Green tip: Home Energy Audits – since my last writing I’ve had the opportunity to follow an energy auditor as he walked a house, and needless to say it was very enlightening and worthwhile. While everyone may not be able to afford a professional audit ($200 – 400), there are certain things you can do to improve your home efficiency and save money:
Insulate – check your attic and if there is less than 12 - 15” of insulation, you need more (goal is R50). Feel your exterior walls and see if they’re considerably colder (during winter) than the air in the room and check behind some electrical outlets for insulation, if you don’t find any insulation and the walls are cold, then get some insulation blown into them too (goal is R11 or better). You can insulate an entire house for just a couple thousand dollars and there are state and federal rebates to help you out. Expect to make your money back in 5 – 9 years and to be much more comfortable in the meantime.
Fix air leaks – on a windy day, slowly move a lit stick of incense around your windows and doors and watch for where the smoke does weird things, this’ll help
you find your air leaks, next step is to caulk and weather-strip to close them upCheck your hot water heater – if it has a tank and is over 10 - 12 years old, you should probably get it replaced or at least check it regularly (monthly) for rust (look for rust flakes under the flame bowl or rusty water stains on the floor) – when purchasing a new one, consider going with an on demand hot water heater (tank less) which costs about 3 or 4 times as much, but will last twice as long and be twice as efficient, not too mention that you don’t need to ever worry about running out of hot water
Check your furnace – get it professionally serviced every 2 - 3 years and change the air filter every couple months during winter, also ensure your duct work is sealed very tightly
Lighting efficiency – use CFL’s instead of old incandescents, preferably ones with less than 3mg of mercury
Refrigerator (most energy consuming of appliances) – replace your fridge if it’s over 15 - 20 years old
Additionally, for those in the Denver area, I’d like to recommend the energy auditor I used, George Scott (720 979 4960), and let you know that he’ll give you a $25 discount off of his normal $225 price if you mention my name. As he’s the only energy auditor I’ve observed, I’m unable to make a judgment as to his effectiveness vs. other auditors, but I can promise you that he’ll do a good job and the money will have been well spent. And in case you were wondering, no, I’m not getting a kick back.
And just as many of you are excited about tomorrow’s inauguration, so too am I. May the next four years bring a better economy, a greener economy, more peace, more compassion, more hope, more truth, and more happiness for all of us, and for the world.
“Society is like a stew. If you don't keep it stirred up you get a lot of scum on the top.” - Edward Abbey
Life tip: Stay positive. Many people are going through tough times, be it economically, health-wise, love-wise, but remember that tomorrow
the sun shall rise anew and that your life is only as bright as your outlook.“For money you can have everything it is said. No, that is not true. You can buy food, but not appetite; medicine, but not health; soft beds, but not sleep; knowledge but not intelligence; glitter, but not comfort; fun, but not pleasure; acquaintances, but not friendship; servants, but not faithfulness; grey hair, but not honor; quiet days, but not peace. The shell of all things you can get for money. But not the kernel. That cannot be had for money.” - Arne Garborg
Wishing you beauty & bliss
