Green Internet: How Can I Play My Role?

Carbon footprints can take on many different forms in a modernized society. Footprints can even be found in the “virtual” reality of the online world. Much like the steps taken to reduce electricity and water consumption, there are ways to reduce your carbon internet footprint using available Internet technologies.

Cloud Technologies

An internet connection opens up a world of activities and resources such as communicating with others, project collaboration, ecommerce, along with a host of other things. Interestingly enough, this same internet connection is quite flexible in terms of what’s needed to make it work. Instead of the heavy-duty applications needed to create documents, play games and communicate, cloud computing technologies offer users a more energy efficient way to do all these things.

Cloud computing technologies operate off of remote shared servers. Individual users can connect to these servers with a thin client computer terminal that’s connected to the Internet all the time. This terminal allows users non-stop access to web-based network resources.

Green Gaming

With both the young and the middle-aged caught up in video games and online game worlds, green gaming industries have begun to pop up on the Internet. With standard gaming consoles, users often find themselves throwing out the old console in order to purchase the newest product within five years’ time. As most of the materials used to manufacture these consoles are not bio-degradable, landfills must bear the burden.

Green gaming operates off of shared cloud-server networks. Users only need to purchase a thin client device specifically designed to work with the TV. Gamers can participate in real-time games while remote servers handle all the graphics processing normally handled by bulky gaming consoles.

Green Search Engines

While the type of search engine you normally use may seem unrelated to saving the environment, it’s not. Surprisingly, there are a number of search engine providers that invest in carbon offset projects. Just like the advertising revenues generated by search engines like Yahoo and Google, green search engines invest a certain percentage of their revenues into green energy projects.

“Green” analysts have actually estimated the amount of carbon offset per user based on these factors –

• the average amount of revenue earned per search
• the number of searches each user conducts
• the number of pounds of carbon offset that can be paid for by available funds

Ultimately, the amount earned in search revenues dictates how much a search engine provider can invest in carbon offset projects.

Video Telecommunications

Within the global business world of today, air travel has become a necessary part of conducting business meetings for both companies and entrepreneurs. With the advent of high speed broadband Internet; these meetings can take place online through teleconferencing technologies.

A study conducted by the University of California at Berkeley found that replacing 25 percent of flight travel with video teleconferencing would reduce the number of air travelers by 400 million. Energy-wise, this amounts to 285 billion watts of power saved.

Green Internet Service Providers

Companies and businesses have a choice in how they go about powering their equipment. This same choice rings true within local internet providers or Internet Service Providers (ISP). While ISPs are not known for releasing copious amounts of CO2 into the environment or chemicals in the water, their web servers do require a lot of power to operate.

Green internet service providers make use of wind and solar technologies to help power their facilities. Since it’s still not quite possible to run an ISP solely off of wind or solar power, these companies make the most of available resources by using solar-powered offices and web servers. Many also make it a point to recycle office materials while at the same time using environmentally-friendly products.

Upgrade Your Home With Energy Efficient Mortgage

Making your home energy efficient can be overwhelming. There are many different upgrades to choose from, and you may not know just what to get. To add to the large number of choices, it is often an expensive endeavor. Luckily, as the green movement is becoming increasingly popular, more programs are being created to help those trying to make the switch. If you are looking to upgrade your home, one of the best choices is an Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM). EEMs exist so that you can borrow additional funds in order to add energy saving upgrades to your home. Oftentimes EEMs are offered through Federal Housing Administration and Veterans Administration programs, but are increasingly being offered by private lenders.

With an EEM you can purchase upgrades such as:

• New insulation
• New windows
• Solar panels for water heating or energy
• Alternative heating solutions such as pellet or wood stoves

EEMs are available for those looking to buy a new home and those that are refinancing. EEMs are paid separately from the primary mortgage payment, but most lenders will combine the payments into one bill. While this is similar to how you are billed for a second mortgage, you will not add an additional line to your property.

The first step to getting an EEM is to qualify for a traditional mortgage. It is important that you speak with many different lenders to make sure that you are getting the best mortgage rate. Once you are qualified, it is time to speak with a home energy auditor. It can be tricky to find a reputable auditor, so be sure to check the energy.gov site to see if they are listed in their list of partners. The auditor will come to your home and prepare a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) report. In this report they will rate your home on a scale of 1-100. The lower your score, the more energy efficient your home is. The audit is also great if you do not know what to upgrade on your home. The report also features a list of recommended upgrades, and a new HERS rating based on these upgrades.

Now that you have completed your audit, it is time to speak to your lender again. If everything looks good, they will increase the amount that you are eligible to borrow. In most cases, this will be between 5-15% of your home’s total value. Now it is a good time to speak to your auditor again. He will be able to tell you which upgrades will offer you the most bang for your buck with your budget.

There seems to be one glaring problem with EEMs. You now have a higher mortgage payment. The good thing is that for most people the savings from using less energy will balance out the cost of the higher mortgage payment. In some cases, your housing related costs maybe less overall than they were before the EEM. You can also look at the EEM as being an investment. Once your mortgage is paid off, you will continue to see savings from the upgrades you installed and when you go to sell your house, it may be worth more.

About the Author

Michael Ciocca is an employee of Total Mortgage, and an author for the Total Mortgage Blog.

5 Unique Gadgets That Are Changing The Green Tech Industry

Green friendliness doesn’t just depend on massive regulatory changes and big NGO projects in distant countries where jungles or exotic animals are found. Instead, the raw fact is that some of the biggest energy savings we can possibly make begin right in our own homes and offices, using seemingly small, simple or widely known technologies and systems that anyone can get their hands on. Just by doing things like these, millions of residential and small business consumers could decrease carbon and other waste production worldwide by billions of tons. And again, all of it starting right at home and at an individual level.

That said, let’s cover some of the tech changes you can adapt which are already helping the environment. Some of these are general technologies and some of these are distinct, and eco awesome brand name products.

1. Cloud Storage

Seems sorta counterintuitive, but you can bet your butt that cloud storage has been a marvel for going green and using less resources. Like DVDs, USB memory sticks and external hard drives before it, the cloud lets you transfer reams of data without ever having to actually print them off and contribute to billions of tons in paper production.

Sure, the cloud also depends on physical infrastructure created from heavy industry, but since it’s all centralized in single server farms, the amount of resources used to move around billions of documents via cloud sharing mediums is way, way smaller than the resources that would go into literally moving around billions and billions of documents. All around, the cloud deserves a medal for saving trees.

2. High Efficiency Solar Panels

Solar technology has been touted by the environmentalists and green conscious groups for decades as a possible future energy saver that breaks at least some of our fossil fuel chains away from our collective ankles. But, the sad reality is that this hasn’t yet come even close to becoming reality, and out of the numerous reasons (such as cost, impracticality in some areas, etc) one of the biggest has been the simple fact that solar panels haven’t been all that efficient at converting solar energy into actually usable energy –until now.

The latest generations of solar panels are finally breaking some barriers and ratcheting efficiency up from the previously maximum possible rate of 15% of solar rays converted into energy to a much, much better 30 to 44%. Now, most of the best commercial systems still available are only giving out somewhere in the 22% range but new technologies are virtually guaranteeing that within a few years, we’ll finally be able to see solar arrays that can handle much bigger needs while covering less than half the space they do now. Good news all around for Earth and for all of you who want to keep things green and sustainable.

3. The Eco Cleaner

Washing dishes using an electric washer at home can be a real drain on both the annual electrical budget and your water bills, not to mention the impact these water guzzling machines have on your local environment. If you also take into consideration the fact that a most of us wash smaller loads more frequently so that we can avoid the sight of cockroach-friendly food stained eating utensils scattered around the kitchen, the energy use problems become even worse.

Luckily a clever new kitchen cleaning invention called the ECO Cleaner has come along and it at least promises to put environmental friendliness into dishwashing in several different ways. First of all, the ECO Cleaner doesn’t rely on either water or chemical detergents to clean your utensils; instead, once loaded into its compact cylindrical body, your filthy plates and utensils are bathed in ultrasonic waves that strip stains and food particles away and convert them into compost ready food for your home garden plants. No news on when this new machine will be on the market all over the place but the environmental benefits it promises are definitely impressive.

4. Space Heater Technology

Annual home and office heating bills in homes all over the world’s non-tropical regions put an enormous dent in the environment smacking energy dues that we all have to pay. Worst of all, a lot of these enormous extra heating costs are totally avoidable with the use of just a little bit of extra efficiency in staying warm while relaxing at home or sitting at an office desk.

You see, the average home heating system is designed to create warmth for an entire large area such as a room or a whole office/home space and, while this is great when the heated area is occupied by numerous people, it can be deeply costly and inefficient when all you want to heat is yourself and anybody snuggling closer to you. This is where the space heater technology developed by companies such as Cozy Products comes into play: instead of heating a whole room just to warm your body and limbs, these awesome little heaters are designed to plug in and specifically accommodate the area around your body, keeping you toasty while saving you the cost of raising an entire room’s temperature.

5. Digitally Wired Green Thermostats

Since the proliferation of wireless technology and smartphones with constant internet connectivity during the last few years, creative new home services technologies have also popped up to take advantage of both tech trends.

One of these is the proliferation of green friendly, energy saving digital thermostats. While features and setup differ amongst brands, the basic process behind all of these devices is that they are wired into your home’s HVAC or electrical/heating system and then allow you to control all aspects of home temperature and even lighting from a single digital panel which gives you a much more simplified and highly specific interface with which you can precisely program how energy is used in your home. Many brands, such as the Nest Home Thermostat, claim that they can save you up to $200 or more on your annual electrical bill, which if true is a nice little extra for the environment.

About the Author

Stephan Jukic is a freelance writer who generally covers a variety of subjects relating to the latest changes in white hat SEO, mobile technology, marketing tech and digital security. He also loves to read and write about location-free business, portable business management and finance. When not busy writing or consulting on technology and digital security, he spends his days enjoying life’s adventures either in Canada or Mexico, where he spends part of the year. Connect with Stephan on LinkedIn.

The Benefits Of Choosing Eco Friendly Furniture

It often seems like the environment is the topic that is on everybody’s lips at the moment especially when it comes to renovations in the home. One of the most common, and maybe even the easiest, ways to make your home a little more environmentally friendly is by purchasing eco-friendly furniture.

In the past, eco-friendly furniture was often considered to be boring and unfashionable. However, that is no longer the case as it is now possible to find a huge variety of modern and stylish pieces of furniture that will not look out of place in even the most high end contemporary home. Not only does eco-friendly furniture look great, but it also  comes with a number of advantages.

Protecting The Earth

It probably goes without saying, but the main benefit of purchasing green furniture is that you know you are doing your part to help the environment. All truly eco-friendly furniture should be constructed from materials harvested from sustainable sources. This  means that the wood used comes from sustainable forests where every tree cut down is replaced with a newly planted one. It is also common for furniture to be made from alternative materials such as bamboo which is  very fast growing, yet durable grass rather than a wood.

Some eco-friendly pieces of furniture is even made from recycled materials. This is especially common when it comes to dining tables as these can easily be constructed from planks of reclaimed timber. Both recycled materials and materials from responsible sources can have an impact on preventing deforestation. A single dining set may seem like a small thing, but for every person who chooses a greener piece of furniture then there can be a big difference in the environment.

Protecting Your Pocket

It is all very well saying how much the environment will benefit from your purchase, but you want to get something out of it too, right? The good news is that you can also save money while saving the planet! With eco-friendly furniture you will find that you can get something that looks high end for a fraction of the case. This is especially true when materials like Bamboo are used in place of wood.

Protecting Your Health

It is often the case that eco-friendly furniture is also biodegradable. This means that  there are fewer chemicals used in the processing. Fewer chemicals  means that  there are no toxic materials breaking down over time and contaminating the air you breathe at home. Eco-friendly  furniture is a great choice in homes with kids or pets as it will not be harmful to their health.

There are a number of reasons why you should consider purchasing furniture which is better for the environment. It is important for everyone to do their part when it comes to caring for the planet, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get something out of it too. Eco-friendly furniture is also highly cost effective and can be better for your health thanks to the lack of toxic chemicals.

About the Author

John Miller contributed this guest post. John is a passionate freelance writer who loves writing about home improvements and furniture. He writes for sainsburys.co.uk where you can check the latest Sainsbury’s dining room tables .

Welcome, Green!

Can you imagine the mess you would be in without your most-trusted doormat? Nowadays, doormats are not really paid attention to by many households and some would even say that these are just filthy rags lying on their doorsteps. But, filthy as they may seem, they play a crucial role in the beautification of any home. Without these so-called ‘filthy rags’, you may just be welcoming dirt and untidiness inside your home.

Doormats these days come in different shapes, sizes and colors, and since it serves to welcome the dirty footsteps of your visitors, it needs to be presentable and most importantly, washable and easy-to-clean. Otherwise, you are in for a total headache as maintaining these materials is not really an easy task.

The Art of Recycling

Have you ever practiced the 3 R’s? Well, with the catastrophes and climate change now hunting us in our daily lives, it’s time that you practice being friendly to the environment, especially since there are many products now out in the market which promise to be at peace with the ecosystem. You don’t really have to be an environmentalist to support the ‘green’ movement. All you have to do is support eco-friendly products to make sure that you are doing your part in maintaining the beauty of Mother Earth. After all, it is you and your grandsons that will benefit from these simple actions.

So, what does being eco-friendly really have to do with doormats? Nowadays, green products are widely sold by a lot of companies and these include doormats. There is no better way of showing your concern to the environment than starting at your own doorsteps.

Green, Green and Bold

According to www.turtlemat.co.uk, well-known designers have now joined the green movement through designing doormats that are made from recyclable materials such as reused rubbers. These doormats are not only green in nature, but they will definitely welcome your visitors with an array of colors. These mats are not only available in different shades, but the designs will surely add more vibrancy to your home.

From Flops to Mats

The craze for wearing flip flops has been unstoppable for the past few years, especially since they are easy and convenient to wear. However, the rubber which flip flops are made from cannot only be used for these fashionable slippers, but they are also durable enough to create doormats. Through this, not only would the waste of the earth be reduced, but these mats are also hand-made, meaning no carbon was emitted in creating them. These items are available in varying color combinations and designs that can fancy you and your children.

Cleaning Agents

Cleaning doormats is a tough job for some, but through natural cleaning products that can be readily found in your kitchen, your problems would all be swept away. Agents like vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, or even detergent powder can be used in cleaning your mats. However, before using these agents, you must know which one of these is most appropriate to use for the type of material you have at home.

Saving the earth can never be done by a single person, but together, through these little and simple actions, we would be able to love the earth and save it for future generations.

About the Author

Sarah Grace Del Rosario is a lifestyle and home improvement blogger from The Thrifty Senyorita.

Repurpose For A Whole New Look

Furnishing a home with green products can be a strain on your wallet. Eco-friendly products are a great investment in your home and in the earth, but they can be pricey. So when you’re ready to invest, focus on the important stuff and use your creativity to cultivate a fabulous green home for yourself and those that live with you without breaking the bank.

Rethink and recycle

A great way to redecorate—whether you’re thinking green or not— is to repurpose items you already own. Think about what you have and what you need, and see if you can figure out some way to make all of it work without investing in new items. Basics like tables, chairs, and lamps can be reused in a number of ways, so don’t limit your ideas to the way you’ve always done it. Push things around, drape a table with a cloth, consider adding a coat of paintor a new fabric to that old chair, put a new shade—or just a different bulb—on that old lamp. Make it work! You may be surprised at the great results.

Simple Addition

Garage sales and flea markets are treasure troves of vintage items that will add beauty and a sense of history to your home. Furniture of all eras is available, and with a creative eye you can find just what you need to furnish your home. An old entertainment unit can be turned into a fabulous bar, and cutting the legs off a dresser can yield a great coffee table with extra storage. A little polish or paint is often all it takes to bring these pieces back to life.

When shopping estate sales, keep your eye out for textiles. They are often inexpensive and can be used as they are or remade into pillows, curtains, or quilts. Or frame a piece of embroidery or vintage fabric to create recycled art that is exceptional and unique.

Something New

If your taste is more modern, removable wall decals are another great room accessory. Non-toxic and durable, they are easy to install and easy to remove, so they can be reused indefinitely. While they can be used to create great drama, they take up next to no physical space, so they store easily when not on the wall. There’s enough variety in style, size, and color that you can find just the right art for the look you want.

Relocate

Speaking of art, breathe new life into your room by repositioning your art, or have it reframed and matted to work in a different setting. If you love it, find a way to appreciate it.

When you’re putting the finishing touches on your room, pull things out of the cupboards and display them. Hang a piece of Grandma’s china, or add a floral bouquet to your favorite pitcher for a unique arrangement.  Old sports equipment no longer in use can give your room instant character.

Memories are the best form of recycling, so incorporate something personal and vintage, even in a modern room. Great rooms are a reflection of the people who live there: who they have been, who they are, and who they are becoming.

Author Bio

This article has been written on behalf of Wallart2u.com.

Linens In “Green”

As we open the doors toward progression, we cannot escape from the fact that our world incessantly evolves. New and new products are out in the market every now and then, making popular products today an old issue of tomorrow. It is true to say that there is really nothing wrong with this, especially since we are able to live more comfortably, and everything is already within our reach.

Nevertheless, we can never overlook the negative effects brought about by this phenomenon, especially since global warming is largely felt by nations throughout the globe. It’s quite scary that we face hotter and hotter summer days, and this leads to one question—what will happen to the future generations? This is the main reason why we need to raise our environmental awareness and take care of our eco-system as much as we can. This cannot only be done by planting trees and opposing illegal logging, as simple actions like using environmentally-friendly products at home would be of great help.

Go Organic

With the extreme pollutants we are faced with every day, we are also exposed to diseases that can be detrimental to our daily activities. Today, a new breed of linens has been made to make sure that we do not have to suffer from the effects of using synthetic materials every day. Organic linens are materials made from fibers from plants that have not been grown and showered with a ton of fertilizers, making the material more comfortable and safer to use.

Linens

According to volgalinen.co.uk, different types of linens are used not only at home, but as well as in restaurants, hotels and other facilities. In contrary to the early use of linens, they are now widely used for beddings, kitchen and table cloths, curtains and a lot more. There are a lot of companies which sell either synthetic or organic linens, and it is best that you opt for the eco-friendly ones. Through this, you will not only be able to help save the environment, but you will also be able to assure the safety of you and your family.

Companies like MikkaWork, RawGanic and ecoLinen continuously distribute these types of linens for consumers and you may look up these companies on the Internet for queries about delivery.

Green, Clean and Thrifty

Beddings made of organic sources will make sure that you have a night-long sleep that is close to the comforts of nature. Aside from the fact that these materials are environmentally-friendly, they also come with an affordable price. In Australia, Eco Luxury Linen Bedding sells sheets that will clothe you with warmth during winter and with convenience during summer. The materials are not only easy to clean, but they perfectly fit your need on any climate of the year.

Taking care of your family and the environment can be done in simple actions, and the good thing about these products is that they are now sold abundantly by many companies. Through just a few clicks, you’d have your linens delivered at your doorstep.

About the Author

Sarah Grace Del Rosario is a lifestyle and home improvement blogger from The Thrifty Senyorita.

Top 5 Ways To Recycle Your Kitchen Waste

Experimenting with Jamie’s new recipes can leave your kitchen under a heap of waste. More than a third of household waste is from kitchen or garden materials, which in this day and age shouldn’t be finding their way to landfills.

Whether the plastic takeaway containers are piling up or there is an avalanche of vegetable peelings waiting to fall there are ways to make sure your kitchen waste is recycled and reused.

Local Council

Even without buying microwave meals your food will produce waves of plastic rubbish. Your local authority will collect paper, glass and plastic. Most councils provide recycling collections once a week. For your part you just have to rinse and separate your waste to take advantage of this roadside convenience.

Food is biodegradable so there’s no point recycling it, right? Wrong! Food and plant waste produce methane as it biodegrades and produces harmful liquids that can pollute local water supplies. These toxic effects can be prevented if organic matter is dealt with in the proper way.

Your local authorities will have recycle food waste separately, for both raw and cooked food. This is commercially composted and reused for agriculture, landscaping and horticulture. Most will provide you with a convenient little kitchen caddy to collect your waste.

Home Composting

Council recycling brings up issues of transportation costs and food miles even after your food reached the plate. Home composting is great for your garden. It makes an excellent fertilizer, which can increase the productivity and save you money.

Be aware that only certain things are suitable for home composting. You shouldn’t include meat, dairy products or any cooked foods, unless you’re hoping to set up a rat farm in your back garden. You’re safe with things like fruit and vegetable peelings, teabags and coffee grounds. For a comprehensive list and more check out Homecomposting.org.

Wormeries

For an alternative that will provide you with the best fertilizer going, reach for the worms. Fast and easy to use worms are waste-eating machines! They turn organic waste, including cooked food, into high quality compost soil and fertilizing liquid.They have an aversion to acidic conditions so don’t overload them after making lemonade

They also come in a variety of sizes, from small kitchen counter varieties to those the size of a wheelie bin. You can get starter kits from your local garden centre or make your own using wooden pallets or an old plastic bin.

Bokashi Bins

If you have limited space in your garden to hold a compost or large wormery the Japanese have come to the rescue. The Bokashi bin uses bran, consisting of worms as well as bacteria and yeast, to pickle your waste. However if you fill it with onions, don’t expect a life-time supply of pickled onions. Instead you can enjoy quality compost or use it to speed up your wormery. The urban composter works on a similar basis, but uses an accelerator spray.

Green Cone

For those of you who want an eco-friendly solution but have no need for compost or fertilizer then the green cone may be just the thing. Dig the cone into a sunny spot in the garden and commence to throw all your food waste inside, including bones or dog poo. It leaves behind only water, carbon dioxide and some organic residue, require cleaning out only every few years.

With 15 million tonnes of food thrown away every year, almost 50% from homes, the message to moderate food waste still needs to hit households. In the interim the waste we do produce should be recycled and reused. Home solutions, in combination with your kerbside council collections, are the key. Gardeners rejoice. Save money by producing amazing fertilizers, meaning you can treat your kitchen to some bling, like a fancy tablecloth, perhaps?

Do you have a regimented kitchen waste routine? Share you hints and tips on how to make your waste work for you.

About the Author

Elise Lévêque is a freelance translator. Her love of dinner parties means her kitchen often looks like a vegetable bomb has gone off, complete with overflowing waste bins. She blogs for Wipe Easy Tablecloths.

How Your Home’s Design And Landscaping Can Naturally Heat And Cool Your Home

There are many ways that you can reduce your home’s consumption of natural resources by lowering your energy needs. You can install solar lighting, energy-efficient appliances, and a programmable thermostat. You can perform an energy audit of your home and reduce drafts and other energy leaks.

In addition to all the equipment you can buy to regulate your power usage, your home is a powerful asset in the fight to lower your energy usage. Passive solar design takes into account the location of your home, the materials used to construct it, and the design of your landscape to help naturally heat and cool your home, thereby reducing your energy usage. Here’s how your home’s design and landscaping can make an impact:

Location

The direction that your home faces can have  a big impact on how well it uses the energy of the sun. When homes are placed on an east-west axis, facing north, they are better able to take advantage of the warmth from the sun coming through the south side of the house. If you also install plenty of windows on the south side of your home, you’ll get a lot of natural light and warmth in the winter, helping you to reduce heating costs.

During the summer, the position of the sun will shift so that it passes over the top of the house.

Thermal Mass

Natural light can help you warm your home during the day, but what about at night? A thermal mass in the form of a wall or flooring that absorbs the sunlight on the south side of your home can help you to solve that problem. A trombe wall is a good example of this. The stone or other absorptive material draws in the heat during the day, stores it, and then releases it at night. It helps to provide a natural heating element in your home without ever using up natural resources.

Shade Trees

In the summer,  you can ensure that your home is kept cool by growing shade trees around your home. These will block the sun, naturally cooling your home, and they will create a nice breeze that will amplify the effect.

The key is to plant trees that will be full in the summer but bare in the winter. That way, you won’t be blocking the sun in the winter and inadvertently cooling your home in the winter.

Roof Pond

A great way to naturally cool your home and to make good use of rainwater collection is to build a roof pond. This doesn’t need to be the size of an actual pond. It just needs to be about 6 to 12 inches of water on your roof — a flat roof, obviously. The water will help to dull the brunt of the sun’s rays, and it will help to naturally cool your home.

You don’t have to invest in a lot of high-tech gadgets to save energy consumption. The design of your home can naturally help to heat it in the winter or cool it in the summer, reducing your energy usage and saving you money.

Do you employ passive solar design in your home? Tell us what techniques you have used and how they have helped you in the comments!

About the Author

Amber Satka writes on financial topics, such as her look into lease to purchase options. Amber is a former office manager and current mother and writer

How To Stay Green And Beat The Summer Heat Without Using Your A/C

Staying green to beat the heat this summer has never been more crucial than it is now. With rising Co2 emissions and green house gases warming the planet at alarming rates, if we don’t each make individual concerted efforts there might not be much of a planet left for future generations to enjoy. In fact, the number one cause of these emissions is the energy needed by power plants to keep our home and office air conditioners running all summer long – not to mention the emissions released from the coolants used inside our air conditioning units. Here are some ways to stay green and beat the summer heat without using your A/C.

One of the best ways to keep your home cool without using the air conditioner is often the most overlooked way. Planting a number of deciduous trees around your home can provide shade that can vastly reduce the temperatures inside your home. In fact, planting the right trees can have the power of multiple air conditioning units working at once – this is the power of shade. You want to make sure they are deciduous, because when they lose their leaves these plants can also provide warmth in the wintertime.

Another great method to beat the summer heat without using the A/C is to get a number of low energy fans. Fans use a fraction of the amount of energy it takes to power an air conditioning system. Plus, you won’t necessarily have to worry about emergency air conditioning help any more. If you want to make the fans even more effective, you can place a jug or container full of ice water in front of them. This can effectively allow cool air to blow all throughout the home at almost the same cooling power of an air conditioner.

Next, keep your windows closed during the day and open at night. It can be incredible how much cool air we trap inside our homes that can provide enough heat beating power for an entire day. It is important, though, to make sure and close the windows at the precise time of the day. The best time to open your windows is about two or three hours after the sun sets. The best time to close them would be early in the morning before the sun has a chance to fully rise, because that is when the temperature will start to pick up.

Lastly, it’s the little things that count if you want to beat the heat this summer and decrease your reliance on the A/C. For instance, eat foods like cantaloupe and watermelon. Take cool showers and don’t leave lights and electronics on during the day. As long as you can effectively keep the indoor temperatures down and your body temperature down, you’ll have a much better chance of staying away from turning your air conditioner on. In addition, you’ll save a lot of money and it won’t be bad for the environment either.