Saving Fuel
We are all getting upset over gas prices and looking for ways improve the outlook for fuel. A lot of people are looking at the cars they drive, ways they commute, or perhaps even instituting flextime at work or telecommuting. But have you thought about looking within your home? Most people don’t think about energy their homes consume when they feel the “pain at the pump”.
According to some stats published by Owens Corning (they cite the Department of Energy, but take it for what it’s worth), 80% of homes built before 1980 are not insulated to government standards and even newer homes are only insulated to the minimum standard. They also have the following quote on their website:
“Many Americans assume that transportation and industry are the largest consumers of energy in the U.S., but it’s actually buildings,” said Wendy Burt from the U.S. Department of Energy. “The electricity consumed by one single home puts more carbon dioxide into the air than two average cars. The good news is there are simple energy-efficient upgrades we can make, such as adding insulation in the attic and caulking windows and doors that reduce our energy footprint and save us money.”
Owens Corning also offers a Home Report Card Quiz to figure out where your home ranks for energy efficiency. I took the quiz for my house back in Cleveland (we sold it for those of you following my personal life as well) and it received a grade of B. We were good with energy efficient appliances, good on the hot water heater, decent on the windows, but we could have improved on sealing up those cracks that temperature controlled air leaks out of. Now I do realize all this information could be taken as slighted since it all comes from a company that produces insulation. Even if half of it were true, this is still pretty amazing and they are things we should pay attention to.
Instead of getting mad and support off shore drilling, do something about it. Add value to your home; conserve the energy you use, by making your home more energy efficient. Whether it be to insulate your home, or just sealing up cracks around the home where heated and cooled temperatures leak. While I’m awful at economics, I do know that by not using fuel for heating and cooling, it makes it available for other uses and would lower prices because there is less demand (or something like that).
Tags: environment, Fuel Economy, green, Home