Blog Archives

New and improved

5/28/2018

Sometimes “new and improved” means the manufacturer has made the item more energy efficient or used a healthier or less toxic ingredient. However, sometimes the new feature is not needed by many consumers or doesn’t improve the function in proportion to the extra energy and resources needed to add the new feature. For example, does a razor with 5 blades really give a better shave than a razor with two blades? A five-blade head requires a lot more resources and manufacturing energy than a two-blade head (if you can still find a two-blade head in the stores). If I buy an appliance or product with a lot of features I will never use, all of the manufacturing energy and resources that went into those features will be wasted. Sometimes, simpler is better. Check out the features of the items you buy and pick the ones that are best for your needs.

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Baking in the oven

5/21/2018

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When you start a baking project, don’t automatically start pre-heating the oven as the first step in the project. Wait until you are about 5 to 10 minutes from putting your baking in the oven to start pre-heating. For some types of baking projects, you can turn the oven off 5 minutes or more before it’s time to take the baked items out of the oven. If you haven’t opened the oven door, there will be plenty of residual heat to finish. Opening the oven door several times to check on your baking also requires more energy to rewarm the oven each time.

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Monitor your automatic sprinklers

5/14/2018

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Automatic lawn sprinklers are very convenient and if properly set, can help you provide the right amount of water to keep your lawn healthy but not overwatered. If you monitor conditions and adjust the sprinkler system, you can save a.lot of water. In most cases using less water also means using less energy to pump the water to your house and power the sprinkler system. A few ideas to help you reduce the amount of water and energy your sprinkler system uses:

If your area just had a heavy rain, shut the system off for a few days.
Adjust the system based on the weather. Turn the run time down in the spring and the fall when the weather is cooler and the grass needs less water. If a lot of water is running off your lawn into the street, you can reduce the run time for your sprinklers.
Adjust the range of the sprinklers so that you are not watering sidewalks, driveways, and fences.
Run sprinklers at night when there is less evaporation.
Experiment with how much water you use. Your grass will tell you how much it needs.

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Getting your air conditioner ready

5/6/2018

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Some of us are still enjoying the last cool weather before summer; others have already turned on the air conditioner for the year. Either way, there are things you can do to reduce the amount of energy used to cool your home while still enjoying the benefits of an air conditioner.

Dirty coils in your air conditioner force the compressor to run longer and work harder than required, increasing energy usage by as much as 30%. Before you run the air conditioner this spring, either clean the coils yourself or hire someone to do it. If you do it yourself, be sure to unplug the unit first. This link gives detailed instructions. https://www.wikihow.com/Clean-Air-Conditioner-Coils. Also clean dirt and debris away from the outside housing.
Replace or clean interior filters in the ducts inside your home. Dirty filters reduce the efficiency of your system by making the fan work harder to push the air through the partially clogged filter.
Check with your electric utility to see if they have a program to install a peak power regulator on your air conditioner. See my post from 2016 on how this works. http://www.3percentsustainability.com/three-percent-sustainability-challenge/cycled-air-conditioning
Set thermostat a little higher and you will use less energy.
Close the curtains on the sunny side of the house to reduce the heat coming in.

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