A "green house" - home, that is, not an indoor farm... a green house no longer only applies to the type in which we can grow a garden inside of, but the term now applies also to those houses and homes which utilize "greener technologies" in order to run more efficiently, create less waste in energy expense, and often, are even involved in the generation of energy on their own. Of course, if you're not going to buy or build one of these, and hope to save on energy expense in your existing home right now, here are a few things you can do...
To make your home more of a "green house" home, cut down on energy expenses whenever and wherever possible. You can start by installing a timer to your heating system. Set the timer so that your heating system turns down quite low about an hour after you go to bed, and turn up again about an hour before you wake up. Have it shut completely off about a half-hour before there is no-one at home (like, during work and school hours), and turn back on again about a half-hour before you return home again.
Another "green house home" idea is to do this very same thing for your hot water heater. This is a huge consumer of energy and can represent an enormous chunk of your energy expenses. Have a timer installed on your water heating system and set it to turn off at bed-time, and turn on again about an hour before waking. Have it turn off when no-one is at home, and turn on again in enough time before your home becomes bustling with people once again. Remembering to set your heating and hot water system completely off while away on vacation, or just away for the weekend, is also a great and simple way to save an inordinate amount of energy expenses.
Finally, for another green house home idea, keep clear in mind the relationship that light and heat has and how they can affect each other. For example, you're probably well aware that having your window curtains open wide to let in the natural sunlight saves a lot of artificial lighting electricity expense, right? Add to that the sun's warming effect in the home, and this also saves on heat in the winter... but what about the summertime? If we did this in the summer, we could save on lighting, but we would spend much more on air conditioning to counteract the heating effect of the sun's warmth on a hot summer day, pouring into your windows. For this reason, it would be best to keep the shades closed, which would actually have a cooling effect in your home, and just use artificial lighting when needs be - this costs far less than running an air conditioner in the home all day.
If you're interested in learning more about green homes and other things related to alternative energy, then you've got to check out the EcoPlusHome project.
Bryan Kenny and his family are an average North American family with one exception...they're living in the EcoPlusHome.
The EcoPlusHome is a prefabricated home powered by alternative energies like solar thermal, geothermal and photovoltaic. Bryan and his family will show the world that it is possible to live self sustained for a 12 month period by showcasing their journey living in the EcoPlusHome on their blog.
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