AMC Outdoors, November 2008

Shrinking your Carbon Footprint, Cont'd.

11. Put the stopper in the bathtub before turning the water on. This will trap the gallons of water that are usually wasted while waiting for the water to warm up. Instead, adjust the temperature as the tub fills.

12. Insulate hot water pipes. You’ll save a bit of energy because you won’t need to stand around and wait as long for the water to get hot. This is especially noticeable when taking one shower right after another.

13. If you’re installing new plumbing in your home, consider “home run” plumbing, where a separate water line is sent to each hot water fixture. This avoids long plumbing runs and speeds up hot water delivery.

14. Air-seal and insulate furnace ductwork. Up to 20 percent of your heating and cooling energy can be lost through leaky ductwork.

15. Insulate boiler pipes so heat gets where you want it.

16. Consider buying and using an ENERGY STAR qualified dishwasher. Doing dishes by hand may use more hot water than a new, efficient dishwashing machine. Only run your dishwasher when it’s full and skip the rinse-hold, pre-rinse, and heat-dry cycles.

17. Use a laptop computer rather than a desktop when possible; it will use less energy.

18. In warmer weather, remove heat and moisture from your home at the source by using bath and kitchen vents.

19. Buy local when the energy used in transporting a product long distances makes it less efficient than the product created in your own area.

20. Avoid buying and using plastics—they are made from petrochemicals. Try to avoid individually wrapped clamshell product cases. Buy in bulk when possible.

21. Be sure your heating and air conditioning systems are operating at peak efficiency. Ask your service technician for a printout of heating system efficiency and to verify that your air conditioner has the correct refrigerant charge.

22. Plant a “Victory Garden,” where victory means meeting the goal you set for yourself to grow a certain percentage of your own food.

23. Join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) or buy local food in season from your farmer’s market. Buy extra food to preserve for winter months.

24. Use a microwave; it’s the most efficient way to heat things.

25. Avoid using a gasoline lawn mower. Try an electric or push mower, or edible or low maintenance landscaping.

26. Repair your fireplace damper. Open fireplaces suck heated air up the chimney all the time.

27. Weatherstrip and seal windows. Unless your windows are falling apart and need to be replaced, they should not be anywhere near the top of your energy saving to-do list. It will cost many thousands of dollars to replace all the windows in your home, and the return on the investment is measured in decades, even at today’s energy prices. A more cost-effective solution is to weatherstrip the windows and the storm windows, and seal up air leaks around the window casing. If you decide to replace windows, get the best ones you can possibly afford, as the incremental cost will be well worthwhile. Triple pane windows provide maximum performance. Be sure to “tune” your windows based on solar orientation.