In this instructable i will be going over some simple things you can do to make your house a more earth friendly place, and ways to help it run more efficiently. Going green is a key part in stopping global warming, and who knows you could save some money in the process!
Remove these ads by
Signing UpStep 1: Lighting
Switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs is one of the easiest steps towards becoming more efficient. All you have to do is take out all or some of your incandescent light bulbs and replace them with the newer compact fluorescent light bulbs. Studies have shown that CFL's use 75% less energy than incandescent light bulbs.
One of the only drawbacks to these light bulbs is the fact that they contain mercury. Though this is true, there is only and average of 4 milligrams of mercury in each bulb which is a very minuscule amount, and as long as the bulbs are intact they will not release mercury in to your home.
These particular bulbs are 26 watts that are equivalent to 100 watts of incandescent bulbs and last 5 years.
Another way to light your home is using natural sunlight through windows and skylights. Skylights can be very useful for high traffic areas or rooms that tend to be very dark. Instead of putting up a light fixture you may want to consider a skylight.
One of the only drawbacks to these light bulbs is the fact that they contain mercury. Though this is true, there is only and average of 4 milligrams of mercury in each bulb which is a very minuscule amount, and as long as the bulbs are intact they will not release mercury in to your home.
These particular bulbs are 26 watts that are equivalent to 100 watts of incandescent bulbs and last 5 years.
Another way to light your home is using natural sunlight through windows and skylights. Skylights can be very useful for high traffic areas or rooms that tend to be very dark. Instead of putting up a light fixture you may want to consider a skylight.
Visit Our Store »
Go Pro Today »
Check out this site: http://www.goldengadgets.com/LED-Light-Bulbs/c12/index.html
One user said he replaced all the light bulbs in the elevators of his business and saved $3,000 a year on electricity!
I too have drank the CFL cool ade to try and save money, but the bulbs I've purchased have lasted just as long as any incandescent I've used. I've already replaced a few and am holding on to the burnt out ones.
In retrospect, I pay more for bulbs now than I ever did, and because CFLs will be the dominant bulb in the very near future there will be more of them in landfills...but I'll save 50 bucks on electricity this year.
But LEDs are getting better and there are several major LED types coming up that have much better efficiencies and cost a lot less. Heat at the LED junction is a major problem but in the near future LED that run a lot cooler and have organic chemistry based methods will make the present LED pretty much obsolete. One estimate I saw put equivalent LED lighting at less $/Watt outputs as CFLs now on the market (one estimate was $3 for a 40 watt 110 VAC LED in 5 years). And they still project 50,000 hours on the life of the light. (When I see that all my CFLs will be recycled).
I've got 40 watt equivalent LED lights in my living room (they take slightly less than 5 watts to actually run) and use slightly less efficient CFLs elsewhere where I don't run the lights all the time. But the REAL "hog" for me is the florescent backlight for my 52 inch LCD flatscreen. I can feel the heat coming off that baby 2 feet away. THAT is where we could save a few bucks (and reduce energy consumption) when the new LED technology kicks in.
We humans are terribly inefficient when it comes.
A dishwasher is a short distance closed-loop water filtering system. It can be efficient and simple because it is not required to filter out body waste, agricultural toxins, oils and the myriad of other things that enter a municipal water treatment plant.
A dishwasher uses a limited amount of water over and over again. Once it is heated it stays hot so it's not constantly drawing hot water from your heater that loses a lot of heat on its way to your sink.