Frugal Intermediates Guide To Green

Do this…

Conserves this…

Costs…

Saves...

Saves in 5 years…

ROI over 5 years

It's not fat, it's insulation

Check for air gaps and fix leaky spots with weather stripping and caulking. 

Energy

$250 average for a home energy rating. Caulking costs less than $1 per window, and weather stripping is under $10 per door. [So for a home with 12 windows and 3 doors, repairs would cost about $42]

Up to 25% of your heating bill ($458 per winter based on 2007 averages for heating oil bills)

$2290

784%

Add insulation around your existing water heater.

Energy

$16-35 for an insulation blanket

Over $30 per year in excess heat loss

$150

588%

Get smart, get energized

Get smart powerstrips to help keep your vampire power use down.

Energy

$45 for a Smart Power Strip Saver

$20 per month

($240 per year)

$1200

2667%

Install a programmable thermostat.

Energy

$30-$150 (good mid-range unit should cost $50-80)

$150 per year

$750

1500%

Install exterior solar shades, like EZ Snap.  They shade glass and stop up to 90% of heat before it enters your home.

Energy

$360 (at $3/sq-ft for a dozen 10 sq-ft windows)

Solar shades/blinds can cut up to 25% off your cooling bill. (Or about $150 every year.)

$750

208%

Buy Energy Star appliances when you need to replace something.

Energy

$300 more for a new Energy Star clothes water.

Replacing a pre-1994 clothes washer with an Energy Star model can save a family $110 a year on utility bills. (In comparison with regular models, it can save you $550 in operating costs over its lifetime.)

$550

183%

An Energy Star dishwasher costs about $20 more.

Dishwashers represent 2% of home energy costs.  Energy Star dishwashers can save you about $13 in energy costs per year.

$65

325%

An Energy Star refrigerator costs about $30 more.

Refrigerators represent 6% of home energy costs.  Energy Star refrigerators can save you about $6 in energy costs per year compared to non-qualified models.

$30

100%

Install timers to help turn off your lights.  A 60 watt bulb left on for an hour per day will use 22 kWh per year. If that is cut to 50 minutes each time by using a timer, usage will be only 18 kWh per year.

Energy

$8/timer

Up to $3.20 a year for a four-bulb lamp (given a reduction of 10 minutes a day)

$16

200%

Save water, shower with a friend

Install low flow showerheads. A family of four, each showering for five minutes a day, uses 700 gallons of water a week; you can cut that amount in half by using low-flow aerating showerheads.

Water, energy

$35 on average

$182 in water and electricity costs per year

$910

2600%

The great outdoors

Get a rain barrel. A quarter-inch of rain falling on the average home yields a little over 200 gallons of water.  The average family in the US uses about 120 gallons of water for outdoor watering every day. 

Water

$60-180

Rainwater also has more nutrients than tap water.  You could save $25 on fertilizers and watering a year (given 20 days of rain).

$125

104%

Use electric yard equipment, instead of gas-powered yard equipment.  A single gas-mower puts out more pollution than 43 new cars being driven 12,000 miles.  Americans use 800 million gallons of gasoline per year to mow their lawns (which works out to be more than 8.8 gallons of gas per year per household).

Energy (and air and noise pollution)

Electric mowers use only about $3 worth of electricity each year and are cheaper than high-end gas-powered mowers.

$35.20 in gasoline per year.

$176

1173% (only taking fuel costs into account)