11 Simple Things to Reduce Energy Consumption

This post is the second in a series related to 11 simple things we can do to reduce environment impact (and save money). As I mentioned in the original post, this idea was inspired by the movie 11th hour. Today's post focuses on how we can reduce our energy consumption.

11 simple things we can do to reduce our energy consumption.

1) Turn off the lights. It's really simple. When leaving the room, turn off the lights--both at home and work.

2) Turn off appliances or electronic devices. If a TV emits a signal and no one is there to hear it, does it really make a sound? Ask a philosopher, but the TV certainly uses energy. Turn it off when you're not watching it.

3) Unplug the electronic devices and chargers. If your electronic devices are plugged into a power strip, it's really easy to "unplug" them by turning off the power strip. Cell phone chargers? Plug them in only when you're using them. If you have appliances that you use only occasionally, consider unplugging them. This article provides useful information about appliance "vampires" that use energy needlessly.

4) Set the computer to sleep or hibernate. In Windows, the power management settings are within the control panel. For Macs, use the Energy Saver within the system preferences. This article describes power management with Linux. Consider turning off your computer at night.

5) Use revolving doors. Yup. We can save energy by using revolving doors. I'm not even getting into the disconcerting trend that an increasing number of revolving doors have become motorized, or that perhaps we could harness energy from revolving doors (or merry-go-rounds?). Less air is exchanged when using revolving doors, which means less air conditioning or heating required to moderate temperature.

6) Use curtains, blinds or shades strategically. During the summer, consider closing them on days when you're using the air conditioner. During the winter, open the blinds to capture heat and sunlight (but close them at night to retain heat).

7) Clean the filters. In particular, clear the dryer's lint filter after each use, and the clean the air conditioner's filter regularly. Some new air conditioners have a light that comes on when it's time to open up the front panel, remove the filter and dust it off and clean it. A clean filter ensures peak performance and efficiency.

8) Use cold water to wash your clothes. I suppose there might be some stubborn stains that require extra attention (or maybe hot water), but perhaps those could be dealt with separately in a pre-wash effort? Clothes can be washed perfectly well using cold water, which will use less energy. If you can combine clothes into fewer, larger loads, you'll save even more energy.

9) Adjust the thermostats. There are many recommendations for cooling and heating, but since this is a "simple things" list, I will make the following recommendation: adjust the thermostat by one degree (make it one degree higher when using the central air conditioning and one degree lower when using the central heating). If you can manage this simple adjustment, consider adjusting it another degree. Try the same approach for your refrigerator. If your milk has icicles in it, you can probably turn down the thermostat.

And now the items that take some more effort (but offer greater benefits)...

10) If you can afford it, buy compact fluorescent light bulbs. From the Energy Star website:

"If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars."

If you can believe it, WalMart has launched a new Green campaign that includes an emphasis on compact fluorescent light bulbs. BTW, WalMart includes a "10 Easy Things You Can Do to Help" list on their WalMart Green website. I am aware of WalMart's poor track record with labor practices. Only you can decide if you want to support their Green movement.

11) If you can afford it, buy energy efficient appliances. The Energy Star website has information on such appliances and WalMart has listed all their energy efficient appliances into one category.

All of these ideas focus on reducing demand for electricity, but it's also worthwhile to think about the supply as well. We generate most of our electricity from burning fossil fuels such as coal and oil, which is a major contributor to air pollution. If you're feeling really motivated, consider purchasing renewable energy credits in the form of wind energy at Renewable Choice Energy. You can also ask your electric utility company what percentage of their energy they generate from renewable sources. If their answer is zero, you might ask them what their plan is for increasing this percentage. If they don't have a plan, you might ask them why not.

Thank you for reducing our impact on the environment.

11 Simple Things We Can Do to Reduce Environmental Impact

Arguably, the documentary movie 11th hour picks up from Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth. I believe the latter movie was a cohesive, even more compelling offering, but 11th hour certainly offered food for thought. My previous post focused on a specific quote reflecting the vicious cycle most Americans seem to experience: work to earn more money to spend more money to manage more things to work to earn more money...

I once heard that there are an estimated 60,000 storage facilities in the US. People pay money to store things they do not use on a regular basis? Maybe it's time to create an eBay account, sell something on Craigslist, or better yet, check out Freecycle.

One of the principals in 11th hour described the "anesthesizing" effect of wealth and consumerism in the US. Specifically, that our escalating consumerism insulates us from nature, and our isolation from the world leaves us woefully unaware of how other people live (and arguably unaware of the impact of our lifestyles). I'm not convinced that we're anesthetized, which to me implies a state of (albeit artificial) peace. Given the amount of stress, anxiety, violence, etc. in US society, it hardly seems that we're at peace. Perhaps "brainwashing" is a better term.

While it's easy to belabor such points, the movie includes a helpful sequence about personal choices we can make to reduce our impact on the environment. In this spirit, I've decided to offer my own set of "11 things" lists that anyone can do to reduce environmental impact (and save money). Each list will emphasize a specific theme such as reducing our energy or water consumption.

Today's list: 11 simple things we can do to reduce your gasoline consumption.

1) Reduce the warmup period. Even 30 seconds of warming up an engine will suffice on a cold day. The best way to warm up your car is to drive it.

2) Accelerate and brake gently. "Jackrabbit" or sudden acceleration and hard braking use more gasoline.

3) Drive at the speed limit, or even below the speed limit! There are many good reasons for doing this, including saving gas. Driving at 55mph offers about 20% better gas mileage than driving at 65mph or 70mph.

4) Turn off the engine instead of idling it. If you plan to be parked for more than 10 seconds, it's generally a good idea to turn off your engine rather than let it idle (i.e., ten seconds of idling can use more gas than turning your engine on and off).

5) Use the walk through. Instead of using the drive through, consider parking, taking a brief walk and ordering your food at the counter.

6) Park quickly. I'm amazed at the number of times I note people driving around in circles looking for that "ideal" parking spot right near the entrance, when there are plenty of parking spots 100 feet away or one level below or above the entrance level. Parking quickly will also save you time, and offer another chance for a brief walk.

7) Clean out the trunk. It's certainly a good idea to keep emergency supplies in your trunk, but if you're carrying around extra weight for no reason, you're wasting gas.

8) Inflate your tires to the maximum recommended pressure. It takes only a few minutes to do so, but it makes a big difference in your gas mileage.

And now the items that take some more effort (but offer greater benefits)...

9) Carpool. Haven't you always wanted to use those high-occupancy vehicle lanes (at least legally)?

10) Use public transit. If you already use public transit, great. Consider getting off one stop early and taking a walk. Walk whenever possible.

11) If you must keep driving, consider using a Flexcar. If you can afford it, consider buying a vehicle with high fuel efficiency or even a hybrid.

Thanks for reducing our impact on the environment.

11th Hour

From the documentary movie about the impending environmental crisis and methods for sustainable design and living 11th hour...

"Things are the thieves of time."

- Nathan Gardels, Editor, New Perspectives Quarterly

The Decline of David Beckham

Latest assessment of David Beckham: "I'm not a soccer player, but I play one on TV." ;-)