Green Your Electricity
September 26, 2008 · Print This Article
The cost of electricity is going up (both in dollars and in environmental and health impacts) and it doesn’t show any signs of doing otherwise. About half of the energy in the American grid is coal generated. We won’t bore you with what you already know: coal is a really stinky, dangerous, nasty, unsustainable, and silly way to make power. By using less energy, and greening the electricity that we do use, we can lighten our footprint immensely. The subject of electricity and its environmental impacts is a massive one and we can’t cover every corner of it here. We hope that this brief guide can offer some solid suggestions for greening your electricity and use thereof.
1. Audit yourself
A home energy audit is a way to inventory your home’s energy use, where energy is lost, and where it can be saved. You can do an energy audit yourself or get a pro. Many utilities also offer home and business energy audits for free.
2. Reduce your use
The lowest hanging fruit just begging to be picked are simple energy-saving practices. They’re also the most cost effective. Top tasks include:
a. Replace your light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) or even cutting-edge LEDs.
b. Turn off lights and other devises when they’re not needed (also see How to Green Your Lighting).
c. Electronics that sleep on a standby setting continue to pull a current even when “turned off.”
d. “Wall warts,” those clunky AC adaptors on many power cables, pull current, too, so those should be taken out of the wall when not in use. Your best bet is a “smart” power strip, or a power strip that can be turned off at night, etc.
e. Clothes driers gobble up a lot of power, so line drying can be a great energy saver.
3. Put your house on a diet
Homes consume an enormous amount of energy, especially in heating and cooling, and American homes consume around six times the world average. Once you’ve audited your home for energy use (even if you haven’t) some simple moves can cut your electricity bill. Keep your house cool with natural ventilation instead of air conditioning as much as possible. Use in-room, ceiling, or whole-house fans to move air throughout the house. Blocking sunlight during hot hours of the day can help lower your cooling load. If your house uses electricity for water heating, wrapping your water tank in an insulating blanket can save on power. Also, if your house is heated with electricity, see How to Green Your Heating for more in-depth advice.
4. Buy wise
After cooling and heating, appliances and other plug-in devises are the next biggest users of energy in your abode. When looking for new appliances, seek out the most energy-efficient models. Most new appliances come with a yellow EnergyGuide label which, like mileage ratings on cars, shows its consumption in terms of kWh per year. Also look for Energy Star rated products (more on Energy Star below). Electronics like computers and audio equipment can be big power suckers, too. See below for more on greening your computer usage. Being smart with lighting is another key way to green your power usage. See How to Green Your Lighting for more.
5. Homemade juice
You think making your own bread at home feels good? There’s nothing quite like the feeling of making your own electricity from the sun, wind, or water. Installing an home alternative energy system is becoming more and more cost effective as technology improves and assistance programs spread. Photovoltaic, or solar electric, systems are the most common. Depending on your available space, local climate, budget, and local utility, a solar electric system can provide all the energy needed for a typical home (and possibly more). Check with your local power utility about subsidy programs or other available programs.
Small, home-sized, wind turbines are a rapidly growing field. Time Magazine called the Skystream 3.7 one of the best new inventions of 2006. These can be pricey little whirleygigs, but depending on your local wind conditions, it can take a big chunk out of your energy use and replace the dirty with clean. There’s also a thriving DIY wind movement. See below for more on that.
6. Charge up your toys .
For all the portable electronic gizmos in your life, consider feeding them green power with a solar charger. Some look like notebooks, cell phones, flowers, or are built into backpacks. Your MP3 player, laptop, PDA, cell phone, and camera can all be charged with portable solar, and you’ll never find yourself searching for a plug (see below for a list of chargers that TreeHugger has covered).
7. If you build it…you will save
A home or building designed and constructed around energy efficiency can realize enormous savings. Everything from the positioning of the house, use of daylight and natural ventilation, lighting and appliances, and renewable energy system can push a building closer and closer to net zero energy consumption. If you are considering building a home, do serious renovations, or an addition, make sure that energy efficiency is a key design criterion. The Energy Star rating system has a home certification program, and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) now has a rating system for residential homes. One of many great books to consult is Your Green Home, by Alex Wilson.
8. Sign up for green power
Getting green power may be as easy as checking a box on your energy bill. About 600 of the US’s 6,000 power utilities offer a green power option of one kind or another. In this sort of program, the local utility buys renewable energy (wind, solar, etc.) and then passes it along to customers. It often costs a bit more, but not much, and it helps support the industry for clean, green power. Before you sign up, though, ask where they’re getting their power from. If it’s a source like waste coal or waste-to-power, you might be better off buying your credits elsewhere.
9. Buy renewable energy credits
Another way to support renewable energy and “offset” your own environmental footprint is to buy renewable energy credits (RECs). There are many websites that will help you calculate your energy consumption and buy a requisite amount of RECs to compensate for it. RECs are a pretty new idea; they’re not well understood and there are many rumors of not-so-green or altogether fake credits being sold. The most recognized certifier of RECs is Green-e, an independent, non-profit group that verifies renewable energy credits and certifies that they are what they claim to be.
10. Think lifecycle
We all use energy. It’s just a fact. Even an off-the-grid house is filled with embodied energy. Everything from the power it took to manufacture the solar panels (which was a lot), to the fuel burned in transporting the micro wind turbine from the factory, embodied energy, or lifecycle energy, is in everything we buy and use. Manufacturing, advertising, packaging, shipping, etc. are all part of a product’s energy history. We should all learn to think of things this way. Solar panels, for example, have a great deal of energy embodied in them, much more than, say, a passive solar water heating system.
1.TreeHugger offers tips on how to be more energy efficient on your computer.
2. In drier climates an evaporative cooler, or swamp cooler, cool the air with low energy use and without chemical coolants.
1. In the US, buildings account for approx. 72% of all energy consumption.
2. The US power grid is 98% non-renewable energy (51.7% coal, 19.8% nuclear, 15.9% natural gas, 7.2% large hydroelectric, 2.8% oil,).
3. Demand for RECs is growing fast. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has estimated that in 2004, the size of the voluntary REC market was three million megawatt hours, valued at between $15 and $45 million. They estimate that by 2010, the market will grow to 20 million MWh, and $100 to $300 million.
1. We use them, we pay for them, we talk about them. But do we really know what in tarnation a kilowatt-hour is?
2. What are certified renewable energy credits (RECs, also know as “green tags”)? Certified. Green-e. A label created and administered by the Center for Resource Solutions, a San Francisco-based NGO. Their Green-e label certifies that the power is renewable, and came from solar electric, wind, geothermal, low-impact hydropower, biodiesel, or fuel cells running on hydrogen produced with renewable power. Among other things, it specifies that the energy was not generated under mandate from state or federal requirements, and is not “double dipping”.
3. Net- metering is a very important concept in the world of home power generation. Net-metering means that if you produce your own electricity (with solar, wind, etc.) you can use this energy to offset the power you would otherwise buy from the utility company. Your NET power use refers to the balance of energy consumed from the grid and energy produced by your home system. Not all states have net metering laws in effect. For more info visit the DOE’s page on the subject.
Below is a selection of material that has appeared on TreeHugger. For even deeper digging, you can start by checking out the archives. For the interactive experience, be sure to take a look at the comments our diligent readers have left.
For understanding your energy use at home and impact of individual devises, check out the the Kill-a-Watt home energy monitor.
A look into the technical specifics and more abstract joys of home wind power.
TH polls the electorate on buying green energy credits for the home.
Here you’ll find guidance on replacing older appliances, finding the most energy efficient TV, the most efficient refrigerator, and some options for greener air conditioners here, here, and here.
Energy Star has an interactive guide to energy saving at home.
Consumer Reports has a guide to reducing energy costs.
How some people are making electricity with pedal power.
Some practical advise on dealing with wall warts.
The Wattson is a new breed of sleek, artsy energy monitoring technoart.
The ins and outs of carbon trading.
A look into home solar options…
4 out of 5 Americans want a solar option on new homes.
A do-it-yourself solar electric system for around $600.
The complete solar roof from SolarCentury.
Home Depot takes home solar systems mainstream.
Solar buds offer solar-powered outdoor walkway lighting.
Some home windpower systems we’ve looked at include the Air-X, Skystream 3.7, and Sunforce are small wind turbines within the homeowner’s reach.
Also, how to build your own 1,000-watt wind turbine.
In addition to this concise roundup of small solar chargers, here are some solar chargers and integrated devises we’ve covered. Our own Justin Thomas uses a $20 solar charger for all his gizmos. Sanyo and Soldius1 offer portable chargers, and Sundance Solar’s folding charger does laptops. The Votaic solar backpack is a TreeHugger favorite. The foot-powered Freecharge will jumpstart your car or your iPod. And a wind up charger for cells.
In addition to Treehugger.com, other organizations have put together resources that may be helpful as you continue to green your life.
Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings (a book)
Home Energy Saver, a web-based energy audit tool.
The Center for the New American Dream has practical guidance on green car choices, driving, and almost any of corner of your life.
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