It’s finally ‘winter’ in Philadelphia. I think we’ve actually broken a record low this year for having over 4 consecutive days under 40° in November. Coupled with the state of the economy, what better time to start saving money by conserving energy? There are some simple things everyone can do whether you rent or own your home to cut costs and your carbon footprint.

If you rent, what utilities you pay for may factor in to how you think about energy. Each situation is a little different depending on how your landlord has the utilities partitioned, but these are some common examples based on the apartments I’ve lived in. These factors are also applicable to homeowners, though there are some more advanced aspects of owning a home which factor into energy usage and I will list these later. Compact fluorescent lightbulbs and energy-star appliances such as toaster ovens and microwaves can all cut down on your electric bill. Plug your ganged electronics such as TV, DVD, stereo system, computer, etc. into power strips and turn the power strips off when these items are not in use; anything that has a digital clock or little glowing LED light simply indicating that it’s plugged in constantly consumes power even when not in use. There are also two new types of power strips on the market that eliminate the aspect of unplugging by reducing idle current: Wattstopper and Smart Strip. The Wattstopper uses an occupancy sensor to control 6 of the 8 outlets which turn off when not in use, while the Smart Strip has three groups of “smart” outlets that sense whether the device is on/ off and mitigate power flow accordingly (always on, switched depending on whether the device is on/off, and a control that links to the switched outlets). Both are available online, but if you know of a local store that caries these please post it in the comments.

Weatherproofing your doors and windows is a good way to eliminate heat loss. To start, close your glass storm windows if they’re provided. You can also pick up some plastic weatherproofing at your local hardware store and secure it with the provided double-stick adhesive strips around the perimeter of your windows, then shrink-tight with a blow-dryer; this will add an extra layer of draft-stopping and insulation in those older Philadelphia homes. You can also add draft-stoppers under doors; they’re easy to make out of things you probably have around the house, or you can buy them online at Amazon. There are additional ways to weatherproof that are more permanent so I will discuss these in the homeowner section, but these additional tips may be useful if you’re motivated and you have a decent relationship with your landlord and can get reimbursed for repairs.

The temperature setting on your hot water heater is another form of heat loss, or rather energy wasted on heating water beyond a reasonable temperature. Residential hot water temperatures should ideally be 110°- 120°F or ‘medium’ – often times they have been set higher than they need be, consume more energy, and waste additional cold water while you try not to scald yourself. Play around with the temperature if you have access to your water heater and find the temperature that’s right for you. These guidelines may also be useful.

There are also some more tedious energy-savers depending on how much effort you want to expend. Keeping your refrigerator/ freezer full helps maintain a steady temperature through the contents’ mass and therefore uses less energy to sustain a cooler temperature (you can also fill soda bottles/ milk jugs with water to add extra mass). Using a dish pan or a glass/ bowl filled with soapy water to rewet & rinse off your sponge while scrubbing dishes instead of keeping the water running also conserves hot water.

There are also things that may not factor in to what you actually pay for monetarily, but impact the environment. Wash your clothes in cold water instead of hot; I have been testing this over the past year after reading an article that indicated clothes would get just as clean. I use plant-based biodegradable liquid detergent by Seventh Generation that is formulated to work in cold water, as well as their chlorine-free bleach, and I have found that there really doesn’t seem to be a difference between the cleanness of clothes washed in hot versus cold water. A number of companies have cold water detergents, so be sure to look for this on the label. (Note: I’m not a particularly messy person, though I am a bit messy in the kitchen, and I don’t have kids getting mud, grass stains, and whatever else they can find to grind into clothes, so if you’ve tested the cold water method in these situations please tell me about it in the comments section.)

Faucet aerators are yet another great way to save water (including hot water). These have a rated flow imprinted on the side, which should read 2.75gpm (gallons per minute) or lower. If your faucet doesn’t have an aerator installed, check to make sure there are threads just inside the faucet to ensure it will be able to receive an aerator. These can reduce water flow by up to 50%. Additionally, you can look for low-flow shower heads (either aerating or non-aerating) that reduce water flow without reducing pressure. You can also conserve water by collecting cold water wasted while waiting for your hot water to come out of the faucet and save it to water your plants. Calculate your water footprint and learn more ways you could conserve.

Lastly, putting non-recyclables in with recyclables wastes energy because these items eventually have to be sorted out at the recycling plant in order to go back to the landfill.

Homeowners:

Additional ways you can invest more money to save you more in the long run include the following:

• Insulate your walls to prevent heat loss in the winter & heat gain in the summer (look into cellulose insulation)

• Insulate your hot water pipes to minimize the amount of water loss while waiting for hot water

• Weatherproof your windows - do it yourself

• Invest in a solar hot water heater

• Look into low-flow plumbing fixtures like toilets, dishwashers & wash machines

• Research energy-star appliances such as your refrigerator, dryer and range

• Build a rainwater collection system for irrigation and/ or domestic use, and look into graywater systems

• Use solar powered outdoor & landscape light fixtures

As our focus on sustainability increases, this list will continue to expand. Please feel free to add input in the comments section on ways that you save energy that are not listed above.