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Being green pays off

I just wanted to let everyone know that by helping the environment and saving energy, it really does pay off in dollars and sense also.

A few months ago, I changed most of the lights bulbs in my home from the regular we used to use to the Energy Star bulbs. We had some replaced prior to this, but this time we changed at least 85% of the bulbs in the house. Not only do these bulbs save money, they put out perfect light and last up to 7 years.

Along with the light bulbs, we also replaced our 12 yr old heating and cooling system with a Energy Star Certified system. This thing is great, it keeps the temp perfect in here and has a programmable thermostat to lower the air at night to save even more. It also controls the humidity in the home.

We live in Florida, so the temp. is still up there and were still using the AC as much as we were before. The big thing here is that our electric bill is $150 lower than it has been in the previous months, and even lower that this same time period last year. Our energy consumption has been cut by a good amount.

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Posted by Sherry Laursen on 10/29/2007 02:22 PM

Comments (19)

green, electric bill, energy star certified, heating, cooling, light bulbs, cfl bulbs, save money

Post is included in group: ECO-All-Stars~ GREEN Resources, Trends & Friends
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19 Comments on Being green pays off

OCT

2007

Sherry, I agree with you that being green really does pay off. I just recently replaced all the light bulbs in my apartment with the Energy Star bulbs. I hope to see a big difference on my electric bill in the next sixty days. A tip for saving even more energy and water as well, is to make sure you're using a low-flow showerhead. The energy you save on heating water can be greatly reduced. Showers are typically the biggest consumers of hot water in our homes. Take a look at this new showerhead and see what you think. http://itjustmakessense.net

Fred

Saving our enviroment one shower at a time.

NOV

2007

Fred-I'm sure you will notice a substantial difference in your utility bills due to the bulbs. We do ok on the water as far as conserving. I did try to look at the video, but couldn't get it to play. Sounds like a good idea though.

NOV

2007

Sherry~

WOW! Great news in this first-hand account. If more real estate professionals tried out your method for saving money, many of us would be celebrating, I'm sure...and what good information to share with clients, eh?

Sherry - thanks for sharing your savings with us! I must've gotten a bad CFL - I had one burn out that we just put in 2 weeks ago. I suppose as in everything else there are some "duds." WOW! $150 in savings! That is awesome. It is also great to know how you are minimalizing your impact on the environment!

JaneAnne-Saving money and energy is a big plus and it helps having first hand experience with what I'm trying to tell others

Mary-We bought about 20 CFL's at the same time and 2 out of the bunch did burn out within 2 weeks, I took them back to the store and they said every so often you do get a dud in the bunch, but not very often. I believe they are so worth it.

These are the types of stories we need to share with our clients. They often have no idea about the savings. Thanks for sharing these examples.

Joan-There is just so many things we can all do to save, even without spending a lot of money

NOV

2007

Hi Sherry, $150 is ALOT! Way to go! Mine keeps dropping..yeah! Keep us posted.

Great post!

A new 14 seer or higher A/C alone will even make a Huge difference.

Jamie

It would be great to see a table of last year's utility bills and this year's utility bills to prove the point. Most people know that there are energy savings but we're still trying to gather proof of what the actual savings is. I would really encourage you to do that to show the cost comparison to your clients. :)

That's awesome news! I have always wondered how much you could actually save by switching the light bulbs. Thanks for the report!

great info to share. I know I'm saving when I compare my bill with my business partner's who lives in an apartment: 5x the square footage, only 2x the electric bill. Green works

NOV

2007

Hi Sherry - GREAT info! Thanks so much. I just, today, put an energy star bulb in my office lamp (other one burned out) but you know what really BURNED me about the light???! The packaging! My word - there was enough plastic wrapped around that enviro-bulb for a gallon milk-jug. Isn't it ironic?-I mean the old-style bulbs are in a simple recylcable cardboard box and the new earth-friendly bulbs are in big, bad, non-recyclable plast containers...Seriously! Ha!

Anyway, thanks for the post and way to go on your bill!!!!

Emily

Stephanie-I was thrilled when I got the bill this time. I really wanted to see the difference.

Jaime-I can't remember if this was 14 or 16 SEER, but alone they would make a difference, together it was huge for me.

Tammy-That's a great idea! Thanks

Tyghre-Switching the bulbs alone does save alot, but for this amount I did do the AC and the bulbs

Geraldina-Your right, Green works in at so many different levels

Emily-That is ironic, I've never even thought about that, maybe someone should write the company and mention it, it doesn't make sense at all once I think about it.

APR

2008

Sherry-

was checking out your blog and came across this post. I couldn't agree more. Living ing an old home doesn't have to mean high utility bills. http://lifeinseminoleheights.blogspot.com/ The metal roof, the higher effeciency heat pump, and the squiggly little florescent bulbs kept the electric bill in my 1,500 sq ft bungalow under $75 a month all winter! The best month was actually under $60. I am using on average half of the kilowatts compared to when I first bought this house in 2004. Doing my part to reduce my carbon foot print!

-Rick

http://www.athomeintheheights.com/

MAY

2008

Rick-That's great! All of that really does make a huge difference. There is so much we can do to save energy to help the environment as well as save money. Even minor changes make a difference.

MAY

2008

Try to educate your public when they are buying or selling property, to the benefits of conservation. The payoff is that, when they go to sell it and the buyer's request a annual summary of their electric bill, and it shows that the home is energy efficient. The sellers will probably be more successful in the long run.

Sherry,

Nice post. $150 is a good amount of savings... congrats! My wife and I are trying, slowly, to turn our old 1940 leaky-but-cute home into an energy-efficient green cottage. We changed the bulbs out as soon as we moved in, and have insulated the attic, and fixed up the ductwork, but way more work to go before the bills (and comfort level) are where we want them.

MAY

2008

Ann-Marie--I thinks it always important to educate the buyers/sellers about the benefits of conservation regarding energy as well as savings

Alex-Its looks like your headed in the right direction. There is so much more I'd like to do, some is just a little more expensive than others.

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