Don’t Forget the Ceiling Fan

A simple yet effective trick in keeping your home cool is to turn on the ceiling fan. The ceiling fan (or floor fans) is a great way to stay cool without cranking the AC up too much. With heating and cooling counting for about 40% of your electric bill, this is a simple and effective way to save some energy. To further educate you about the benefits of a ceiling fan, let’s visit a post from 2008:

There is a major misconception about ceiling fans and their ability to cool rooms … in fact, ceiling fans cool people, not rooms. Ceiling fans blowing air downward creates a breeze effect (in the summertime) which makes the room feel cooler than it actually is (up to 10 degrees cooler). The side benefit is this allows the user to turn the thermostat up a few degrees, maintaining comfort and spending less on an energy bill (savings up to 25% on cooling costs). But don’t forget, turn the ceiling fan off when you leave the room … it’s cooling you, not the room.

Another great benefit of ceiling fans is the ‘reverse motor’ ability on many models. This comes in handy in the winter time as the warm air in your home rises and the ceiling fan gently mixes the warm air down to where you are. You’ll notice the warm air reaching your body (in most cases) allowing you to reduce the workload of your heater.

It’s getting hot outside, make sure you stay safe and stay cool by using a ceiling fan in the room you’re in.

Dun Dun Da Dun….Dun Dun Da Dun!

This year is a very special year for both Stephen and I as we are both getting married this fall (No, not to each other! He’s like my brother!). Any married reader out there understands how planning a wedding practically consumes your life, thus we decided it would make a great blog topic! For some reason Stephen wasn’t super eager to write about weddings, so here it goes.

I’ve been planning my wedding little by little over the last year and a half, and I can tell you that “green” weddings are very “in” right now. Of course so are over the top extravaganzas… anyways! I realized pretty early on that there are ways to make your day more eco-friendly without necessarily making sacrifices and I thought I’d share some of these ideas with you.

Location
Have your wedding and the reception in the same place so guests don’t have to drive to a new location; have it outside during the day to take advantage of natural (and free!) lighting. If possible, hold the wedding in a location close to most of your guests to reduce travel distance.

Stationary
There are TONS of paper products associated with a wedding: the save-the-date, invitation, reply card, direction card, programs, menus, etc. The greenest option is obviously to use the internet for as much as possible (e-vites, websites with all the details, etc.), but unless all of your guests are under 45, you may not be able to reach all of them this way. There are some cool eco-friendly paper products out there including 100% recycled paper products from Twisted Limb Paper or seed paper (meaning you can plant it in the ground and flowers will bloom) from Botanical Paper Works.

The Dress
Ok, so it is probably best economically and environmentally to buy a used dress or use one that is already in the family. If the family member is ok with it, you can alter the dress to fit your personal style. I know, most brides don’t go for that…I sure didn’t. At the very least, try to resell the dress after the wedding, or preserve it so future family members can use it.

Decorations
Use what you have. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a sweet spot in my heart for all things vintage (aka. old and used) which naturally works in my favor when trying to be more eco-friendly. To find decorations for my wedding, I went through my parent’s attic, my grandfather’s shed, etc. to find unique items to personalize my wedding. Not only does this save money, but you’re recycling something and finding a new purpose for it. If you like things that are very “wedding-like,” there is a great website www.recycledbride.com where brides sell old decorations, jewelry, dresses, etc. Only buy decorations you’ll use (or someone you know will use) after the wedding is over.

Food
This isn’t as difficult as one would imagine. Find a caterer and a baker that use locally grown food and make sure you have in-season produce.

Flowers
Your typical wedding flowers are not as eco-friendly as you might think once they’ve been doused in chemicals. Make centerpieces out of other reusable items, including potted plants that you can take home after the wedding. Some brides are now going against the tradition of carrying flowers, and are carrying bouquets made out of vintage brooches. Gather treasures from your family members and make something meaningful to you that will stay beautiful for years to come. If you decide to go with flowers, make sure you pick an in-season option.

Favors
As nice as it is to receive a monogrammed frame with a picture of the bride and groom in it, most people are not going to keep the favors they receive at weddings. Give them something they can enjoy (like food!) that won’t go to waste. Personalize it by getting items that the area is known for, like Virginia peanuts, apples from a local orchard or jam from your grandma’s kitchen. Another great idea is to make a charity donation.

The Registry
I know, I know. It is fun to get gifts, but how many crystal vases do you really need? There are at least two great alternatives to just getting a bunch of stuff. Number one, set up a honeymoon registry to have your guests help pay for your vacation. Number two, that charity thing again…have guests donate to charities in your name. You can even specify what charities you would prefer they donate to.

Video Game Energy Use

Now that you’ve got your high efficiency [LED] TV, a remote controlled power strip, and the kids have saved a few bucks from the Energy Challenge at your house, it’s time to expand your home entertainment system.

When growing up, I had Atari and Nintendo, two (maybe three) action buttons and/or a simple control stick. If you could memorize the easy AABBAABAB combinations, conquering the hardest games was a simple afternoon job.

Now there are endless button combinations, multiple key pads on a controller, and numerous complexities to gaming systems, making them more high tech than ever. But with high tech comes high energy consumption, or does it?

Our good friends at E Source have put together a comprehensive chart comparing gaming systems to each other in regards to energy consumption. The chart (click on it to enlarge) breaks down makes, models, and years produced. Notice the energy change between the same models, just manufactured different years.

Deeper into the E Source Report, they cite the Electric Power Research Institute report:

“…the EPRI study estimates average energy consumption for a typical “heavy” console user (a heavy user is assumed to spend a little under six hours per day using the game console, and is estimated to represent about 75 percent of users). The researchers calculated the average annual consumption for the 2010 models of three major consoles: 29 kilowatt-hours (kWh) for a Nintendo Wii, 178 kWh for a Sony PlayStation 3, and 184 kWh for a Microsoft Xbox 360. To put this into perspective, a typical clothes washer uses a little over 100 kWh annually…according to data from the U.S. Department of Energy.”

Have fun conquering each level until you reach the top. But until you reach the top, you might want to turn off the unit after you’re done playing.

CFL Recycling, Where to go?

Ever had someone come up to you and say “I’ve got a bag of CFL bulbs at the house and don’t know what to do with them?” Okay, maybe that never happens to you, but it’s happened to me a number of times.

So what should you do with a CFL bulb that doesn’t work anymore?
Simple, you recycle it.

Like the image above, there are CFL recycling bins all around your town, noticeably the ‘big box’ stores.

I grabbed this photo the last time I was at LOWE’s. The bin is located within 5 feet of the entrance by the ‘returns’ counter. There’s a plastic bag where you can place your bulbs and a safe place to drop the bag.

So when your bulbs stop working, you can buy CFLs with an automatic discount and recycle your old bulbs for free at a ‘one stop shop.’ Better yet, their recycling center also accepts old batteries (for a power drill) and plastic bags.

If there isn’t a LOWE’s convenient to you, check out http://www.lamprecycle.org for other places to recycle.

And if your CFL breaks before you can recycle it, we’ve got you covered (Scroll down to ‘What to Do if a CFL Breaks’)

Kids Make Conservation a Success!

Compact fluorescent light bulbs? Check.

Kids learning about conservation? Check.

Competition between schools? CHECK!

In celebration of this year’s Earth Day (and Dominion’s Lighting Program!) during the month of April, Dominion Virginia Power hosted a Compact Fluorescent Light bulb (CFL) contest in partnership with the elementary schools in Culpeper, VA. Through vouchers and receipt collection, the school able to accrue the largest number of eligible CFL bulb purchases attributed to their school would win a $5,000 math and science scholarship. In support of the contest, Dominion also hosted an event in April at a local Lowe’s in Culpeper.

After tallying the results, it’s time to reveal our winning school. Congratulations to…………Yowell Elementary School! Today, during a special assembly, Yowell Elementary School will receive the $5,000 check plus a popsicle party for all students. Additionally, Lowe’s will be presenting each participating school with a tree to commemorate the contest. If you’re in the area, check out the Dominion booth at CulpeperFest tonight to participate in fun activities and learn about energy conservation.

According to EPA calculations, the number of CFLs purchased during this contest will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 100,000 pounds over the lifetime of the bulbs. This reduction is as good for the environmental as planting 13 acres of forest! Thank you to all of the Culpeper elementary schools for your participation!!!