Green Options

In a presidential memorandum to the Secretary of Energy, President Obama has ordered the DOE to come into compliance with three decade-old energy efficiency laws, starting this year with nine categories of products, including ovens, vending machines, microwave ovens, dishwashers and light bulbs.

Did you know that over the course of a year, a microwave operating in standby mode will use about the same amount of electricity as it would if it ran on HIGH for 24 hours? Frightening, isn’t it? In fact, the average American home has 20-40 appliances plugged in at any given time, and in a year those appliances will together use what is equivalent to one month of electricity for the entire household - just sitting there. This great [...]

Every now and then, I see comments like the following, "That home is 2,200 sf. There's no way it can be green, such a monstrosity! People need to live in smaller houses." I disagree with that blanket statement. No house is too big, it's just the number of people in the house is too small. But I've heard equally judgmental comments with respect to second homes and vacation homes.

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