Energy Solutions for City Homes
For information on our workshops happening in the spring of 2009, please click here
Learn how row homes and their occupants use and lose energy. Hear how a residential energy efficiency and conservation expert advises row homeowners and tenants how to use less energy and make Lancaster more livable.
Goals
The primary goal of LIVE’s Energy Solutions for City Homes program is to assist City homeowners in developing a personalized Action Plan to help them reduce energy costs and carbon emissions.
Partners
- Pure Energy – A Tamasin Sterner
Environmental benefits
- Reduced consumption of non-renewable resources
- Reduce carbon emissions
- Reduce costs for heating and cooling
- Reduce costs of electricity
Lancaster City Street Scape
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Climate Change and Your Home
5 easy steps
1. Change Five Lights
Change a light, and you help change the world. Replace the conventional bulbs in your 5 most frequently used light fixtures with bulbs that have earned the government’s ENERGY STAR, such as compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), that use at least 3/4 less energy than standard incandescent lighting and last up to 10 times longer, and you will help the environment while saving more than $65 each year on energy bills. If every household in the U.S. took this one simple action we would prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions from nearly 10 million cars. When replacing appliances also look for ENERGY STAR rating.
2. Heat and Cool Smartly
Simple steps like cleaning air filters regularly, installing adequate insulation, and having your heating and cooling equipment tuned annually can save energy, increase comfort at home, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Sealing leaks around doors and windows can cut your heating and cooling bills by up to 20 percent. Install a programmable thermostat, which can cut heating and cooling costs by about 10 percent – enough, in most cases, to pay for the device within one season and then yield home energy savings of about $150 a year. See www.pahomeenergy.com for more details.
3. Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
Reduce the amount of waste you generate and water you consume whenever possible. Pursue simple water saving actions such as not letting the water run while shaving or brushing teeth. Utilize Lancaster’s community wide recycling program. Reducing, reusing, and recycling in your home helps conserve energy and reduces pollution and greenhouse gases from resource extraction, manufacturing, and disposal. When you do purchase, try to buy locally made and grown products.
4. Be Green in Your Yard
Composting your food and yard waste reduces the amount of garbage that you send to landfills and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Enhance the green spaces around your home with native plants, herbs and vegetables, cut down on chemical use, and consider installing a rain barrel to manage and collect roof water for use in your gardens.
5. Calculate Your Household’s Carbon Footprint
Use EPA’s Personal Greenhouse Gas Emissions Calculator to estimate your household greenhouse gas emissions resulting from energy use, transportation, and waste disposal. This tool helps you understand where your greenhouse gas emissions come from and help you identify ways to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions.
Resources
Helping Pennsylvania Consumers
Reduce Their Home Energy Use
