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The Summer Nemesis
of Energy-Efficiency
Efficient Alternative Energies for Green Homes
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Energy
efficiency has a nemesis each summer in Texas It takes the form of
your air-conditioner. In
the typical North Texas home, air-conditioning uses more electricity than
any other item. It sometimes uses more energy than all other items except
heat and hot water combined.
While that air conditioner is delighting you with cool, dry air, its
wicked partner, climate-changing carbon dioxide, slinks around our state
from the plants that produce electricity. This
partner not only affects your health, it also keeps both hands deep in your pockets. The
average Texas home is a carbon dioxide machine that becomes more expensive
to cool each summer! Save dollars and a bit of the planet by initiating
the following four very inexpensive or free steps for saving electricity. 1.
Block the sun. The best way to cool your house is to keep heat from
the sun out of your home. If you cannot block the sun any other way, place
tall potted plants (banana plants grow quickly) between the sun and all
but north windows during the late spring, summer, and fall. Move the
plants as necessary to stay between the sun and your windows. 2.
Use fans. If your home does not have ceiling fans, buy floor fans.
Do the math: A floor fan uses about 100 watts on high speed, ceiling fans
use 15 to 95 watts (depending on speed and size), and a 2.5-ton central
system uses about 3500 watts. Fans work by blowing heat away from your
body. This makes you feel cooler, although the air is not actually cooled.
Remember to turn your fans off when no one is in the room as the fan motor
contributes slightly to the heat in the room. 3.
Replace your filter often. Use a pleated filter--the thicker the
better. Your AC unit works much harder and uses more electricity when your
filter is dirty. 4.Turn
your AC off. Try turning your air-conditioner off when you leave home
for even an hour. Heat gravitates to cool, meaning your home
continually heats up, is cooled off, then heats up again. When you return
home, turn on your ceiling or other fans and your AC. The air movement will make you
comfortable while the house cools off. If your home will reasonably
"keep its cool" while you are gone, this is a "free" way to save
kilowatts and money. 5. Reduce humidity. When your home is humid, you are not comfortable. Down goes the thermostat. 6. Cool your attic. The hottest weather in Texas can be found in your attic. Cool that oven that sits on top of your ceiling. Another way to use negawatts rather than megawatts. DFW
Green Building For
further information about Renewable
Energy or this area of Texas
contact Terry
Jensen Renewable Energy & Green Services
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