Top 10 Tips for Making Your Home Green

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Top 10 Tips for Making Your Home Green

• Ethan Hirsch-Tauber
• November 27, 2006

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What is Green?

• Green Sustainable
• A home that has the least environmental impact as
  possible
• Minimizes energy use
• Minimizes water/resource use
• Healthy

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Why Green?

• Lower Utility Bills
• Increased Comfort
• Healthier to Live In
• Good for Environment
• Good for Family
• Right Thing to Do!

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1) Lighting

• Switch to Compact Flourescent Lightbulbs (CFLs)
• If every American familychanged out 5 light
  bulbs
• Save about 100/year
• Reduce greenhouse gas by 1 trillion
  pounds(1,000,000,000,000)
• Reduce U.S. energy demand by equivalent of
  closing 21 power plants
• Look for

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More Lighting

• Warm or soft light more like traditional
  incandescent
• Cool or daylight bluer, may be harsh

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2) Programmable Thermostats

• Advantages
• Automatically adjust your home's temperature
  settings.
• More convenient/accurate
• Contains no mercury
• Save up to 100/year
• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions
• Choose ENERGY STAR

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3) HVAC

• Get a professional tune-up once every two years
• Cost 100 to 140
• Savings 5 to 10 of bill

• Air filters
• Check every month
• Clean, replace as necessary

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More HVAC

• Seal all ductwork
• Leaks cause discomfort and high bills
• Use duct mastic or mastic tape
• Have new units sized properly
• Choose efficient equipment
• At least 92 AFUE, 13 SEER
• Direct vent
• CO Testing

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4) Plug Air Leaks
Air sealingSealing gaps where air can pass into
or out of your home.
Your system must work more in a leaky house
because theres more air to condition.
On hot and cold days it costs more to maintain a
comfortable temperature in a leaky house.
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Blower Door Test

• Blower door test uncovershidden leaks in home
• Open fireplace damper 8
• Use HERS rater
• www.natresnet.org
• 200 to 400
• Worth every penny!

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5) Check Insulation

• R-value
• Resistance to heat transfer
• Fiberglass R-3 per inch
• Recommended levels
• Ceiling R-38
• Wall R-22
• Floor R-25
• Basement R-19
• NO GAPS!!!!!!
• NO SQUISH!!!!

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6) Buy ENERGY STAR

• Refrigerators
• Save 15-20 vs current models
• Save 40 on 2001 models
• Clothes Washers
• Save 50, plus water savings
• 110/year versus 1994 models
• Other Appliances Dishwashers, HVAC
• Windows, Doors, and Skylights
• Low U-Value and SHGC
• Home Electronics

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7) Go Low-Flow

• Faucets
• 1.5 gpm
• Aerators can lessen this to 1 gpm
• Shower heads
• 1 to 2.5 gpm
• Shut off valve
• Toilets
• 1.6 gallon per flush compare to up to 4
• Save 22,000 gallons/year for 4 person household
• Dual flush
• Look for leaks blue dye test or always running

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8) Optimize H2O Heater

• Insulate water heater
• 15 will pay for itself
• Turn temperature down
• Max. 120 degrees
• Prevents scalding
• Lowers bills
• Not unsanitary
• Insulate hot water pipes
• Consider solar hot water, tankless, and on demand

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9) Plant a Tree

• Shade in summer
• Reduce cooling bills by 20
• Could save you 100 month!
• Shade your air conditioner too
• Up to 10 savings
• Use drought tolerant plants
• Windbreak in winter
• Reduce heating bills by 10 to 20

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10) Use Low-VOC Products

• Volatile Organic Compounds
• 1,000 times healthynormal levels
• Look for Green Sealwww.greenseal.org
• lt50 g/l vs. 250 g/l
• Paints, Finishes
• Paint store
• Cleaning Products
• Whole Foods

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Bonus) Use Mass Transit

• Average home emits 27,000 lbs CO2/year
• 25 improvement saves 6,750 lbs
• Midsize sedan emits 10,000 lbs CO2/year
• Ride a bike!
• www.waba.org
• Use Metro
• www.wmata.com

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Rehab Advisor

• www.rehabadvisor.pathnet.org

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Federal Tax Incentives

• Through Dec 31st, 2007
• Home Improvement 10 up to 500, includes
  windows (only 200), doors, roofing, insulation,
  various HVAC
• PV and Solar hot water 30 up to 2000
• Also cars and fuel cells
• http//www.energystar.gov/

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Additional Resources

• ENERGY STAR
• www.energystar.gov
• Southface Energy Institute
• www.southface.org
• PATH
• www.pathnet.org
• Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative and
  SunTrust Bank have a loan program for high
  efficiency HVAC Call 1-888-SUNTRUST
• Maytag offers rebates for ENERGY STAR clothes
  washers, dishwashers and refrigerators
• Bosch offers rebates on clothes washers

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Additional Resources

• Ethan Hirsch-Tauber
• DR International
• etauber_at_hotmail.com
• [phone]