I wanted to share with you a few simple and cost effective green updates for your home:
Stop Drafts - Check the weather stripping around exterior doors and replace it if it appears worn - this can save up to $30 a year. Also, check the caulking around windows to ensure you are not losing heated and cooled air from inside the house.
Service Your Furnace And Air Conditioner - Regularly servicing your furnace and air conditioners can keep them running efficiently, which can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide burned and reduce heating an cooling bills by around 10%. Also, new high-efficiency models may help further conserve energy and save you more on energy bills.
Keep Your Thermostat In Check - Turn your thermostat down a degree or two when operating your furnace and up a degree or two when operating your air conditioning. Every degree up when cooling and down when heating can save up to 5% on your energy bill.
Keep The "Hot" In Your Water Heater - If your water heater was built before 2004, wrap the tank in an insulated fireproof blanket. This can save up to 10% on your annual water-heating bill, and cut wasted energy.
Insulate Your Pipes - Insulate exposed water pipes in you home - especially in the basement - to eliminate excessive hot water use.
Save Water With Low Flow - Installing a low-flow toilet - which uses 1.6 gallons of water per flush compared to 3.5 to 4 gallons of standard toilets - can save up to 22000 gallons of water a year for a family of four. That translated not just ot water conservation, but to a possible cost savings of around $100 per year.