Save the Planet - At Home

Schedule your Home Energy Audit today. This free service from many local utilities helps you find ways to save energy.  Energy Star can help you find one.

Replace lights with compact flourescent light bulbs (CFLs).  CFLs use 60% less energy than a regular light bulb. Learn about proper disposal of CFLs here:

http://www.gelighting.com/na/home_lighting/ask_us/faq_compact.htm#mercury, www.earth911.org and www.lamprecycle.org

Turn your thermostat down 2 degrees in winter and your A/C up 2 degrees in summer.  

Dress for the weather, not the thermostat!

Take cues from other cultures.  Hot day? Shut out heat with blinds and lay low.  Siesta, anyone?

Ditch the Mansion!  Oversize houses generally require more energy to heat and cool than smaller ones, even with efficient appliances. (Source:  Time Magazine)

Clean filters on your furnace and air conditioner.

Install a programmable therostat.

Choose energy efficient applicances.  Look for the Energy Star Label.

Unplug that extra freezer or refrigerator.  This can reduce a family's carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 10%! (Souce: Union of Concerned Scientists)

Live close to your work and schools.  Attend and support nearby schools. You'll reduce your emissions, save time and money, and enjoy a strong sense of community.

Use less hot water! It takes a lot of energy to heat water.

Sure, kids get dirty, but not all need daily baths.  Find a new bedtime ritual to settle them at day's end.

Install low-flow showerheads.

Recycle!  Place recycling containers in convenient places, like the kitchen and home office.

Set your home printer's default to double-sided and cut down on paper waste.

Think before shredding.  Only long-cut strands of shredded paper can be recycled! 

Set your water heater at no higher than 120 degrees F (49 C). 

Has "convenience" left you with less time?  Always doing laundry?  Wash only dirty clothes, save energy - and give yourself a well-deserved break.

Wash every other load in cold water. 

Install an on-demand water heater. 

String up a clothesline for 6 months of the year and save 700lbs of carbon dioxide a year. (Source: ClimateCrisis.net)

Simply turning off your television, DVD player, stereo, and computer when you’re not using them will save you thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide a year. (Source:  ClimateCrisis.net)

 Properly insulating your walls and ceilings can save 25% of your home heating bill and 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Caulking and weather-stripping can save another 1,700 pounds per year. (Source:  ClimateCrisis.net)

Remodeling?  Bring new life to used wood or use only Forest Stewardship Council certified wood.  Well-managed forests are more likely to store carbon effectively because more trees are left standing and carbon-storing soils are less disturbed. (Source:  Union of Concerned Scientists)

Start mowing the lawn with a push mower.  Use your muscle, not your emissions, to trim the grass.