Reducing Our Carbon Footprint—Part Two

Boulder County’s Climate Smart loan program

Part Two: A deeper level of action
The first major step toward reducing your carbon footprintAmount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that a person, community, industry, or other entity contributes to the atmosphere through energy use, transportation, and other means. is understanding how much energy you use. Energy efficiency is often more cost effective than renewable-energy alternatives. The target is to use less energy for the same amount of heating, cooling, lighting, and of course, powering appliances, the stereo, televisions, and iPods. Fortunately, a big benefit of most energy-efficiency measures is creating greater comfort in the home over the long term.

Our home was built in 1992–93, and we still have an extensive list of opportunities for reducing our energy footprint. Statistics show that 60% of U.S. homes are underinsulated or not insulated at all, and homes built before 1980 likely fall into this category. Air leakage is one of the leading causes of energy waste. By plugging those leaks, we can save 5% to 30% on home heating and cooling bills—an average of $450 per year for an American household.

An energy auditEnergy audit that also includes inspections and tests to assess moisture flow, combustion safety, thermal comfort, indoor air quality, and durability. can give homeowners a personalized plan for lowering energy bills and ultimately reducing the carbon footprint. The plan maps out energy usage and provides recommendations for behavioral changes, all with the ultimate goal of saving energy and money.

For our next steps, we are going to look for energy efficiency measures that are affixed to the property, have an average useful life of 15 to 20 years (or more), and exceed minimum standards.

Below is a list of next steps to explore in reducing your own energy footprint:

Air Sealing and Ventilation

Insulation

Space Heating and Cooling

Lighting

Windows, Doors, and Skylights

Also refer to Michael Maines' blog, "Shedding Light on Windows"

Roof (Reflective)

Appliances

Note that refrigerator efficiency has improved by 60%

Complementing the energy-efficiency measures outlined above, investigate renewable-energy measures:

net meteringArrangement through which a homeowner who produces electricity using photovoltaics or wind power can sell excess electricity back to the utility company, running the electric meter backwards. where the meter may run backward in sunny seasons

can produce much or all of the domestic electricity supply

Ask supplier or utility about rebates and RECs.

*Xcel or federal rebates available

The greatest value—to the planet and the homeowner—is in combining energy-efficiency and renewable-energy measures. My engineer husband laughs at me when I say that my goal is for us to be carbon neutral—I’m trying!

Recently, we installed the most energy-efficient Energy Star appliances we could find. Last year, we upgraded to a high-efficiency (92% AFUE) furnace along with a newer-model programmable thermostat. We have scheduled a blower door test for our 16-year-old home. It’s become a game for us to see how many kilowatt-hours we can cut on a monthly basis. I’m still working on getting rid of the "beer fridge" in the garage; I’m going to install a kilowatt meter on it so that I can gather proof of its wastefulness! I’ll keep you posted.

If you want to challenge yourself, set a goal for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions (carbon dioxide) created by daily activities—driving our cars, heating our homes, purchasing food and products—the list goes on. Check out one of the many carbon calculators available on-line, and make it fun to reduce your footprint!