Do It For Earth

Things you can do to keep your home green.

Heating is the single biggest energy use in homes. A well-maintained heating system will hold down fuel costs and provide reliable comfort. Check the filters in your warm air heating system monthly and replace or clean them when they become dirty. Have your heating system checked periodically by a licensed professional.

Proper insulation in walls, ceilings and floors also significantly reduces the loss of heat to the outdoors. Insulation will pay for itself in fuel cost savings and home comfort.

Insulate heating hot air ducts and hot water pipes that provide heat to the rooms in your home. This will reduce heat loss in areas that are not insulated and will help your heating system work more efficiently.

The location of your air conditioner has a lot to do with how efficient it will be. If you have a choice, locate your units on the north, east or the best-shaded side of your home. If the unit is exposed to direct sunlight, it has to work much harder and use more energy to cool your home. Keep shrubbery away from your air conditioner since it blocks vents and reduces the unit's ability to exhaust air

If you're in the market for a new clothes dryer, consider purchasing one with a "moisture sensing" device that shuts off automatically when your clothes are dry so the dryer doesn't run longer than needed.

Lighting accounts for about 15% of a home's electric use. New screw-in fluorescent bulbs can replace the incandescent ones most of us use. Fluorescent bulbs are more expensive, but they last 10 times longer and use 75% less electricity

Lighting controls or "timers" can help save energy dollars, too. Timers can be set to turn lights on or off at predetermined times while photocell controls are sensitive to light and turn lamps on and off at sundown and sunrise. Dimmers can vary the level of illumination according to how much light you may want in a given situation.