green home projects

Put a sweater on your house. One of the most important energy-saving elements of your home is insulation. Insulating your ceiling and walls will cut your energy bills and make your house more comfortable throughout the year.

Get more information on insulation

Find installers

You should consider solar energy. Solar power is obviously a wonderful environmental option because it is renewable and clean. While a whole-house system can have an expensive up-front cost, many states and cities now provide attractive financial incentives.

Learn more about the costs and benefits

Find a solar provider in your area

If you live in a rural, windy area you should consider wind energy. Like solar, wind energy is a great environmental alternative to traditional non-renewable power.

Learn more about if wind would be a good option for you

Find a wind-power installer in your area

Change your light bulbs. Lighting is one of the largest uses of power in your home. Use natural lighting where you can, or replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lighting. Fluorescent lights use 1/3 the electricity of normal bulbs and last up to 10 times longer. And they’re not bright and ugly anymore!

Find CF fixtures and lights

Find Sun Tube skylights

Improve the efficiency of your hot water heating. You can do the following:

• Insulate your hot water heater, and hot water piping
• Reduce your water heater thermostat to 120 degrees
  (which also prevents scalding)
• Replace your hot water heater with a tankless hot-water heater – you get instantaneous hot water, no waste while hot water slowly cools in the tank, and some valuable real estate where the water heater used to sit!

Get info on tankless hot water heaters

Make sure your windows & doors don’t leak air– you could be wasting energy & heat.

Use weather-stripping or caulk

Make sure you have sealed and insulated heating and cooling ducts

Find supplies

Make sure you have an energy efficient furnace.

See a list of Energy Star approved efficient furnaces

Consider a graywater recycling system. Graywater is water drained from baths, showers, washing machines, and sinks (household wastewater excluding kitchen and toilet wastes) and can be used for irrigating non-edible plants.