To some people, the kitchen is the best room in the house. However, it also happens to be the biggest energy user. The U.S Department of Energy states that cooking, lighting, and refrigeration account for about 41.5% of your home’s energy consumption and saving your kitchen’s energy efficiency is essential. Add electronics, dishwashers, and a couple of other appliances and it becomes an environmental hot spot. If you’re looking to improve your kitchen’s energy consumption, here’s how to go about it.

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Use Appliances with Energy Star Labels

When buying a kitchen appliance, look for the energy star label. Many appliance companies are making energy-efficient models these days. These appliances add to the aesthetic appeal of your kitchen while helping you to save energy. They are usually 10 to 20 percent more efficient than other appliances. If you are on a budget and unsure about getting new appliances, look for retailers who offer reasonable financing options.

Image by: Inge Romsée

Replace Your Light Bulbs with Energy-Saving Ones

Traditional light bulbs can wreak havoc on your energy bill. Replace them with compact fluorescent lights which fit in standard light sockets and use less energy. They create less heat and save more energy from cooling costs. You can also incorporate more natural lighting by installing tabular skylights. They are relatively inexpensive and give the room a considerable amount of light.

Image by: Karen Dominguez

Check Your Range Hood

A poor range hood does not ventilate properly and ends up creating a hotter kitchen which results in higher cooling costs. Ensure your range hood is cleaned frequently and works properly. Check it regularly to ensure it vents to the outside and does not vent or recirculate into the attic. Hot air that is directed to the attic is bound to increase your cooling costs.

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Run Your Kitchen Differently

If you can’t afford to buy new appliances, there are several ways you can make your kitchen energy efficient with the existing appliances. Start by turning down the temperature on your freezer and refrigerator by a few degrees. When using the dishwasher, make sure it is completely loaded to capacity before running it. This ensures you use it fewer times and save more energy in the long run.

There are many steps you can take to ensure your kitchen is more energy efficient. While some may take time to implement, they offer long-term ways to reduce your home’s energy consumption.

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The cooler fall weather is upon us! And as a typical early fall season tends to go, the nights and mornings are cool and the afternoons get hot. With these daily fluctuating temperatures, how do we keep your home energy efficient? Here are just a few tips to keep you and your home at just the right temperature this fall without breaking the bank.

Keep windows open or closed for fresh air:

Since the evening and early morning hours are the coolest at this time of year, it only makes sense to open your windows nice and wide at night.  I hear you, what about security? Well, consider just opening your upper floor windows while you sleep, allowing for fresh, cool air to come in while keeping the house safe and secure at the same time. (Keep an extra blanket near your bed, in case you get chilly in the middle of the night).  Make sure to close your windows and drapes around 10 a.m. before the afternoon heat sets in. This will ensure your home retains the cool air for as long as possible. The best thing about this plan? You can avoid turning on the costly air conditioner!

Line Dry Your Clothes:

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Yes, it seems old-fashioned, but line drying your clothes is not just for Grandma.  Our Grandparents did this because it was financially efficient.  Take advantage of these nice fall days and hang your clothes out on the line. After all, the sun is free!

Seal Your Windows:

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Sealing your windows is one of the simplest and most cost-efficient ways to make your home more energy efficient.  Inspect all your window and door frames for cracks or openings. Simply seal these cracks with a Low-expanding foam sealant. This will keep your doors and windows free of those chilly fall and winter drafts.

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Change Your Filter:

Another simple home efficiency step is to change your furnace filter on a regular basis, allowing for proper air flow through the ducts.  You may also want to have your heating system inspected and cleaned before the real chilly days of winter begin.

Use these tips this fall to save energy in your home on Stagetecture.

The long summer days have already come to their close. The fall season has officially started, as it is the beginning of September. As the temperature will gradually go down from now on, you should start thinking about conserving energy in your home. While keeping the inside of your house warm without losing money on your energy costs.

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Utilize Natural Heat

If you have south-facing windows in your house, keep the curtains open during daytime to take advantage of the heat from the sun. Natural sunlight is a natural solution to keeping a place warm during the cooler days. While keeping the windows open at day, close them at night to reduce the chill from cold weather.

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Adjusting the Temperature

Save the heating bills by adjusting the temperature of your house. Set the thermostat at a comfortable low level when you are at home and awake. When you are outside of your home or sleeping, you can set the temperature to 10-15 degrees. This little action will save nearly 10 percent on your cooling and heating bills in a year. If you find it irritating to change the temperature again and again, buy a programmable thermostat to make the job easier.

Cut on Fireplace Heat Loss

When you are not burning a fire, keep the fireplace damper closed. Warm air goes right up to the chimney through this damper. A heat-air exchange system and tempered glass doors in the fireplace will also bring the warm air back into the room. C-shaped metal tube-made grates will draw the room’s cold air into the fireplace and flow warm air back into the room.

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Seal the Leaks

Check your house to find any air leak around utility cut-through and seal it. Energy loss occurs through leaks made by cut-through for gaps around chimney, incomplete spaces behind closets and cupboards, pipes in wall, and recessed lights in insulated ceilings. Doors and windows may have leaks too. Seal them with chalk or weatherstripping.

Use Wood

Wood can be a very good element to prevent the energy loss of your home during the cold days. Take out the curtains or blinds of the windows and use wooden shutters instead because they help to insulate. Besides saving energy, they also add elegance to any space.

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Using wooden shelves is another effective way to save energy. Place these shelves above the heaters and radiators. Hot air from heaters and radiators usually goes straight up to the ceiling instead of spreading through a room. However, shelving above a heater or a radiator will prevent hot air going upward and help circulating it out and into the room. Place the shelving at least one foot above the heater or radiator to avoid a fire.

Numerous ways are there to save energy during the cold weather. Find out what will be convenient for you to do and apply them on your house.

For more green living ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

Before the rising temperatures and summertime energy bills start to make you sweat, you might want to take a fresh look at your energy consumption. While there are many ways to shave dollars off your monthly bills, such as upgrading to energy saving appliances or selecting high-grade windows, these are certainly not affordable options. Let’s take a look at how you can easily reduce your summer energy bill without shelling out dollars on home upgrades.

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Window treatments

Just like you use window treatments to keep the heat in during winters, you can also use it to effectively lock the cooling from air conditioner during those warm summer months. Hang heavy window drapes to keep the house cool by not letting in the heat. Also, make sure that windows and walls of your house aren’t leaking air. If so, seal up those leaking areas with weather stripping tape.

Ceiling and window fans

When trying to save money on your electricity bill during summers, it’s sensible to limit the use of air conditioners as much as possible. Fortunately, fans can go a long way to reduce the temperature of your house as well as the units of your utility bill. If you do not have them installed, consider investing in them for long-term benefits. Well placed fans will allow you to set the A.C temperature up to 4 degrees higher due to proper air circulation.

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Turn off the appliances

Yes, this one is old, but the most effective. Turning off those appliances will defiantly save you a lot when done right. It means not just putting your P.C on sleep mode, but completely turning it off. Same goes for other appliances such as television, music system, and other home electronics. Unplug them, for better results. If the weather allows, consider opening the windows and allow the natural light to come in, instead of keeping artificial lights on during the day. All this will help you save 10-20 percent energy on your yearly bill.

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Saving energy on your utility bill is easy if you know where to make cuts. Use these simple and affordable tips to drastically reduce your energy bill and your carbon footprint.

For more ways to save energy on Stagetecture, click here.

It feels good when you know that you’re living green; that you and your family are making every effort to conserve the environment. When it comes to matters of being green, many people assume that it is going to be boring and that your kids will hate it. As much as there is some truth in this assumption, you can do it differently in a fun and exciting way. The tips below will help turn your house not only into a happy home, but also into a green one.

Landscaping

It is widely known that proper landscaping will add into your home’s energy efficiency. Simply said, it will provide shade in summer and insulation during the winter months. The EPA recommends planting trees that lose leaves on the southern and western sides of your house.

To make it more fun, take your whole family out and let each member choose the plants that they would like to plant. Everyone should then take care of what they chose and as they keep growing, it will be fun for them when they realize that their home is eco-friendly because of their individual effort.

Image via: Jeffrey Gordon Smith Landscape Architecture

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Tankless water heater

Do you do a little dance as you wait for the shower to heat up? What you should note is that when doing this, you waste the escaping cold water and also waste the energy used to heat and reheat water in the tank.

As a replacement, look for a tankless water heater for your family. This only heats the water that is needed as it goes through a coil. This does not only save you energy; it also saves your whole family that terrible time in winter when they have to wait, seemingly for ages, for that water to heat up.

Eco Challenge

How about doing an “eco challenge” with your family? Here, you inform your family about different ways in which they can make your home more eco-friendly. Apart from the ones above, other methods that you can teach them include insulation, recycling, planting some food and making homemade apple pies among other ideas. The reward for the challenge should be simple’ any money saved will be given to the one who implemented the idea and they can use it to buy cool stuff.

How about doing an “eco challenge” with your family? Here, you inform your family about different ways in which they can make your home more eco-friendly. Apart from the ones above, other methods that you can teach them include insulation, recycling, planting some food and making homemade apple pies among other ideas. The reward for the challenge should be simple’ any money saved will be given to the one who implemented the idea and they can use it to buy cool stuff.

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These tips will help you to have a great time with your family as you maintain an eco-friendly home. Each family member will have a sense of contribution and it will be easier for them to make green living a lifestyle. Not only will they have an environmentally friendly home, they will also have some cool new rewards and a great relationship with each other.

For more green living ideas for your home, click here.

If you are decorating or renovating your home then you should really consider the ways that you can make your home a little greener. Reducing your carbon footprint is beneficial for the whole world, and a nice little bonus is that it will save you money in the long run too.

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Here are some top tips to get a green home:

Install solar panels

Solar panels are a great way to be greener as they help you to use the sun’s natural power to fuel your home. This means you use less generated energy which cuts your carbon footprint and saves you money on your bills. An increasing number of people are using solar panels and having them fitted and they are even beginning to be seen as attractive features on a home because they offer so many wide ranging benefits.

Insulate your home

Being green is all about efficiency and insulating your home is a great way to become heat efficient. The less heat you lose the less you have to buy so this is another effective way to save money and energy, thus helping the environment. This means you should insulate your attic and any other part of your home where heat is lost.

Fit draft excluders

Draft excluders are another good way to save heat, energy and therefore money. You can find a selection at www.barrier-components.co.uk that, fitted to your doors, will keep your home green and keep the draft out. This is a simple measure but an effective one.

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Buy low energy light bulbs

By simply buying some low energy light bulbs you can make your house a little greener immediately. This is an inexpensive way to help the environment, even though low energy bulbs do cost a little more. The bonus is that they last much longer than the cheaper traditional bulbs.

Invest in double glazing

Double glazing is a slightly larger investment but then again it is one that pays you back. Like solar panels double glazing saves you money over time and because it reduces energy wastage is starts benefitting the environment straight away.

Replace your boiler

If you have an old boiler it could be kicking out emissions that you could cut out by swapping it for a newer model. Nobody likes to buy a new boiler but doing so really does help the environment. And like we said, being more efficient also saves you money so everyone is a winner.

For more green living ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

Are you tired of the soaring electricity bills during summer? Are you looking for a way to save your air conditioning bill? If you answered yes to the above questions, here are some tips that will help you save energy and have a lower your air conditioning bill.

1. Cool down your surroundings

Before you get into the house, make sure your exterior is cool. One of the effective methods of cooling down the yard is through planting trees and large shrubs. These will naturally reduce the air temperatures, provide shade and reduce water evaporation.

Image via: Shelly Harrison

Some of the trees that you can consider include Hybrid Poplar and the Weeping Willow. If you’re looking for fast growing trees, then go for Bald Cypress, Box Elder or the Chinese Tallow Tree among others.

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2. Adjust your thermostat

A programmable thermostat is ideal for a centralized ac system. This kind of thermostat makes it possible for you to set your in-house temperature during specific hours of the day.

You can therefore decide to set it off when there is no one in the house. This can also be done at night since the outside temperatures are generally cooler. If used correctly, the programmable thermostat can help you save a whopping $150 on your energy bill!

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3. Use blinds and curtains

Studies by the California Energy Commission show that the window lets in 40% of the excess heat in your house.

This is a huge percentage to ignore.

Therefore, simply arranging blinds so that they reflect light outside the window will help reduce these solar energy effects. Additionally, you can opt to shut the curtains that face the south or west during the day.

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4. Keep your AC air filter clean

Something as simple as ensuring that your AC filter is clean will help you save lots of energy; whether you use an individual air conditioner or a centralized air conditioning system.

If your filter is dirty and clogged, its efficiency will be lowered and in turn it will use double the energy. Therefore, make sure you check your filter regularly and keep it clean.

Looking through the above points, there is no need for you to spend a lot on your energy bill this summer. These are simple tweaks that may help you to make huge savings. Therefore, go ahead, implement them and use your energy savings for a worthy cause.

For more green living ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

The prospect of adopting a green lifestyle has become rather trendy over the past several years. The result of this surge in popularity has been promising; more and more people are spreading the word about environmental awareness and urging consumers to take control of their future via the products and services they choose to support. Of course, this has changed the market for such consumer goods, raising production and lowering costs so that nearly everyone can now afford to make at least a modicum of change in their own lives on the eco-friendly front. And when it comes to your home, there is no shortage of ways to cut your carbon footprint and jump aboard the eco-friendly bandwagon. But before you get started, you might just want to take the time to consider what you’ve currently got going on in your home. Here are just a few tips to help you make such an assessment.

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What level of eco-friendliness is your home? 

Your main difficulty with looking for ways to determine the relative eco-friendliness of your home is knowing what is considered green and what isn’t. Often, homes employ some environmentally sound practices without even realizing it. For example, you probably conserve energy to some degree, simply because it is economical to do so. If you tell the kids to turn the lights off when they leave a room and you’ve set your computer to go into sleep mode when inactive for a few minutes, then you are practicing an eco-friendly activity and saving energy within the home. That said, most modern homes are not inherently geared towards environmental preservation. So the first step towards making an assessment could be to start following green blogs so that you can begin to get an idea of the scope of green living.

Conserving Energy & your Carbon Debt

Once you’ve started to understand the many ways in which you could transform your home to make it do more for the world around you, it will be a little easier to make a clear assessment of just how high your carbon debt is. From there you can begin to consider upgrades that will help you to conserve energy (CFLs, programmable thermostat, energy-star appliances, tankless water heater, etc.) and water (low-flow toilets, aerated faucets, drought-resistant landscaping, and a gray water system). And you can start to look at the products you bring into your home every day, like the food and clothing you buy for your family, as well as furniture and housewares.

Image via: Catherine Monaghan of Kitchens Southwest

Of course, remodeling and repairs will also provide you with the opportunity to turn over a new leaf since you can replace outdated goods with greener items. You might install organic or recycled-fiber insulation and double-paned glass to cut down on your need to generate hot and cold air. Or you could use reclaimed hardwood for cabinetry and flooring. Some products, like your furnace and AC unit, may even allow for a transfer of warranty so that the chain of title allows the homeowners after you to continue to benefit from energy-saving models for years to come. Although it’s not always easy to turn an objective eye on your lifestyle, it’s important to do your part to protect the environment, especially when you own a home and you have total control over how eco-friendly your property is.

For more green living ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

Home energy efficient investments are a wise way to reduce your energy bills and cut back your environmental impact. Although it is always worth considering clean, self-dependent energy generation, such as installing solar panels, there are many more affordable ways to make your home more green. You don’t have to spend a lot to start saving money. For example, you could start seeing your utility bills fall if you simply…

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Plant shade trees around your home

This mainly applies to older homes that have relatively poor quality windows and insulation. By planning some good landscaping, you could save energy, as shade trees can really help to keep your home cool in the summer months and warmer through the winter.

Shade trees and shrubs, particularly deciduous trees will not only brighten up the exterior of your house, but the foliage will also block infrared radiation from strong sunbeams in the summer that would lead your house to heat up. The bare branches in the winter let this radiation come through to help warm your home in the colder months.

Install a programmable thermostat

Programmable thermostats are a great way to ensure that you are not wasting energy needlessly on excess or unwanted heat. These thermostats are affordable and can be purchased from around £50 – £100. Not only do they allow you to control the temperature in your home much easier but also they can help you save even when you are away.

You should always turn the heating or cooling off in your home whenever you leave, just as you would turn off the lights when you are not using them. If you have a cooler system installed in your house, then turn the temperature on the thermostat higher when you are leaving your home in warmer months, otherwise just turn the heating down throughout the year whenever you’re gone. This little extra control over your heating can help you save considerably on your bill.

Change your incandescent bulbs 

Traditional incandescent bulbs are notorious for wasting energy, with only 2.1% of a 100-watt bulb producing light, and the other 98 watts being wasted on heat. Not only does changing these bulbs with energy efficient alternatives mean you have to spend less money replacing them, but it is also good for the environment.

Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and LEDs such as domestic LED lighting from the LED Lighting Depot and other online retailers, are a much more affordable solution. LEDs use at least 75% less energy and last up to 50 times longer than traditional bulbs, and CFLs use only 27 watts to generate as much light as a 100 watt incandescent.

The U.S. Department of Energy predicts that if more households use LED lighting alternatives in the next two decades, then it will prevent the need for 40 new power plants. This small change will also reduce electricity demand by 33%, resulting in around £172 billion being saved in lighting costs.

Choose greener appliances

Using appliances comprises around 18% of a typical households total energy bill. Older fridges are one of the worst appliances in terms of energy consumption. In the last five years, refrigerator efficiency has greatly improved so new models, especially those with Energy Star ratings, can cost only around $30 – $60 per year to run, compared to $50 – $150 to keep an older fridge running. Replacing this may be initially costly, but the amount of money you will save over the appliances lifetime will end up paying for itself and more.

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends you replace any appliance that is more than 10 years old with an Energy star rated, energy-efficient models. These will use between 10% – 50% less water and energy than standard products. These appliances also make a huge difference to the environment, as the EPA predicts that if just one in 10 households used these energy efficient appliances it would be the equivalent of planting a huge 1.7 million acres of trees.

For more energy efficient ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

Are you interested in cooling and heating your home in an eco-friendly way? Most people have never heard of a geo-exchange, and even those who have may not fully understand how the system works. There are pipes under your house, right? And they bring the air up into your home? That’s the basic gist of it, but the inception is a bit more complex. What you really need to know is that this alternative form of heating and cooling your home is an eco-friendly option that allows you to cut your electrical use significantly. And although it is expensive to install (especially after your house has already been built), it can save you a ton of money over time, all while helping to make the planet a little cleaner. Here are just a few reasons you might want to consider installing such a system in your home.

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Save energy.

The main reason most people opt for a geo-exchange over a standard HVAC system is simple: it cuts energy consumption by a significant margin. In fact, people generally notice that they require only about a third of the energy to run a geo-exchange that they needed for their old heating and cooling system. The reason is because the system rarely needs to heat or cool. The ground under your home tends to remain at a fairly steady temperature thanks to heated ground water, so the majority of electricity used by the system is simply to pump that air into your home. This way you only have to heat or cool your interior air slightly in order to achieve the desired temperature. And the incentive, of course, is that less energy is being drawn from the grid, reducing the pollution and waste that go hand-in-hand with power production.

Lower utility bills.

As a nice bonus to decreasing your energy consumption, you’ll notice that your electric and gas bills drop, as well (depending on the type of heating and cooling systems you had prior to switching). When you only need about a third of the energy you were using before to heat and cool your home, your monthly utility bills will reflect the change.

Stop CFCs.

Chlorofluorocarbons are created by the products used as refrigerant in most AC units, and they are responsible for creating holes in our ozone layer. Luckily, the government has limited the use of these harmful products, but if you want to cut back even further, a geo-exchange gives you the opportunity to drastically reduce your contributions to depleting the ozone.

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Regulate temperature more easily.

Ground temperatures vary from place to place, but they tend to fall somewhere in the range of about 45-75 degrees Fahrenheit. What does this mean for the temperature in your home? The geo-exchange pumps this air into your home to set the base temperature. Suppose, for example, that it’s below zero outside and you’d like your home to be a balmy 70 degrees. When you’re heating your home from a base temperature of 50 rather than 0, you can see how it would take a lot less time and energy to do so, and how it would be easier to maintain. In addition, you won’t suffer the same spikes and drops as with a regular HVAC system, leaving you hot and cold in turn.

Reduce particulates.

No matter how often you replace filters in your furnace and AC unit, you’re still blowing air through ductwork that gathers dust, spewing all kinds of potential allergens into your interior space. By using a geo-exchange you can limit your use of standard heating and cooling methods. If this reduces allergy symptoms for you and your family, it may be worth it.

For more eco-friendly ideas on Stagetecture, click here.