Jill Turner, Realtor, R.F. Crossen Group, LLC

174 Merrow Road, Tolland, CT 06084 (860)870-1116 X113 

Going Green.  What does that mean?  To most people it means conserving energy.  How do we make our houses more efficient? How do we save money in the process?  Most people want to know how we can improve our environment.  The reality is our children and their children are going to have to deal with the environmental problems if we do not start to make changes.  Going green means using recycled products, conserving energy and in accomplishing these goals, we need to change our lifestyle.

“About 21% of US greenhouse gas emissions are generated from household energy use, according to the US Energy Information Administration. A house that consumes less energy reduces greenhouse gases because less fossil fuel is required to operate it.  Energy and water savings mean financial savings also.”

Amazingly, the government has given car manufacturers at least 20 years or so to solve their problem.  Why so much time before they have to deal with the emissions from the cars?  So, as the consumer, we all need to begin to take steps to improve our emission output and hopefully, reverse some of the damage caused.

Information from Realtor magazine, February 2008

Improving our energy efficiency has an easy but also an advanced step.  We all have to start somewhere.  Here is the easy.

“Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs.  Compact fluorescent bulbs  produce the same amount of light as incandescent  bulbs yet require 75% less energy, produce 75% less heat and last up to 10 times longer.  Switching out just the 5 most frequently used lights in your house can save as much as 3,000 kilowatts of energy per day.” 

The cost of the new light bulbs may be more expensive in the beginning but in the long run, you actually save money. 

The advanced step is to “switch to solar power.  This clean energy source generates no air pollution and no noise.  Panels installed today will produce energy for about 20 years with minimal maintenance.”

“The federal government offers a tax credit of 30% of the installation cost to a maximum of $2,000 for certain solar power features, and many states and municipalities offer additional incentives.” 

Reduce Drafts

The easy way is to “plug leaks.  Caulk and add weather-stripping to windows and doors to stop heat and air conditioning losses.  Use expanding foam to fill gaps, especially between living space and unheated areas such as the attic and garage.  Leaky air ducts can decrease energy efficiency by as much as 20%.”

The advanced way is to “add insulation.  Homes more than 10 years old probably have insufficient insulation, and even newer homes typically can use some improvement.  Properly insulated homes not only use less energy, they also have better moisture control, meaning roofs and walls last longer.  In addition to insulating outside walls and attics, owners should install insulation in basement walls, floors above unheated garages or porches, cathedral ceilings and crawl spaces.” 

Appliance Excesses

This is one that I have already put into practice and I have noticed a difference in my electric bill.  Unplug all non essential electric devices.  This could include, coffee pot, toaster oven, any type of appliance charger, etc.  “According to the US Dept. of Energy, about 75% of the electricity used to power electronics such as VCR’s, TV’s, etc is consumed while the products are turned off.  The more costly solution to this is to switch out old appliance and replace with new “energy saving models.  Appliances with the government  rated Energy star label use 25% to 75% less energy than unrated appliances.”

When you take the time to make these small changes in your life, they become a habit and then you get used to it and it is not such a large change.   Like I said earlier, if everyone makes an effort to just do the easy changes, the emissions would diminish substantially.  Eventually, everyone will be forced to make the changes as the manufacturers make the changes to what we can purchase.

Information was obtained from the Realtor Magazine, February 2008.