Our progress
Baseline carbon (pp): ?? lbs
12-month carbon (pp on 11/16/08): ?? lbs
Percent change:
How we are doing it
Well, while we're not new to doing things to reduce waste, recycle, and save energy, etc., we are new to actually documenting it. To that end, although we were proud of what we were already doing, it has been quite an education on how much we still could do. Some of the things were big, but some were really small, yet can have a huge impact once the cumulative effect takes place.
Much like looking at your credit card bill every month makes you control your spending, looking at your energy consumption every month has helped us think twice about how much energy we're using, and coming up with ways to reduce our energy consumption, some in the simplest of ways. For example: closing the door behind you, locking the windows up tight, shutting the lights off in rooms we are not in, can you stand lowering the thermostat a couple of degrees and putting on your warmest sweater, etc.
Electricity
Replaced all the heavily used incandescents with cfl's..working on the others, but some have proven more difficult, as they are dimmable lights, lights with atypical bases (MR16's, Type C candelabra's, Type BR30 floods), etc.
Replaced all C7 mini outside holiday lights with LED's..this will be the first year they go up, and we can't wait to see the result!
We only put wall A/C's in bedroom windows (2 installed, one in master bedroom, and one in guest room, used a few times only) and only had them on during sleeping hours...other rooms, we ran ceiling fans, and kept windows closed and blinds drawn to keep out the heat
We have moisture in our basement during the summer and rainy season, so we keep our dehumidifier on the most energy efficient setting. We collect and reuse the water to water our plants!
Heating Fuel
We've reset our thermostat to have the heat turn on for shorter intervals Monday through Friday, resulting in the heat being lower by 5 degrees for 10 additional hours during the week; on the weekend, we used to have the heat come on and shut off for a 4 hour period, both Saturday and Sunday, but now we leave it at the nighttime temp all day, resulting in the heat being 5 degrees lower for 8 hours over the weekend...our total reduction: 18 hours/week the thermostat being 5 degrees lower....we'll try this for a while, and then see if we can knock it down a few more degrees.
We replaced a few door draft sweeps and installed some door frame draft insulation...and we did it ourselves! Wow, was that a fun day...haha
We bought a product called CA-40..it's a gas additive that is supposed to increase your fuel efficiency...hopefully, it'll make a difference, and if not, it's a lesson learned!
Travel
We carpool to work 4/5 days per week, and are working on trying to bike to/from work (6 miles each way). We thought we could bring our bikes to work on the bike rack, and leave the car at work, and bike home. Then, we could bike into work the next day. One of us is an avid biker, and the other is WILLING TO LEARN! So we both got our bikes up to the task, and the less avid of us actually bought a new bike for this, and brought the old bike to work, to bike in between meetings! It's quicker, more energy efficient than trying to get a ride from one building to another, and it's good cardio work!
Waste
We participated in a presentation at work where we spoke about the energy smackdown...while researching our presentation materials, we made several discoveries, e.g. learned of local food sources and local restaurants who are commited to sustainability and locally grown food on their menu; new ideas to reuse/recycle like bringing your own plastic containers to restaurants for your 'to go' food, reusing plastic ware, reusing leftover materials for other uses like margarine tubs can be reused to hold screws/nails, etc. Even the company Keen reuses leftover shoe material to make shoulder bags, etc. Everyone's doing it!
When we do get leftovers from restaurants, we always make sure we don't make anything new until the left overs are gone!
We bought 'biobags' (biodegradable waste bags) and a kitchen composter. We compost all of our organic kitchen scraps, and put them in our 'Urban Compost Tumbler" (see website below)
Hot tips
- We discovered that our hot water heater has a 'vacation' setting, so when we go away, we'll turn down the temperature on the water heater.
- Bring your own 'to go' box to the restaurant for your leftovers!
- Don't be afraid to talk about energy use with your friends....networking about reducing energy is a great way to find new ideas!
- MYTH BUSTER: you don't have to eat restaurant or any leftovers as they originally were served. Make them into something else! Combine different leftovers into one new dish! For example, leftover rice can be mixed with fresh veggies and a protein (veggie, tofu, or meat) to make a stir-fry!
Fast facts
- We went to Colorado to visit family and go skiing a few years ago, and they have a saying on the mountain: "There's no such thing as 'too cold', there's only 'under-dressed.' It's all about having the right clothing to keep warm, and you don't have to look like 'the Michelin Man."
- So with this in mind, we developed a saying at home...and we're doing our best to pass this on to others whenever the subject of the cost of energy comes up into the conversation: "Layer up before you turn it up."
- Disposable doesn't necessarily mean single use." Think razors, plastic ware, toothbrushes, etc., and I'd challenge folks to say you should recycle your disposables whenever possible!
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