Comments on: Green Living: Energy Smart

By: Deborah

Deborah — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 15:13:31 +0000

During hot summer months, lower window shades/close curtains during the day to keep sun/heat out … but raise/open them at night to release heat from the building.

In the winter, don’t hesitate to use plastic sheeting over large windows to reduce drafts. (Yes, the kind where you lay down strips of double-sided tape, press the plastic in place, and then blow-dry the plastic to tighten the whole thing.) It won’t look pretty, unless hidden by window treatments, but it will significantly cut drafts and save energy.

Also, hey, book giveaway. Count me in!

By: chris

chris — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 00:09:02 +0000

We just returned from a tour of the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. As we were taking the tour, I asked my wife how they were going to deal with period lighting when incandescent bulbs are banned. Pigtail lighting just won’t have the same effect.

By: 7-26 Carnivals and Roundup | LivingAlmostLarge

7-26 Carnivals and Roundup | LivingAlmostLarge — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 14:54:37 +0000

[...] again has a weekly drawing for the book she’s giving [...]

By: Angie

Angie — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 03:51:39 +0000

Oh my goodness - that shade tree is right on! We have one in our front yard (in Arizona) and the living room window that it overlooks is the only window that doesn’t feel warm when you just walk by!!

By: tiffanie

tiffanie — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 05:02:52 +0000

we’ve started only using our air conditioner during the day with the blinds closed to keep it dark/cool in the apartment. at night we open the windows and use a fan (if needed) to circulate air. this tends to be a problem sometimes because our cats like to push the screens out of our windows and get out, which isn’t good. but we’re trying it for the rest of the summer to see how it helps. we started last week when our AC broke and we had to go all weekend w/o it until maintenance could come fix it. we also switched to the CFL bulbs a few years ago throughout the entire apartment

By: Livingalmostlarge

Livingalmostlarge — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:51:22 +0000

Leaving a comment to win the book!

By: Fitwallet

Fitwallet — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:23:20 +0000

Since we have a drafty old house, we keep our heat at 58-60 in the winter and use space heaters as needed. I plan on caulking the windows and any cracks I can find in the near future. In the summer, we leave the AC running on low all day downstairs (for the pets) but try to limit use of our bedroom AC to the hottest nights of the year.

We’re replacing regular bulbs with CF as they go out, since we can’t afford to replace them all at once. Lately, I’ve started unplugging stuff when I’m not using it. It’s hard to remember, though!

Our block submitted a grant to get trees planted by the city, and though we can’t have one right in front of our house (fire hydrant), the addition of more trees down the block should keep things a bit cooler and shadier during the summer months.

By: Kymberly Fergusson

Kymberly Fergusson — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 04:31:34 +0000

Even a small changes that step towards fixing problems that are found during the energy audit, add up over time.

I’ve switched a number of our lights to compact fluorescent. This winter they are really struggling, as it has been horribly cold inside with a broken heater (around 5 degrees Celsius). I’m hesitant to switch all the lights to compact fluorescent because I can’t handle the extreme flickering in cold weather. Let’s hope LED ‘globes’ become affordable and accessible soon!

By: Bruce "the tax guy"

Bruce "the tax guy" — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:24:26 +0000

An Energy Audit – yuk. Seems to me they’d come up with a better word than Audit. Anyway I think I will be for sure looking into this. Our utilities are not anything like they were in Lake Havasu City, but they are becoming close.
As for adjusting temps, we are already at barely tolerable levels so we miss this or already have done it.
Not sure I believe the phantom load. I mean you break the circuit at the light switch or TV power button. The only power being used is – in some appliances – internal battery (PCs, new TV, etc.) as for micros and other such items with clocks (internal or otherwise) don’t we won’t those to run?
We changed all our lights to fluorescent. Makes a difference. A good one.
We have lots of trees but when the afternoon sun is at its warmest, well our trees aren’t as full as we’d like and planting another one is so slow.