….I can understand. There are alternatives to spending your hard-earned cash on water in plastic bottles out there. Bullfrog Environmental offers the Living Water II water filtration systems that does two things: (a) it kills any bacteria that is in the water (yes, there is bacteria that must remain below certain limits local governments specify) and (b) eliminates/reduces chlorine. Chlorine is good for water until it comes out of your tap. It helps keep the germ level down but at the point of coming out of your tap it’s job is done….so why drink it? Yuck. There are also other filtrations systems out there…just make sure you evaluate what is available before purchasing a purifier.
2. Wash laundry in cold water? You’re kidding, right? Well, yes, it can be done. You’ve probably noticed some laundry detergent companies marketing detergent that can be used with cold water lately, trying to get on the “GREEN” movement. That’s fine and dandy but the end result is that laundry soap still goes into our wastewater….not very environmentally friendly. Bullfrog has a neat product called LaundryPure that allows you to do laundry in cold water….WITHOUT detergent, bleach, or softener. No dryer sheets either. Works well, and I am speaking from my personal experience!
3. Switching to CFL’s is easy, but can be pricey! Don’t do it all at once unless you want to spend some pretty good coin up front. Do a floor or a room or two at a time. We buy our CFL’s at Sam’s Club and I think it’s really helped on our electric bill. If you don’t like to wait for them to “warm up” while they are getting brighter (CFL users know what I mean!), I think Lowe’s has some “instantly bright” CFL’s that eliminate this pesky problem.
4. Set your thermostat cooler in the winter and warmer in the summer. Pretty easy thing to do….just remember to stock up on sweaters for the winter! If you have an excessively cold room you can get a small electric heater. This is much more energy-efficient than cranking up the thermostat for the whole house. There are many out there available – Bullfrog even offers the SafeHearth heater, which is a very nice unit, plus it contains RCI technology which has been proven to kill viruses and bacteria.
5. Cut your gasoline consumption. Just like they told us in driver’s education – jack-rabbit starts and stops are not energy efficient! In fact, according to Eartheasy.com, "Jack-rabbit starts and hard braking can increase fuel consumption by as much as 40%. Tests show that jack-rabbit starts and hard braking reduces travel time by only four percent, while toxic emissions were more than five times higher. The proper way is to accelerate slowly and smoothly, then get into high gear as quickly as possible. In city driving, nearly 50% of the energy needed to power your car goes to acceleration.” I recently traded my Honda Pilot for a Toyota Camry, and while much better for the environment, I don’t cringe when I fill up my Camry! Ka-Ching!
These are just a few easy things you can do to become more green…..lower that carbon footprint, save some money, and help out your environment – all at once!
Bullfrog out.
Ribbet.