Back to the Future
Put on a coat! Harness the wind! Turn off the dang computer! Sometimes going green is easier than you think (so long as you’re willing to do it). Here are several low-tech and easy-to-implement options which greatly increase the energy efficiency of your home.
Washing your clothes
Switch from hot to cold water washes for your clothes and you can save between $60 and $150 yearly, and eliminate an extra 1,000 pounds of CO2 going skyward.
Over 60% of Americans use warm or hot water for clothes washing. No biggie, right? Wrong. During the washing cycle, roughly 90% of all your energy use comes right here -- from heating the water.
By doing nothing more than twisting a knob from “hot” to “cold water wash,” you can be 90% more efficient. With the advent of high-quality, cold-water detergents, you have nothing to lose. And, you extend the life of your clothes.
Here’s a fun fact: if every American household switched to cold-water washing only, it would save as much energy as the entire Hoover Dam generates in 20 months of operation!
Another way to reduce energy use is to simply wash your clothes less. In this, you may be channeling your great-grandfather more than your great-grandmother, but pants and shirts can be worn twice you know.
When you’re ready for a new machine, think about an upgrade. Older, top-loaders can use up to 41 gallons of water per load. Newer, front-loading models use 75% less water and 30%-85% less energy. (Of course, don’t just immediately run out and buy something new until you really need it -- the water and power costs of manufacturing a new appliance are huge.)
And, why not incorporate a little hand-washing into your life? This may seem like a ludicrous waste of time. But, hand-washing even a few select items (such as undergarments) can go a long way in reducing your toll on the environment.
Drying
Did you know that if you hang your clothes on an outside line strung between two poles, on a sun-shiney day, they will actually dry on their own -- and smell amazingly fresh? Who knew?!
It costs roughly a dollar and 3 KW of energy to run your dryer for an hour. Over the course of a year, a typical household will generate through their dryer alone some 2,400 pounds of CO2 emissions and spend over $100. And, there’s also the cost of machine-drying on the clothes themselves -- all that tumbling and forced air is hard on them (where do you think the lint in your filter comes from?).
So, it’s not all that crazy to just string a line and hang some clothes on it. It may seem outdated, but you’ll actually be bringing into your life a very common-sense solution.
Heat pump dryers
If drying your clothes on a line is either too time consuming or simply not possible, consider at least getting a heat pump dryer. Not only are they smaller than a conventional dryer, they save a lot of energy too! Instead of pumping the moist air with a vent to outside your home, these dryers remove the moisture from used, already heated air with a refrigerant and then reuse it to continue drying your clothes.
Heat pump dryers use roughly only 40-50% as much electricity as regular dryers. Seeing that, as a country, we use $9 billion, 60 billion KWH of energy and produce 40 million metric tonnes of CO2 a year with our current dryers, that is a lot!
Also, because they dry clothes at lower temperatures, they also increase your clothes lifespan! You won’t only save on electric bills (about $75 a year!) and lower your carbon footprint but you also will stay stylish for longer periods of time!
Awnings and curtains
Anything you can do to keep the sun from glaring in is a big help.
Awnings and curtains provide cover for windows and let you get away with a big reduction in air conditioning. According to the Department of Energy, window awnings can eliminate solar heat by up to 65% on south-facing windows and 77% on west-facing windows. In the winter, retractable awnings can be rolled up to get the sun in.
And, in the summer, heavy drapes can reduce solar heat gain by a third. In the wintertime, thermal drapes provide an extra layer of insulation and reduce your window heat-loss by a quarter.
Reflective roof paint
Sun-reflective paint decreases the amount of heat which can enter your house through the roof, as well as extends the life of the roof itself. It is worth noting that this paint coating does not affect interior temperature during winter months.
Thermal underwear
In a world of perfectly conditioned indoor environments, it can be easy to forget what surely was the original purpose of clothing -- to keep people warm. Don’t ignore the seasons, dress for them!
By simply wearing clothing that’s appropriate to the weather, you can greatly reduce the demands on your thermostat. Thermal underwear, long underwear, hats, sweaters and even coats can all be worn indoors quite comfortably. Give it a go and see what you can do.
Reusable rags for cleaning
Who would have thought that at some point in history, it would be necessary to actually advocate for rags? But, that’s what we’re doing.
Americans use around 13 billion pounds of paper towels per year. That’s billion, with a “b.” All these power towels consume some 110 million trees and 130 billion gallons of water annually to produce.
Want to stop that? Use rags for cleaning. Depending on the brand you’re used to, this could save anywhere from $100-$200 per year per household.
And, if you don’t have rags on hand, grab an old shirt. Give it a go!
Unplugging appliances/adjusting their power settings
Your idling computers could be costing you between $25 and $75 per year. Shut them down or adjust their settings so they enter sleep mode sooner rather than later (or never).
Plugged-in, but unused, devices account for $19 billion of waste nationwide, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. This equals 44 million tons of CO2 and 4.6% of the United States’ total residential electricity usage. Think about it.
Learn more ways to save on power with LADWP.
Learn more about the assumptions behind Magenta House water and power savings calculations.
DETAILS
Upgrade: Multiple, across the board
Goals: Cold-water wash, dry on a line, use rags rather than paper towels, and on and on.
Potential Savings*: 2,375-4,375 KWH (kilowatt-hours) /yr, $285-$525 /yr.
Skill level: ★☆☆
SAVINGS*
The average home savings calculation is based on the usage needs of a family of four and includes the following assumptions:
your home is switching from hot- to cold-water washing of clothes;
from machine- to air-dried laundry;
from single-use paper towels to rags for cleaning;
you are unplugging all computers when not in use.
Based on these assumptions, yearly energy savings amount to 2,375-4,375 KWH, or $285-$525, per year.
