Goal For The Green

Para-education and green living information

Guest Post
by Johnathan Rivers

Tired of not knowing what your energy bill is going to be each month? Retail energy providers in Texas, and other states nationwide offer a sort of flat rate monthly energy plan. Your bill is calculated based on your average energy usage, and what you pay is more or less the same each month. This enables you to budget better and more accurately gauge your energy usage so you can focus even more on living green.

If you don’t live in a state that has flat-rate energy costs, you can still take steps to make your monthly energy bill more predictable while striving to reduce your consumption. Start with your climate control unit and your washing appliances.

1) Change the thermostat when the seasons change

Lux Products' Model TX900TS Touch Screen Therm...

Lux Products' Model TX900TS Touch Screen Thermostat. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The first thing most people do when Summertime rolls around is crank down their thermostat, when in fact, they should be doing the opposite. Instead of setting the thermostat to 65 in the Summer time – a temperature that your home may not even reach in 90 degree weather unless it’s extremely well insulated. Instead – set it to 74-78.
The difference in temperature between your home and outside should be the focus. A 74 degree home in 90 degree weather feels relatively similar to a 65 degree home in 80 degree weather. In other words, your body reacts differently to a room’s temperature depending on how relatively warm it is outside.

For colder seasons, take the same approach but from the opposite end of the spectrum. Instead of setting the thermostat to 78, set it at 68 and wear a pair of long pajamas or a hoodie inside if you’re more on the cold-natured side.
Allowing your thermostat to work at a similar level throughout the year, and thus consume roughly the same amount of energy, is an easy to way to make your energy bill more predictable.

2) Develop a schedule for washing clothes and running the dishwasher
Not only do your washing machine and dishwasher use electricity to run, they also pull from your hot water heater, which can further affect your electricity or gas costs.

For most people, running these energy-intensive appliances is sporadic. They use them when they need to do so.  But, when you consider that no other devices in your home – besides your air conditioner and perhaps your refrigerator – use more energy than your washing appliances, it’s worth looking at developing a schedule for washing clothes and dishes to help make your monthly bill more predictable.

A dishwasher containing clean dishes

A dishwasher containing clean dishes (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Instead of using your dishwasher after every dinner, consider rinsing dishes off and waiting until it gets full before operating it. Create a protocol for when you wash – for example, commit to running the dishwasher every Sunday night and Wednesday night. Do the same for washing laundry. Designate two nights a week (or less if you’re single or don’t have kids) to wash laundry. If you have the same number of wash cycles each month for your big appliances, you use roughly the same amount of energy. The outcome is, you’re rewarded with a more consistent and predictable power bill each month.

Do you want more consistent energy bills, so you can better plan your budget? Start with making these adjustments and being consistent when it comes to your home’s most energy intensive appliances. It’s easy, and you can start today.

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Going Green on a Budget

May-3-2012 By Barbara Zak

Special Thanks to Amanda Green, for this guest post. Here are just 3 simple and easy tips, that will help you go green.  You can get started right NOW, and you don’t have to break the bank in the process.

Going Green on a Budget

by Amanda Green

Lately, I’ve noticed a huge increase in the number of small businesses in alternative energy fields. In the past month alone, I’ve received two phone calls regarding the potential adoption of solar technology in my home.

Aside from the obvious, if only minor, annoyance that such in-home solicitations cause, I’m also concerned about another potential problem associated with these types of green offerings. By reaching out to many Americans who are unable to afford the high initial costs of such technologies, they potentially shadow the smaller, much more cost-effective and simple green home solutions,that even folks with poor credit can and should employ.

Going green doesn’t have to be about spending inordinate amounts of money on big alternative energy solutions for the home.

Aside from the obvious financially helpful solutions like finding the right credit card for bad credit, Americans struggling with financial issues should be looking to much simpler green solutions around the house to save them money while also helping the environment.
The following are just three simple tips for saving money while going green at the same time.

Save on Energy Costs

-Set thermostat temperatures just a few degrees warmer in the summer and a few degrees cooler in the winter – you’d be surprised at how much this can save in annual energy costs.

-Install energy-efficient bulbs when your current ones go out – CFLs or LEDs are particularly energy-efficient and can save tons of money over time.

CompactFluorescentLightBulb

CompactFluorescentLightBulb (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

-Wash clothes in cold water when possible, and dry using a clothes line instead of a dryer.

-Turn all appliances and energy users off and unplug them when not in use, or use smart power strips to reduce energy use and costs.

Smart Checking

-If your account offers paperless checking, sign up – this not only helps reduce your impact on the environment, but can actually save you money by allowing you to check your statements more frequently online, ensuring beneficial spending habits and that you’re not being charged unnecessary fees.

-Read up on your account details and make sure you’re not incurring any usage fees –if you are, use a service to compare checking account fees and find one that better suits your needs that can save you money.

-Don’t pay for checking – there are plenty of free account options out there that can save you money while offering high quality service.

Save on Water Costs

-Take shorter showers – this will lower your water and heating bills considerably over time.

-Install low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators – these appliances are often relatively inexpensive and will save you tons of money on water and energy costs.

-Don’t buy bottled water – instead, use a water purifier that will save you money as well as eliminate the use of environmentally hazardous plastics.

-Use a reusable water bottle when traveling – aluminum or other non-plastic,non-toxic options are usually best.

While there are certainly a number of other ways to go green for less around the house, these three considerations are some of the easiest to get you started on the path to green savings and solutions. By doing just a bit of research one can find a huge number of green tips to save and use energy efficiently around the house.

Start today: you’ll be doing yourself, your family, the environment, and your bank account, a big favor. We’re working toward a better tomorrow!

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Saving Green by Going Green

Apr-13-2012 By Barbara Zak

That’s what Con-way Trucking did. Take a look at how making what seems to be small changes, can save you green, while you make strides to go green.

Con-way Freight Retrofits Lighting to Reduce Energy Use

ANN ARBOR, MI–(Marketwire – April 10, 2012) – Understanding the energy impact of different types of light bulbs is important, and plays a much larger role in energy efficiency than most people realize. Short of turning the lights off, one way to cut back on this energy consumption is to install T8 linear fluorescent lights in place of older, less efficient technologies like incandescent, metal halide or high-pressure sodium lights.  Another, is to install motion and daylight sensors to ensure lights only illuminate when it’s dark and there is motion.
Con-way Freight, a less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier and subsidiary of Con-way Inc. (NYSE: CNW), first piloted a lighting retrofit program before it began implementing the initiative within its network of operating locations across North America. The purpose of the retrofit is to maximize energy savings relative to investment and to capitalize on state- and utility-sponsored rebates by installing more efficient fixtures, lamps, ballasts and sensors while maintaining or improving the quality of light for Con-way Freight employees.

Check out the infographic below, to learn more about the lighting and energy usage at Con-way Freight facilities.

Con-way Freight is a subsidiary of Con-way Inc. (NYSE: CNW), a $5.0 billion diversified freight transportation and logistics services company. For more information, visit http://www.con-way.com/en/freight

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