2008 October

How to save energy around the house

From shutting down the electronics and picking up a book (gasp!) to closing your curtains at the right time, here are 21 simple things you can do to save energy, and cash, in your home:

Institute periodic Pioneer Days in your house.
Lower your thermostat a few degrees in the winter. An ideal temperature for a home is 68 degrees. If you leave the house for a prolonged period of time in the winter, turn the thermostat down more. This can save you between $10 and $30 per month on your heating bill. By turning your thermostat down 10 to 15 degrees for 8 hours, you can save about 5 to 15% a year on heating bills. If you have an air-conditioning system, turn your thermostat up in summer (78 degrees when you’re home, 85 when you’re not). Install a programmable thermostat to schedule changes in temperature according to your schedule. These can save up to $115 annually on your energy bills.
Close your curtains or window shades during the night to keep in heat and open them during the day to let the sun warm your room and reduce heating needs. In the winter, opening curtains and shades in the day can let in sunshine and heat up your home. Closing curtains at night will prevent some heat from escaping and will reduce the chill from windows. In the summer, keep curtains and shades closed in the day to prevent unnecessary heat gain (especially if you are not at home).
Replace your incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) or LED Bulbs. CFLs will save you up to 75% of lighting costs and will save the environment from approximately 1,300 pounds of carbon dioxide over the course of its lifetime. This is because CFLs use one-quarter to one-third as much electricity as incandescent bulbs and last up to ten times longer.
Turn off lights when you leave a room. Turn off lights that you don’t need (for example, if you are sitting at a desk reading, use a desk lamp instead of the overhead light).
Unplug electronics and battery chargers when you are not using them. Even when these items are turned off, they still draw electricity. This is called vampire power and all your small household electronics can draw power as your refrigerator.
Get an energy audit. Hire someone to come find the “weak spots” in your home and figure out how to improve them to save energy and save money on your energy bills. Try RESNET to locate a rater (NHER if you’re in the UK) or U.S. Department of Energy for instructions on how to perform a DIY energy audit.
Install low-flow showerheads, faucet aerators, and high efficiency toilets. This will of course save water, but it will also save energy in the pumping, transporting, and treating of your water.
When you are buying new appliances, go for Energy Star. They’re up to 40% more efficient than other models. You can even find rebates online with the Energy Star rebate finder.
If your heating equipment is more than 15 years old, try Energy Star furnaces, boilers, etc. New furnaces are generally 15% more efficient than older models. Getting properly sized equipment is also crucial.
When you’re home, turn your water heater down to 120 degrees. When you’re away, turn it to its lowest setting.
Wash your clothes in cold water. 90% of the energy used by washing machines goes to heating water.
Use your dishwasher and clothes washer only when they are fully loaded.
Line dry your clothes as much as possible, especially in the summer. When you use your dryer, make sure the outside vent is clear and the lint filter is clean. If you need a new dryer, try to find one with a moisture sensor in order to turn off the dryer automatically when your clothes are dry.
Check for air gaps and fix any leaky spots with weather stripping and caulking.
Properly insulate your home. You can check how much insulation you have by measuring the depth with a ruler. 7 inches of fiber glass or rock wool or 6 inches of cellulose mean you have a level of R-22. If you have less than this level, it would be good to add more insulation. This can save 5 to 25% on your heating and cooling costs.
Consider installing high efficiency windows. These windows, such as those with double panes of high performance glass, are 40% more efficient than standard windows. If your windows are operable, make sure you know how to use them properly for natural ventilation.
Use Light Timers. (Is there a better name for these?) You can use timers for more than just lights. Plug all of your cell phone chargers into one timer and set it to turn off when you’re not at home. Set your TV, sound system, DVD, etc. to turn off late at night when no one’s using them. You can even plug your extra freezer into a timer and set it to turn off for four-six hours every night (when no one will open the door). The freezer’s thick insulation (and frozen food) keep everything cold until morning. If you’re not sure, put a thermometer in there and try it out; add half an hour each night for a week or two until you settle on the perfect length of time. The person who shared that tip with me saved a lot of money, and so far none of their food has defrosted. The best part is, timers are cheap and automated. Just augment them to your schedule. If you want to go high tech, try a smart power strip.
Plant a tree for passive solar. If you have a yard, and your windows face south, consider planting a leafy tree. During hot seasons the leaves will provide shade and help keep your house cooler. During the winter (if you live far enough north), the tree will drop its leaves and let in the light – keeping your house warmer. You might be surprised by how much money you’ll save on heating/cooling costs just by providing a little shade for your house.
Check for drafts in an unfinished basement or crawl space by looking for spider webs … if there is a web, there is a draft. A large amount of heat is lost from uninsulated basement walls so be sure to insulate or at least fix the drafts
Do some energy-saving landscaping. Flower gardens with tall plants help retain moisture, and gardens require less water (and energy to mow) than your lawn. Low-growing evergreens planted around the basement help keep warmth in and wind out. A trellis draped with vines or climbing perennials can cool ground floor windows facing west.

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Lawn Treatment Information for DIYers

The concept of a “lawn treatment” is a confusing one to many of you folks. I know that clever lawn care marketers want you to think so, but treating your lawn is not as simple as buying a bag of fertilizer and throwing it down a few times per year.
There is a specific lawn treatment for just about any lawn problem, but few yards require all of them be used every single year. As many of you know, I am not a fan of the “throw the kitchen sink at it” approach.
I prefer a balanced approach that incorporates timed lawn treatment based on the needs of the turf that particular season. In other words, what works during a rainy year, will not work during a dry one. In addition, we do need to keep an eye out for the environmental impact we as homeowners have when we use lawn products.
Ok, enough rambling; let’s explore some of the basic lawn treatment practices I recommend.

Nutrient Lawn Treatment

I know you know this already, but nutrients are the basis for any lawn treatment program. Proper fertilization will promote a thicker lawn; and a thick lawn resists ALL other problems, naturally! The key is to feed your lawn only what it needs to keep it healthy without causing it to overgrow. We use nitrogen to keep the lawn green, potassium to strengthen the roots, and iron to give it the dark blue shades that it apart from the neighbor’s. (it is all about beating your neighbor right? )
I recommend Milorganite as your base organic lawn treatment. It is slow release nitrogen and iron combined in a nice, organic package. I also recommend a spring and later fall application of 20-20-10 granular fertilizer to promote strong roots.

Here are a few more helpful articles for you:
What do the numbers on the bag of fertilizer mean?
Milorganite organic lawn care fertilizer information
Iron applications for lawns
How to apply lawn fertilizer

Weed Control Lawn Treatment

The word, “herbicide” is NOT a bad word! I know that there are environmental extremists out there who want to outlaw the use of herbicides and pesticides, but they are just plain ignorant. (BTW-for you Canadian readers, it is against your laws to apply any pesticide products to your home lawn! Sorry guys)
The big problem with herbicides is their misuse by homeowners and uneducated professionals. If used properly, herbicides can actually reduce the need for other lawn chemical applications.
Think about this: if you don’t spray your weeds, and they spread to your neighbor’s yard; then he may be forced to spray more pesticides year-after-year as your weeds invade his space. You follow that? (stepping off my soap box…)
I always recommend you use a pump sprayer (mix concentrate with water) and spot spray weeds in your lawn. Mix the herbicide according to label directions and spray carefully and target your application only where the weeds are and no where else! In my lawn, I get a few weeds per year and I just pull them by hand, but when I first started out, I never used more than one gallon of weed control over the entire year because I was very careful to only use what I needed and no more. I never use “weed-n-feed” products; ever!

Here are some helpful articles for you:
Weed N Feed bags are the real environmental problem.
Pesticides information

Insect Lawn Treatment

For this one, I need to break things into a list. I look at insects like this:
(1) Lawn Damaging Insects
–Surface feeding damaging insects (Cinch Bugs, Billbugs and Sod Webworm)
–Sub-surface (below ground) damaging insects (Grub Worms)

(2) Nuisance Insects (ants, fleas, spiders, ticks)

I promise you that 90% of insect problems in a healthy lawn need absolutely no treatment at all. In fact, grub worms really only damage lawns that are unhealthy to begin with. Put it this way (and I am bragging a bit here): my lawn — pictured in the sidebar — gets grubs in it every year. I know this because I find them. But I don’t lose sleep over it because my lawn is so healthy that it just grows out as fast as the little buggers can eat!
Once again, a thick lawn will resist pretty much anything thrown at it!
Now most of you are still working on getting your lawn healthy, so for your sake, I would recommend a once-per-year treatment for grubs. Put this application down in the later spring BEFORE grubs become a problem. The best grub treatments contain the product Merit.
As far as above ground insects (both nuisance and damaging types), you can use a general lawn insecticide (granular preferred) in April that will take care of them all year. I do apply this lawn treatment each year so I can enjoy summer picnics without the hassles of ants and the like.

Here are some more helpful articles:
Grub worms in your lawn
Sod Webworms

Disease Lawn Treatment Applications

Lawn fungus and disease can be a problem if we get a super wet, cool spring. These problems are magnified if your grass type is not resistant. In my lawn, I always get summer leaf spot problems because my turf is 100% Turf Type Tall Fescue. However, if your lawn is a mixture of grass types (most Midwest lawns are KY bluegrass and Perennial Ryegrass) then you stand a better chance of having very little problem with fungus.
Either way, most lawns will benefit from an application of fungicide in April or early May just as a precaution. The key with disease controls is getting them down BEFORE problems arise. My good friends at BASF Turf have the very best in disease control products for lawns.

Non-Chemical Lawn Treatment

Remember how I said thick lawns resist all other problems? Well, here are a few things you should do to assist your lawn in being as thick healthy as possible that require no ‘chemicals’ at all.
Aerate your lawn every spring and every fall
Water your lawn properly
Mow your lawn the right way; consistently

I hope these do-it-yourself lawn tips will help you in your quest for a thicker, greener lawn. If you are looking for step-by-step lawn treatment information (a spoon-fed yearly lawn treatment guide), stay tuned for my upcoming ebook: DIY Lawn Treatment Guide; Step by Step. I am hoping to have this book available by spring of 2009. Stay tuned!