Easy Being Green: Get Out of Your Hybrid Car and Into Your Green Home 10/14/2010
Is it easier to be green than it was when Kermit the Frog sang his legendary song “It’s Not Easy Being Green”? It seems like everywhere you turn, people are trying to be more “green” or environmentally conscious when comes to how they conduct their everyday lives. If you’re one of those people who drive your Toyota Prius to the market with your reusable bags as a way of decreasing your carbon footprint, here is something else to consider: greening your home.
Did you know that the average family spends around $1,900 a year on home utility bills? And, a lot of that energy is wasted through inefficiencies in your home, which is both bad for you and the environment. Of course, there are little things we can do like keeping the heat on a lower temperature and putting on a sweater, installing LED light bulbs, and installing low-flush toilets.
But if you’re looking to further green your life, there are some more significant improvements that you can make to your home overall that can help reduce your energy consumption, decrease your energy bills, and even increase the value of your home.
- Install home lighting control systems – According to a white paper produced by the Energy Conservation Enhancement Project at Louisiana State University, “20% of all electricity produced in the U.S. is used for lighting, but 50% of that is wasted by inefficient lighting sources or careless consumers.” One of the main benefits of home lighting control is the potential energy savings.
- Install an energy monitor – By installing an energy monitor, the average consumer could save around 15% to 20% on energy bills per year. Energy monitors can provide you with daily, weekly, and monthly usage reports, make recommendations on ways to decrease your energy usage, and move you one step forward in minimizing your carbon footprint.
The Smart Home Green + Wired, an exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry Chicago, demonstrates some of the latest technologies that are out there for making our homes greener, more efficient, and more cost effective for consumers.
Here are some of the key features:
- A sophisticated automation system allows homeowners to operate the home’s temperature, lighting, and entertainment features from touch-screen panels.
- An energy monitoring system tracks, in real time, the amount of energy being generated by the home’s solar film and 45-foot wind turbine. Homeowners can track their energy consumption and, with an Internet feed of energy pricing, calculate the savings to be gained by adjusting power usage.
- The kitchen countertop can wirelessly power a blender or charge mobile devices.
- An air purifier with a sleek, high-tech look scrubs the indoor atmosphere with a minimum of watts.
And to think, you can control all of this energy efficiency from your iPad.
Certified Connection is the premier provider of custom-designed home control systems and home theaters to residential and commercial customers.
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