As the American economy has begun to go through a period of uncertain change and energy consumption prices rise, people all over the world are beginning to look for green ways to conserve and/or create sustainable power. Businesses and homeowners are finding environmentally friendly ways to reduce their energy consumption. Because of the economic crisis and the Global Warming dilemma, there’s no better time to start “living, teaching and building green.”   

Working Green

There are multiple ways you can conserve energy in the workplace, but it is important that you don’t try to do it on your own. The phrase “knowledge is power” applies here and with the help of everyone around you, you can get the mission accomplished. Consider these easy ways to begin greening your office. Simply by installing programmable thermostats controlled from a central location, you can save heating and cooling costs. Have the settings on a fixed temperature that will keep the air comfortable inside at all times and shut off the thermostats when everyone has gone home.

You can also check with your power company to see how you can save energy. Many companies now have a guide on what temperatures to set your thermostat at in different seasons. Pre-cooling the rooms during off-peak hours is a smart idea as well; peak time is between the afternoon and evening hours. If you wait until the afternoon, when the day is at its hottest, it will take longer for the ventilation to cool off the rooms in the building, so do it when it is still cool outside.  

Have your employees turn off the lights and other equipment in the room when leaving out for more than 30 minutes. Then to help ensure that you are saving energy, you can have timers and/or motion sensors placed on the lights in the building just in case your employees forget. Many businesses install these on the lights that aren’t necessary and don’t have to be on all the time. If the lights you would like to have turned off after a moment of being unused are attached to another light you would like to have on during office hours, you can separate the circuits. Also set the monitors, computers, printers and copiers to the power-save feature. Conserving energy not only helps lower the company’s energy costs, but it also lowers the demand on the power company and can avoid blackouts that result in overconsumption.

Living Eco Friendly: Off the Grid

The same methods of energy conservation that are used for the office can also be applied to your home. Set your thermostat to a comfortable temperature. During the cooler months, you should set your temperature at 68 degrees while you’re away and 10-15 degrees cooler while you sleep. This will help to save money on the heating bill. Programmable thermostats are also a good idea here because the temperature can be set to rise as it’s time for you to wake up and start your day.

If you live in a house, you know that over time cracks and crevices open up and need to be caulked. You can either do this yourself or hire someone to seal your home for you. This will help make the energy used in your home is more sustainable. Caulking should also be done around the windows. Weatherstripping is another method that can be used; this is when you use material to cover these cracks in the home to keep outside air out. Be sure to invest in quality material and it will last longer.

Besides weatherproofing your home and setting your thermostat, you can consider more environmentally friendly ways of living – such as off the grid. This means you will be using wind and solar power to give your home sustainable energy. With this method of living, you are free from energy purchased from the power company. Living off the grid reduces your carbon footprint in this world.

Whether you are living in the home you would like to transform or are planning to build an energy efficient home, it can be done. There are multiple things you can do to become partially or fully off the grid. Try installing solar panels in your home that will power up batteries while your home uses power from the sun during the day. Then at night, you can use the energy that has been collecting in the batteries. To set your mind at ease, use energy from the power company as a back up at first if necessary. Some alternative energy users employ solar panels and batteries as a back up during outages.

Generators are also a great way to power up the home in an environmentally friendly way. With the combination of using solar panels and a small windmill a homeowner can store sufficient energy throughout the year.

Building Eco Friendly Homes

The building industry has definitely taken on a big role in reducing the world’s carbon footprint in the environment. There are multiple ways of building a green home and in doing so helps families with energy conservation. Special air sealing and insulation methods are used to keep out the heat and cold elements of the seasons, which in turn helps lower the energy bills. There are green windows that are also available; they are paneless, so there isn’t room for outside air to seep through. The windows are also installed in a way that helps to keep the home cool – some even install windows that are tinted to block heat transfer from the sun.

Another way of building eco friendly homes is with the HVAC system. There is special equipment that can be purchased to help improve the air quality of the house. This can be installed in new homes or houses that have already been built. The summer months are known to be the harshest when it comes to the electric bill, but fortunately there are some alternatives you can use to help keep cool. There are these ice systems that be installed in the air conditioning system – they work by freezing a block of ice and blowing air over it into the home. So the energy that is really being used is just to turn the blades of the fan. It is best to start the process during the night; then the ice will build quicker since it won’t have to fight the heat. The system can be placed in the backyard.

The installation of ceiling fans definitely helps to keep the home cool without having to use the AC unit. Then the use of geothermal duct systems can be purchased; these are installed with breathing vents in the roof or sub-roof. Homes that are built off the grid are also the best solutions, but energy conservation still has to be taken into consideration. It is important that you not use more energy than you are creating or you will have problems with keeping power on in the home.  Before considering off grid living, a survey of the power usage for a building is essential.

The key to living an environmentally friendly, green lifestyle is to spread the knowledge. Teaching your children, students, employees and other people you know about being energy efficient will help the world conserve more energy.