Home Heating and Cooling

You lose energy when air conditioners and hot-air furnaces have to work harder to draw air through dirty filters. Cleaning a dirty air-conditioner filter can save 5 percent of the energy used.  That can reduce CO2 emissions by 175 pounds a year.

Making a decision not to turn on the air conditioning may mean a lifestyle change, but there are bigger lifestyle changes that will occur in the future. Earlier generations coped without air conditioning, so why can’t we?

Don’t use pleated air filters! You wouldn’t drive your car towing a hundred pound block around—don’t do that to your furnace! Overly restrictive filters slow airflow through your furnace—usually well below what the furnace requires for efficient operation. Reduced airflow leads to higher energy bills and durability issues, (overheating the […]

In winter set your thermostat at 68°F by day and 55 degrees at night. In the summer set the thermostat at 78 degrees. In winter, lowering it by two degrees reduces heating-related CO2 emissions by 6 percent.  That adds up to a reduction of 420 pounds a year for a […]

Such thermostats are usually set to 140 degrees, although 120 is usually enough. Every ten-degree reduction saves 600 pounds of CO2 per year for an electric heater, or 440 pounds for a gas heater. If every household in the U.S. turned down its water-heater thermostat by 20 degrees, we could […]

To lighten your environmental impact and save money in the cold and drafty winter season, check that the damper in your fire place is properly fitted and firmly closed when not is use to avoid drafts and loss of heat up the chimney.

Cellulose is a material used as loose-fill insulation made from recycled wood fiber, primarily newsprint. The wood fiber is shredded and pulverized into small, fibrous particles that pack tightly into closed building cavities, inhibiting airflow. This provides a thermal resistance of R-3.6 to R-3.8 per inch. Cellulose insulation is considered […]