Home Energy improvements & Enviroment
Illustrated Short Stories on Energy & Environment
Dozens of short illustrated stories and infographics about Energy & Environment that you can use in your blog or site freely.
See a list here: List of Energy & Green Infographics
Home energy Improvements are a powerful tool for creating a better environment
Our buildings consume a huge amount of energy; according to the Rock Mountain Institute our buildings consume about 42% of our primary energy, 72% of its electricity and 34% of its natural gas.
But it doesn't have to be this way. Energy efficiency can reduce this consumption by half or more. Energy efficiency is a powerful means for creating a better environment and a better world.
Help the Environment by Improving your Home's Energy Efficiency
High tech projects are not more useful – from an environmental standpoint – than common air sealing or insulation projects, or the replacing of energy-inefficient windows, lighting and appliances.
After all, it’s usually easier and less costly to save energy than to produce it. That's the golden rule of energy efficiency.
Buy Wind, Photovoltaic or Hydro Electricity
If you live in the USA, Canada, UK or Australia you can help green power producers and the transition from fossil fuel electricity to green electricity by buying... renewable electricity.
See: Green Power Guide
Alternatives to Air Conditioners
The number of buildings using air conditioners is rapidly increasing, but it doesn't have to be this way. You can cut your cooling bills to a fraction by using natural cooling strategies and an energy-efficiency approach.
It’s not difficult to reduce AC consumption to low levels, or even to eliminate it, in many climates.
See:
AC Alternatives
Natural Cooling Guide
Cooling with Shade
Cooling with Ventilation
Solar Heat Gains Control
Wood Burning is Rarely a Good Environmental Choice
Traditional fireplaces may lose more than 90% of the heat they produce through the chimney and emit dangerous pollutants: CO, CO2, dangerous toxins, including dioxin, arsenic and formaldehyde.
Wood-burning can be in some sense carbon-neutral, but there are other issues that we should be aware of.
See:
Fireplaces Guide
Wood Burning & Energy Efficient Homes
Eco-Friendly Flooring Choices
Many new flooring products come with a large recycling content and meet environmental criteria.
See: Eco-friendly flooring choices
Environmentally-Friendly Insulation Materials
Residential insulation is critical to to reduce carbon emissions from our homes. We should not forget that - from an environmental standpoint - energy conservation is usually amore important than energy generation.
Unfortunately, blowing agents in products like spray polyurethane foam and extruded polystyrene can offset much of the benefits of some insulation products.
See: Environmentally-friendly insulation materials
Alternatives to Central Furnaces
Each residential furnace emits on average 20.000-50.000 pounds of CO2 per year. And that raises a critical question: Which are the alternatives to central heating systems, and more specifically to furnace systems?
Eco-friendly Garage Doors?
You may look for garage doors with a green label and some sort of environmental certification, or garage doors using recycled materials in their core.
See: Eco-friendly garage doors
Heat Pumps & Environment: A Critical Assessment
Geothermal heat pumps can produce 3, 4 or 5 times more kWh of heat than the electricity they use - this ratio is 1/1 for common electric heaters, using electric-resistance elements...
But they are expensive, and do not make sense in energy-efficient homes.
Landscaping & Energy Improvements and Environment
Trees and shrubs can redirect the winds away from your home, or bring refreshing breezes into it, or shade your roofs, walls and windows, or block unwanted sunlight, making your home and your yard more comfortable, and all this for free or almost free...
See: Landscaping for Energy Efficiency
Lighting & Environment
According to the Energy Star program, if every North-American home replaced just one light bulb with a LED or a CFL bulb, that would save enough power to light three million homes for a year and prevent nine billion pounds of CO2 and other greenhouse emissions.
Pay Attention to Your Yard
Typical gas mowers are enormous consumers of energy. They are responsible for about 5% of the world’s pollution, which is awesome.
And the same is true for leaf blowers, snow blowers, power tillers or chainsaws... They all have a very low energy-efficiency and a very negative impact on the environment.
See: Yard and Garden Equipment
Building a New Home
Building a new home is a great opportunity to use the best construction practices and achieve the highest energy savings with the least carbon footprint.
See: Passive Solar Houses
Green roofing materials
There are some green alternatives to traditional roofing. You just have to consider their pros and cons, which depend on your climate.
See: Green Roof Materials
Solar Electricity Systems (PV Systems)
Before installing a PV system consider home improvements like new lighting bulbs, energy-efficient electric appliances, alternative cooling strategies and very high levels of air sealing and insulation.
You goal, when installing a PV system should be to meet most of your electricity needs.
See:
Residential Solar Photovoltaic
Before Installing Solar Photovoltaic
Passive Solar for Home Heating
Passive solar techniques do not rely on solar panels; their goal is not to produce electricity or to heat water.
Their goal is to control and benefit from solar heat gains by using the landscape and a proper orientation to the sun, and architectural features (windows, overhangs…), design (shape, size of the house) and high thermal construction materials.
See: Passive Solar
Solar Water Heating
Solar water heaters are fairly basic or even low-tech.
They comprise a set of well tested designs, responding to different climates and needs; they involve a tested and reliable technology, very effective in moderate and hot climates.
See: Solar water heating
Small Wind Systems
Wind famrs with their large wind-turbines are now producing power at very competitive prices. Small wind power systems have a far smaller importance.
Infographics
List of Infographics/Animated Graphics/High Quality Images on environmental issues that you may use freely in your blog or site: Infographics.
Just a sample:
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