8 Easy Projects for Instant Energy Savings

(Page 7 of 9)

February/March 2008
By Gary Reysa 
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(All calculations on 10-year savings are based on an estimated 10 percent increase per year in the cost of energy.)

RELATED CONTENT

The Next Eight Home Energy Projects

Ready to tackle more home improvement projects? The eight projects featured in this article are those that yield big savings the fastest, but the eight projects listed below also yield large savings over time. Here are the costs and savings that Gary Reysa found when trying them in his home. You can read more about them on his Web site.

Project
 

Initial
Cost

Savings
per Year
 

Energy
Reduction
per Year        

CO2 Reduction
per Year 

 Add More Attic Insulation

 $256

 $126

 1,593 kWh

 812 lbs

 Add More Crawl Space Insulation

 $210

 $86

 1,094 kWh

 558 lbs

 Buy a New, Efficient Clothes Washer

  $400

 $35

 350 kWh

 700 lbs

 Buy a New, Efficient Refrigerator

 $800

 $72

 720 kWh

 1,440 lbs

 Install Storm Windows

 $450

 $220

 2,700 kWh

 1,100 lbs

 Install a Storm Door

 $200

 $17

 216 kWh

 100 lbs

 Install Thermal Shades

 $1,086

 $258

 3,159 kWh

 1,525 lbs

 Remember to Turn Off Everything!

 $0

 $44

 438 kWh

 876 lbs

 Totals

 $3,402

 $858

 10,270 kWh

 7,111 lbs

Plan Your Own Projects

When we started our series of energy improvement projects, our goal was to cut our power usage and greenhouse gas emissions in half. We’re amazed at how easy it was and how much money we saved. But houses and living situations differ, so if you’d like to tackle your own half plan, you may need to choose a different list of projects. Here are some tips for getting started.

1. Make a full list of projects to reduce your energy use.

Build a big list of candidates to choose from. You can find the list of all the projects we did at here. These are some other helpful resources:

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