The Loma Prietan
March/April 2001
Energy Saving Ideas
by Eric Reiter
Most energy goes to heat. Actually all energy gets converted to heat eventually, but most of your energy bill goes toward space heating. My wife and I developed a heat-door for our bedroom window, where heat retention is most important. We used foam-board, hinged at the top, a rope pulley lift system, and attached the curtain on it. We also used cardboard decorated with contact paper on our skylight.
• Insulation and directing your heat resources are the best investments for lowering a utility bill.
• Cold feet: If you work at a desk you can build around the leg space to create a box to trap in the heat. I use cardboard covered with aluminum foil and metal heat duct tape. Insulate the floor with carpet over a styrofoam board. Drape your jacket over your knees. Use a low power infrared lamp securely attatched so the bulb doesn’t contact anything, or a low power electric heater.
• Don’t bother with the fireplace; it is extremely inefficient and fouls the air. Forced air wood burning pellet stoves are recommended. An iron wood burning stove with controlled air intake can work well, if your neighbors don’t mind the smoke.
• Wear a hat; most body heat leaves through your head. Also, wear two layers of socks.
• Avoid cold drinks; warm drinks are a good energy investment for you.
• Early to bed, early to rise...
• A microwave oven is more efficient than an electric range because it directs the heat to the food more efficiently. Microwave and gas cooking can cost about the same.
• Convert to fluorescent, use compact fluorescent bulbs, and consider using fewer bulbs.
• Turn down hot water heater to “warm.”
• Don’t do the dishes... often. Tell your significant other you are saving energy. Let the dishes soak and accumulate to critical mass, then do them all in a batch. Wash all, then rinse all. It’s less work and saves hot water.
• Wash cloths in full loads and hang dry.
• If you have a separate freezer, consider not using it. If there is an extended blackout you might lose the food anyway.
• Turn off the coffee machine, computers, lights when finished.
• Fix leaky windows, ducts, faucets.
• Recycling saves energy.
For more ambitious home energy savers: If there are different rooms at home that are heated at different times, install another thermostat and a switch for each of them. Also, there should be good valves on the vents to direct the heat. If a forced air heat vent is located high in the room, a duct can help bring the warm air down. If you have a sunny window, installing a black 55 gallon drum of water can store solar heat for the night.
For business owners: If you turn off more lights
at night and perhaps hire roving spokespersons (security guards), it may
be a better investment for you and your company’s image, and it will
save energy for the state power grid. Also, individualized lighting at
desks instead of making it bright everywhere saves energy and may reduce
computer eye fatigue. Here is your opportunity to solve two problems at
once. For the longer term, this is the time to invest in passive solar
buildings and alternative energy.