Why should I be concerned with the world's resources?
The world we live in today is much different than the world our grandparents, and to some extent even our parents, lived in. According to the HCF (Hinkle Charitable Foundation), in 2007 51% of electricity produced in the United States came from coal, which creates large quantities of carbon dioxide and other harmful pollutants, such as sulfur oxide in addition to acid rain. These chemicals and occurrences are major contributors to the environmental problems we now face.
In addition to the energy crisis, lack of water conservation poses another danger to the earth. While the earth is 75% water, 97% of that is undrinkable and unusable and 2% is trapped in ice, leaving us with approximately 1% of the earth’s water for our use. How do we begin to fix this energy crisis and make the best of the water we have? Energy conservation kits and water conservation kits are a great place to start.
Where is a good place to start solving the problems we face?
Energy Conservation Kits
Energy conservation kits are filled with inexpensive products, such as CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lights), foam gaskets, and an energy monitor to get you on the right track to reducing your utility bills and energy usage. For example, if each home in the US switched just one incandescent bulb with a CFL we would be able to avoid 9 billion pounds of greenhouse gases, which is the same as emissions from approximately 800,000 cars. If you replaced 20 incandescent bulbs with energy efficient CFLs you could help do away with over 12 tons of CO2.
Not very often do we stop and think about just how much energy we burn in our homes. By replacing 20 incandescent bulbs with energy efficient CFLs like the ones found in energy conservation kits you will save up to $132 a year, $720 over the life span of the bulb. The money saved by switching to CFLs will reflect on a national level as well. If every home in the United States took out an incandescent bulb and replaced it with and ENERGY STAR qualified light, the country would save roughly $700 million in energy costs.
If you could see how much energy is used in your home would that convince you to do something about it? An energy monitor just may be the eye opener you need. Some energy conservation kits include these devices which allow you to plug an appliance into it, such as a refrigerator or microwave, and the LCD display will monitor the power usage to determine how much it is costing you. The monitor gives you the option of determining figures on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis using different units of measurement such as voltage, wattage, power factor, amperage, and line frequency.
If you could see how much energy is used in your home would that convince you to do something about it? An energy monitor just may be the eye opener you need. Some energy conservation kits include these devices which allow you to plug an appliance into it, such as a refrigerator or microwave, and the LCD display will monitor the power usage to determine how much it is costing you. The monitor gives you the option of determining figures on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis using different units of measurement such as voltage, wattage, power factor, amperage, and line frequency.
Water Conservation Kits
Are you aware that 95% of all water than enters the home ends ups down a drain? Wasted water also results in wasted money spent on water bills. Savings can be acquired by installing items in your house that help you reduce water consumption. By using faucet aerators, toilet water savers, and showerheads found in water conservation kits you can make the best use of the water and money that you have.
For example, a 1.75gpm (gallons per minute) showerhead uses approximately 18 gallons per 10-minute shower as opposed to the modern 2.5gpm showerhead which uses 25 gallons of water for the same amount of time. In a year’s time, the average 4-person home using the shower 28 times a week would have used 36,400 gallons of water by showering alone. The 1.75gpm low flow showerheads would use approximately 25,480 gallons. The savings amount to almost 11,000 gallons of water per year! A great improvement on the gallons of water used showering each year with the standard 2.5gpm showerhead.
The improvements in water consumption will also reflect on your water bills. Some of the more expensive showerheads can be found for $50. The Niagara N2917CH 1.75gpm showerhead included in the water conservation kits sells for less than $11. By using almost 30% less water you will reduce the amount on your water bills by 30%. This means that within a year’s time, this showerhead would have paid for itself time and time again.
When changing your 2.5gpm showerheads, it is important to remember the standard bathroom sink uses 2.2gpm. When you wash your hands, brush your teeth, or even shave, you are using almost as much water as when you shower. Changing the faucet aerators to low flow models will help you continue to save water and money in your home or office.
Weatherization Kits
While letting fresh air into the home does keep it healthy, having little to no control over the timing as well as the entrance and exit of this air results in wasted energy and money. Unwanted air leaking into the home can add as much as 20% to your heating and cooling bill. The moisture-filled air that enters increases the chances of finding mold, condensation, and rot in certain places. To weatherize means to insulate and conserve heat. If you have never weatherized your home before, using the items in weatherization kits will help you understand how you can seal those air leaks.
Can you guess what the largest utility expense in American homes comes from? Can you also guess what percent of the home’s energy it uses? For those of you who said heating and cooling consume roughly 56% of the energy in a home give yourself a round of applause. This is a result of poor insulation throughout homes. Weatherization kits contain items such as foam sealing gaskets, which are used to prevent drafts through electrical and switch outlets. If our homes are properly sealed we will not have the need to turn the heat and the air conditioner up so high during the winter and summer months, burning less energy.
Among the main sources of drafts in the home are windows. Many homes still have windows which allow too much air into the home, and often times let too much air out. Use the plastic window insulation kits which are included in weatherization kits to seal up your windows. This will translate to saving $20 for every window where you have installed the kit every winter. With these savings, maybe next winter you don’t have to be the person nobody wants to pick their name for Secret Santa.
It's not too late to start taking the necessary steps towards saving the natural resources we have. Using an energy conservation kit or a water conservation kit is definitely a great place to start.