The articles of this blog and newsletter focus mainly on new regulations, Supreme Court rulings, how you can save energy and lessen environmental impacts at your office or industrial area, etc. Good things to help you at your job. One thing I should also provide is good energy/environmental tips for you at home to save you money, too because we all know that energy is a growing portion of our household budget. So here they are. And feel free to use these to put together your own list to provide to your employees so you can have a hand in making their lives better to and engender support at work.
1. Buy Energy StarTM-labeled products. This joint EPA/DOE program lists the most energy efficient products around. Such products are typically a little more expensive upfront than non-Energy Star rated equivalents, but pay back that difference in a short time. This covers household items like TVs, refrigerators, laptops, printers, etc. This is probably the most cost effective way to reduce your energy costs.
2. Convert lighting to LEDs. After some initial problems, LEDs are now reliable and here to stay. LEDs are made for nearly every application in a home (or office), and can be dimmed or similarly controlled. Yes, they are more expensive, but make it up in energy savings and their longevity (fewer replacements and trips up the ladder).
3. Your car. Certainly, a car with a high mpg rating will provide major cost savings and fewer trips to the gas station. But it also means lower emissions from the tailpipe and lower exposure to your family and others. With that in mind, minimize the idling you may do at your children’s school, the supermarket, etc. Carpool with neighbors and encourage them not to idle either. Your town may have a law against it already.
4. Your clothing. Choose a dry cleaner that does not use “PERC”, a toxic compound. PERC can stick to your clothes and be slowly released and build up in the contained space of your closets or on your body, where it can be absorbed into your bloodstream. “Green” cleaners are popping up in a lot of communities.
5. Your indoor air. We all spend more time indoors so the quality of that air we breathe is important. Be careful if you “freshen” a room with scented candles or air freshener. The chemicals contained in air fresheners, while smelling nice, and released from burning candles may be harmful. Consider opening a few windows regularly (if safe) to let in fresh air, such as on a summer night. Also, consider reading labels and buying “green” home cleaning products to minimize volatile toxics in the indoor air.
6. Your food and water. What we should eat or drink is up to us. However, we all can agree that it is best not to re-heat food stored in plastic in the microwave. This can cause leaching of chemicals from the plastic container or wrap onto your food. Be aware of your municipal water. Most meet regulatory standards. If you are concerned, use a filter and store in glass or steel containers and minimize plastic.
CCES has the experts to help you with technical upgrades to help your commercial space use less energy and to reduce the environmental and health impacts on your staff. Contact us today at karell@ccesworld.com or at 914-584-6720.