It was a scorcher yesterday, so I cranked the air conditioning but then I started getting
chilly, so I got under my electric blanket.
It’s possible there’s a better way...
Howdy domicile dwellers, Trace here for DNews.
When you’re puttering around the house you’re probably not thinking of melting ice caps
or changes in rainfall patterns.
You probably just want the temperature right and the lights bright enough to avoid shin-high
furniture.
And this is a huge challenge for climate scientists.
Climate change is such a massive, world-changing issue, that it’s difficult for any one of
us to feel responsible.
“No raindrop blames itself for the flood.”
But part of that is putting it in perspective, right?
A third of U.S. homes still use coal to generate those kilowatts; 36 states use it either as
the main source of power or electricity.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average consumption for a residential
home was 15,497 kWh.
To generate 1 kWh with a coal plant requires about 1.04 pounds of coal (0.47kg) -- which
produces about 2.13 pounds of CO2.
So for every kilowatt hour you can cut, you're saving 2 pounds of harmful greenhouse gas,
not to mention other pollutants from entering our atmosphere!
So, if we limit the amount of energy we're wasting at home, we all save money AND help
the environment!
Win-win!
And there are a TON of ways to do this…
For example, about 45 percent of that is used for air conditioning, heating, lighting and
water-heaters!
Obviously, the easiest way to cut your use is to keep the temperature set below 68 in
the winter and wear a sweater, or above 78 in the hot summer months and go au natural.
All this will let your home heat itself more efficiently and remove over 1000 pounds of
CO2 from the air annually.
Remember when your mom shouted, "Shut the door, you wanna heat the whole outdoors?"
She is right, but the windows were likely worse culprits; 10 to 25 percent of all energy
loss from a house come from windows!
Simple stuff like simply using curtains to keep the hot sun out in the summer can make
a big difference.
Double-paned windows are help too.
They have two panes of glass, with air in between.
Believe-it-or-not air is a poor conductor of heat, so they insulate the house better,
like a transparent down jacket.
And if you're one of those -- go big or go home types -- look at your light bulbs.
Incandescent bulbs waste 90% of all the energy it takes to make the light as heat.
Swapping just one for a more efficient alternative would reduce greenhouse gases by 400 pounds
over the bulbs' lifetime.
400 pounds from one measly bulb!
There are a couple choices now: the crazy spiral tube-y ones called Compact Fluorescent
Lamps (CFLs) and Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs).
If every household in the US swapped out only one of Edison’s old-school bulbs that would
be the equivalent of taking 800,000 cars off the road.
LED bulbs ARE more expensive but last 8 to 10 times longer than a CFL (and 50 times longer
than old-school bulbs) and, unlike CFLs, they don’t use mercury.
To put it in perspective a 100w lightbulb used for 1,000 hours (one lifetime) will require
100,000 watt hours -- or 100 kilowatt hours.
The LED equivalent over that same time would only be 25 kWh -- cutting another 160 pounds
of CO2.
In the US the EPA gives appliances an Energy Star label, telling us all how much energy
they'll using in a year.
Using efficient appliances, AND living smartly, will save thousands of dollars in energy costs
and can cut greenhouse gas emissions by 65 tons per year PER PERSON!
Helping the planet is like putting money back in your wallet.
I kind of love that.
Another way to help save energy is by using smarter appliances.
“AT&T Digital Life smart home security helps keep you connected to you home, so there are
no more what ifs.”
I know the internet likes to argue about it but in the scientific community there’s
no contest: climate change is real.
So why is it so hard to get people to care?
Part of it, is not calling it climate change…
I explains why, here.
Let us know what steps you’ll take or how making a change worked out for you in the
comments, subscribe for more and I’ll see you next time on DNews.