Tips for Greener Homes

You have the power to help the environment by taking some simple steps in your home.

Saving Energy
AUDIT YOURSELF

Find out where energy is being used, lost and where it can be saved. Do it yourself or get a professional. Many utility companies offer home and business energy audits for free.		  
REDUCE YOUR USE

The easiest and most cost-effective ways include:

Lighting
  • Replace your light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs), which use 75% less energy. Or consider buying decorative lights powered with LED bulbs that use up to 90% less energy than regular incandescent bulbs to produce the same amount of light.
  • Use focused task lighting when possible, rather than lighting an entire room.
  • Turn off lights and other devices when not in use.
  • Install timers or photocells with motion sensors to enhance security and ensure that outside lighting is used only when needed.
  • Change your holiday lighting to more energy efficient CFL or LED bulbs.
Appliances
  • Use nonessential appliances—such as clothes washers and dryers—in non-peak hours (before noon or after 6:00 p.m.)
  • Always wash full loads of clothes or use the variable water level adjustment for smaller loads. Use hot water for clothes washing only when necessary and always use cold water for the rinse cycle. (Cold water reduces your energy use.)
  • Clothes Dryers use lots of power. Line dry what you can. Clean the lint trap after every load and be sure the exhaust line is clean. Use an automatic drying cycle instead of a timed cycle.
  • Put full loads in the dishwasher and use the “energy saving” setting for the drying cycle or let dishes air dry.
  • Use your microwave oven in the summer, instead of your regular oven.
  • Leave space between your refrigerator, the cabinets and the wall to allow air to circulate around the coils.
  • Unplug your spare refrigerator or freezer when not in use. Consider recycling it.
Electronics

Consumer electronics are responsible for approximately 15% of your household’s energy use. Electronics that sleep on standby setting continue to pull current even when turned off.
  • Consider unplugging consumer electronics—including AC adaptors — when not in use. Use a power strip that can be turned off at night.
  • For all the portable electronics in your life (MP3 players, laptops, PDAs, cell phones and cameras), consider feeding them green power with a solar charger.
Heating & Cooling

American homes consume about six times the world average. Heating and cooling are major energy users. Easy ways to save include:
  • Use natural ventilation instead of air conditioning as much as possible.
  • Use in-room, ceiling or whole-house fans to move air through the house.
  • Shade windows, doors and skylights with awnings, sunscreens and blinds. Consider planting trees on the south, east and west sides of your home; by providing more shade, they will lessen the need for air conditioning and help you save energy.
  • Caulk or weatherstrip cracks around windows, doors and other openings.
  • Replace dirty air filters regularly and keep your heating/air conditioning system properly maintained.
  • In the winter, set your thermostat for no higher than 68 degrees during times when your home is occupied. During the summer, set your thermostat for no lower than 78 degrees when your home is occupied.
  • Wrap your water tank in an insulating blanket.
  • Insulate the attic, basement and crawl space. About 20 percent of energy costs come from heat loss in those areas.
  • For pools and spas, install a timer or set your existing timer to run pool filtering and sweeping during off-peak hours (before noon and after 6:00 pm.)
Energy-Efficient Appliances

After heating and cooling, appliances and other plug-in devices are the next biggest users of energy in your home. Every appliance or electronic device has two prices—the original one and what you pay for the energy it uses. When you have to replace an appliance, look for the yellow EnergyGuide, showing the appliance’s consumption of energy in kWh per year. Also look for Energy Star rated products, because they use 50% less energy than standard models.

Other Energy Saving Ideas
  • Consider producing your own electricity using solar power or a small wind turbine.
  • Sing up for green power—check with your utility about signing up for renewable power.
  • Buy renewable energy credits—another way to support renewable energy and “offset” your own environmental footprint is to buy renewable energy credits (RECs.) There are many Web sites that help you calculate your energy consumption and buy a requisite amount of RECs to compensate for it. To learn more, Green-e (www.green-e.org) is an independent, nonprofit group that verifies renewable energy credits and certifies that they are what they claim to be.
  

Conserving Water & Keeping it Pure

Most of the world gets by on 2.5 gallons of water per day. The average American uses 400 gallons per day, 30% of which is for outdoor use and half for watering lawns. California continues to suffer through a multi-year drought and the Governor has called for a 20% reduction in water use. Here are a few things you can do to reduce your water use:
INDOORS
  • No Drips — a dripping faucet can waste up to 20 gallons a day.
  • Cultivate Good Water Habits—Preserve this precious resource!
    1. Shortening your shower by one or two minutes saves 5 gallons per day.
    2. Turning off the water when you brush your teeth saves 3 gallons per day.
    3. Only washing full loads of laundry saves 15-20 gallons per load.
  • Install New Fixtures—new low-volume or dual flush toilets, low-flow showerheads, water efficient dishwashers and clothes washing machines can all save water and money.
  • To help keep our water safe, don’t pour chemicals down the drain or flush drugs down the toilet—it could come back in diluted form in your water.
  • Buy household products such as cleaners and furniture polish labeled “non toxic.”
OUTDOORS
  • Water your yard only before 8:00 a.m. to reduce evaporation (save 25 gallons per day.)
  • Use a broom instead of a hose to clean driveways and sidewalks (saving 150 gallons.)
  • Install a smart sprinkler controller (saving 40 gallons per day.)
  • Check your sprinkler system for leaks, overspray and broken sprinkler heads (could save up to 500 gallons per month.)
  • Take your car to a commercial car wash whenever possible.
  • Choose soaps, cleaners, detergents and car maintenance products that are labeled “non-toxic,” “phosphate free” or “biodegradable.” Vegetable or citrus-based products are typically safest for the environment.
  • Go beyond lawn—Use locally appropriate plants that are hardy and don’t need a lot of water. There are lots of local resources, including the Laguna Beach Water District’s demonstration garden. (www.LBCWD.org/ca-47.aspx)
  • Other Water Saving Ideas:
    1. Harvest rainwater.
    2. Harvest greywater (water that has been used once, but is still clean enough for other jobs, can be harvested from your home and used in the garden.)
    3. Ease up on meat — A vegetarian diet requires only 300 gallons of water per day, while a meat eating diet requires 4,000 gallons a day. Even if you only ease up a little bit, think about this: You save more water by not eating a pound of beef than you do by not showering for an entire year!
  

Reducing Waste

Remember, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle is the mantra. Before you Recycle, remember that it’s better to think about ways you can Reduce (using less of something) or Reuse (using what you already have or purchasing something that has been used before.)
REDUCE

Everyone will have their own ideas of things they could use or buy less often. But here are a couple of ideas:

  • Get Rid of Bottled Water—Bottled water is more expensive, has a higher carbon footprint, creates more waste (all those bottles), is not well regulated and doesn’t always taste better. If you want to carry bottled water with you, get a refillable container and refill it.
  • Reduce your use of copy/printer paper by printing on both sides of the page.
REUSE
  • Do your grocery and other shopping with reusable bags.
  • Shop for furniture and decorative items at your local antique or consignment shop.
  • Shop your local consignment or vintage clothing shop.
  • Dust off your library card—think again about the books you’d like to read.
  • If you’re building or remodeling a home, consider using recycled materials for countertops and other areas of your home.
RECYCLE
  • Dispose of household hazardous wastes properly. These include:

    Batteries
    Paint thinners, paint strippers and removers
    Adhesives
    Drain openers
    Oven cleaners
    Wood and metal cleaners and polishes
    Herbicides and pesticides
    Fungicides/wood preservatives
    Automotive fluids and products
    Grease and rust solvents
    Thermometers and other products containing mercury
    Fluorescent lamps and compact fluorescent bulbs
    Cathode ray tubes (e.g. TVs and computer monitors)
    Pool and spa chemicals

    The City of Laguna Beach’s Web site provides information on hazardous waste disposal. See www.LagunaBeachCity.net/about/env.asp.

  • Recycle your used motor oil and antifreeze. Locations usually accept up to five gallons of used motor oil at no cost. Many also accept used oil filters. Please contact the facility before delivering your used oil. To locate a service station that accepts used motor oil, call 1-800-CLEANUP or visit www.1800CLEANUP.org.
  • E-waste: Dispose of electronic items in a responsible way. There are regular e-waste recycling events in the city of Laguna Beach and in surrounding communities.
  • Toner cartridges: Recycle the toner cartridges from your printer. They can be refilled and refurbished for future use.
  • Before you expand the local landfills with furniture, clothing or books, consider selling them at a local consignment shop or used book store, or contributing them to a charity that will be able to provide them to other potential users..
  

For other helpful sites, see the Sustainability Section of this web site. Also helpful are:

WEB SITES

www.LagunaBeachCity.net
www.OCGreenGuide.com
www.TreeHugger.com
www.WhatsMyCarbonFootprint.com
www.WMOrangeCounty.com/cities/lagunabeach.asp

E-MAIL

mclark4@wm.com
 


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