Making your Home more Eco-friendly

While writing an article for a client this morning, I came across some interesting research that I thought I would share with you guys. The article was based on the premise of lessening your home's environmental impact. I've always known most of the tips I wrote about and actually had written a previous post on them a few weeks ago, called How We Manage: Running a Farmhouse on one Solid Income, but in researching the actual numbers behind the tips I was shocked by what I found.

Unplugging your unused electronics

The industry name for powered off items that still require power is "vampires" or "phantom loads." These are items such as coffee pots, TVs, DVD players, cell phone chargers, and microwaves, that when powered off, still consume energy. Items with remotes or digital clocks tend to use even more. According to a study published by Cornell University, the average household has at least 20 of these vampire electronics. It is estimated that the US uses the equivalent of seven electrical generating plants just to supply energy to these "powered off" vampire appliances, which equals approximately $3 billion a year nation-wide and adds an additional $200 annually to each home's electric costs. That may not seem like much, but that's $200 a year that you're spending on absolutely nothing. 

Hang the Washing 

Using the dryer is another fairly costly amenity. According to Simple Ecology, it takes 900 pounds of coal to generate enough electricity to run your dryer. When following the math, that equals out to be 2,300 pounds of CO2 put out for every household, every year. Going with the equation that a tree can put out 50 pounds of CO2 in an annual cycle, it would take 46 trees to counteract the amount of CO2 emissions put out by your dryer every year. These amounts are just for one "average" household. 

Switch to Energy Efficient Light bulbs 

Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs pay for themselves within 6 months of install, according to Energy Star. They use one-fourth of the amount of energy that regular incandescent bulbs use and have a longer life span. This translates into a savings of $92 and 460 kilowatt hours over a CFL's lifespan. 

Hand washing vs Dishwasher 

A report published by the Florida Solar Energy Center estimates that it costs $0.46 to run the dishwasher. At an assessed 215 loads a year, that averages out to $98.80 a year. This report was published using dishwashers made after the year 1994, when they became more energy efficient. If you are using a dishwasher that was crafted before 1994, then your costs will be significantly higher. 

These are just a few cost comparisons and ecological impacts of the tips I had included in my previous post. They may not seem largely expensive individually, but when added up they do make a impact on your electric bill. And, of course, with any use of electricity in the US, which is mostly provided by non-renewable fossil fuels, pollutants are emitted into the air. Creating a sustainable lifestyle does not merely include providing your own food, but also reducing your carbon footprint made by your household.