Comment

Comment by Andy Karpinski on January 21, 2011 at 12:15am

The guide in Stacey's comment below is a good one.

 

One comment is that choosing Energy Star certified appliances is not really good enough.  Almost all appliances are Energy Star certified, but there are big differences in the power they use.  Look for appliances with the least kWh/year listed on the Energy Star sticker.

Comment by Stacey S. on December 29, 2010 at 7:17am

This is a document emailed by Neil Porter, Realtor and member of the Permaculture Guild Meetup. It provides specifics on how to reduce energy use. Topics include air conditioning, flooring, landscaping to reduce energy use, where to place your dryer, paint selection, water heating, choosing appliances and more. Greening_Existing_Homes%5B1%5D.pdf 

Comment by John Gambill on May 12, 2010 at 5:35pm

Mary, unplugging electrical cords saves energy only when that appliance has a "phantom load" using power when the appliance is not on, such as a TV. I don't know of any lamps that have a phantom load. A lamp is either ON or OFF. No need to unplug. We DO, however, turn off at night the power strip that everything in our entertainment center (TV, radio, DVD player, CD player, etc.) is plugged into. We also unplug cell phone chargers when we're not charging the phones. Our electric bill last month was $8.98 with 101 kilowatt-hours of credit thanks to our solar water heating and solar electricity. Libbie (and John)