Ecoism is a spiritual philosophy focused on healing the Earth. Ecoism can be interpreted as religious environmentalism. Ecoism has it's roots in deep ecology.
Proponents of Ecoism are referred to as Ecoists. We feel that many people miss the link between energy and resource conservation, environmental stewardship and the consequences our actions have on society as a whole. We focus on empowering people with the realization that they do make a difference.
We have produced the following fact sheet to accompany an energy audit:
The average American family spends $1,800 per year on utility bills.
In most cases, utility expenses can be reduced 10-90%.
The least expensive changes often can make the biggest difference in cost.
The First Steps Are Free
1) Turn down the hot water heater to 115F (the most efficient setting is often indicated on the hot water heater adjustment dial with a slightly larger marked line positioned between the words "Hot" and "Warm").
2) Turn off lights when leaving a room. Keep fixtures clean to avoid the need for additional lighting or brighter bulbs.
3) In winter, set thermostat at 67F during the day and 55F at night.
4) In summer, set thermostat at 78F.
5) Turn heating or cooling off when you are not home.
6) Use energy saving setting on appliances.
7) Conserve water. Avoid watering outside in the middle of the day. Take a shower instead of a bath. Showers use half the water if water saving showerheads are installed.
8) Clean refrigerator condenser coils, and check door seals for leaks, once a year. Check for adequate clearance on all sides (from 4-6 inches, the more, the better). Try using a milder setting.
9) Air dry clothes. Nylon twine and two nails are all it takes to construct a clothes line between two fixed points (Note - Make sure the line is pulled as tightly as possible.).
10) Close heater vents, cooling ducts, and doors leading to unused rooms.
11) Repair leaks in toilets and faucets.
12) Close drapes and windows on sunny summer days (if you are operating an air conditioner) and after sunset in winter.
Improvements That Will Pay For Themselves Within One Year
1) Install water-efficient aerated showerheads.
2) Install water-efficient aerated faucet heads.
3) Install a programmable thermostat.
4) Plug air leaks in attic & basement and reputty windows.
5) Change air filter on heating and cooling unit regularly.
6) Insulate hot water heater.
7) Insulate first 3 feet of hot water heater pipes including cold water intake.
8) Install a compact fluorescent light bulb in most commonly used fixture.
1) Caulk leaks starting with the attic and basement.
2) Caulk around plumbing & electrical passages in walls and along foundation (include other visible gaps).
3) Weatherize doors and windows.
4) Seal and insulate heating (or cooling) ducts.
5) Have heating and cooling equipment tuned up every year or two.
6) Install insulating shades, storm windows, or add energy efficient films to existing windows.
7) Insulate hot water pipes in unheated basements or crawl spaces.
8) Paint your roof white or silver.
1) Caulk & Insulate foundation inside rim joist & foundation wall to below the frost line. Use R-19 insulation.
2) Insulate basement ceiling (or walls if the basement is heated in winter).
3) Increase attic insulation to R-38 rating.
4) Insulate walls where needed.
5) Install additional compact fluorescent light bulbs in most commonly used fixtures. Include outdoor lighting.
6) Consider timers or sensors for any lights continually left on.
7) Install a radiant barrier in your attic.
8) Consider solar hot water heating or passive solar design if remodeling. Electric hot water heating is least efficient, gas is second to solar.
9) Upgrade water heater, furnace, boiler, a/c and refrigerator to newer energy efficient models (it is now possible to downsize heating and cooling equipment since you have added insulation). Look for the EPA �energy star� rating when purchasing new appliances.
10) Install energy efficient windows (include awnings or trellises on west facing side).
11) Install water efficient toilets.
12) Plant a tree on the west side in front of the largest window.
1) Use power strips to stop electricity drains from vampire loads. Items such as TVs, VCRs, battery chargers, microwaves and computers can use electricity even when turned off. The power strip must have an on/off switch so the power can be completely cut when not in use. Electrical outlets with an on/off switch are another option.
2) Add a secondary glass or plexiglass hatch to skylight shafts. These fixtures often leak the most heat in the winter. The hatch is opened or removed to allow for ventilation in the warmer months.
3) Consider fuel mileage when buying your next car. Hybrid gas/electric cars are one option (68 mpg). Also, the GEO Metro gets 52 mpg. A car consumes more energy than any individual item in the home. Carpool or take mass-transit whenever possible.
4) Have your car tuned up regularly. Check tire pressure often, and replace air filter every year or two.
5) Eat a vegetarian diet as often as possible. It takes as much as 35 times more fossil fuel input to produce meat protein as it does to produce the same caloric value of vegetable protein.
6) Recycle and repair whenever possible. As a second option, donate reusable items to a local thrift store.
7) Use appliances off-peak to help your community (7:30 PM-6:30 AM). This measure reduces air pollution and eliminates the need to build additional power plants.
8) Consider a heat pump system to heat and cool your house. Heat pumps tap the ground for warmth in the winter and for coolness in the summer. Some systems can provide hot water as well.
9) Consider an energy and water efficient combined washer dryer unit. Contact equatorappliances.com or (800) 679-2628, local dealer- Candey Hardware; 1210 18th St. NW; (202) 659-5650. The 3600 model has an EPA �energy star� rating.
10) Use toaster ovens for small cooking projects.
11) Use under cabinet fluorescent (task) lights above kitchen counters. Task lighting in any room is a better option because your aim is to only illuminate the area of the room you are working in (e.g. a desk) using lower wattage lights.
12) Add insulated radiant barrier between radiators and outside walls.
13) Use a pressure cooker whenever possible to reduce cooking time.
14) Make sure your attic is properly ventilated without compromising the insulating quality of the ceiling below.
15) Install convection hot water heat traps if needed.
16) Consider rewiring older buildings and replacing old switches & outlets for higher electrical efficiency and to reduce the risk of fire or shorts.
17) Avoid flying on jumbo jets or other energy intensive long-distance travel. This could be your highest energy-consuming activity.
18) Buy locally produced organically grown food. Shop at health food stores, farmers markets and co-ops.
19) Plant a garden.
20) Make sure your stove is properly vented, especially in the summer.
21) Avoid using toxic cleaners, pesticides or other hazardous products.
22) Avoid over packaged products. Buy in bulk or economy size if possible.
23) Choose socially and environmentally responsible investment options (Green Century Funds is one option, greencentury.com).
24) Consider a smaller house, especially if the kids have moved out.
25) Avoid over processed, canned or frozen foods.
26) Use a ceiling fan to reduce heating and cooling costs (occupied rooms only).
27) Select products that have recycled content (e.g. - paper products & toiletries).
Research shows there are many ways that people can save energy and cut their utility bills. Many of the ideas are common sense and require little effort and little if any money to implement.
Common sense brings with it potential problems, though. Sometimes using common sense can lead to what has been identified as the 10 myths of improving residential efficiency.
Myth No. 1:If you have an older refrigerator that's still working, don't get rid of it. Put it in the garage and you'll save a lot of money by buying groceries on sale and storing them there.
Truth: You'll probably need to save at least $150 each year on grocery sales to offset the cost of operating this second refrigerator. Because refrigeration uses so much energy (about 10 percent of your household total), you should get rid of an older refrigerator and replace it with a newer one that will be much more energy efficient.
Refrigerators more than 7 years old are virtual energy hogs compared with today's models. This is especially important for refrigerators inside your home -- for every 3 kilowatt-hours they use, you'll need another kilowatt-hour in air conditioning to remove the heat they produce. Of course, in a Michigan winter, that heat is beneficial.
Myth No. 2:Why make such a big deal out of turning off lights and buying expensive new bulbs? Lighting has to be such a low-cost expense that it's hardly worth trying to save money in this area.
Truth: The average home owner spends about $130 each year on household lighting costs, and even more if you have much outdoor lighting. Putting in compact fluorescent lamps in place of the incandescents that you use at least two hours per day will cut your lighting costs by around 70 percent. The lamps not only use up to a third less electricity than the conventional bulbs, but they last up to 10 times as long.
And don't forget the environmental benefits, either. Installing a 17-watt compact fluorescent lamp in place of a 75-watt incandescent gives you the same amount of light at a lot less cost, keeps a half-ton of carbon dioxide and 20 pounds of sulfur dioxide out of the air, and also keeps nine bulbs out of the landfill. In addition, all that lighting energy has to be removed by the air conditioner, so every 3 watts you save in lighting energy produces another watt of saved air-conditioning energy.
Myth No. 3:There's not much you can do to save money on cooking with an electric stove.
Truth: Though a gas stove certainly is cheaper to operate, don't give up on your entire electric unit. A working range hood that vents to the outdoors will remove heat from the kitchen (and also help keep the indoor air cleaner). It's been estimated that for every kilowatt-hour of cooking that is not vented outside, your air conditioner needs about 300 watt-hours to get the heat out of the house. In Michigan, frequent use of the vent in the winter will drive up your heating costs.
Myth No. 4:Use ceiling fans all the time in summer to reduce cooling costs.
Truth: Fans that operate constantly, especially when no one is at home to benefit from their cooling breeze, will increase your monthly electricity usage.
Ceiling fans use electricity (25 to 75 watts each) and work to cool only if someone is near them to enjoy the benefits of the air motion. Leave five fans on while you're on a week's vacation and you have used 42 kilowatts of electricity -- about $3.50 at current average rates. The fans also emit heat that will need to be removed by the air conditioner.
Myth No. 5:Adding extra insulation in the walls of your home is an effective way to lower heating and cooling energy use.
Truth: Tests have found that 10 to 20 percent of the heat getting into your house comes in through the attic; only half that amount comes through the walls. Putting your money into lowering attic temperatures in the summer and increasing them in the winter makes more economic sense.
Walls typically aren't exposed to large amounts of solar radiation because they are shaded by such things as roof overhangs, landscaping and buildings. Parker suggests putting your money into the code-recommended level of wall insulation (minimum R13 for wood frame in Michigan) instead of spending money to raise the R-value considerably. Also, plant shrubs and trees to shade walls in the summer and break cold winds in the winter.
Myth No. 6:The color of a roof makes little difference in the amount of energy used.
Truth: Studies have found that the use of a white roof color can cut the overall cooling load in a new home by 20 percent or more.
Researchers at the Florida Solar Energy Center found that attics in homes with dark roofs can get as hot as 130 to 140 degrees on summer afternoons. A white roof color will reflect more heat back to the sky and keep it out of the house. Lowering the temperature in the attic also helps control cooling costs by keeping the ducts cooler. A white roof also makes sense in northern latitudes because it can cut summer cooling costs and, besides, the benefits of a dark roof are minimized in winter because it frequently is covered by white snow in Michigan.
Keep in mind that this is a no-cost option also; you don't have to pay extra for a lighter roofing color.
Myth No. 7:To cool (or heat) a house quicker, turn the thermostat lower (or higher).
Truth: It's amazing how many people think this is the way to get a house to cool down or heat up quickly. However, studies have found that these people are wrong. The air conditioner or heating unit works at full throttle until it satisfies the thermostat anyway, so set the thermostat where you want the temperature to end up. Setting it lower doesn't get the house any cooler any quicker, but it does help increase your electric bills in a big way. Every degree cooler that you set the thermostat increases your cooling costs by 10 percent.
Myth No. 8:Solar water heaters are not cost-effective.
Truth: Many people say that they wouldn't consider a solar water heater because they don't use that much hot water, or the system they have now is cheap to operate, or heating water can't use too much electricity. Studies of the Solar Weatherization Assistance Program in Florida a few years ago, however, confirmed that solar water heaters can be cost-effective, especially in large households. The homes in the program with four or more occupants and low-cost solar water heaters showed an annual savings of 1,570 kilowatts per hour -- about $125 a year at current rates.
With a $1,500 system, that's a long payback of 12 years -- still well within the system's lifetime -- but an 8.4 percent after-tax real rate of return. There aren't too many investments these days giving dividends like that.
Myth No. 9:Home owners say they don't see how trying to save money on small appliances and equipment in the home can make much difference in their energy bills because they use so little electricity.
Truth: Don't forget the amenities because they can quickly add up.
For example, the energy use of a heated spa or whirlpool can easily be as much as the annual consumption for water heating. If you use electric-resistance heating for your spa, you're probably spending at least $160 per year on these energy costs. Clothes dryers use about $70 worth of energy yearly (a lot of money when you realize that an outdoor clothesline doesn't charge you anything for the sunshine that does the work).
Myth No. 10:Most energy-saving ideas sound good when you talk about them, but most aren't practical or easy to do.
Truth: Get the facts. Seeing really is believing. A couple of years ago, FSEC researchers did a side-by-side test of two new homes in Lakeland. One was a conventional home and the other a super energy-efficient model of the same home. Monitoring of the houses showed that the efficient home used 80 percent less air conditioning and a total of 90 percent less energy.
1) List all utility expenses for the past 12 months.
2) Calculate the total square footage of your home (do not include the garage or an unheated basement).
3) Add up the costs of your past 12 electric bills.
4) Divide #3 by #2 to calculate electricity cost per square foot. If the cost is between 60-90 cents per square foot, then there are savings to be had.
5) Measure the thickness of insulation in the attic, basement and walls.
6) Note the age of major heating and cooling equipment, appliances and windows.
7) Is your home noticeably drafty?
8) Do you have an insulating sleeve around your hot water heater?
9) With the help of an energy auditor, list in order of importance what should be done, and make a plan of action.
