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Reduce your Heating / Cooling Carbon Footprint
Heating and cooling costs are some of the most expensive costs a homeowner can incur. Many renters have to shoulder these expenses as well. The average cost to heat a home in the winter is nearly $1,000 and you add on to that the costs for running air conditioners in the summer.
It’s well worth it to spend a small amount of money on insulating in order to save large amounts long term!
One of the best ways to save money is to simply live somewhere that matches your personal comfort zone. If you hate the heat, you can easily waste thousands of dollars a year making your home cold. Instead, if you move somewhere that is cold naturally, that is now thousands of dollars a year that you have to spend on other more important tasks!
If you adore the heat, and are miserable unless it’s 80F in your home, look into living somewhere warm! Again, the amount of money you save on heating costs - plus your daily joy - are well worth the change.
Use Better Fuels
If you're still burning coal or wood, look to converting to a cleaner energy source. Just by switching from coal to natural gas, for example, you can instantly drop the amount of CO2 you're pouring into the atmosphere by half!
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Fuel Type | CO2 per kWh |
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Wood | 1,500g |
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Coal | 1,000g |
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Natural Gas | 430g |
Insultating
Insulation is an amazing thing. It helps to keep your house cold in the summer. It helps keep your house warm in the winter! Whatever temperature you are aiming for, the insulation helps you meet your desires.
Look throughout your home and find ways to insulate it well. If it’s cold out, coat the windows with plastic. If it’s hot out, install shades both inside and outside. You want the house to do its best to help maintain the temperatures you want.
Research the best heating and cooling options for your location. Do people use ceiling fans? Wood stoves? You could easily save thousands of dollars by optimizing your plan to the climate you are in. Are your heating and cooling units properly insulated and vented? You can easily save hundreds of dollars a year with a simple energy audit.
Dress for the Weather
It’s easy to be penny wise and pound foolish when it comes to heating your house. If you dress in t-shirts in the winter while you have the heat cranked, you can easily waste hundreds of dollars on unnecessary heating costs.
Match your own clothing and diet to match the situation around you. If it is a frigid winter and you go around in a t-shirt and shorts, and turn the heat up to 80F to keep you warm, that is probably not a good use of the money. Invest in sweatshirts and thick blankets, so that you can keep the house at a more reasonable temperature and still feel comfortable. Wear warm socks and slippers. Get a house coat. The small cost for the clothes will easily be saved when you’re able to set the house temperature down a few degrees. Even turning your house thermometer down by a degree or two can save substantial amounts of money.
In the summer, dress light and drink a lot of fluids. Use ice in the things you’re drinking. By wearing light clothes and staying cool you can not need to run the air conditioning or other expensive equipment.
Let us know if you have any other suggestions for us to add to this page!
Reduce your Carbon Footprint - main page
Green Living and Carbon Footprints
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