Share your energy/resource saving tips

[henrypie]

Nakypie,
Your idea of putting solar panels on every Walmart is beautiful.  The stumbling block with solar, in a nutshell I think, is VOLUME.  Sheer volume is how that kind of energy source, as well as wind, can be viable.  And people seem not to be so good at envisioning, or envisioning paying for, a massive-scale "test."

[Giancarlo]

I don't see why more people aren't pushing nuclear fusion. It is basically a cure-all. It produces virtually unlimited energy. Far more then nuclear fission.

[ednbarby]

Expand your comfortable temperature range

For some people, the only comfortable temperature range is from 65 F to 75 F (or something like that).  Anything below that, the heat has to be on.  Anything above that, the A/C has to be on.  It’s not uncommon to be in places where it’s too hot to wear sweater during winter or so cold that you need a sweater in the summer.  There is nothing wrong to dress according to the seasons.  I am not talking about that you have to wear a coat indoor during winter, but a sweater is nice and fitting.  Same goes for summer when we want to wear short sleeve shirts, skirts, shorts, etc.  The problem with central A/C building is you don’t even know how to adjust the temperature. 

The point is if we can all be a little bit more tolerate to the comfort temperature range, a lot of energy can not saved from all the heating and cooling.  I have lived 20 years without A/C.  It’s a shame to think that now I can’t live without one during hot summer days.   It’s so easy to adapt to the convenience and comfort, and it’s almost irreversible.    If I must use one, I will try not to use it that frequently. 

There are many tips in terms of how to use A/C most efficiently, like don't leave it on all day, turn it off at nights, etc.  But the bottom line is we need to get ourselves out of the mentality that we can only live in 71 F (which I heard is the most comfortable temperature for the human being) all year long.

This has been a tough one for me, because I'm one of those most-comfy-at-71F types.  Living in Florida has been a challenge, needless to say.  It's a good thing for our environment that my husband *so* hates the cold and soaks up the heat like a lizard.  He's quite happy setting the thermostat at 77 F.  We keep it there and on auto during the day, and turn it down to 75 and auto at night - just for me, I'm ashamed to say - he'd be perfectly content to lie there in a semi-sweating state, himself.

We also try to only run the washer, dryer and dishwasher at night (not during peak usage times), we water our lawn only at night and only as sporadically as we can get away with, and although our pool has a heater, we've only run it so far for a few days this past "winter," then covered our pool with a solar cover ever since, and the thing was up to 86 F in March while everyone else was swimming in 72 or 73.  And that's too cold these days even for me.

[Giancarlo]

You know what I've been hearing? Don't believe the power companies. One of my good friends has an uncle who is working for a local power plant here in the San Fernando Valley and it is running under-capacity at something like 65-70%. The power companies are even selling excess power to other states. Rolling black-outs and this "power crisis" may not even exist. Anyone remember Enron and what they did in California?

[nakymaton]

Vermont launches "Cow Power": http://www.cvps.com/cowpower/index.shtml

I love it. Methane (aka natural gas) is also a greenhouse gas (though it clears out of the atmosphere faster than CO2 does), so by generating electricity from the methane in cow manure, they're taking on the problem from two different angles at once.

[henrypie]

Go Vermont!

[ekeby]

I heard a tip recently I'd like to pass along. Instead of filling your car's gas tank, put in half. The extra gasoline adds weight to the car, thereby reducing efficiency. I doubt it saves much, but I've been doing it.

My old Passat has a fuel use computer. Driving around the small town I live in, according to the car, I'm lucky to get 5 mpg. When I thought about it, I realized most of my local errands could be done on a bike, so I got one. Takes a little longer, but it won't be long before the bike will have paid for itself.

I'm surprised about the fans vs. AC thing. Luckily, here in Wisconsin, we only have a few of those killer hot days a year. So I just "stand it."

[henrypie]

I've thought about the fans vs. AC thing too.  I think it's awesome that Nipith found a harmonious solution for himself, but for my house, I don't think it would work.  We have one fan each in the front hall, living room, office, bedroom and den -- two down, three up.  We turn them on to circulate air in the rooms we're currently in, which I think is the most efficient arrangement considering the number of rooms we use.  But I tell ya, as agonizing as it is to be without AC during the hottest, say, five days of summer (God willing we've had our five), it is so nice to be in touch with the weather -- to wake up in the morning after the heat has snapped and feel a coolness in the air, and to have the windows wide open to the breeze.... mmm, there is nothing better.  I admit, my body has a loose, relativistic idea of what comfortable temperatures are.

[starboardlight]

for a house, if you own, installing a whole house fan is actually really good way to conserve energy. Installed on your upper most floor, the high pressure fan will circulate the air of the entire house. We had one when I lived in Georgia and I loved how much cooler it felt. Even if the temperature is up in the 90's, just having air circulating makes a huge difference. It's definitely an alternative to an AC.

[silkncense]

I love it. Methane (aka natural gas) is also a greenhouse gas (though it clears out of the atmosphere faster than CO2 does), so by generating electricity from the methane in cow manure, they're taking on the problem from two different angles at once.

Love that idea too - the is SO much & the ranchers simply 'pile' it up

Nipith - What exactly is a "whole house fan"?