Housing accounts for 20% of total US energy use with heating and cooling consuming a whopping 44% of residential energy use. US Energy Information Administration predicts heating oil, electricity, and natural gas will cost 2% to 10% more this winter.

Brought about by high fuel costs, single-family homes built with environmentally friendly features surged to 16% last year from 2% in 2006 according to McGraw-Hill Construction, a market research firm in New York. The cost of green homes are approximately 2% to 10% higher than a typical home.

Roadmap to lowering home’s energy cost

The following areas are the best bets for lowering your energy bill. The list is sorted in order of the best methods first.

1. Sealing air leaks in your walls, windows, and duct work. $400 possible savings
2. Adding attic insulation. $200 possible savings
3. Adjusting your thermostat 5 – 10 degrees lower at night with a low programmable thermostat. $200 possible savings
4. Turning off electronics and other items that suck power constantly. $120 possible annual savings
5. Switching to a modern Energy Star dryer. $40 annual savings
6. Switching your windows to double glazed units with low emissivity (low-E) coatings. 20 year payback time

Working with your local Utility Company

Your Energy Bill arrived and it is way to high. You can start by asking your energy provider to check your meters accuracy, but you will have to do detective work to really save money. Our local utility, PG&E, just announced another energy rate increase for 2010. You can go green and save money by following our energy saving tips.  This is an overview of the many energy saving tips we have covered over the years along with links to detailed articles.

In the San Francisco Bay Area most PG&E customers have tiered energy pricing (E1 Residential Pricing plan) that starts at 12 cents, but jumps to 14, 29.4 cents, 40.4 cents and 40.4 cents as you use more power. An average home in PG&E’s territory ends up paying 29-40.4 cents/KWHr for more than half of their electricity usage. This type of pricing encourages energy conservation. Baseline quantities are set within a range specified by state law and approved by California Public Utilities Commission. This figure can vary by geographic location.  Over the last 25 years, PG&E rates have increased by 4% a year. This makes saving energy much more important to reducing your energy bill.

Energy Monitoring

How can you save energy without knowing you have reduced usage? The Kill a watt or Killawatt is a low cost energy meter that can show you how much energy your appliances use. For serious energy savers, the TED 5000 Energy monitor also helps to measure energy use. It is very advanced, featuring connectivity to an iPhone app. Power company Wireless Smart Meters have extended some of these power measuring capability to more folks.

PowerCost Monitor WiFi Gateway is another power gadget for the technology savvy geek. This WiFi unit wirelessly relays information about your electrical usage to your computers.

See how much energy you are using and optimize your usage to save money.

Federal Energy Efficiency Tax Credit

Be sure to also take advantage of the Federal Energy Efficiency Tax Credit. This Federal tax credit can save you money in addition to your utility companies’ promotions. It applies to many items including: Wind Turbines - GeoThermal Heat Pump – Solar panels.

Heating & Cooling

Weatherize your home, Caulking, weather striping, thermostats, fixing any air duct leaks are easy to do. Window treatments and Window UV Films help prevent heat loss and buildup. Set your thermostat to come on before you get home and before you wake up. Set heat to off when you are gone. Be careful when using your fireplace because they can be polluting.

Keep your furnace maintained and replace any dirty filters. Heating and cooling systems work less efficiently when air filters are dirty. Save Energy by replacing air filters with new ones.  Filters costs about $10 and should be replaced serveral times a year.  We’ve seen figures of less than a year for  payback.

If you have allergies, be sure to get more expensive filters that capture dust and pollen.

Closing off more than 10% of vents in unused areas wastes energy because it causes your furnace to run inefficiently. The U.S. Department of Energy reports that most U.S. homes have over-sized HVAC systems, so make sure you buy the right size unit.

Seal up your light switches and outlets to prevent drafts.

Get a home energy audit to help find your problems. They use blowers that will detect areas causing heat loss.

Lighting

Switch to Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs or CFLs to save a bundle. Even more efficient LED Lighting is coming on strong.

Light up for the holidays with Eco Friendly Holiday Lighting – LED Holiday Lights

Appliances

Refrigerators and washing machines / clothes dryers use the most power in most homes. Reduce Refrigerator Energy Use by setting them correctly.

Wash Clothes in Cold Water to save energy.  Optimize your Energy Efficient Dishwasher. Avoid pre-rinsing dishes. Energy rates are lowest between midnight and 7 AM in most areas, try to use your appliances during those early hours.

Computers

Set your Mac – PC to sleep or hibernate after of inactivity. There are tutorials on how to do this and free software. Use a smart power strip as wall warts draw power even when nothing is on. No need to buy a new PC or operating system to save power. Also consider installing a Digital Timer to control the smart power strip. These work well with your Cable/DSL modem, router, and wireless networking equipment.

For Notebooks and Cell phones: Extend Battery Life, Laptop Battery Life, iPhone Battery Life

TVs

People are realizing their TVs eat a ton of power. California’s CEC is proposing new power rules for TVs. When purchasing, try to buy a green LCD TV. You can optimize your TV set’s power use by making sure all energy saving options are on and that the picture is not set to the energy draining “Torch mode” setting used in stores to show off the brightest of pictures. Also use a smart power strip as wall warts draw power even when nothing is on.

Water

Water rates are sky rocketing.  Save water in your bathroom and kitchen. Check your sprinkler system for leaks. Buy an advanced sprinkler controller that uses weather or soil information to adjust watering times. Switch to native drought tolerant plants.

Solar

It is a great time to go solar.  The Federal 30% Tax Credit is now uncapped. Panels are more efficient than ever.  A solar system can pay itself back in 7-10 years.  There are no money down leasing options that drop your monthly bill and require no large initial outlay. Solar Panels require a little Maintenance and cleaning.

Swimming Pools

Pool and spa pumps and heaters use the most energy in homes, making them a critical area for saving energy. Cover your pool with a vinyl cover, not a solar blanket. You’ll reduce the water evaporation, chemical usage, and lower the time you need to run the pool pump.  Newer variable speed pumps run longer but at slower speeds, reducing power use. Upgrade to one when your current one fails. Install a solar pool heater system, they work great.

Ways to Save Money and be green

WSJ.com had an article with 10 ways to save money in these tough times. Having the amount of money saved made it more interesting. Most tips will save you green while making you more green. We have covered many in the past, but it always good to review. Some, like re-doing your own lawn will take more effort. Lawns use 50-80% of a household’s water. Flowers use less water, gravel and pathways use zero water.

Making your own lunch instead of buying out, $1460 – $3650 savings is pretty big. Probably better health wise too. Just cook a little extra the night before. You are cooking right?

TVs use a lot of energy, they are the #3 energy user in homes. There are several ways to reduce your TV’s energy use and many things to look for when buying a new flat panel TV. My old TV used 350 watts when running full bore, while my new set uses a fraction of that.

You can easily optimize the picture settings of your TV and reduce your energy bill and save money.  Most TVs are set so they are optimized with high brightness and contrast levels to ‘look good’ or deliver wows in a TV store.  The brightness and colors are cranked way up or set to what is known as “Torch Mode”.  You can set your TV to optimal image settings and save money in the process.

Always set your TV for Home use, not for Store use. Set your TVs mode to one called Standard, Cinema, or Movie. Avoid modes named Dynamic or Vivid. Turn the brightness and contrast down to an acceptable level.

Our Sony XBR LCD TV has a Power Saving setting you can set to OFF, Low, High, and Picture OFF.  We set this to High. It also has a PC Power Management setting to have the TV save energy when there is no signal. Newer Sharp LCD TVs when first turned on, ask whether they will be used in retail stores.

Amazon has a section with low power consumption TVs.

Power Consumption of HDTVs

CNET has a good description of how they test power usage.  After they calibrate the set to optimal setting, it almost always uses less power.  A top rated Pioneer Plasma TV used 40 less watts of power when calibrated.  This translates to $13 or more a year power savings. Use a Killawatt to measure before and after power use. People have save $30 to $60 a year with picture adjustments.

If you are buying a new HDTV, be sure to look for a green LCD TV. Energy Star 5.0 standards went into effect in 2012 and requires less than 1 watt of power usage when the TV is off and  has a formula for maximum energy use based on screen size. The latest specification lowered the amount of power an Energy Star HDTV could consume from the previous 4.0 standard. Look for the latest Energy Star logo on any TV you purchase.

• 50″ and 60″ TVs can only consume 108 Watts (Energy Star 3.0 allowed 318Wand 391W!)
• 42″ TVs are limited to 81 Watts
• 32″ TVs are limited to 55 Watts

LED Backlit HDTVs

Newer LCD HDTVs utilize lower power consumption LEDs to light their display instead of older fluorescent based TVs. We recommend consumers to shop for this type of LCD for the maximum savings to your energy bill. The best LED backlit HDTVs have local dimming technology.

Make sure the mounting apparatus on your LCD or plasma TV is secure. Make sure other furniture such as book cases are moved away from the flat screen TV so children cannot climb and reach the TV.

Use a smart power strip so the TV cannot draw phantom power or vampire power while it is off.

Eco Friendly OmniMount Omnilite Mounts

Looking for a mount for that new flat panel TV set? OmniMount has a new Omnilite series of flat panel mount.  Both the product and the packaging are made from recycled materials.  It has condensed packaging and streamlined hardware kits.  Manuals and installation templates for each product will be printed on the inside of the box, eliminating paper.

Energy Star Controversy

ConsumerReports.org has an article that raises issues with the Energy Star Rating system.  The EPA responded to their article, then ConsumerReports.org posted a response.

Our take is that it is great that more products become Energy Star Certified. It shows that industry cares and is moving in the right direction.  As with any standard, it needs to be updated regularly to address changing conditions, something the EPA is slow to do.

The program is being improved so manufacturers will no longer be able to certify their own products. Energy use testing will be done by a 3rd party certified lab.

So many products qualify for Energy Star rating that they may want to make the criteria more stringent.  Test procedures should be updated to stay with the times.

California Flat Screen TV Power Guidelines

The California Energy Commission has passed new rules for TV sets. In 2013, it would save 6515 gigawatts of power a year, reduce greehouse gas emissions by 3.1 million metric tons annually, and save you $18 to $30 a year. This would affect the entire nation as electronics companies will not want to make special sets just for California.

This would affect sets 58inches or smaller and would mandate that televisions sold in California would consume 33% less energy by 2011 and 49% less energy by 2013. For example, a 42 inch screen would consume 183 watts by 2011 and 115 watts by 2013, and a 36 inch screen would consume 148 watts by 2011 and 95 watts by 2013.

More than 1,000 models already meet the 2011 standard so buy a set on this list.

Upgrading your Cable Set Top Box

When was the last time you upgraded the box you received from your local cable company? Newer boxes need to meet the more stringent Energy Star 3.0 specification, resulting in a 40% energy savings. Contact your local cable company and get upgraded

Unwanted cell phone, computer, or other electronics? You could sell it on eBay or Craigslist. Freecycle is a site that helps connect donors with recipients.

If your electronics gadget is broken, try fixing it first.

Amazon has a new electronics trade-in program.

Best Buy just started a new Buyback Program where you can get a gift card for bringing back items that you have purchased from them.  One caveat is that you need to pay extra to enroll in this program, although there is a promotion where it is free right now.  Return your notebook or TV or smart phone within 6 months and get 50% back, get 40% back if you wait up to one year, and so on.  This is a great program for people who don’t sell items on eBay,  where you could get more money, no doubt.

Costco has a new electronics Trade-In & Recycle Program powered by Gazelle. Another way to rid yourself of unwanted items.

Costco’s Trade-In & Recycle Program now puts more money in your wallet. Responsibly trade-in electronic gadgets (such as laptops, cell phones, LCD monitors, digital cameras, MP3 players, gaming systems & more) for Costco Cash good for anything in Costco warehouses or at Costco.com.”

How much do you get?  We checked the value of a Canon SD1000 digital camera. They list it at $41 for one in good condition with all accessories. Used ones had been sold for $70 to $100+, so you are paying a hefty premium to use Costco’s convenience.

Places like TechForward sell Guaranteed Buyback plans for electronics. Lock in a future trade-in value on your gadgets.

Not worth it?  Recycle your electronics responsibly.