DIY projects to save energy, money and greenhouse gas emissions through: insulating, weatherizing, window treatments, efficient appliances, efficient lighting, and many more innovative and cost effective schemes.
I've include all of the basic "change your light bulbs" type areas, but have also included many off the beaten path ideas that appear to be practical and effective, but not well known.
Full "how-to" information
on 166 ideas -- this should keep you busy for a while!
Directory for this Page: For more
energy saving ideas, see
our "1/2" Program |
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Energy Conservation Sites | |
Home Energy Saver
Audit/Calculator
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![]() Fill in details on your home location, size, construction, etc. The calculator estimates your current energy use, makes recommendations on changes and estimates the cost saving and pollution benefits. |
An Interactive Tool for
Saving Energy at Home
Interactive Home Energy Saving Tool
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![]() You can give to your kids, and let them nag you into making some energy saving changes to make the planet better for them. |
Energy Savers from DOE EERE
site
http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/ Energy Tips from EERE (2.7MB pdf) |
![]() The Energy Tips 36 page booklet is good. |
Home Energy Briefs -- Rocky
Mountain Institute
Home Energy Briefs: |
![]() Titles: Building Envelope Lighting Space Cooling Space Heating Water Heating Cleaning Appliances (washers, dryers, ...) Electronics Kitchen Appliances Whole System Design |
Energy Star Home Energy
Yardstick
|
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Energy Star | Energy ratings and energy use for
appliances. Energy advice and online audit for homes. Energy
star appliances and homes. In my view, the Energy Star program could be more aggressive, but its certainly a good place to start. For example, they have no plans to require more efficient refrigerators until 2012 at the earliest -- let them know you would like to see a more aggressive approach. |
Energy Star Rebates Finder and Federal Tax Credits Information Find rebates in your area: Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency:
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![]() The first finds rebates on a large variety of energy saving projects. Enter your zip code, and Energy Star returns a list of available rebates in your area. This is hard to find on the EStar site, so keep the link. The 2nd is a detailed list of the federal government tax credits. |
Natural Gas Appliance Calculator, http://www.wisconsinpublicservice.com/home/gas_calculator.aspx |
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Saving Electricity, Michael Bluejay http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/
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HEED
http://www.energy-design-tools.aud.ucla.edu/heed/
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EFI -- Energy Federation
Incorporated
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![]() Lights, sealers, thermostats, ... Some nice kid products on the Educational page. |
Eco
Renovator
The forum is here: The blog/website is here: |
![]() Quite a few DIY projects. |
Insulating and Weatherizing Guides and Projects | |
Insulation
Upgrade Cost Saving Calculator
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A
Do-It-Yourself Guide To Energy Star Home Sealing Energy Star Home Sealing Guide... (2 MB pdf) Leaky ducts may lose lose 15% to 30% of your heated or cooled air ---- more on duct sealing |
![]() A couple small add-ons I would make: - Replacing older can lights so that you can insulate right over them is a fairly easy DIY job -- it has the advantages of both reducing heat loss to the attic and getting some heat gain from the can light to the room. - The method they give for determining if you have enough insulation is goofy. Instead, use the Insulation Upgrade Calculator or one of the online insulation guides to determine if your insulation is sufficient for your climate. - For insulating over existing insulation, I like blown in cellulose. Its easy, insulates very well, is resistant to air currents flowing through it (see study below), and is easy on the planet. |
Insulate and Weatherize
Bruce Harley |
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Home Remedies for Energy
Nosebleeds, Bruce Harley, Fine Homebuilding, Issue 190
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![]() These are the kinds of things that can raise your heat bill by 50% or more. |
Insulation Guides --
Building a well insulated and Tight Shell for Your Home The DOE-EERE Insulation Guide Series:
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![]() I guess my one bit of advice would be to go a bit further than they recommend for your climate, because experience shows that in a while (as fuel prices climb) they will be recommending higher levels.
Other DOE-EERE publications here: |
Global
Warming #GWPImpact of Various Insulating
Materials www.buildinggreen.com/... Alex Wilson, Building Green |
![]() Extruded Polystyrene (XPS) and closed cell foam in place polyurethane (SPF) are particularly bad. Cellulose, polyisocyanurate board, expanded polystyrene and several others have very low global warming impacts. This article looks a the global warming payback for insulation used OVER an insulated 2 by 6 wall -- the payback runs into several decades for the XPS. Polyisocyanurate (Polyiso) board insulation is readily available, has a very high R value per inch, and low global warming impact -- seems like a good bet when rigid foam insulation is needed. |
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Insulation
Fact Sheet (pdf)
Fairbanks University Cooperative Extension Service
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A very good
table providing information on all the common (and not so common)
types of insulation.
R values, application suitability, pro/con, max service temperature, ... Very Useful, and, as far as I can see, unbiased (which is hard to find in insulation info on the Internet). |
Insulating
Your Old House, (A wall insulation how-to) Laren Corie, ESSN Newsletter, Aug 2005 http://www.rebelwolf.com/essn/ESSN-Aug2005.pdf
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![]() It describes in detail how to insulate existing walls with cellulose insulation. The ESSN news letter, while not published anymore has some very good articles in its online archive -- all free downloads. http://www.rebelwolf.com/essn.html |
Insulating
Existing Walls with Blown In Insulation
Gary
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Insulating
with Spray Cellulose, Michael Uniacke, Journal of Light Construction Journal of Light Construction ... www.advancedinsulationinc.com/... |
![]() This normally has to be a professional installation because of the specialized equipment, but it can be a good way to go. |
Guide To Installing Fiberglass Batt Insulation
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![]() One of the problems with fiberglass insulation is that if its not fitted carefully its effectiveness is significantly reduced. This guide will help you do a good job. Its also very important to seal all air infiltration paths before installing the insulation. |
How to Insulate a Basement (or Crawlspace) Wall,
Another GBA article from Marc Rosenbaum on basement wall insulation -- lots of good detail...
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Includes choosing between inside and outside insulation, how to avoid moisture problems and quite a bit more.
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Building
and Using a Blower Door -- A DIY Blower Door you can Build for $30 All the details on our homemade blower door... |
![]() The writeup gives all the details on building and using the blower door, ![]() With a little scrounging, the blower door and instrumentation can be built for $30. |
DIY Blower Door Plans -- North Dakota Sate University Extension
URL for NDSU Extension service -- many free plans...
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I ran into these plans after building the blower door just above -- not sure which is easier or cheaper or better.
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Duct Losses Hurt Forced Air Heating System Performance Energy Star Guide on Duct Sealing...
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![]() Five bucks for a can of duct mastic and a half a days work could save you a lot on heating fuel and green house gas emissions. See the sealing guides in this section or the Harley book for how to do the sealing. |
Buried and Ecapsulated
HVAC Ducts,
Summary of buried and ecapsulated duct study...
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This study looks at a scheme for encapsulating the ducting in spray foam insulation and then covering the ducting with loose fill insulation. This brings the performance of ducts running through the attic to about the same level as ducts running through the conditioned space.
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More on Duct Sealing
AeroSEAL Duct Sealing System http://www.aeroseal.com/index.php
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![]() Here is a comment from the Greenbuilding
Discussion Group (
http://www.buildinggreen.com/elists/gb_signup.cfm ): |
Advanced Air Sealing, Oikos http://www.oikos.com/library/airsealing/index.html
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![]() Some of these techniques can only be used during construction, but some can be used on an existing house.
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Home Energy Projects
Home Energy Projects - An Energy Conservation Guide for Do-It-Yourselfers... From SouthFace.org -- lots of good informaiton here. |
![]() " An Energy Conservation Guide for Do-It-Yourselfers - 1.3mb pdf file. This book was created for the state of Alabama with information that applies throughout the southeast U.S. Home Energy Projects contains 86-pages and outlines 25 energy conservation projects, in order of priority, that can be performed by do-it-yourselfers. Contains how-to instructions" |
All About Insulation DanChiras Mother Earth News |
![]() Good rundown on the various types of insulation available and their insulating, health, and environmental characteristics. |
Spray
Foam -- What Do You Really Know?, Bob Yagid, Fine Homebuilding, June 2009 |
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Save Energy and Money Now Mother Earth News |
Mother Earth News Article,
Issue 188
Article outlines a number of practical steps to reduce your homes energy consumption. |
Are You Insulated Edward Harland Mother Earth News |
Pretty good article on insulating existing houses. Good for a starter, but get the Harley book before you tackle the actual project. |
Air Sealing
From Southface at: www.Southface.org Air Sealing Guide (139K pdf) |
![]() From the Southface website -- other good material on this site. |
Operation Caulk -- Air
Sealing Procedure for DC Habitat For Humanity Duplex Houses
Operation Caulk (200K pdf)
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![]() While the guide is intended for new construction, some of the
steps can be taken on an existing house. |
Attic
Insulation Upgrade, Mike Guertin, Fine Homebuilding, January 2009
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An Effective Pet
Door Air Infiltration Solution
Installing a pet door with an effective infiltration seal... |
![]() In looking for a way to cut this down, we found this Freedom Pet Pass door, which has a much more effective air infiltration seal that has cut the pet door infiltration to near zero. It also stops the pet door from flapping during windy periods. |
Airtight
Attic Access, Mike Guertin, Fine Homebuilding, July 2002 issue 148 |
![]() Attic access hatches can be a HUGE large heat loss -- they ae often poorly insulated and very leaky. This is a simple way to make sure yours is not. |
Attic Venting, Attic
Moisture and Ice Dams, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/grho/moaiprre/moaiprre_009.cfm
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How
to Install Radiant Barrier Foil Insulation Three sites that offer radiant barrier installation instructions. |
![]() This same outfit sells a "heavyweight" aluminum foil material for about 12 cents a sf. |
Blower Door Testing
From the Southface.org website Blower Door Test Guide (50K pdf) |
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DOE/ORNL Insulation Fact Sheet...
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Advice on where to insulate,
what to insulate with, and installation advice.
Recommendations on insulation levels that are dependant on climate and construction type. |
Crawl Space Insulation
http://www.advancedenergy.org/portal/crawl_spaces/ Crawl Space Quick Reference...
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Retrofitting Insulation to
Existing Homes
Retrofit Insulation in Existing Wooden Walls (pdf) Retrofit Insulation in Wood Roofs (pdf) Retrofit Insulation in Concrete and Masonry Walls (pdf) Alaska Building Research Series HCM-01552,3, and 4 |
![]() This series of three papers shows some techniques for retrofitting insulation to existing walls, roofs, and concrete/masonry walls. Good construction details. These are not the only ways to retrofit insulation to walls, and may not be appropriate for all climates -- but, may be perfect for some situations. |
Mooney Wall
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Comparison of Fiberglass and
Cellulose Insulation in Identical Test Homes
FG to Cellulose Compare (0.2MB pdf)
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Heat Loss test for two small
test homes, one insulated with fiberglass and the other with
Cellulose insulation.
Cellulose showed more resistance to infiltration and better R value than fiberglass. |
Convection Losses in Loose Fill Fiberglass Insulation
http://www.homeenergy.org/show/article/page/23/id/895
More on this: |
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Cheating -- The Insulation Industry's
Dirty Secret
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![]() Sad but important reading for everyone. This is a good reason to 1) do it yourself, or 2) really understand what insulating is about, and make sure the contractor knows that you will check on his/her work. |
Insulation Under Concrete Slabs
www.blueridgecompany.com/ ... (pdf) (this link has gone away) Another test of slab insulation...
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![]() Compares three types of insulation to no insulation. |
Attic Tent
http://www.attictent.com/product.htm
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![]() It seems like a DIY version would also be possible. If you do a home made one, please let me know. Or, maybe you have an alternative way of sealing? |
DIY version of "Attic Tent"
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Preventing Stratification
With High Ceilings
Heat Harvester:
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![]() Note that high ceilings don't always result in stratification, so check to make sure you really need one of these here ... |
Insulating
Paint http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/... |
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Insulating Window Treatments | |
Making Your Own Interior
Storm Windows, From Paul
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Multi-Wall
Polycarbonate Inside Storm Window
Gary |
![]() Full How-To instructions provided. |
Building
Interior Window Insulation Panels, from Guy Marsden's sustainable living website www.arttec.net/Thermal-Windows/index.html
You can use this calculator to see the payback period for these windows -- for me it turns out to be about 3/4s or one heating season! |
![]() As usual, Guy offers a very detailed and clear set of instructions. These are somewhat similar to the ones I made from Mylar (just below), so you can compare the two and see which will work best for you. |
Dual
Pane Mylar Film Inside Storm Windows
Gary |
![]() The Mylar is quite clear, and the thermal performance with two panes is about twice as good as a typical single pane storm window. Here is an example of a commercial kit to build a similar dual layer interior storm window -- there may be many others. About 5X the cost, but it looks like a good design. |
Simple,
Clear Acrylic Inside Storm Windows
Gary |
They return 50%+ on your tax free, inflation protected investment, and may qualify for rebates in your state. And, save 100+lbs of greenhouse gas emissions per year for a typical window! NEW -- Large window example... |
Plans Inside Storm Window
Another inside storm window how-to:
|
![]() Clear vinyl film might give a little more clear a
view. |
Simple,. Home-made, Low-cost and Effectiv Insulating Curtains
|
The website gives very complete and clear instructions on how to build the shades.
The shades are raised by rolling them up up to the top where they are held in place by a built in band -- takes only a few seconds The front layer of the shade can be as colorful as you like. |
Bubble
Wrap Window Insulation
Gary New Installation Instruction
Sheet (8/15/06) AND, The Card Board Shutter |
![]() Added some small updates to instructions 11/13/05. |
The half insulating shutter -- light + insulation | ![]() It seems like this is a nice combination of light, view, and insulation? Full length insulating shutters can still be used over the panel at night. |
Framed and un-framed thermal shutters made from Astrofoil... | ![]() ![]() The Astrofoil is stiff enough to fit into a window opening and support itself without a frame. All the details here... |
Top-down, Bottom-up
thermal shade insulates when part open Details... Note: the combination of double glazed low-e window + double Mylar inside storm window + insulating shades with side tracks gives an R8.3 total for this window! |
![]() It should perform similar to the Half Shutter listed just above. Details... |
FlipFlic -- KickStarter project to automate control of thermal shades |
It is simple to install, solar powered, and smartphone controlled. It looks like a simple way to save energy and eliminate the daily ritual of opening and closing the blinds a couple times each day. |
Insulating Shutter
Condensation Calculator, Dave |
![]() Note that tight fitting insulating treatments that don't allow much air circulation between window and treatment won't have this problem. Thank you Dave! |
3M type shrink fit window films...
|
![]() In addition to adding about R1, it can be helpful in stopping drafts. But, it is normally applied in such a way that you can't open the window. Removing it will destroy it. There is a very slight distortion of the view out the film. Cost is about 30 cents/sqft. Life claimed is one year, but I think it will go at least 2 if you leave it in place. |
Insulating Window Quilt --
from the Econigics site
http://www.econogics.com/busys/wnquilt.htm
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Thermal Cover-Ups: Part II Mother Earth News Finding Mother Earth News articles...
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![]() Good description of internal shutters made from foam board. Be sure to consider the flammability of the materials that you use for this project. |
$15 Rollup Insulating Window Shade ...
Doug Kalmer |
![]() The $15 rollup window shade made from Reflectix insulation.
See all of Doug's solar projects ... |
An Efficient and Simple Thermal Shade System... | ![]() Details here... |
Ray's Insulating Roman Shades | ![]() They are reported to result in significant reduction in heating fuel used, and they look good too. (Thanks very much to Ray for providing the details) |
High R Value Inside Bi-Fold Shutters | ![]() |
Warm
Window Insulating Shade System
Very nice how-to guide to making their shades: www.warmcompany.com/images/creative/window/sidedraw.pdf
|
![]() The guide on making the shades appears to be very complete and clear. The guide claims an incremental R value of about +R6 for adding a Warm Window shade -- even if this is exaggerated, it is very good indeed. Magnetic strips make for good edge seals. (Thanks to Angela for suggesting Warm Window. She reports that the shades are easy to make, and work very well) |
Insulating
Roman Shade
|
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Insulating
a Sliding Glass Door
Gary |
![]() The payback period in cold climates is about one half of a heating season. |
Guides to Selecting New or Replacement Windows | If you are selecting windows for a new
house, or upgrading windows, take a look at this section.
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Thermal Shutters and Shades
William Shurcliff See Table of Contents and Some Sections
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Seals:
Some Experimental Results, Thermal Shutters and Shades, William Shurcliff, Details ... (pdf) |
![]() He did some tests to determine how critical it is for insulating
shutters to fit the window precisely. He covers various
combinations of edge gaps and face gaps between the shutter and
the window. |
Keeping the pipes from freezing when away
|
![]() Includes plug in window solar collector/insulator panels, and a plumbing drain system, and others... Full details... |
The Green Shutter -- for
summer sun control
http://www.inhabitat.com/2006/03/08/green-shutter/
From Inhabitat
|
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Air Infiltration Testing of Existing Double-Hung Window in an
Existing Urban Historic, Commercial, Mid-Rise Building, http://www.portlandoregon.gov/bps/article/150881 I've always been a bit of a skeptic about the benefits of sealing windows -- I go through the motions of caulking and sealing, but unless the windows are really leaky how do you know you've accomplished anything? This paper makes me more of a believer that sealing can be well worth the time and effort. |
![]() The test shows the test apparatus, and the results for the baseline windows and the improvement for sealing (dramatic). Its interesting that with some fairly simple sealing that very good leakage rates were attained (equivalent to new windows). |
Window Shading | |
Window Shading Scheme --
from the Econogics site
http://www.econogics.com/busys/shadecl.htm
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Saving Energy While You Sleep | |
Electric
Mattress Pad
Gary |
![]() Much more efficient than traditional electric blankets. This has a payback of well under one year for us! |
Sleep
Genie -- A sleep Compartment with AC
http://www.sunfrost.com/sleep_genie.html From Sunfrost
|
![]() ![]() It saves the energy cost of needlessly air-conditioning a large space when your are only occupying a small space. |
Heating
Your Own Personal Space Some times it just makes sense to heat your own immediate personal space -- this can save a lot of energy and result in increased comfort. |
|
Kotatsu -- A Japanese
personal heater
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kotatsu
|
![]() You sit with legs under the table, and with a blanket or futon covering your lower body. It is said to keep your entire body comfortable even when the room temperature is low. (Thanks to Nick Pine for suggesting this) I guess that having a small space heater under your desk is a less refined variation on this. |
Heated Clothes | ![]() If you have had direct experience (good or bad) with this or other heated clothing please let me know... |
I
Cut 87% Off of My Electric Heat Bill Reducing heat use by 87% with personal space heating... Video showing a live test of personal space heating... |
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The ideas in the section
just above for sleeping also fall into this category.
Do you have any good techniques you use to keep your personal space comfortable? Please let me know...
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The
Power Hogs For most people, these will be things that use the most power -- controlling them will cut most peoples electricity use by half -- maybe more. |
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The Power Hogs
The list to the right shows where most of your electricity goes. Cutting electricity use of a typical US home in half saves:
|
Refrigerators -- Old ones (and
even not so old) can use over 1200 KWH a year. A new energy star 20 cubic feet can use as little as 400 KWH per year. A saving of 800 KWH per year -- maybe more. This is what we saved ... |
Computers -- A PC plus
peripherals can use over 1000 KWH a year. It is very easy and cheap to cut this by 80%. This is what we saved ... |
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Lighting -- Changing to LEDs or
compact fluorescents can save over 1000 KWH per year. This is what we saved ... |
|
TIVO -- and TIVO like digital TV
recorders. These devices are always on and consume around 50 watts
24/7, or about 500 KWH per year. There is a new energy star program coming out on these -- I'd hold off and wait for Energy Star models. |
|
TV's -- Some TV's can use as
much as 450 watts! At 8 hours of TV a day, this is 1300 KWH a year! Use one of the lower power technologies (LCD or DLP). Look for OLED TV's -- coming soon -- much lower power. Article on this with power usage for many models ... Selecting our new energy efficient TV... |
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Washing and Drying -- A load of
cloths washed and rinsed in hot water, and then dried in an electric
dryer uses about 10 KWH! -- this is 3600 KWH a year at one load
per day. Most of this energy goes for heating water, and for
drying. Use cold wash/cold rinse and a solar dryer (cloths line) to cut this to near drastically. Front loading washing machines also help. |
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Dumb Habits -- Just turning
things (lights, TV's, ...) off when you are not using them can save
several hundred KWH per year. This is what we saved ... Get the kids involved ... |
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Swimming Pools and Hot Tubs
- If you have a swimming pool or hot tub, it will very likely be the
top consummer of electricity for your house. Just the pool pump can
consume thousands of KWH a year. See the Solar Pool Heating page for ideas on how to make your pool or tub more efficient... |
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Phantom Loads -- Many electronic gadgets (TV's, entertainment centers, microwaves, chargers, ...) use power even when switched off. Electric coffee pots in "keep warm" mode use quite a bit of power
just keeping the coffee up to temperature -- switch to a thermos
type container to keep your coffee hot. |
|
More Power Hogs -- some less common power hogs | Radon Fans -- Radon mitigation fans run 24/7 and can use up to 130 watts -- this could amount to 1100 KWH per year. This artcle advocates trying a passive system first, and only going to a fan system if Radon test levels come back high. Passive systems can easily be converted to active systems. If an active system is needed, I would always try a small fan first -- some are as low as 40 watts. |
Hot Water Recirculation Pumps -- These systems circulate hot water so that you always get instant hot water even at taps very distant from the hot water heater. The problem is that if you choose the wrong kind of installation they can be horrible energy hogs --this is our experience ... Would you believe $3200 worth of wasted propane over 8 years? | |
Battery Powered Tool Chargers -- Battery powered tools come with a charger that most people just leave plugged in all the time -- if you own several of the tools, these idle chargers can add up to a significant phantom loads ... | |
"Half" Project Electricity Saving Ideas | These are the energy saving projects
that we used in cutting our electricity use in half. You might be able to use some of the yourself. |
Energy Efficient Appliances | |
Energy Star
|
Energy ratings and energy use for
appliances. Energy advice and online audit for homes. Energy
star appliances and homes.
In my view, the Energy Star program could be more aggressive, but its certainly a good place to start. |
The Energy Smart Kitchen, Alex Wilson, Fine Homebuilding Magazine, Issue 191, Oct 2007 |
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Some
Thoughts On Pilot Lights
|
![]() And, a rather unusual strategy for heating your hot water with just the energy from a pilot light. |
Gas Pilot Light energy use
|
![]() Note that some sources report much higher gas use by pilots-- more like 5 therms per month (1) Turning off pilots on gas appliances that are not going to be in use for a while would be a good way to save some energy and reduce greenhouse has emissions. (1) Home Energy Magazine has corrected the 7.3 to 73 therms here... (Thanks to Ned for finding this) |
Converting a chest freezer into a very efficient refridgerator Several approaches to converting chest freezers into efficient refrigerator: This article is from the Mt Best -- Australia solar house site: http://mtbest.net/chest_fridge.html
A very interesting solar house with several unique features, and a
bit more info on the chest fridge. The thermostat shown on this page is reported to allow you to use
a chest freezer as a refrigerator with large energy saving: |
One person reported using added thermal mass in the fridge on his
off grid system to allow the inverter to be turned off at night. |
SunFrost Refrigerators
http://www.sunfrost.com/refrigerators_main.html
|
![]() So, why can't GE do this? |
Make a Fridge?
Description of the fridge making kit and instructions for making a fridge from it ...
More Details (pdf)
Another kit fridge -- DIY System Kits: |
![]() If you wanted to make a very efficient fridge, this kit would allow you allow you to build the box with as much insulation as you want, it could be top opening, and the compressor could be located in an optimal spot. On just a rough guess from their specs, you might get down to 0.1 KWH per day for a very well insulated 8 cubic foot fridge. Unfortunately the kit is not cheap, but this still might pay well for off-grid PV users. If anyone has tried this (or similar), please let me know how it turned out -- Gary Note -- see next entry for Ray's very nice example of using one of these kits. |
Build
DC Powered Refrigerator or Freezer!
|
![]() Ray started with a 13 cuft conventional fridge. The existing compressor/evaporator were removed, about 4 inches of rigid foam insulation were added to the outside, then, an efficient DC refrigeration unit (similar to the ones listed just above) is installed to provide the cooling. The condenser coil and compressor are located away from the fridge in the cool basement for more efficient operation. The fridge uses about 100 KWH per year -- about one quarter what an Energy Start fridge of the same size would use! This would make a very efficient off-grid refrigerator that could run directly from the battery bank. Ray has a lot of other interesting projects on his site ... |
Hot Water, Cold Beer Doug
|
![]() Its a heat pump that pumps heat out of the beer and into the domestic hot water tank. |
Cold Weather Passive Assist
Refrigerator
http://www.sunfrost.com/passive_refrig.html
|
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Passive Refrigerator/Icebox
http://fourmileisland.com/IceBox.htm
Note: I am guessing there is a significant learning curve attached to getting one of these operating well. |
![]() Other interesting projects on the same site. |
A
More Efficient Shower
http://www.sunfrost.com/efficient_shower.html
|
![]() Interesting story and prototype. |
Another More Efficient Shower Retrofit |
![]() Efficient shower details... |
Drying Clothes | |
September 2014: It appears that EPA is going to finally have an Energy Star program for dryers. Expect to see a lot of work on dryer design in the next few years to earn the Energy Star label. |
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Ken's
Solar Clothes Drying Rack
Full detailed pictures and plans for Ken's solar clothes drying rack ... |
![]() He came up with a great design, and provides detailed pictures
and plans of the rack. All the materials for the rack are easy to come by and locally available. |
A
collection of cloths line ideas ...
|
![]() Where, what kind, experiences, ... |
Building A Cloths Drying Rack
http://www.handymanwire.com/articles/rack.html
|
![]() Save about about 2.3 KWH per dryer load -- $90 and 1600 lbs of CO2 per year. |
Solar Clothes Drying (the
clothesline)
http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/ ...
|
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Umbrella Rack Style Cloths Dry
http://www.acehardware.com/...
|
![]() Seems like one could build one? |
Hogan Wood Clothes Drying
Rack www.hoganwood.com |
![]() There is enough detail on the site to build one if you would rather do that. |
Condensing
Dryers A rundown on condensing dryers... Energy stats for a number of condenser dryers... |
![]() "How
much energy does it consume? There are several types of condenser dryers, and some do a better job of saving energy than others. There are also differences in drying performance. So, make a careful selection. |
Converting a Clothes Dryer to Use Solar
Heated Attic Air All the details on Randy's solar dryer conversion... |
![]() This cuts the cost and energy use and CO2 emissions to do a dryer load by a factor of five! |
Venting the dryer inside the house to recover the dryer heat | A lot of heat is wasted by cloths dryers
that take house air, add energy to it, blow it through the cloths,
and then exhaust the heated air outside.
I have seen schemes that range from just venting the dryer to the inside of the house with a nylon sock tied over the end for lint control (dry climates only), up to the pretty exotic dryer heat exchanger offered (in Europe) by Electrolux. If you have tried a scheme (or have an idea for a scheme) to extract dryer heat, I would like to hear about it (whether it worked or not) Gary. Update: This is the simple scheme we are now using to recover heat from our dryer -- yearly saving is 630 KWH. SAFETY NOTE: If you have a gas dryer, BE CAREFUL
with what you do with the exhaust, since it has combustion
products from the gas flame. |
Clothes Dry Heat Recovery Using a Furnace Filter for Lint Removal... |
It uses a box with an easily replaced furnace filter for the lint filtering. The furnace filter offers a lot of filter area, is inexpensive, and easy to replace. Be sure to read the SAFETY NOTE just above.
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An Experimental DIY Clothes Dryer Heat Recovery Heat Exchanger... |
Its a cross flow heat exchanger made from twinwall polycarbonate glazing panels. There are 14 layers of twinwall glazing that carry the hot dryer vent air, while the room air passes through spaces between the twinwall panels. While I consider this experimental, it has performed well over a couple of seasons.
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Power
Saving Ideas Some simple ideas that can save lots of power |
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Timers and Motion Switches
Got any other ideas? -- please send them in... |
![]() <-- Picture to left shows chargers on a timer -- 170 KWH and 300 lbs of CO2 saving a year
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24 Hour Timers to Turn Stuff
Off at Night (or whenever)
|
![]() You can also plug a power strip into the timer, and turn off
multiple items with one timer, or some timers have more than one
outlet. |
Power Saving On Personal
Computers
Our PC electricity savings ... Table of power consumption details, and procedure ...
A couple more ideas on reducing computer power on Ralph's Energy Efficiency Blog... |
![]() This very simple procedure saves a staggering 1780 KWH per year -- worth $178 and 3600 lbs of CO2. I don't know of any other way to save this much electricity so
easily. |
Three Ways to Save Power On
Your PC
Smart Strip
|
PC peripherals continue to draw power
after you turn your PC off. Use one of these devices to turn off
the power to all the PC peripherals automatically when your PC is
turned off.
Our test of the Mini Power Minder
... Our test of the Smart Strip...
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Power
Cost Monitor:
TED Power Monitor: And, another one:
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Two Whole House Power Monitors: Power Cost Monitor: ![]() These easy to install power meters tell you how much electricity
your house is using (and has used). Note that while TED is more involved to install, it provides
faster response, optional software logging, and it can measure
individual circuits as well as the whole house. |
ECO Electric Tea Kettle
Available under the toastess Brand in the US:
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![]() It would be nice if more manufacturers paid attention to the details like this -- it takes a lot of energy to boil water. (thanks to Vanya for suggesting this) If you avoid boiling 6 cups of water a day, this adds up to 1.2 KWH per day, or 430 KWH per year and 900 lbs of CO2 if your electricity comes from a coal powered plant Another idea on using a drip coffee maker to make heat water for tea efficiently ... |
Selecting
an Efficient TV
|
![]() This is a write-up on how we selected our new TV along with some resources that are helpful in finding and efficient one... NEW! Starting in 2011, new TVs
will be required to have the |
Phantom Loads | |
Phantom Loads radio interview on "Good Dirt Radio"
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![]() The interview was one of many good stories and interviews from the "Good Dirt Radio". Thanks to Good Dirt producer Gary Lewin for his good work on this. |
Eliminating Phantom
Electrical Loads
Eliminate
Phantom Load -- From the "Half" program... Using a Kill-A-Watt meter to find phantoms... Phantom Load suggestions from Marc ...
|
![]() The sad truth is that over their lifetime, many electronic devices will consume more power during the times they are off than when on! This costs of billions of dollars a year and lots of green house gas. The four items listed to the left provide some ways to identify
and eliminate these power sucking vampire loads. |
Lighting and Daylighting | |
Lots more information
on efficient lighting and day lighting in our Lighting
Section... |
![]() |
Efficient Lighting
EERE on Types of Lighting This is our families estimated saving in energy and GHG's for
going to CFL's:
Efficiency of various types of lights ... |
![]() Most utility companies offer some form of rebate program for buying CFL's -- making it even more of a no-brainer! Some have expressed concerns about the small amount of Mercury
contained in CF's and fluorescents. This does not appear to be
much of a concern, but have a look at the EPA fact sheet in case
you break one someday. |
Giving LEDs a try in our house... | ![]() There is a lot to learn in switching the LEDs, but the end result can be very good. |
An Easy/Good DIY LED Can Light Retrofit
|
![]() It provides lots of warm light while using only 10.5 watts, and claims a 20 year life. The installation was easy, and offers the additional opportunity to seal and insulate the can at the same time the LED is installed. All the details on replacing can lights with LEDs... |
The Best Compact Fluorescent
Light Bulbs: PM Lab Test, Popular Mechanics Magazine The PM Lab Test ... (page is not available anymore, but results summarized to right) |
![]() They compared color temperature, color, brightness, face color, and reading. The result was that ALL 7 CFL's SCORED HIGHER THAN THE INCANDESCENT. This should satisfy anyone's doubts about the light quality of CFL's. |
Daylighting
|
![]() |
LED Holiday Lights
Almost all of the usual places that sell holiday lights now sell the LED lights. Prices still vary a lot. We got ours a Costco for about $10 per string.
|
![]() A typical 100 light LED string uses less than 4 watts! They have an expected lifetime of 20+ years. With the LED holiday light prices dropping, the payback period can be as small as a season or two (considering both lower operating cost and longer life). |
Hot Water Recirculation Systems | |
Hot Water Recirculation systems
|
![]() Details here ...
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Installing an On-Demand hot water recirculation system
http://www.arttec.net/SolarDHW/Dmand-Pump/
|
![]() These systems use much less energy and water than systems that circulate 24/7, or systems that uses a timer or aquastat to control recirculation. |
Gray Water Heat Exchanger | |
GFX Gray Water Heat Exchanger
DOE Inventions & Innovations report: And another: And another: |
![]() In a normal shower, you spend a lot of energy heating water from 50F or so up to 100F. It flows out the shower nozzle, over your bod, and down the drain taking 95% or so of the energy you just spent heating it. The gray water heat exchanger uses the heat in the drain water to heat the incoming water. |
DIY Grey Water Heat Exchanger for Showers...
|
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Drain
Water Heat Recovery - Energy Savings Calculator, from CEATI Drain Water Heat Recovery Calculator... Report on the testing program the calculator is based on: |
![]() While the calculator only lists Ca cities, you can pick one with about the same ground water temp as your area. |
Landscaping For Energy Efficiency | |
Planning Tree Windbreaks in
Missouri
University of Missouri Extension: Purdue University Extension: |
![]() |
Landscaping for Energy
Efficiency
Energy-Saving Landscaping for Your Passive Solar Home, NC Solar Center (pdf)
www.sustland.umn.edu/design/energysaving.html |
![]()
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Less Stuff | |
Waste less food -- big
payoff!
www.treehugger.com/files/2008/02/sweden_says_eat.php
|
![]() So, anything you can do to use less food and avoid wasting food has a direct and significant impact on GHG emissions all the way down the grow it, harvest it, transport it, prepare it, ... chain. This is another one of those win-win areas where cutting down on waste saves GHG's and dollars. "Swedish life-cycle studies that show tossing one serving of beef wastes enough energy to drive a low-energy light bulb 163 hours" |
Pedal Power
Campus Center for Appropriate Technology www.humboldt.edu/~ccat/pedalpower/frames.html
|
![]() Lots of good ways to get some exercise! Here is a sample: Pedal Washer |
Bicycle Powered Generator
http://www.mattshaver.com/bikegen/index.htm
|
![]() Also includes information on what kinds of electrical loads can be powered. |
PPPM (Pedal Powered Prime
Mover)
|
![]() |
The Pedal-A-Watt
Stationary Bike Power Generator http://www.econvergence.net/electro.htm |
![]() The Testimonials section is interesting. |
Nice
setup for hand washing the laundry www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUqACGizd30 |
![]() Quick and easy. |
The James Hand Washer At Lehmans site, search for "hand clothes washer" -- they have several...
Berry
Hill human powered washers...
|
![]() |
Wonder Washer
www.laundry-alternative.com/wonderwash.htm http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/07/qa_electricity.php
|
![]() |
"Yukon Plunger" washing
"machine"
http://www.wisementrading.com/washing.htm
|
![]() |
Fran's very simple DIY washer from a bucket | ![]() Takes about 15 minutes and works well!
|
http://homelessdave.com/hdwashingman.htm
|
![]() |
Cyclean -- Pedal Powered Washer/Dryer http://cyclean.biz/mainmenu.html (this link not working now) The Wayback Machine has this snapshot of the project...
|
![]() Plans to make one are promised -- its says. |
Other Conservation Related Areas on Build-It-Solar There are lots of other areas on BIS that deal with conservation and energy efficiency -- here are a few... |
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![]() ![]() ![]() Water conservation, grey water reuse, efficient toilets ... |
Energy
Conservation in Pool Heating
|
![]() |
Efficient lawn mowers and garden tractors | ![]() Gas mowers pollute way out of proportion to their size -- here is a way to get rid of yours. |
Earth Notes: Saving
Electricity How we got from 33kwh per day to 7kwh per day http://www.earth.org.uk/saving-electricity.html
|
![]() Points out the big saving that can occur from controlling computer power consumption. (Thanks to Damon for suggesting this) |
Efficient Vehicles | ![]() |
More here -- Build-It-Solar Central
|
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"I
Did It" stories A few energy saving success stories -- if you have one, please send it in. |
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Our
own "1/2" Program
Gary
|
![]() |
Guy Marsden -- Sustainable
Living
www.arttec.net/SustainableLiving/index.html
|
![]() Several good DIY solar energy projects with very good detial. |
My
Half Project http://bryantbay2.blogspot.com/ |
![]() There are many very good posts on the blog covering a variety of energy saving techniques. The site is particularly strong on various techniques for monitoring energy use of all sorts and on keeping good records to actually see what is working. |
The Phantoms I've Killed... Do the Math blog, Tom Murphy |
![]() Tom not only says what he accomplished, but also describes the tools you can use to cut your electricity use. (Thanks to Dave for finding this) |
Kootenai
River Campground -- Energy Overhaul
|
![]() They did a nice, systematic approach involving more insulation,
better doors, inside storm windows, solar water heating (using our
$1K system), efficient lightings, and more efficient
appliances. They have still more things on the list to do yet
-- next up is efficient shower heads. The campground is located in western Montana. |
Thriving On Low Carbon... Marc Rosenbaum |
![]() Interesting and effective projects with good details on the implementation. Well worth following. |
Energy
and Solar Advice from Tom Gocze
|
![]() This link is to some of the columns he has done for the Bangor Daily News and Hot and Cold TV. The advice he gives is honest, technically correct, and pragmatic -- quite a relief given all the BS out there on renewable energy. The columns are well worth taking a few minutes to read. |
Good News: Average Family Cuts Home Electric Usage in Half | ![]() Way to go Ed! Full Story ... "I actually stopped moaning about the rates for 5 minutes and did something to reduce my electric usage." |
The Carbon Buster's Home
Energy Handbook, Godo Stoyke, 2007
Available from New Society Publishers... |
![]() The author lists many potential projects in all areas of energy use, and provides cost, rate of return, energy saving and carbon saving for each. It is done very much like my Half program listed above -- highly recommended. Available at the usual book places $13. |
Solar Electricity at
Home..., Kevin Johnson How to get articles from Home Power ...
|
![]() This is quite an amazing story. Kevin details how his family has 1) cut their transportation energy use to about 5 KWH per day by using an electric vehicle conversion, and 2) their home electricity use to about 5 KWH per day through conservation. All of this energy is supplied by all of this energy is supplied by a 2.9 KW grid tied PV system. |
Iver's Energy Saving Projects
|
![]() This is a good rundown on a set of energy saving projects that Iver did. They are all fairly simple, but they really add up. Iver recently estimated that his energy saving per year come up to $3018 per year at today's energy prices! |
"Lazy" approach to
conservation still works
http://cameronmiller.net/energy-savings/
|
![]() The approach may be lazy, but his gas bill is still down about 40%! |
Audited by Power Company for
Low Power Use
www.csmonitor.com/2006/1130/p13s01-sten.html
|
When Ray Janke took some simple steps to
reduce his electricity consumption, the power company audited him
because they thought he might be bypassing the meter.
Wouldn't that be a nice audit to go through :) |
Full Energy Efficiency
Farmhouse Renovation Mike Rogers Home Energy Magazine |
![]() The house posed several difficult to overcome problems in retrofitting insulation. Includes a fairly detailed description of a technique for installing exterior wall insulation. |
800 to 80 kwh in four months
http://www.rmfdevelopment.com/energysa.html#littlemoney
|
A great story on how one couple reduced
their electric bill dramatically, along with quite a bit of detail
on the methods used. Ryan has since moved to WA state, and is writing an account of overhauling his home into an energy efficient home. |
The Land of Rising
Conservation, NY Times
|
![]() Good NY Times article explaining why per household energy consumption in Japan is less than half the US. |
Saving Electricity Site -- Succes Stories | There are some good stories on this
page, with some good and specific suggestions.
Its a good all around site on understanding how to save electricity. |