Contents of RauwLetter June 2010
- Summer's A Great Time to Conserve
- EPA Issues Its Climate Change Indicators Report
- Food for Thought - Hold the Gulf Shrimp
- 2009 Top 25 Cities With the Most Energy Star Labeled Buildings
- Living Green ... In NYC
Summer's A Great Time to Conserve
As the weather heats up, mindfulness about conservation should not cool off. In fact, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, air conditioning accounts for 21% of a home’s annual electricity consumption resulting in 1.5 tons of CO2 emissions. Cooling interior spaces is as much an opportunity to conserve energy as is heating interior spaces. There are many ways to cool while conserving.
For instance, installing a programmable thermostat allows you to set your cooling temperature higher when you’re not at home, saving energy and money. By simply setting your thermostat 2 degrees higher than you normally would, you’ll save 366 pounds of CO2 per year while lowering your energy bill.
Concurrently, you may want to think about sealing, weather stripping and insulating your home. This will keep hot air out and cold air in and, again, decrease your carbon footprint. Weather stripping and caulking around doors and windows and filling cracks and openings in walls will decrease your CO2 load by as much as 225 pounds. Don’t forget to insulate around window air conditioners so hot air doesn’t infiltrate.
Talking about air conditioners, make sure to clean the filter once a month so as to prevent buildup. Dirty filters will restrict airflow and make the unit less efficient. For those lucky enough to have central air conditioning, seal and wrap your ductwork so as not to leak air and lose efficiency. Leaky ducts can increase your bill by as much as 10%. If you can, replacing older air conditioning units with energy star models will increase efficiency, decrease your carbon loading and, with a 30% tax credit for models of 16 SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) or better, you’ll have substantial financial savings as well.
Not only can older air conditioners be a source of inefficient cooling, older windows can also contribute to a less efficient space. Make sure to seal around any openings in the windows then consider adding low-emissive film to the panes to reduce solar gain. This allows less heat to enter your home and beats the cost of replacing windows. If you decide to replace your windows, choose the lowest available U-factor (the measurement of how much heat can escape) and choose the lowest solar heat gain coefficient (the measurement of how much heat from sunlight is transmitted through a window). To find out if your windows are eligible for a 30% rebate, you can go to www.EnergyStar.gov.
Other cooling investments include awnings, shutters and overhangs to keep the sun’s heat from entering your home. As well, strategically placed deciduous trees will provide shade in summer when their leaves emerge and, after they drop their leaves in the fall, will allow the sun’s heat to reach your home in winter when you want the warmth. In the summer, closing curtains, shades or blinds on the sunny side of the house will make a big difference in keeping your house cool by not letting the heat of the sun into the interior.
On cooler days, shutting off the air conditioner and opening lower floor windows by an inch or two while placing outward facing fans in upstairs windows, will draw cool outside air in and remove warmer air that has risen to higher floors, creating a nice draft.
Never underestimate the cooling effects of fans. Ceiling fans decrease the burden on air conditioners by circulating the cool air. If a ceiling fan is not available, a regular fan placed below the air conditioner, pointing into the room, will help circulate the cool air.
