Energy Bill $ Savings Tips

1. Buy from your nearest community sponsored agriculture program
2. Learn how to cook and be sure to cook leftovers
3. Go to the farmer’s market late
4. Preserve, don’t let it spoil
5. Think & buy seasonally
6. Food co-ops and buying programs
7. Grow your own

All there tips are from The Cost of Growing Green. It’s a great summary of good ways to save some money on organic foods and to reduce carbon emissions at the same time.

Living in a big city I already try to frequent farmer’s markets, but had been skipping the food co-op since we moved almost a dozen miles away. These other ideas, especially buying from a community sponsored agriculture program, sound like a good idea for those of us in a city and without enough green in our pocket to buy everything from expensive, green grocers like Whole Foods.

This zero energy home cost only $200,000 to construct. While that price is the builder’s cost, rather than the final sale price, it’s impressive that the cost of energy efficiency has dropped so low. Previously low-energy and zero energy homes (ZEHs) were usually built solely to preserve the environment and cost so much that the owners would never save enough on bills to recover the extra construction costs.

In the case of this $200,000 ZEH, it’s in an Oklahoma neighborhood where homes normally cost $125,000. The extra $75,000 the builder spent to make the home so energy efficient can be made up well within the original owner’s lifetime. For example: Average-sized midwestern homes see gas heating bills in the $200+ per month range and an average electricity bill in the $100 per month range in the winter. In the summer the gas bill drops but air conditioning can add back another $150 to the electricty bill. Fall and spring may see both bills totaling $200. By cutting both gas and electricity bills to zero this ZEH saves about $2,900 per year (based on each season being three months long). If gas and electricity prices don’t go up it will take less than 26 years to recover the extra $75,000 cost of the energy efficient construction. In the event the original owner sells less than 26 years from now, I assume a ZEH will have a higher sale price than a home with all those bills to pay.

If you’re shopping for a new home and your bank will approve the slightly larger loan needed to pay for extra-efficient equipment, then it’s probably time to think about how much savings better windows, appliances, and insulation are worth in the longrun.

Pick five popular vacation spots not normally known for environmentally-friendly travel and build a green-themed travel site about them.

In typical Google style (simple and “why not?”) the cities of Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, and San Francisco are featured on The Summer of Green web site. It’s a collaboration between the Earth Day Network and Google and features about a half-dozen tips on searching green destinations anywhere and the same number of recommend sustainable or organic restaurants & chocolate shops, car rentals & cabs, spas, museums, and even outdoor shops (in Vegas, no less) in each featured city.

Google’s employees must spend a lot of time playing around with their own search engine too. I think one of the coolest finds on The Summer of Green is the flood maps on the Los Angeles page. It turns out my building, in the 90292 zip, will be beachfront property, on a small island, if the ocean rises just 9 meters (about 30 feet). And, if the ocean rises just 12 meters (about 40 feet) I won’t have to worry about signing another lease here.

Insulate your hot water heater with an insulating jacket to take a good chunk out of the gas or electric bill. Wrapping it in insulation saves energy by keeping the water inside hot and prevents the heater from turning on often to reheat it.

Adding an insulating jacket cuts water heater energy use by almost 20%, that can cut as much as $6/month off an electric or gas bill for the average home. At that price buying the insulation will pay for itself within a few months and keep saving energy for years after. Insulating jackets sized just for water heaters are available at most hardware stores that stock major appliances. Try to find one at least 2-3 inches thick and close in size to your water heater.

Be careful when installing insulation on to gas- or oil-fired water heaters. Follow the instructions that came with the heater jacket carefully with these types of heaters. In general though - keep the insulation away from the drain or airflow vent at the bottom, the flue near the top, and don’t cover the top of the heater because it can interfere with the draft diverter and hot exhaust air. If in doubt, have a plumbing or heating contractor insulate the water heater for you.

Using cruise control on highway drives will improve gas mileage significantly. It makes a big difference in two ways: cruise control prevents the driver from repeatedly creeping over the speed limit and burning more gas at higher speeds, and by keeping your vehicle speed constant there is less acceleration which burns a lot more gas than just driving at a constant speed.

The test drive team at car review site Edmunds.com tested a 2005 Ford Mustang GT and a 2005 Land Rover LR3 SE on a 56-mile drive. Edmund’s drivers set the cruise control in each vehicle to 70 miles per hour for one test and then retested with drivers holding the cars between 65 and 75 miles per hour. Using the cruise control set to 70 miles per hour improved milage by about 14% in the Land Rover and improved milage by about 5% in the Mustang.

There are plenty more ways to save money than to just turn off the heat (or nearly turn it off).

I’m Mike and I’ll be discussing all the ways, easy and tough, to save energy. We’ll even review how long it takes to get a payback from things like new insulation or a more efficient water heater.