Sustainability at Home
 Most of us spend most of our time at home – even if much of that time is spent sleeping!
Many simple, inexpensive changes can make your home more sustainable. Here are some practical, mostly relatively easy tips for saving energy and water, reducing waste, and recycling at home. Download an Energy Savers Booklet (pdf) to discover many other tips on saving energy and money at home.
The categories below aren’t mutually exclusive, so read them all to find many good tips.
 General
Easy low-cost and no-cost ways to save energy today
A large portion of the energy used in a typical U.S. home is wasted. The good news is that there is a lot you can do to save energy and money at home and in your car. Start making small changes today. To cut your energy use up to 25%, use the $ Long-Term Savings Tips.
- Set your thermostat comfortably low in the winter and comfortably high in the summer.
- Install a programmable thermostat that is compatible with your heating and cooling system.
- Use compact fluorescent light bulbs.
- Air dry dishes instead of using your dishwasher's drying cycle.
- Turn off your computer and monitor when not in use.
- Plug home electronics, such as TVs and DVD players, into power strips; turn the power strips off when the equipment is not in use as TVs and DVDs in standby mode still use several watts of power.
- Lower the thermostat on your hot water heater to 120° F (49° C).
- Take short showers instead of baths.
- Wash only full loads of dishes and clothes.
- Drive sensibly. Aggressive driving (e.g., speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gasoline.
Conduct an energy audit to determine where you can save
The key to achieving savings in your home is a whole-house energy efficiency plan. The first step to developing such a plan is to find out which parts of your house use the most energy. A home energy audit will pinpoint those areas and suggest the most effective measures for cutting your energy costs.
You can find everything you need to know to get started on an energy audit whether you live in a single- or multi-family house or an apartment on DOE's Energy Savers web site.
Closer to home, TVA,working with local power distributors, the environmental community, and other Tennessee Valley stakeholders, is implementing an Energy Right program. Knoxville
Utilities Board (KUB) customers, for example, have two energy audit options through that TVA energy Program: a free online audit and a $150 In-Home Energy Evaluation by a Certified TVA Energy Advisor. Both options can help you find ways to reduce your energy consumption and lower your utility bills. Contact your local utilities board to find out if it is participating in this TVA program.
Look for the ENERGY STAR® label when purchasing new energy using products.
Energy efficient choices can save families about a third on their energy bill with similar savings of greenhouse gas emissions, without sacrificing features, style, or comfort. ENERGY STAR helps you make the energy efficient choice.
On February 5, 2009, President Obama issued a Presidential memorandum ordering the Department of Energy to set tough new energy-efficiency standards for a broad range of home appliances, from dishwashers and ovens to lamps and air conditioners. Look for these new standards in the near future.
Heating and cooling
Heating and cooling your home use more energy and energy dollars than any other system in your house. Here are some ways to cut your energy use for heating and cooling while reducing environmental emissions and making your home more sustainable:
- Set your thermostat as low as is comfortable in the winter and as high as is comfortable in the summer.
- Clean or replace filters on furnaces once a month or as needed.
- Clean warm-air registers, baseboard heaters, and radiators as needed; make sure they're not blocked by furniture, carpeting, or drapes.
- Bleed trapped air from hot-water radiators once or twice a season; if in doubt about how to perform this task, call a professional.
- Place heat-resistant radiator reflectors between exterior walls and the radiators.
- Turn off kitchen, bath, and other exhaust fans within 20 minutes after you are done cooking or bathing; when replacing exhaust fans, consider installing high-efficiency, low-noise models.
- During the heating season, keep the draperies and shades on your south-facing windows open during the day to allow the sunlight to enter your home and closed at night to reduce the chill you may feel from cold windows.
- During the cooling season, keep the window coverings closed during the day to prevent solar gain.
$ Long-Term Savings Tip: Select energy-efficient products when you buy new heating and cooling equipment. Your contractor should be able to give you energy fact sheets for different types, models, and designs to help you compare energy usage.
You can find more tips on making your heating and cooling systems more energy efficient at: DOE's Energy Savers web site. You’ll find advice there related to ducts, heat pumps, solar heating and cooling, fireplaces, natural gas and oil heating systems, air conditioners, programmable thermostats, and landscaping.
Lighting
Improve your lighting
An average household dedicates 11% of its energy budget to lighting. Using new lighting technologies can reduce lighting energy use in your home by 50% to 75%. Advances in lighting controls offer further energy savings by reducing the amount of time lights are on but not being used.
Use tube fluorescent and energy efficient compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) in fixtures throughout your home to provide high-quality and high-efficiency lighting. Read more about CFLs in the Information Exchange.
Water
Conserve water
Water heating is the third largest energy expense in your home. Install aerating, low-flow or ultra-low flow faucets and showerheads. Repair leaky faucets promptly; a leaky faucet wastes gallons of water in a short period of time. By not wasting hot water, you’ll cut your energy costs.
Take an empty two-liter soda bottle, wash it out, fill it with water, screw the lid on tightly and set it into your toilet tank, as far away from the flapper valve as possible. This prevents two liters of water from being used every time you flush. A new low-flow toilet uses 1.6 gallons per flush. Older toilets go up to seven gallons a flush. There’s still plenty of water left for most bathroom visits.
Install a gray-water system that collects soapy water and diverts it to the toilet. Instead of clean water, you flush with soapy water. WaterSaver Technologies (watersavertech.com) makes AQUS, a $300 system that installs under the sink. There is also a toilet-topped sink called SinkPositive (sinkpositive.com). You replace the toilet’s heavy porcelain lid with this sink basin, which has a built-in faucet. When you flush, fresh water comes out of the faucet and you wash your hands with it. The soapy water collects in the toilet tank for the next flush.
The Texas Commission of Environmental Quality provides ten easy water conservation tips and a brochure on rainwater harvesting with rain barrels.
WaterSense is a partnership program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to make it easy for Americans to save water and protect the environment. Look for the WaterSense label to choose quality, water-efficient products. Explore the links on EPA's web site to learn how WaterSense labeled products can help you to save water. Many products are available that don't require a change in your lifestyle.
Water footprint
Your water footprint is the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce the goods and services that you consume. You can check your water footprint at www.h20conserve.org. You will get some water savings tips at the end.
Buildings
Windows
Windows can be one of your home's most attractive features. Windows provide views, light, ventilation, and solar heating in the winter. Unfortunately, they can also account for 10% to 25% of your heating bill.
During the summer your air conditioner must work harder to cool hot air from sunny windows. Install ENERGY STAR windows and use curtains and shade to give your air conditioner and energy bill a break.
If your home has single-pane windows, as almost half of U.S. homes do, consider replacing them with new double-pane windows with high-performance glass (e.g., low-e or spectrally selective). If you are building a new home, choosing more efficient windows can offset some of their cost as it can allow you to install smaller, less expensive heating and cooling equipment.
Insulation and Sealing Air Leaks
Checking your home's insulation is one of the fastest and most cost-efficient ways to use a whole house approach to reduce energy waste and make the most of your energy dollars. A good insulating system includes a combination of products and construction techniques that protect a home from outside temperatures—hot and cold, protect it against air leaks, and control moisture. You can increase the comfort of your home while reducing your heating and cooling needs by up to 10% by investing in proper insulation and sealing air leaks.
Appliances
Choose energy efficient appliances
Appliances account for about 20% of your household's energy consumption with refrigerators, clothes washers, and clothes dryers at the top of the consumption list. When you shop for a new appliance, look for the ENERGY STAR® label. ENERGY STAR products usually exceed minimum federal standards by a substantial amount.
Find tips related to making your appliances more energy efficient at: DOE's Energy Savers web site. You’ll find advice about dishwashers, refrigerators, clothes washers and dryers, and a Major Appliance Shopping Guide.
Outdoors—parking, landscaping, gardening
Landscaping is a natural and beautiful way to keep your home cool in summer and reduce your energy bills. In addition to adding aesthetic value and environmental quality to your home, a well-placed tree, shrub, or vine can deliver effective shade, act as a windbreak, and reduce overall energy bills. Carefully positioned trees can save up to 25% of a typical household's energy used for cooling.
Using native plants and landscape designs that optimize local conditions can reduce water use and soil erosion, lower maintenance costs, and preserve natural resources, including habitat for fish, wildlife, and plants. Use PlantNative as a tool to find native plants regionally and locate participating nurseries by state.
Wastes—reduce, reuse, recycle, carefully dispose
You can respond to the solid waste dilemma by reconsidering your waste-producing activities and by expressing your preferences for less waste.
Be part of the solution. Substantially reduce the amount of solid waste you generate by following these basic principles:
- Reduce. You can start by reducing the amount of unnecessary packaging. When choosing between two similar products, select the one with the least packaging to reduce the amount of discarded trash. Take your own reusable bags to the store rather than using plastic bags. Read about ORNL's plastic bag collection on Earth Day 2009 and find out about the impacts of plastic bags and the benefits of reusable bags.
- Reuse. Many bags, containers, and other items can be used more than once. Also consider buying reusable products. Maintain and repair durable products. Borrow, rent, or share items used infrequently. Sell or donate goods instead of throwing them out.
- Recycle. Choose recyclable products and containers. Select products made from recycled materials. Compost yard trimmings and some food scraps to use on your garden. Visit the web site of the National Center for Electronics Recycling for advice on recycling your used electronic gadgets.
- Dispose. For items that can not be reused or recycled, dispose of them carefully. Read about proper disposal of compact fluorescent lights in the Information Exchange.
Check out Earth 911 to find recycling centers in your area and to learn more about reducing your footprint, reusing everything you can, and recycling to close the loop.
Knox County's Solid Waste Facility, 1033 Elm Street, collects household hazardous wastes year round. For more information, go to Knox County’s website, or call David Newman at (865) 215-6700.
Other local counties set specific dates for collecting household hazardous wastes. Check the online resources of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation for the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Schedule for other counties and much more information.
AAA collects old car or marine batteries year round for recycling. Bring your old batteries to your local AAA Approved Auto Repair facility or the AAA Downtown Knoxville office. Proceeds from recycling are donated to Ijams Nature Center.
A Team UT-Battelle program works with Verizon's HopeLine to enable you to recycle your old personal cell phone. More information about the program is available by calling Karen Fugate at 574-2108 (fugateky@ornl.gov) or on the Verizon Hopeline web site.
Many suggestions from EPA for managing waste or recycling can be found on their web site or the official EPA blog.
Transportation, vehicles, and equipment (including lawnmowers)
Transportation accounts for 66% of U.S. oil use — mainly in the form of gasoline. Using fuel economically saves you money, reduces your climate footprint, reduces the U.S. dependence on oil, and increases energy sustainability. Fortunately, there are many ways to save on gasoline use.
Driving Tips
Many factors that affect the miles/gallon you use when you drive are described below and on the fueleconomy.gov web site.
- Idling gets you 0 miles per gallon. The best way to warm up a vehicle is to drive it. No more than 30 seconds of idling is needed on winter days.
- Aggressive driving (e.g., speeding, rapid acceleration, hard braking) can lower your highway gas mileage 33% and city mileage 5%.
- Avoid high speeds. Above 60 mph gas mileage drops rapidly. The fueleconomy.gov web site shows how driving speed affects gas mileage.
- When you use overdrive gearing, your car's engine speed goes down, saving gas and reducing wear.
- Using cruise control on the highway helps you maintain a constant speed and, in most cases, will save gas.
- Use air conditioning only when necessary.
- Clear out your car; extra weight decreases gas mileage.
- Reduce drag by normally placing items inside the car or trunk rather than on roof racks. A roof rack or carrier provides additional cargo space and may allow you to buy a smaller car. A loaded roof rack can, however, decrease your fuel economy by 5%.
- Check into telecommuting, carpooling, and public transit to cut mileage and car maintenance costs.
Car Maintenance Tips
- Use the grade of motor oil recommended by your car's manufacturer. Using a different motor oil can lower your gasoline mileage by 1%-2%.
- Get regular engine tune-ups and car maintenance checks to avoid fuel economy problems due to worn spark plugs, dragging brakes, low transmission fluid, or transmission problems.
- Replace clogged air filters to improve gas mileage by as much as 10% and protect your engine.
- Combine errands into one trip. Several short trips, each one taken from a cold start, can use twice as much fuel as one trip covering the same distance when the engine is warm.
$ Long-Term Savings Tip: Consider buying a highly fuel-efficient vehicle. A fuel-efficient vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, or an alternative fuel vehicle could save you a lot at the gas pump and help the environment. See the Fuel Economy Guide for more on buying a new fuel-efficient car or truck.
Landscaping Tips
Using manual garden tools instead of gas- or electric-powered ones can reduce fuel usage and waste and protect air quality. Push mowers, mulchers, rakes, hoes, and shovels might require more work, but their use prevents waste, reduces air and noise pollution, and helps you get exercise and active time outdoors. When you do use large lawn and garden equipment such as driving mowers or chainsaws, you can reduce waste (and save money) by borrowing or renting the equipment.
Travel
Travel green
Find green travel tips to make your vacation eco-friendly.
Climate—greenhouse gases (GHG)
Solar Water Heaters
If you heat water with electricity, have high electric rates, and have an unshaded, south-facing location (such as a roof) on your property, consider installing a solar water heater. Solar water heating systems are good for the environment as they avoid the harmful greenhouse gas emissions associated with electricity production. During a 20-year period, one solar water heater can avoid over 50 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
Calculate your household's greenhouse gas emissions
An EPA online calculator allows you to determine the quantity of GHGs emitted by your household. The website also provides tips for reducing your emissions and your energy and waste-disposal costs.
How Clean Is the Energy You Use?
Do you want to find out how the electricity in your area is produced? EPA's Power Profiler will:
- Determine your power grid region based on your ZIP code and electric utility
- Compare the fuel mix and air emissions rates of the electricity in your region to the national average
- Determine the air emissions impacts of electricity use in your home or business
- Provide suggestions on how you can make a difference
Purchasing choices
Renewable energy
You have many options for using renewable energy at home—from solar-powered outdoor lights to buying renewable energy from your utility to producing solar electricity at home with photovoltaic (PV) cells.
A new home provides the best opportunity for designing and orienting the home to take advantage of the sun's rays. A well-oriented home admits low-angle winter sun to reduce heating bills and rejects overhead summer sun to reduce cooling bills. Using passive solar energy in your home will reduce your utility bills.
$ Long-Term Savings Tip: If you've made your home as energy efficient as possible, and you have very high electricity bills and a good solar resource, you might want to consider generating your own electricity using PV cells. New products are available that integrate PV cells with the roof, making them much less visible than older systems.
Check out TVA's Green Power Switch (GPS) Generation Partners. GPS Generation Partners provides technical support and incentives for the installation of renewable generation systems.
Wellness
Using manual garden tools (e.g., push mowers and mulchers, rakes, hoes, shovels) instead of gas- or electric-powered ones might require more work, but their use helps you get exercise and active time outdoors while preventing waste and reducing air and noise pollution.
Your actions
You and your family
What have you done to make your home and your family life more sustainable? What have you learned from those experiences that can help others? What choices and obstacles do you face? Do you have ideas, comments, or questions? Join the information exchange and share your successes, frustrations, and failures with others. (You must be signed in to the site as a ORNL user to post items. Click on "Sign In" at the top right of the page. Use "ornl\UID" [note that you must use a backslash] and your UCAMS password.)
More information
More tips and advice to make your home more sustainable can be found on the following web sites:
ENERGY SAVERS BOOKLET Tips on Saving Energy & Money at Home
Gas Mileage Tips
EPA's Go Green consumer newsletter
EPA WasteWise
EPA WaterSense
EPA WasteWise
Sierra Club Green Home
The Green Home Guide |