Take a Whole-House Approach to Reducing Your CO2 Footprint
In 2005, the typical U.S. family spent close to $1,500 a year on home utility bills. In 2007, the average household will spend about $2,100 on home energy costs. "U.S. households produce 21 percent of the country’s global warming pollution. That’s more pollution than the entire heat-trapping output of the United Kingdom. The good news is that energy-conscious families can reduce their emissions by up to two-thirds. If every household in the U.S. made energy-efficient choices, we could save 800 million tons of global warming pollution – more than the heat-trapping emissions from over 100 countries. That would go a long way toward stabilizing our climate."
There are a number of measures you can take to make your household systems more energy-efficient and significantly reduce your carbon dioxide footprint. Improvements to your household systems include maintaining and upgrading your heating and cooling equipment, making your hot water heater more efficient, installing energy efficient lights, sealing air leaks, replacing aging appliances with new, more energy-efficient models, and other measures that make up a "whole-house" energy efficiency plan.
A whole-house approach requires you to view your home as an energy system with interdependent parts. For example, your heating system is more than just the furnace. It includes the network of ducts that deliver heat throughout your home. Installing an energy-efficient furnace will not provide the energy cost-savings you expect if the ducts, walls, attic, windows and doors are not properly insulated. Taking a whole-house approach to saving energy ensures that dollars you invest to save energy are spent wisely.
Start with an energy auditThe first step to taking a whole-house energy efficiency approach is to find out which parts of your house or apartment use the most energy. A home energy audit will identify those areas, and through your own efforts, your local utility, or the assistance of a qualified professional, you can take cost-effective measures to reduce your energy costs and hence, your CO2 footprint.Learn more... |
Maintain and upgrade your heating and cooling equipmentMore energy dollars go towards your heating and cooling system than any other system in your home. "Typically, 56% of your utility bill goes for heating and cooling. What’s more, heating and cooling systems in the United States together emit over a half billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year, adding to global warming. They also generate about 24% of the nation’s sulfur dioxide and 12% of the nitrogen oxides, the chief ingredients in acid rain."Learn more... |
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Make your hot water heater more efficientAfter household heating and cooling, water heating is the largest energy user in your home, representing over 13% of your annual energy bill, and a significant contributor to household CO2 emissions. "If your water heater is more than 10 years old it is likely running at less than 50 percent efficiency—wasting energy and money—but most people don’t replace their water heater until it fails. Upgrading to a new, more efficient model will lower not only your monthly expenses, but also your contribution to air pollution and global warming." Even if you don’t plan on buying a new water heater in the near future, there are a number of measures you can take now to save money, and energy, with your existing system.Learn more... |
Replace inefficient bulbs and fixtures with energy efficient lightsLighting is the third largest energy user in your home, representing approximately 10% of your annual energy bill. "Making improvements to your lighting is one of the fastest ways to cut your energy bills. . . . Using new lighting technologies can reduce lighting energy use in your home by 50% to 75%. Advances in lighting controls offer further energy savings by reducing the amount of time lights are on but not being used."Learn more... |
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Seal air leaks"Heat naturally flows from warmer spaces to cooler ones until the temperatures both in and between the two spaces are equal. Inside the home, warm air rises and leaks out the attic and roof while drawing cold air in through the basement. Your home’s shell (walls, windows, doors, foundation, roof, attic, etc.) determines its rate of heat loss, and leaky shells can be responsible for 25-40 percent of the load on your heating system. You can prevent this heat loss by implementing passive heating measures such as improving insulation, sealing air leaks, and replacing or reglazing your windows to minimize heat transfer."Learn more... |
Replace older appliances with energy-efficient modelsAppliances such as your refrigerator, clothes washer and dryer, dishwasher and electronics (TV, computer, audio and video systems, etc.) account for about 20% of your household’s annual energy bill. "Together, these items account for nearly eight tons of heat-trapping emissions per household per year."Learn more... |
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Install energy-efficient windowsAlmost half of all homes in the U.S. have inefficient, single-pane windows. Inefficient windows can account for up to 25% of your heating bill in the winter, and can make your air conditioner work up to three times harder in the summer. Although high performance windows may cost more initially, they save you money in the long run. In addition, they increase the value of your home.Learn more... |
Switch to "green" powerMore and more states are adopting renewable portfolio standards (RPS), also known as renewable electricity standards (RES). These standards require utilities to provide increasing amounts of electricity to consumers from renewable energy resources, like wind, solar and biomass. Congress is now considering passage of a national RPS, and it is only a matter of time before our energy policy shifts from over-reliance on coal, and the harmful effects of CO2 and other toxic air emissions, to investments that increase energy efficiency in homes, businesses and industry, and that develop the full potential of renewable energy resources, which produce little or no emissions and which, unlike fossil fuels, are limitless in supply.Learn more... |
- U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy: Energy Saver$: Tips on Saving Energy & Money at Home, p. 1 (June, 2005)
- Alliance to Save Energy, Energy Fact Sheet, found at: http://www.energyhog.org/adult/pdf/EnergyFacts.pdf
- Environmental Defense, Re-Thinking Energy in Homes, found at: http://www.fightglobalwarming.com/page.cfm?tagID=262