Simply Going Green

Erin Guy collected the best of the links and research she found for her "Simply Going Green" series, and we've collected them here, by category.

Save Money with a Programmable Thermostat

This year our winter has been long and cold.

Some in our region have endured temperatures in the single digits, but there are ways to stay warm without spending a bundle. For a family of four in a 15-hundred square foot house, on average you'll pay about 40-bucks a month just on the heating portion of your power bill, but using a programmable thermostat drop that price saving you money.

During an average work week you spend well over 40- hours outside your home and without a programmable thermostat, your heat is running without anyone to enjoy it.

Monte Mendenhall at Pacific Power says, "Programmable thermostats are great because when you're away from your home particularly, if you are working and have regular work hours. you can turn it down during the day and have it come up an hour or so before you come home."

To make it simple, it works like an alarm clock.

Mendenhall says, "You can actually program it for the 7-days of the week, whatever your habits would be."

By turning your air down for even just a few hours each day, Pacific Power says you can reduce the heating portion of your bill by at least 10-percent each month.

If your thinking you have to buy a brand new heater for your house, think again. Anyone can replace their old thermostat for a new one and they're reasonably priced. Basic models run about 30-bucks a piece. The most expensive thermostat i found was around 100-bucks.

Lowes and Home Depot say the more expensive the model, the more features.

Cloth Grocery Bags Yield Big Results

Going green and helping the environment doesn't have to be expensive and one way to go green cheap is buy making an important choice at the grocery store.

When you check out the cashier usually asks if you want. paper, or plastic, but now there is a third option, cloth. The Ashland Food Co-op sells cloth bags for just over two dollars and just last year alone, they were able to decrease paper grocery sacks ordered by over 8,000 bags.

If 25% of Americans used just 10 fewer plastic bags each month, an estimated 2.5 billion bags could be saved from landfills each year.

Did You Know (from Liberty Lines magazine):

Replacing the five most-used light fixtures with energy start models in every U.S. home would prevent greenhouse gases equal to the emissions of nearly 10-million houses.

If every U.S. household installed a Water-Sense labeled faucet or faucet aerator tip, it could save more than 60-billion gallons of water annually.

Installing high-efficiency toilets can save a family of four roughly $1000 over the next 10-years.

Paper Tips:

1. Use both sides of a sheet of paper

2. Pack a lunch in reusable container

3. Choose recycled-content products

4. Avoid disposable products

5. Recycle and compost refuse paper

Pacific Power Tips:

Heating: Lower the thermostat a few degrees or consider installing a programmable thermostat to cut your heating bill. Have your furnace tuned up and clean air filters monthly.

Lighting: replacing incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs. They use one-fourth the amount of electricity and last ten times longer.

Water Heating: Turn the water heater thermostat to 120-degrees F. Fix dripping faucets and install low-flow faucet aerators. Run only full loads in the dishwasher.

Weather Stripping to Save Money

There are easy ways to go green and it doesn't have to cost a fortune. Today's tip fits right in with the recent burst of cold weather, sealing your doors and windows.

Re-sealing a door or window sounds like a big job, but after a trip to Lowes we found out, its not only easy, it's cheap.

Temperatures in our region can be extreme. From hot sunny summers to chilly and snowy winters and that means each season you need to keep an eye on your doors and windows.

Todd Giger is a window and door specialist at Lowes and he says, "Sealing areas with weather stripping can save a tremendous amount of energy , usually about 30-percent."

Giger says if you own an older home you have to pay close attention to seals but he says there are easy ways to check and see if your window or door needs a new one.

"If you use incense or a thread and you hold it down by the bottom of the door and you see air flow- that's one way to know that you need to replace that door bottom," said Giger.

Each door and window needs different types of stripping, but Giger says you can find the products for as low as $10 a piece up to $30.

"If you can keep an air tight home. You are going to see a significant savings on your power bill," Giger added.

If you don't want to replace your weather stripping all together, Lowes says there are ways to repair damaged strips.

To make sure your seals are in good shape, it's a good idea to do an air check at least twice a year.

Links:

http://www.pacificpower.net/save

http://www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/whatyoucando/

http://www.oregon.gov/DEQ/

http://www.pacificpower.net

http://www.epa.gov

http://www.energytrust.org

http://www.bpa.gov

www.catalogchoice.org

www.oregongreenhomes.net

Free energy review call 1-866-entrus

What tips can you share about "Going Green" to save money? Leave a comment below!