Lighting, Household Appliances and Solar Electricity

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Lighting, Household Appliances and Solar
Electricity

• Dr. William Makofske
• Professor Emeritus of Physics
• Ramapo College of NJ
• Sustainable Warwick Presentation
• Warwick Town Hall Oct. 22, 2008

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Lighting

• Lighting energy use can be substantially
  reduced by
• Daylighting
• Installing efficient lighting devices (CF, T8 and
  T5 fluorescent lights)
• Task lighting
• Controls - developing habits of turning off
  lights when not needed (or using motion, heat or
  light sensors to control when lights are on or
  off)

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Finding Electrical Energy

• Your electric meter reads energy in units of
  kW-hr or kWh.
• Energy Power x Time
• kW-hr or kWh kW x hrs
• To find your energy consumption
• Read the power off the device in watts, divide by
  1000 to find kW, and then multiply by the hours
  of use

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Example Lighting Energy Use

• Example Two 100 watt light bulbs left on for
  8 hours every day for a month (30 days)
• Energy Power(kW) x Time(hrs)
• Step 1 Convert to kW
• 200 watts (1 kW/1000 watts) 0.2 kW
• Step 2 Calculate energy
• 0.2 kw x 8 hrs 1.6 kw-hr of electricity per
  day
• 30 times 1.6 kw-hr 98 kw-hr per month
• Step 3 Calculate cost
• What did you pay? At 15 cents per kw-hr, the cost
  is 14.70/month. Over a year, it costs 176.40

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Daylighting

• Place most used rooms in the daytime on the south
  side
• Provide light from two or more sides of the room
• Open curtains and shades in the heating season
• Light-colored surfaces reflect light better
  (walls and ceilings)
• Bonus Solution for SAD (Seasonal Affective
  Disorder)

• image

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Fluorescent Fixtures

• Fluorescent fixtures are especially important
  in places where the lights are used extensively,
  like kitchens, playrooms, and living rooms.
  CFLs, T8 and T5 bulbs are the most efficient.

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Valence Lighting

• image

• Provides efficient background and task lighting
  for the room
• Total of 70 watts using T-8 fluorescent bulbs
• Design recommended by ALA (American Lighting
  Association)

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Compact Fluorescent Bulbs

• CF bulbs are 4x as efficient as incandescent
  lights. Many are equivalent in size to standard
  incandescent bulbs. This shows a ceiling light
  with 2 compact fluorescent bulbs.

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Other Fluorescent Lighting

• Fixtures are available in a variety of styles to
  fit a homes décor
• Fluorescent fixtures should always be installed
  in places that will use lighting extensively, but
  they are not needed in closets

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Carefully Choose Your CF bulbs

• Energy Star rated CFs must meet higher standards
  and will last longer
• Choose the right size (follow recommendations)
• Choose the right color (daylight, cool white,
  warm white) for your application (try one and see
  if you like it)
• Make sure it has a flicker-free, electronic
  instant -start ballast

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Types of Fluorescent Lights

• Ballast activates the low pressure gas inside
  the bulb by varying the current (used in all
  fluorescent bulbs) Always choose electronic
  ballasts and instant-start flicker-free bulbs.
• Integral compact fluorescent single unit (most
  common)
• Modular compact fluorescent separate ballast
  and tube
• Ballasts can last 50,000 hours while bulbs may
  last 10,000 to 20,000 hours

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Energy and Environmental Savings

• A single 18 watt CF bulb replacing a standard 75
  watt incandescent bulb saves over its lifetime of
  20,000 hours1
• 570 kw-hr of electricity
• 85.50 of electricity at 15 cents per kw-hr
• 500 lbs of coal
• 1300 lbs of carbon dioxide
• 20 lbs of sulfur dioxide

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Task Lighting

• In many cases, it is more efficient to use task
  lighting for desks, workbenches, etc. than to
  illuminate the entire room at a high intensity.

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Incandescent Lighting

• There are appropriate places to use incandescent
  bulbs, especially in low use areas like
• Closets
• Storage rooms
• Utility closets
• Any minimal light use area

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Measure of Lighting Efficiency

• Efficacy - measure of bulb efficiency
• ratio of the light output power (visible
  region, measured in lumens) to the electrical
  input power (measured in watts).
• Standard incandescent bulbs range from 8 to 20,
  halogen incandescent range from 12 to 24, while
  fluorescent bulbs range from 32 to 104.2

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Other Lighting

• Outdoor HID (high intensity discharge) bulbs
  include mercury vapor, high-pressure sodium, and
  metal halide. The latter two are more efficient.
  Mercury vapor have efficacies of 20-60 compared
  to a range of 50 to 180 for sodium and metal
  halide.2 There are also cold-start CF bulbs for
  outdoors.
• Indoor halogen lights for high quality or precise
  focusing. Better than incandescent but not as
  efficient as fluorescent.
• Solar-powered walkway and patio lights. Easy to
  install.

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Lighting Controls

• Simplest and cheapest strategy turn off the
  lights manually when not in use
• Heat sensors (occupancy)
• Motion sensors (occupancy)
• Light sensors (for outdoors)
• Dimmers

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How much would you save?

• Replace a 100 watt incandescent bulb with a
  25 watt CF bulb at 8 hrs per day use and 15 cents
  per kWh.
• Incandescent 292 kWh/yr and costs 43.80 CF
  bulb 73 kWh/yr and costs 10.95.
• The CF bulb lasts 10-20x longer
• The CF savings is 32.85 per year for each bulb
  you use.
• Payback time is extra cost (3) divided by
  monetary savings of 32.85 .09 years or 1
  month.
• The return on investment is 1095/yr!
• Bulb lifetime 7 years _at_8hr/day

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Avoid Potential CFL Lighting Problems

• Many fixtures are still not made to accommodate
  CF bulbs. Larger wire harps can be installed to
  allow installation. New fixtures should be chosen
  to accommodate CF bulbs. But smaller and higher
  wattage CF bulbs are now on the market.
• Most CF bulbs cannot be dimmed, but some can.
• Always use electronic ballasts rather than
  magnetic ballasts (quieter and no hum or flicker)
• CF bulbs contain a small amount of Hg. Know the
  clean up procedure should one break, and dispose
  of it properly. The electricity savings actually
  reduce the amount of mercury in the environment
  (since coal is not burned) by a factor of 4.
• CFL bulbs come in many colors cool white,
  natural daylight, and warm white

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Lifestyle and Lighting

• Lights that are on in unoccupied spaces do no one
  any good, and waste electricity, money, and cause
  environmental damage.
• Develop good habits by using lights only when and
  where they are needed.
• Also rethink the need for outside lighting at
  night. Studies show most neighborhoods are
  equally safe without extensive lighting. Outside
  lighting also creates light pollution, reducing
  the ability to enjoy the night sky, and
  negatively impacts wildlife, and even plants.

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Energy Efficient Appliances

• Focus on majors appliances such as refrigerators,
  freezers, cook stoves, dishwashers, televisions,
  stereos, computers, washing machines, clothes
  dryers, air conditioners, and microwaves.
• Choose an energy efficient appliance when you
  purchase it, and then operate it as efficiently
  as possible.

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Energy Efficiency Ratings

• EnerGuide rating
• Comparison guide
• Relative energy efficiency
• Uses average price of gas or electricity in
  the country.
• Dont believe the number you see.

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Typical Appliance Tag
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What to Look For

• The arrow should be at the low or high end of the
  scale (depending on how scale is labeled)
• Correct the actual cost for over the year by
  multiplying the price by the ratio your
  cost/kw-hr of electricity/cost/kw-hr listed on
  the sheet.
• Check whether the appliance has an Energy Star
  rating. This EPA rating indicates that the
  appliance has an better than average energy
  efficiency rating, as much as 20 below the
  typical average similar appliance. But also look
  for the most efficient unit. Go to
  www.energystar.gov

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Gas Appliances Also Have EnergyGuide Tags

• This is for a natural gas water heater. The
  price given is based on the assumed natural gas
  price (usually an average value for the entire
  country). The U marking shows where this
  appliance stands relative to others of similar
  size. Gas-fired appliances list natural gas
  prices. Again, correct for your price.

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Other Sources of Appliance Information

• There is a small book published each year by
  ACEEE (American Council for an Energy-Efficient
  Economy) called the Consumer Guide to Home Energy
  Savings that lists most appliances by brand and
  provides detailed efficiency data. It also
  provides detailed guidance about home and
  appliance energy efficiency. It retails for about
  17. Some appliance information is also available
  at their web page www.aceee.org for free.

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If Wattage Is Not Listed

• Read the volts and amps and multiply them
  together to get watts.
• P(in watts) V(in volts) x I (in amps)
• P 120 volts x 3 amps 360 volt-amps
• P 360 watts or 0.36 kW
• E Power x Time 0.36 kW x 10 hours
• E 3.6 kWh

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Refrigerators

• Refrigerators are very energy intensive since
  they are in use most of the time
• The biggest savings occur when you buy purchase
  one with a very low EnergyGuide value, or one
  labeled as an EnergyStar appliance (see
  www.energystar.gov)
• New refrigerators are very much more efficient
  than old ones

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Efficient Refrigerator Maintenance and Operation

• Check seal gasket for tightness (the dollar bill
  test)
• Clean the coils every 6-12 months
• Organize your refrigerator so the door open time
  is minimized
• Keep the refrigerator temperature in the proper
  range, typically 40-45 degrees F
• Dont keep old refrigerators running in the
  basement with one bottle of soda or beer in it!

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Cycle Factor

• For many appliances, you just multiply the kW by
  the hours to find energy use. But some appliances
  (those run by thermostats) cycle on and off to
  keep a fixed temperature. Examples
  refrigerators, ovens, coffee makers, air
  conditioners, dryers, dehumidifiers. Some even
  have a different cycle (a refrigerator with a
  defrost cycle) at a different wattage. Appliance
  use charts will usually give the cycle factor,
  often 0.5 to 0.9 for applicable appliances .

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Appliance Life Cycle Costing

• 600 refrigerator1 at 200 watts vs.
  400 refrigerator2 at 300 watts. Cycle
  factor 50. 15 year lifetime
• E1 P x T 0.2 kW x 8760/2 hrs 876 kWh
• E 2 0.3 kW x 8760/2 hrs 1314 kWh
• Cost 1 131.40 Cost 2 197.10 _at_ .15 per
  kWh.
• Savings 65.70 per year PT 200/65.70 3
  years. Over lifetime, monetary savings 985.50 -
  200 (additional cost) 785.50 (not
  including escalating energy costs!)

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Efficient Dishwashers

• Purchase an energy efficient (electrical) and low
  water use machine. Eighty percent of the energy
  used is for hot water!
• Consider a booster heater option
• Choose a dishwasher with energy-saving wash
  cycles
• Wash full loads only
• Use no heat or air dry

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Efficient Washing Machines

• Look at both EnergyGuide labels and capacity
• Front loaders are generally more efficient
• Use warm/cold or cold/cold cycles with cold water
  liquid detergent. Water heating accounts for 90
  of the energy use
• Be sure there are water level controls

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Efficient Clothes Dryers

• Gas is cheaper and more efficient than
  electricity
• Dryer should sense dryness and shut off
  automatically
• A solar clothes dryer (clothesline) is the most
  efficient of all

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Did You Know?

• Solar clotheslines can operate all year long
  providing you choose your day properly
• Choose a sunny location for optimum drying
• Clothes smell freshest when they are solar dried

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Cook Stoves

• Natural gas or propane vs. electric stoves
• For gas stoves, use electric ignition (not pilot
  lights) and be sure to vent gases
• Electric stoves types (most efficient to least
  efficient) are induction, exposed coil, ceramic
  glass, halogen, and solid disk
• Flat pans for ceramic glass and solid disk stoves
  are important for good heat transfer

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Parasitic or Phantom Loads

• Put stereo equipment, TV, VCR, DVD equipment, and
  computer equipment on a power strip, and turn it
  off when you are finished.
• Monitors and printers use the most electricity.
  If you dont print much, plug the printer in a
  separate outlet, and only turn it on when you
  print.

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Televisions and Computer Terminals

• Some televisions have an instant on feature
  that is a major energy waster. Use a power strip.
• Computer terminals should have energy-saving
  software installed to shut the screen down to a
  sleep mode when not in use

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How Much Parasitic Load?

• Turn off all power using equipment or verify they
  are not running at the time (as if you were not
  home)
• Measure the time for one revolution of the dial (
  ie., say 60 sec for 1 rev).
• Read Kh factor off the meter (7.2 watt-hr/rev).
  This is the meter calibration factor.
• Power 7.2 x 3600/60 sec/rev 418 watts
• E/yr 0.418 kW x 8760 hr 3679 kWh
• Cost 3679 kWh x 0.15 552

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Some Potential Causes of a High Electric Bill
(Investigate!)

• High parasitic loads
• Meter read wrong
• The addition of major appliance
• Additional occupants
• Faulty appliances (pump or thermostat)
• Seasonal appliances (pool pump, heat tape)
• Bad connection causing leakage to ground
• Dueling thermostats (Heating 72, AC 68)

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Ways to Find Consumption

• Calculate E P x T to give kWh
• Estimate from an Appliance Use Chart (
  correct for different power rating and different
  time of use, if necessary)
• Buy a watt meter, plug the appliance in, and
  measure kWh directly
• Use your electric meter as a power meter (look
  for calibration ie., Kh 7.2 watt-hr/rev)
• Kh value x (3600 sec/hr) divided by the time
  (sec per rev) is the total watts

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Solar Electricity The Next Step

• Electrical energy efficiency and
• Electrical energy conservation FIRST
• THEN Solar electricity
• WHY?
• You will need a smaller system, AND save lots of
  money.

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What is a solar cell?

• Solid state device that converts incident solar
  energy directly into electrical energy
• Efficiencies from 7 up to 15 or more
• No moving parts and no maintenance
• No noise
• Lifetimes of 30 years or more
• Both a retrofit and new house technology
• Many new types of PV are beginning to be
  manufactured in large quantities

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Cross Section of Solar Cell
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PV Price and Quantity Manufactured Relationship
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Net Metering can be done with or without a
battery backup
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2.4 KW System under Installation in New Hampshire
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Pole Mounted PV
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Solar Roofing Shingles
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Roof Integrated Photovoltaics in Misawi, Japan
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Roof Integrated PV in Japan
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PV Installation in Planned Community in Germany
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Solar CarportNavy Installation San Diego,
California
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BP Installation on their Gas Station
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The Greenpoint, NY Building
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59 KW Installation of 5600 ft2 in Greenpoint,
Brooklyn
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FALA Factory Roof InstallationFarmingdale, LI,
NYNote the number of other roofs
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Solar Cells Installed in Building Facade
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What about Economics?

• NYS has several subsidies
• Cost per watt installed approx. 8, but
• about half is paid upfront to installer
• NYS tax credit - 5000, plus Federal tax credit
  - 30 means actual cost is about 1/3
• For 2.6 kW system, total cost was 23,000, actual
  cost to homeowner is 8,000. (2003)
• Payback time is about 10 years but incentives are
  better today. See www.dsireusa.org

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Low Energy Integrated Solar Housing

• Performance estimated at 3600 kw-hr per ye
• Meter does turn backwardsActual performance so
  far appears to exceed estimate by 300 kw-hr

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Upgrade to 3.9 kW PV SystemNear zero net energy
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The Healthy House Reducing Indoor Air Pollution

• Indoor air, on average, ten times worse than
  outdoor air.
• Americans spend 90 of their time indoors.
• Effective methods available to reduce indoor
  air pollution.

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Air-to-Air Heat Exchangers

• Houses often have inadequate air exchange.
  Most agencies recommend 0.3 air changes per hour.
  One way of achieving that and also saving 80 of
  the energy loss from air exchange is to use
  air-to-air heat exchangers or heat recovery
  ventilators. Shown at upper right are the fan,
  heat exchange core and air filters.

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The Heat Recovery Ventilator Operation

• Stale air is removed from bathrooms
• Fresh air is circulated to other rooms
• The stale warm air heats the incoming fresh air
  in the heat exchanger
• Controls allow air circulation speed to match
  need and also to control humidity in winter

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Whole House Vacuums HEPA Filters

• Standard vacuums recirculate fine dusts back to
  the room
• Whole house vacuum units (shown) circulate all
  dust into a bag or outside
• HEPA filter vacuums remove very fine dust so it
  doesnt recirculate
• Dusts from plastics that break down are now
  considered to be a major problem in homes

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Eliminate Carpeting and Incoming Dirt

• Wall-to-wall carpeting allows dust and dirt to
  accumulate, and provides living space for dust
  mites, molds, and other biological pollution.
• Wood and tile floors and small individual rugs
  greatly improve this situation
• Remove shoes at the entry door

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Eliminate Toxic Cleaners and Substances in the
Home

• Reducing air pollution sources in the home is one
  of the most effective strategies
• Use non-toxic cleaners like vinegar and baking
  soda. Use non-toxic and non-persistent pesticides

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Reduce Formaldehyde Outgassing

• Many materials in the home including fabrics,
  curtains, plywood outgas formaldehyde.
• Reduce by using real wood products when possible,
  and minimizing use of outgassing materials

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Safety and Monitoring

• Smoke alarms
• Carbon monoxide (CO) detectors
• Radon air measurements
• Water testing (chemicals, radioactivity)
• Water filtration if needed
• Mosquito populations - West Nile virus and
  malaria may be spread by vectors such as
  mosquitoes.
• Ticks Deer ticks can carry Lyme disease

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Smoke Detectors

• Smoke detectors should be hard wired with a
  battery backup
• Batteries should be replaced yearly.
• They should be placed in several recommended
  locations.

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CO Detector

• CO monitors should be placed near but not right
  next to combustion appliances.
• CO is odorless and affects many people each year
  in the US.

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Mosquito Traps

• There are numerous mosquito traps on the
  market. Not all work effectively. The best work
  by a combination of heat, carbon dioxide and
  attractants. None are totally effective.

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Lifestyle and Energy Consumption

• There are many obvious ways that people can
  conserve energy and resources without
  jeopardizing lifestyle. These include
• Transportation
• Recycling
• Lawn Care
• Food Production

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Transportation

• Location, location, location!
• Many cars get over 40 mpg.
• Carpool when possible
• Condense trips
• Walk, bike and take mass transportation
• Shop and communicate by mail, email and phone
• Work at home sometimes if possible

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Recycling Saves Energy

• Participate fully in your community recycling
  program
• Virgin materials are more energy-intensive and
  polluting than recycled materials
• Recycling programs save communities money

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Reduce Energy Use in Lawns

• Minimize lawn size
• Consider lawn seed varieties that are
  slower-growing, more resistant to insects and
  disease, require less water and dont spread
• Use natural weed seed sprouting inhibiters (corn
  gluten) that also fertilize the lawn

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Food Energy

• The industrial food system requires at least 10
  Calories of fossil fuel for each Calorie of food
  produced.
• While the farm accounts for 3 Calories, the
  transportation, processing, marketing, storage
  and preparation accounts for the other 7 Calories
• Agriculture accounts for more environmental
  damage and resource use than any other industry
• Organic home gardens are productive, healthful,
  nutritious, and save energy. They also provide
  exercise, fresh air, and a connection to nature.

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Home Organic Gardening

• Three season gardening
• Raised beds
• Intensive spacing
• Diversity
• Mulch
• Natural pest control
• Succession planting
• Composting
• Water conservation

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Green Materials

• Materials used in construction, in finishing
  materials, and in household products and
  furnishings all have energy (Embodied Energy) and
  environmental costs. By being more efficient and
  by substituting better and more
  environmentally-benign products, replacement,
  maintenance, and cleaning costs and impacts may
  be reduced. However, many decisions involve
  tradeoffs between different types of impacts, and
  are sometimes difficult to make. For example, the
  Environmental Building News Product Catalog
  evaluates building materials based on the
  following criteria.

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Criteria for Evaluating Building Products

• Building Operations energy efficient benefit,
  renewable energy benefit, low-toxic/healthy,
  durable, water conservation/protection
• Manufacture low-emission, ozone-friendly,
  low-energy, renewable energy used, minimal waste
• Raw Materials renewable resource, plentiful
  resource, third-party certified, salvaged/reused,
  post-consumer recycled content, post-industrial
  recycled content
• Transportation local raw materials, local
  production, distributed production, efficient
  packaging, recycled packaging, recyclable/reusable
  packaging
• End of Life recyclable product, reusable
  product, biodegradable product, designed for
  disassembly
• Corporate Policy environmental policy, social
  policy
• Environmental Building News Product
  Catalog Ref 2

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Reducing Cement Use in Construction

• Cement manufacturing is energy-intensive and
  highly polluting process
• Walk-out basements bermed into a hill can use
  half as much cement for walls compared to a full
  basement. Stud-wall construction is used above
  ground.

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Using Recycled Materials

• Wood for decks is often made from expensive and
  scarce redwood or cedar. Treated wood provides
  exposure to toxic chemicals
• TREX is a mixture of recycled plastic and wood
  with a long lifetime, low maintenance, and low
  toxicity

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Using Gravel for Driveways

• Blacktop is expensive, polluting, and
  maintenance- and fossil fuel-intensive. It also
  reduces water penetration and enhances flooding.
• Gravel can provide a viable alternative without
  the drawbacks

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Bamboo to Replace Hardwoods

• Bamboo flooring can substitute for hardwood.
  Bamboo regrows quickly, and has less impact on
  the environment compared to hardwoods. Bamboo
  wears well, and looks attractive. There are many
  types available at prices that range from 2 to
  3 per square foot.

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More Information

• Websites with detailed product information
• American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
• www.aceee.org
• US Environmental Protection Agency
• www.energystar.gov

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Credits

• Pictures taken by W. Makofske. Permission needed
  to use materials.
• Ref. 1 Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings,
  Published by the American Council for an
  Energy-Efficient Economy, 1991, p. 210.
• Ref. 2 Environmental Building News, Vol. 10, No.
  6, June 2002, p. 13.
• Ref. 3 - Environmental Building News, E Build,
  Inc., 122 Birge St., Brattleboro, VT 05301
• www.ebuild.com