My Blog, Your Money

Today is Earth Day and in its honor, I put together a list of 10 green money-saving tips that you can implement around your home:

1. Be a minimalist – Less is more. Energy is consumed producing each item or service you consume. The less you buy, the more energy and money you save.

2. Compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) – CFLs are designed to replace traditional incandescent light bulbs and most feature a twist shape. (If you’re put off by the design, CFLs are also produced with the traditional appearance.) Each CFL costs a few bucks more upfront, but uses only a quarter of the electricity a traditional bulb would so you’ll actually save hundreds of dollars over the lifetime of the bulb. Also, a CFL has a much longer lifespan compared to an incandescent bulb – 10,000 hours vs. 750 hours – so you won’t have to replace it as often which is another environmental benefit.

3. Refrigerator Coil Cleaning – Refrigerators are the biggest consumers of electricity in the average household and account for 10-15% of total electricity use. Cleaning the refrigerator’s condenser coil can improve its efficiency by a third.

4. Water Heater Temperature Reduction – The water heaters in most homes are set to temperatures around 140° F. However, 120° F is hot enough for most households and will save 6 to 10% in water heating costs (3 to 5% for each 10° F reduction).

5. Temperature Control – Add 2° F to the thermostat in summer and lower it 2° F in the winter. You’ll hardly notice the difference with this energy-saving maneuver. If you have a programmable thermostat, use it to regulate temperature so you don’t waste energy while you’re away from home.

6. Caulking/Weatherstripping/Door Sweeps – All houses lose heat through cracks and crevices. Reduce these leaks by caulking and weatherstripping around windows and doors. Then, install door sweeps to stop air from leaking under doors.

7. Laundry – Wash your clothes in warm or cold water, instead of hot. Don’t overdry your clothes and consider hang drying.
8. Low Flow Showerhead – Check the rating (gallons per minute) of your showerhead. If you have an older showerhead, you can save a lot of water by switching to a low-flow showerhead most of which use 2 or 2.5 gallons of water per minute. Not only does this save water, but it also saves you money by heating less water.

9. Toilet flow reducer – This a bag that displaces water in the toilet’s tank and reduces the amount of water consumed by each flush.

10. Save gas – Switch to a more fuel-efficient vehicle, drive less, tune up your car, and drive slower. Here’s some more gas-saving tips.

Of course, these are just some of things you can do to be green. If you have any of your own tips to share, please feel free to leave a comment.