Share your energy/resource saving tips

[JennyC]

The movie “An Inconvenient Truth” regenerated the discussion of global warming at work, at home, and among friends.

Nipith recently posted this under “The person below me” thread

almost true. for the longest time, I refused to get an AC, so i was running fans every summer. this year, I broke down and got an energy star AC and guess what, my electric bill is less than when i was without it, and this year's been hotter than the last two. hrm! all that suffering and I was wasting more energy! The AC is great, it's keeping my loft comfortable, but not entirely cool.

the person below me knows to defrost their freezer every so often to keep it running efficiently.

I was happy to know that Nipith ended his suffering by finally installed the A/C.  LA can be HOT in summer.  At the same time I was happily surprised that the A/C actually consumes less energy than the electric fans.  What a win/win situation!    He also mentioned the tip with freezer.

Fast rewind to maybe 5 or 6 months ago, I listened to a NPR’s program on global warming.  Some callers were asking where they can find things that they can do in their daily life that help save energy, hence help conserve the environment.

All these things got me thinking about what are the things that we can do in our daily life to be environmental friendly.  Some may be very obvious to us, some may be not; some are easier to be adapted in our life style, some are not.  It would be nice to know what you know and/or have being doing to save energy/resource.  We don’t aim to be those extreme environmentalists (though I admire their passion and dedication).  But we probably don’t mind to give up a little bit convenience/comfort to help saving some energy/resource.

So please share with us your tips, practice on saving energy/resource or being environmental friendly.  Other than the tips, tell us a little bit of your experience/story/comments, because 1) that makes the thread more interesting to read  , and 2) it can help others to decide if they can apply your tip/practice in their life.

[JennyC]

To kick off this topic, I will share one.

During summer, park your car in a shaded area if possible

Most people at where I work like to part their cars as close to the building as possible (this is probably true everywhere).  The building is facing west, so some spots get nice shade in the morning, but are in full sun during the afternoon.  There is a parking lot that is not immediately connected to the building that has big trees on two sides, particularly on the west side. Because it’s a tiny bit of walk to the building (but really we are talking about the difference of 1 minute walking to the front door), you almost never see any cars park there.  I like to park there during summer because 1) I don’t have to worry about someone accidentally hit my car when they open their door, and 2) my car is nice and cool when I leave for the day comparing with other cars that are under the hot sun for over 8 hours.  I will say there is at least 30 F degrees difference inside the cars parked under the shade vs. not under the shade.  I don’t need to use A/C for my trip back home.

I am sure most people don’t mind that extra 1 minute walking at all.  It seems that the thought of keeping your car cool by parking in a shaded area does not cross their mind at all.

[starboardlight]

did you know that all the adapters for your various gadgets consume energy even when your gadgets are not plugged into to them. For example, you cell phone adapter continue to consume approximately 60 watts/hour even when you don't plug your cell phone in to charge. Same goes for printers, scanners, pdas, etc. If they're not in use, keep the adapters unplugged. I know 60 watts is minor, but it can add up if enough of us do it.

also, it's best to do your laundry consecutively in one day, instead of on different days. the residual heat from the dryer means the dry use less energy to heat up for the next load.

[henrypie]

I harvest water from the dehumidifier in the basement and from washing salad greens to water the tomatoes, annuals and all indoor plants.

We use rechargeable batteries.  We also make it known that family, friends and neighbors can give us their used-up batteries -- we take them to hazardous waste disposal sites.  I fear that vast numbers of people don't know that they cannot throw batteries away -- i.e. into a landfill.

On driving: I don't accelerate to a red light.  I also don't drive fast just for the hell of it.  The faster you drive on the highway, the more gas you burn per mile, period.  I keep it at 65 or below, unless I'm having a PLC (personal lateness crisis).  I do not leave my car idling, for any reason.  (I also drive a hybrid, so it tends to turn off for me.)  I don't know the exact math, but I've heard that generally, a minute's worth of idling uses about the amount of gas needed to start the engine.  I also know that in some countries I've visited it's illegal to leave your engine idling in cab lanes, airport queues etc.

I absolutely adore this thread, Jenny.

[JennyC]

did you know that all the adapters for your various gadgets consume energy even when your gadgets are not plugged into to them. For example, you cell phone adapter continue to consume approximately 60 watts/hour even when you don't plug your cell phone in to charge.

I didn't know that adapters still consume electricity even if the gadget is not plugged in.  Good tip!  My cell phone adapter is coming off the outlet tonight! 60 watts/hour may not be a lot, but why let your money wasted, err?

also, it's best to do your laundry consecutively in one day, instead of on different days. the residual heat from the dryer means the dry use less energy to heat up for the next load.

I am doing ok on this one not because I realize that it saves energy, but too lazy to do laundry everyday.     Guess you can not use this tip if you don't have enough cloth to change.

We also make it known that family, friends and neighbors can give us their used-up batteries -- we take them to hazardous waste disposal sites.  I fear that vast numbers of people don't know that they cannot throw batteries away -- i.e. into a landfill.

I didn't know that, or rather didn't really think on that even when I saw the warning sign on the batteries.  Does anyone know exactly why batteries are hazardous waste?  Because they may explode?

I absolutely adore this thread, Jenny.

Thanks Sarah, I love your tips!  Keep them coming.

[JennyC]

Print longer document on both sides of a sheet

I know my husband’s office printer is defaulted to print on double sides.  Some older printers, however, do not have that option.

When send out document for people to review, I normally add a reminder that they may want to print it double sided if it’s longer than 40 pages.

If you have to have a hard copy of a long document (I know sometimes I do as I need to make notes), try to have it printed or copied on both sides of a sheet.

[henrypie]

Hi Jenny!
I believe batteries are hazardous because they leach metals into the groundwater.

Now, I did just read that not all alkaline batteries (AA in your tv remote for example) are classified as hazardous.... car batteries, silver oxide, nickel-cadmium, and others definitely are.  Because of my doubt in general (and fear that even those not classified as hazardous might in fact be), we take them all to hazardous waste drop-off day.  We go maybe once or twice a year.


Here's another tip, not a major revelation or anything:  turn off the light!  In general.

Another thing I do which some might consider nasty or taboo, is to group toilet flushings.  Especially in the summer heat, it is NOT a good idea to wait too long before flushing; however, at bedtime, for example, when my husband and I go through the toothbrushing and peeing routine, we both go and then flush.  Barring anything out of the ordinary, mind you.  I also try to remind myself, when doing anything inconvenient, time-consuming or oddball in order to save resources, that we have it SOOOO much easier than most of the people in the world.  Compare consolidating toilet-flushes with not having plumbing at all and an open sewer running between your shantytown and the neighboring one.  I'll take consolidating flushes, please.


Oh!  And on paper.  I rarely use virgin paper.  For all drafts, all in-house memos or copies to be filed, I use scrap paper.  I work in a music library; people fill the recycling bin next to the copier very quickly with scrap.

Oh!  And bags at the grocery store.  Now this gets me in a real knot, and thank God for automated checkout, which reduces the chance that I'll have to convince a vacantly-staring minimum-wage cashier.  I bring my own bags, and I let the checker-outer know immediately not to use any bags; just send it all down and I'll bag it, I say.  The waste of blue plastic bags is very upsetting to me.  Cashiers double-bag unless you ask them not to; if they pull a bag off the rack and then don't use it, they throw it in the trash.  This is reason for a letter to Safeway or wherever because I know they're trained to double-bag.  What would be really cool is if they could be trained to use their judgment for heavier bags.  That doesn't seem likely.

[Jeff Wrangler]

I accidentally, or unintentionally, saved myself a lot of money on my electric bill when I bought a new refrigerator.

When I bought my condo, it included the original, 1973-model refrigerator. When I bought a new fridge just because I wanted to get rid of the old one, I was amazed at home much my electric bill dropped.

Other things that I do that I hope help are:

1. Only run the dishwasher when it's full.

2. Do as much laundry as possible in cold water.

3. Absolutely no paper plates! I also use cloth napkins.

[starboardlight]

Oh!  And bags at the grocery store.  Now this gets me in a real knot, and thank God for automated checkout, which reduces the chance that I'll have to convince a vacantly-staring minimum-wage cashier.  I bring my own bags, and I let the checker-outer know immediately not to use any bags; just send it all down and I'll bag it, I say.  The waste of blue plastic bags is very upsetting to me.  Cashiers double-bag unless you ask them not to; if they pull a bag off the rack and then don't use it, they throw it in the trash.  This is reason for a letter to Safeway or wherever because I know they're trained to double-bag.  What would be really cool is if they could be trained to use their judgment for heavier bags.  That doesn't seem likely.

I'm fortunate to have Trader Joe's near me. They're all over SoCal, actually. But the one near me promotes people bring their own bags. They will give you a chance to win a weekly drawing each time you shop and use your own bag. I have a canvas bag that I bring with me every week. I haven't won anything yet, and with my luck, I probably won't ever. Still I'm glad that they promote not using wasting bags.

2. Do as much laundry as possible in cold water.

something I never knew until a friend of mine told me. Most major brand detergents use enzymes to help break up the dirt and oil in your clothes. Just read the active ingredients on your detergent box, it'll say "enzyme". That enzyme actually is broken down when you use hot water and become ineffective, so they work best in cold water, actually. Using cold water is not only more energy efficient, but will get the best out of your detergent.

[Jeff Wrangler]

I didn't know that about the enzymes in laundry detergent. I just started to wash as much in cold as I could as an energy-saving measure--at least, I hoped it would help save energy.

The hot water is supplied as part of my condo fee, so I thought if I did as much laundry as possible in cold water, it might help with energy saving.

However, I admit that I haven't been able to overcome my mother's training that "whites," like sweat socks and underwear, must be done in hot water!