Riverpoint Writer
Energy Alternatives
Katt Goodson
Sc300
June-11, 2013
Christine Snyder
Energy Alternatives
The United States leaves a huge carbon footprint through energy use, this can be reduced by: building energy efficient homes, reducing motor vehicle use, and recycling more. Some energy related activities were the lowering energy costs in the home. People sometimes think this to be hard but here are some good steps to follow to make it seem it easier. Reset the water heater thermostat, people do not always realize that most water heaters heat water to a set temperature and then hold it there, meaning that throughout the day and night the water heater cycles on and off, just maintaining that already set temperature. If we were to go the water heater and lower the setting a few degrees it can often save half as much energy and the chances are turning down the temperature won’t even be noticeable to most members of the family. Another way to lower energy costs in the home is with a programmable thermostat for heating the home. Just like the water heater maintains a set temperature even when it is not being used a thermostat does the exact same thing for your entire home. When we are just letting it cool off (or warm up) when there is no one awake can save energy and money as well. By letting the house cool on its own and not turning up the thermostat this can save you money. This change will usually pay for itself in around three years. We also have attic and wall insulation where there is a difference between the indoor and outdoor temperate, the more energy this will take to maintain a temperature of comfort in our homes. By adding insulation between the indoors and the outdoors we are reducing the energy demand. This of course depends on where you live, because the savings from insulating your walls and attic could almost double the savings. This will pay back in 3 ½ years to 12 years Then we have the replacement of the refrigerator much like our water heater a
Katt Goodson
Sc300
June-11, 2013
Christine Snyder
Energy Alternatives
The United States leaves a huge carbon footprint through energy use, this can be reduced by: building energy efficient homes, reducing motor vehicle use, and recycling more. Some energy related activities were the lowering energy costs in the home. People sometimes think this to be hard but here are some good steps to follow to make it seem it easier. Reset the water heater thermostat, people do not always realize that most water heaters heat water to a set temperature and then hold it there, meaning that throughout the day and night the water heater cycles on and off, just maintaining that already set temperature. If we were to go the water heater and lower the setting a few degrees it can often save half as much energy and the chances are turning down the temperature won’t even be noticeable to most members of the family. Another way to lower energy costs in the home is with a programmable thermostat for heating the home. Just like the water heater maintains a set temperature even when it is not being used a thermostat does the exact same thing for your entire home. When we are just letting it cool off (or warm up) when there is no one awake can save energy and money as well. By letting the house cool on its own and not turning up the thermostat this can save you money. This change will usually pay for itself in around three years. We also have attic and wall insulation where there is a difference between the indoor and outdoor temperate, the more energy this will take to maintain a temperature of comfort in our homes. By adding insulation between the indoors and the outdoors we are reducing the energy demand. This of course depends on where you live, because the savings from insulating your walls and attic could almost double the savings. This will pay back in 3 ½ years to 12 years Then we have the replacement of the refrigerator much like our water heater a
References: Recycling Energy: http://energy.gov/articles/recycles-energy-yields-super-saving http:// energy.gov/articles/living-comfortable-consumer-s-guide-home-energy-updates http://www.epa.gov/climatecahnge/Downloads/ghgemissions/US-GHG-Inventory-2013-Chapter-3-Energy.pdf http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/usinventoryreport.html