Saving Energy Begins at Home II: Things You Can Do to Save Energy Costs

On a sliding scale, here’s what you can do to save money on energy—all kinds of energy, and not just utility bills. We’re talking gas costs, personal energy, etc.

Highest cost: solar panels, ordering homes built from scratch using energy-saving and heat-reflective materials (basically, you're paying your energy costs up front or financing them with your mortgage), and ordering cars made to burn exotic and not-very-available fuels, live in an underground home out in the middle of nowhere, refurbishing an old missile silo to a home for your family (sure, you’ll be out of the elements, but the transportation costs for contractors, materials, inspections, and maintenance calls alone would make this a non-starter, since most silos are waaaaay out in the boonies), individual traditional wind turbines, finding and purchasing DC voltage or other alternative appliances, such as a propane refrigerator (see AC to DC conversion below), converting your gas-powered car to run diesel fuel—this requires a whole new engine, buying brand-new vegetable oil off the shelf for using in bio-diesel-powered cars, individual vertical wind turbines, garden shed-sized nuclear power plants for the back yard, and I’ve run out of ideas.

High cost: retrofitting existing homes down to the studs, installing on-demand water heaters, hybrid cars (insurance costs, potential future battery replacement, and payback time relative to gas savings), installing a septic tank (to avoid sewer bills), drilling a well (to avoid water bills), moving large established trees to block sun and wind, installing a metal roof to reflect the sun’s heat from your home, converting your home’s electrical system from AC power to DC power to run solar panel-powered appliances, having a gray-water system installed in an existing home, buying and using an incinerator toilet (no sewer line needed), buying and using a wood-fired cast iron stove (the stove alone will set you back big time, not to mention the wood), purchasing a pellet stove, buying and retrofitting homes with the Obama-approved windows for the tax credit, and I’ve run out of ideas.

Medium cost: choosing more energy-efficient appliances when buying (see Part 1), replacing old bulbs with CFL ones, replacing windows and doors with tighter-sealing ones, purchasing and using a 7-day programmable thermostat, purchasing cars that run flex-fuel or biodiesel (compared to the price of hybrids, natural gas, or hydrogen cars), adding insulation to existing areas, retrofitting yards with water-efficient plants and heat-reflective materials, planting large trees in the path of summer sun and winter wind, buying a new bike for commuting or chores, purchasing (just purchasing) an on-demand water heater (installation is VERY expensive—see above), purchasing and installing window, door, and patio awnings to shade them from heat, buying and using a composting toilet (no sewer line needed), purchasing a wood stove, and I’ve run out of ideas.

Low Cost: using car windshield screens in your home’s windows to block light (better than drapes or blinds any day!), 5-day programmable thermostats, water heater jackets, caulking, moving existing small and medium trees to block summer sun and winter wind, taking public transportation, buying a used bike for commuting or chores, using tinted or blackout window film (if you rent, check with your landlord first), maintaining an appropriate car tire pressure, keeping your car clean and waxed, tuning your car for better mileage rather than performance (if you do your own work), use rain barrels or other methods of collecting/rerouting rain and runoff water to make better use of it, installing a gray-water system in new home construction, using low-flow faucets, shower heads, and toilets, buying flow restrictors for existing plumbing fixtures and outdoor hoses, buying a kitchen timer for showers, buying and using a microwave or toaster oven instead of the big oven, using an existing fireplace (although carbon emissions may make this one a goner), buying pellets for a pellet stove, chopping your own wood for a wood-burning stove (from downed trees, discarded furniture, crates and pallets, etc.), gardening—this one saves more energy than you’ll know in “upstream” costs and energy consumption (processing, field maintenance, crop transport, crop storage, field labor costs, etc.), scavenging used fryer oil from restaurants for bio-diesel (the costs are mainly in driving around looking for it, then transporting it home), and I can’t think of anything else right now.

FREE: choosing to do without a few things (like bread—this eliminates the need for toasters and a whole host of other foods), gathering information to make better purchasing decisions (especially appliances—bling isn’t cheap when it comes to energy usage), rethinking future purchases with an eye toward longevity and fewer plastics (those demand oil), better route planning to avoid pinball-type driving around town, keeping and using a price book for more concise food spending, using the old UPS trick of planning routes with no left turns to avoid idling at stop signs and red lights, carpool for shopping as well as commuting, getting your gas at warehouse stores with pumps, use fewer “one-use” items like zip bags, paper towels, napkins, paper plates, and paper cups, wash and reuse plastic cutlery and zip bags, using a faucet water filter instead of buying bottled water, time kitchen events opposite of the weather by doing dishwasher runs, washer/dryer runs, and cooking/baking when the outside temperature goes down—these usually coincide with UTILITY OFF-PEAK HOURS (call your utility companies to be sure), cook/bake in batches and freeze the excess for later use, choose clothes that won’t need to be ironed and won’t heat the house (and you) with this need, shorten the shopping list, shorten the activity list (after-school and work-related), pick a thermostat temperature and stick with it—no more thermostat wars (a programmable thermostat will do the adjusting for you), sell your second (and/or third) car, creating your own version of “human-powered” transportation (i.e., drag the bike out of storage, or find your old rollerblades), do all of your non-food shopping at thrift stores, yard sales, or other venues that don’t include stores with brand-new items, buy in bulk (and this means EVERYTHING—cosmetics, shampoos, whatever you use on a regular basis), using an existing timer for showers, buy cosmetics that aren’t petroleum-based (this creates demand for oil by the cosmetic manufacturers, who then pass the price onto you), dropping your trash off at store dumpsters or construction site dumpsters to avoid a garbage bill (this may be illegal—check your city laws), deciding to downshift in dwelling size and contents (so you don’t have to heat and cool new-found wasted space), ignoring the Joneses, asking for your car mechanic to tune your car for maximum mileage rather than performance next time you have work done, keeping crap off your roofs and trunk tops, keeping an empty trunk and back seat when you can, and my favorite ones of all: pre-planning/preparation of meals, and negotiation on price. Negotiation may not necessarily save you money on energy, but it will save money nonetheless.

AVOID AT ALL COST: Hypermiling—it’s dangerous and encourages law-breaking. You end up spending more time paying attention to so-called gas-saving maneuvers than you do to the road in front of you. Besides, turning your ignition on and off frequently wears it out, and coasting slows traffic behind you—a definite illegal move. If you incur a ticket doing these maneuvers, the cost of the ticket (not to mention any starter replacement) just ate up any gas savings you may have racked up.