Environment California Makes Greening Home Simple

New Website Helps Homeowners Go Green, Save Green

Environment California

Sacramento — Celebrating Earth Day, Environment California released a new guide designed to help Californians green up their homes and save money at the same time. The web-based guide, Plug into Clean Energy, gives consumers simple tips for improving the energy performance of their homes and workplaces, lowering energy bills and reducing air pollution.

“Going green can be simple,” said Bernadette Del Chiaro, clean energy advocate with Environment California. “This guide is designed to help families cut through the clutter of information and pick the green home improvements that are right for them.”

Environment California’s Plug into Clean Energy resource center will give homeowners a simple, step-by-step guide to improve energy use in buildings, from lowering the thermostat in the winter all the way to installing rooftop solar panels. The center also provides information on the most energy-efficient household appliances and links to local, state and federal programs that can help residents invest in energy conservation and clean energy systems.

America’s buildings consume more than 40 percent of our total energy, which amounts to almost 10 percent of all the energy used in the world. Much of this energy is wasted due to inadequate insulation, inefficient heating and cooling systems, and poor construction techniques. But off-the-shelf technologies can reduce that energy waste dramatically, lowering energy bills by as much as two-thirds.
 
“The best part about making energy efficiency improvements is that they allow customers to save money while also helping protect the planet” said James Quazi from Solar City, a full service provider of solar and energy efficiency services. “Homeowners are frustrated by rising energy costs and motivated to make their homes healthier and more efficient.  We allow customers to produce their own clean power with solar and decrease their use of dirty power with efficiency services like air and duct sealing, efficient heating and cooling, and water heating.”

Some of the tips suggested by Environment California include:

• Turn your hot water heater down to 120 degrees (or the “low” setting). If you have an older model, wrap the tank in an insulating blanket. Savings: $30-90 a year.
• Replace your old shower head with a low-flow model. This can cut the energy used to heat your water by 25%. Savings: Up to $145 a year
Replace incandescent light bulbs with CFLs to cut your lighting costs by up to 75 percent. Savings: More than $40 in electricity costs over the life of the lamp.
• Even if they appear to be off, “vampire appliances” can continue to suck up electricity. Plug appliances into power strips and turn them off when not in use. Savings: 5-8 percent of your home’s electricity use.
• For every degree you turn down your thermostat in the winter, you save 3 percent on your gas bill, and in the summer those savings are even greater when you turn up your thermostat and give your air conditioner a break. You can install a programmable thermostat to automatically implement those energy savings when you leave for the day. Savings: $180 a year.
• Invest in solar hot water heaters or solar photovoltaic systems to generate your own renewable energy and save even more money over time.

Environment California is also launching a public education campaign this summer to provide California residents information about opportunities to shift to clean energy. The guide can be found at http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/center/plug-into-clean-energy address.

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Environment California is a statewide, citizen funded environmental organization working to protect California’s air, water and open space.