Posted by Raymond Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning on Fri, Sep 25, 2009
News of melting polar ice caps, warming seas, and rising temperatures has everyone thinking about climate change and what they can do to reduce their carbon footprint. Reducing home energy consumption is an excellent first step toward increasing your personal commitment to protecting the environment. Here's a handy link to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Household Emissions Calculator. Follow the instructions and answer the questions to get a rough estimate of the greenhouse gas emissions you and your family produce.
Figuring out how you use energy is the first step toward reducing your personal energy consumption. Many simple measures like increasing recycling, replacing cracked caulk around windows, adding weather strips to doors, and wrapping your water heater in an insulated cover can help increase energy efficiency in your home and reduce energy use. The bonus, of course, is that by reducing energy use, you not only protect the environment, you save money. Arranging for an annual inspection of your home’s heating/cooling system by a qualified HVAC professional will keep your furnace and air conditioner operating at peak performance, reducing unnecessary energy expenditures and decreasing monthly operating costs.
Installing energy-efficient Energy Star furnaces, air conditioners, hot water tanks and other appliances in your home can also have a considerable impact on energy use. A joint effort of the EPA and U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Star products and practices helped Americans save $19 billion on their utility bills in 2008 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an amount equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions of 29 million cars. By choosing energy efficient products, the average family can reduce utility bills and their carbon footprint by a third. And in 2009 and 2010, many Energy Star products may qualify for special Federal tax credits.