Go Green This Summer and Save Some Green.

Summer has finally come to Brooklyn, and the temperature is on the rise.  This forecast for this week calls for the high temperature to hover around 80 degrees, so many of us Brooklynites will be cranking up the air conditioning, and the energy costs.

Well, here are 10 tips to help you go green this summer and save some green at the same time.

1. Don't run the air conditioner when no one is at home.  If you must have you home nice and cool when you walk into it after a long hot day, put it on a timer.  You can get a pretty inexpensive one at Home Depot or Loews.
2. Turn lights off when you're not in the room.  Install motion activated lighting, especially in closets, laundry rooms and the like, so forgetting to turn off a light is not an issue.
3. Use the energy-saving setting on all your appliances such as air conditioners, washing machines, clothes dryers and dishwashers.
4. When you need to upgrade an appliance, be sure to look for ENERGY-STAR qualified applicances as replacements.  It will use 10 to 50% less electricity then a standard model.  Find out more About the ENERGY-STAR at www.energystar.gov.
5. Be sure to unplug televisions, stereo equipment, and computer equipment when you're not using them.  Even when they're not is use, they are drawing power, especially if they have an LCD display.  If you plug your computer and home entertainment equipment into a power strip, it's easy to cut the power to all off them with the flip of one switch.
6. Chargers for electronic devices draw power even when they not charging anything.  Unplug your cell phone, PDA and MP3 player chargers when they're not in use.
7. Seal drafty windows and doors so that you can keep the cold air out during the winter and the cool air-conditioned air in during the summer.
8. Switch all your lighting to compact fluorescent bulbs. They use 25% less electricity then a standard bulb and last 10 times longer.
9. Install ceiling fans.  Moving air tends to feel cooler.  According to DOE's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network, the effect is equivalent to lowering the air temperature by about 4 F (2 C) allowing you to use less energy by adjusting the temperature setting on your air conditioner accordingly.
10. Walk more and drive less.  Gas may not be as expensive as last summer, but you can still save by walking to the corner store instead of driving.

Hopefully, these ten tips will help you reduce your energy consumption, which is good for the environment and good for your wallet as well.