How Eco Homes Save You Money

There's a rumor going around that needs to be uprooted: ECO-friendly homes cost more money. This is just absolutely false. Sure, purchasing Leonardo DiCaprio's pad that was featured on Hollywood Green would set you back some cash, but there are many ways in which an eco-friendly home can actually save you money, should you decide to start converting the components of your own home. Here are some ways that eco homes can actually save you money:

• UTILIZE CAR POOLS. Taking the extra effort to organize car pools amongst neighbors and friends will actually save you money-and a lot of it considering how expensive gas is right now.
• CLOTHING/HOME GOOD EXCHANGE PARTIES. Gathering your friends for an evening of exchanging the things you no longer use is not only fun, but it saves you shopping money in the long run and reduces waste.
• DON'T BE AFRAID OF TAP WATER. Not all tap water is bad. In fact, some of it has been rated as pretty excellent. Nowadays, everyone is so obsessed with buying huge packages of individual bottles of water that not only are they using more plastic than necessary, but they're also losing money! If your tap water is good, why not drink it?
• HANG DRY YOUR CLOTHING. This helps the environment and your wallet, as well. You'll be amazed at how much money you start saving on your energy bill each month by doing this.
• REDUCE YOUR MEAT INTAKE. Not only is meat more expensive than veggies, but meat production is actually bad for the environment. Cut down on your meat intake and save yourself some money while you're at it.


• GROW A GARDEN. If you're growing your own veggies, not only are you the one in charge of whether or not they are being sprayed with chemicals, but it's also a lot cheaper than buying veggies.


• USE LOW ENERGY LIGHT BULBS. They use 80% less energy and they last for 15 times as long as regular light bulbs. Why not use them?


• TURN YOUR COMPUTERS OFF. They burn tons of energy and it's not very good for your computer to be left on all of the time. So turn it off and save money.


• USE RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES. You'll save money in the long run (batteries are getting expensive!) and reduce waste.


• ALWAYS TURN THE LIGHTS OFF. Leaving the lights off isn't just about turning them off when you leave the room. It's also about not having them on when you don't necessarily need them. Candles are always a pleasant alternative, as well.

As you can see, living in an eco friendly home does actually SAVE you money. On top of that, it doesn't require a whole lot of work to switch over to a more eco friendly lifestyle.

Comments

[TXfemmom]

A great deal of petroleum goes into those water bottles and plastic bags from the grocers. I have purchased reusable fabric bags and take them to the grocery and other stores whenever possible.

Were we just to ban the use of the plasic bags and put a refundable cost on the plastic bottles in water bottles and soda bottles, that could save a lot of petroleum and landfill space.

[kingcityguru]

Day4Energy (dot com) produces the most energy efficient solar panels on the market -- giving you the most energy per square foot of space. I, a conservative and not a globalwarminmonger, have them as I could make the economic argument for them. I doubt many on the left and in the environmental religious movement have done anything but complain and tell others how to live.

[Bozwellian]

uh, wondering WHY the "message" here was considered detrimental...Have we learned nothing from say, declaring WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO DRIVE GUZZLERS and eschew talk of fuel efficiency ? LOL, foolish and selfish folks still abounding , gong to be a harsh reality bite coming for many when choices do become rather limited and UNAFFORDABLE to the greater majority especially if the majority do NOT fid a way to curtail usage of dwidling resources. (uh..if nothing else, for sure the market will cause curtailment, just as we are presntly seeing due to $4= gas for transportation, rise in food prices and loss of jobs all interrelated for those that care to notice...!!!) SIlly people, common sense tells us that we DO need to make changes and in regard to meat eaters...hey, LOL, health benefits from "cutting" over consumption--tis true, give it up a bit and over time you too will detect a difference in the bodies functionality and energy rise !!!

[kiki1966]

One more point:

To the apartment dweller: your footprint is low already by virtue of your small living space-don't feel guilty about not having space for a garden-enjoy the farmer's markets, use reusable grocery bags, change out your bulbs and ask the apartment management to do the same for the building--and see if they will put solar screens on the western windows. Turn your a/c off when not needed-same with computers and other electronics (she already mentioned this) and unplug them, too, as they will continue to suck out power.

We can all do a little bit to reduce our footprint-whatever our personal situation. I think the tipping point is upon us and there is no going back.


Thanks!

[kiki1966]

Thanks for the article but this doesn't say anything about true Green Building; it just lists ways in which people can reduce their personal energy usage. Car pooling is a great idea but it is not a feature of an "eco-home".

A Green Home is one that would (hopefully) utilize renewable energy sources, enjoy passive solar energy and natural ventilation due to it's site placement, have large shade trees or overhangs to reduce radiant heat in the summer afternoon, have lots of chemical-free insulation, excellent attic ventilation, earth-friendly flooring, paint and cabinet options, a rainwater irrigation system, a large compost pile in the backyard (maybe even a vegetable garden), low-water turf in the yard or xeriscaping, etc.

As an EcoBroker in Austin, I am fortunate to live in a city with the oldest (and best) Green Building program in the country-it means a lot to us here but true green building takes more than lighting candles and not eating meat.

It's a committment but one that will pay off immediately and in the long run. One can take incremental steps (buy a rain barrel and collect all that rain to water your yard-you'll save thousands of gallons a year!) and still make a huge difference.

[MajorKong]

Our grandparents were doing a lot of these things during World War II. It's not something that the hippies invented in the 1960s like conservatives seem to think.

[Earl]

FINALLY - a photo of Al Gore's house! Oh, that's not Al Gore's house? Never mind.

[SeanOcali]

I have to rant here. When will people figure it out? This kind of messaging has been detrimental to the environmental movement for decades now. The headline is exactly what needs to be promoted. But when an article tells people to eat less meat, then you're entering the realm of telling people to give up things they like. If eating meat is hurting someone financially, let them figure it out on their own. Don't paint environmentalism as some social engineering project designed to get people to ride bikes, live in trees, and become vegan. That kind of message has been a valuable weapon for the right-wing in attracting cynics.

I just don't believe any of this really does much good. Say you magically get half the country to willingly change their behavior. What does that buy us? A few years? Everyone cuts their carbon footprint in half... then the population doubles. It's pointless. Nothing's going to help unless there are major public policy changes.

[jsarets]

Reducing meat consumption is often a tough sell, but the fact of the matter is that raising animals for food generates more greenhouse gas emissions than all the cars, trucks, trains, ships, and planes in the world combined. American livestock consumes seven times as much grain as the American people.

I will probably never give up meat, but I've cut my meat consumption roughly in half, I feel more energetic, and I'm constantly discovering delicious recipes. And when I embrace my inner carnivore, as I did this past weekend with some baby-back ribs in the smoker, the experience is somehow more enjoyable. Since my new plant-based staples are less expensive and my meat consumption is reduced, I'm able to afford higher-quality meats.

As long as you realize that you don't have to follow a strict diet or submit to the vegan orthodoxy, eating less meat isn't that big a deal.

[GuyRC]

Same here, I'm down to only eating meat in restaurants or at friends houses when they cook a meal. Beef is the worst, don't eat it at all. I am mainly unhappy about grazing on public land at the expense of wildlife and diverse habitat.

[ClarkJensen]

Small electric cars for local runs. Electric cars are pennies on the mile. And soon you will get several hundred miles on a battery charge.

[coyote4]

Oh god i would like to comment, but can we? are we allowed to comment? Has the bugs been cleaned out yet?

[Earl]

all your comments are belong to us.

[dora rice]

advising morons to burn candles is dangerous. Just burn one bulb instead of two, use one lamp instead of two. Don't burn candles they are hazzardous to morons and we have a lot of them in this counrty.

[ObamaProud]

"morons and we have a lot of them in this counrty".

LOL!

[dora rice]

bunch of BS about growing your own veggies, you need fertilizer for them too, or they will be eaten by bugs and birds and rabits before you bring them to the table.

[incontempt]

No BS...look into organic gardening, container gardening and other garden sites for pest control...try your own kitchen scrap compost mixed with some soil for fertilizer­...fertili­zer is for giant farms....not family gardens.

[ahornick]

Trick to keeping the rabbits away from seedlings for a while - cut the bottoms off 1-2 litter plastic juice and/or soda containers and set them over the seeds or seedlings. Leave the bottle tops off - it also focuses the use of less water and functions as a "greenhouse" until the weather warms up. Trick I picked up from my neighbors while working a construction project in Romania.

[DanceRat]

Oh, this is not true - we live in the suburbs, 1/2 mile away from a Target and a Safeway, and we have converted our lawns into a HUGE garden. Everything we grow now is either pretty or edible, no grass. We have two cherry trees, a plum tree, an apple tree, blueberry bushes, strawberry plants, herbs, all manner of vegetables. We don't use fertilizer, we compost all of our food, including meat, in two separate containers, one for just brown and green and one for worms and use that to amend the soil. I suggest you google suburban gardens. They did it in WWII! And not only that, but all the extra food we don't eat or can or freeze, we give away to local food banks. Our neighbors think its pretty cool - we could all do it and we may need to.

[GnitenGoodLk]

Excellent advice. Huffpo, anyway we can get a home/apartment gardening post like this one?

I've grown my own spices in our windowsill, use small composting to keep them going, but those with front lawns willing to do what you have done would make a fortune in the neighborhood I live in. Really a good idea.

[Exusian]

If you look up 'fertilizer' in the dictionary I'm pretty sure you'll learn that fertilizer is not a pesticide.

[Anciano]

Compost is better than fertilizer. Made from garden leftovers and scraps. You are saying that birds and bugs eat plants that aren't fertilized? What turnup patch did you come from Jack?
Google 'Biointensive gardening'.

[Sumocat]

Takes smarts, not fertilizer, to ward off pests. A good garden should include garlic, onions, hot peppers, herbs, and other such plants that are undesirable to certain animals and insects. Chicken wire over the ground will block out some animals. And don't underestimate the value of a good dog or cat.

[noneIn2008]

#1 home eco friendly item - cut the size of the house. It is ridiculous to see a $34,000,000 eco home. Large homes are eco unfriendly independent of any extras tossed in to make up for the abuse.

The meat comment is a farce.

Those new low energy light bulbs us mercury! How is this eco friendly? Where do the waste bulbs go? Break one in your kids room and you are over the limits for mercury exposure.

Candles? What is the CO2 foot print? Volatiles? Carcinogens generated in the burning and confined to your home?

[incontempt]

The Mercury in those bulbs, as i understand, are only a fraction of what fallout is from burning coal, maine doesn't burn coal but has all of it's fish on consumtion limit because of Coal "fallout"...more twistee lightbulbs and less coal plants...are you dancing on broken twistees?

[noneIn2008]

It is not the total amount but the concentration of mercury in the kids bedroom with one broken twistee. That concentration from one broke bulb would be over EPA limits. Your danger comes from concentration of the exposure.

[iamjoneskeepupwithme]

meat consumption is very much an issue. read "livestock's long shadow" to understand the gravity of the issue in detail.

but i agree with you on the candle issue, yet for different reasons. candles are expensive!!! candles have been re-categorized as perfumed junk in most retail stores, as opposed to a lovely and funtional addition to the home. make them affordable and i'll buy them in bulk.

[noneIn2008]

What is the source of the materials in those candles? Livestock and petrol.

[iamjoneskeepupwithme]

oh! and also...i just love when people assume everyone owns a home with a yard for cultivating their own garden. there is nothing i'd love more than to have my own garden, but i am a lifetime renter/apartment dweller and there are a hell of a lot of us out here. an addendum to that suggestion should be to frequent local farmers markets in lieu of being able grow one's own garden.

[noneIn2008]

Outstanding point and very good clarification on using the farmers markets.

[FearlessFreep]

Maybe you can start a garden on your building's rooftop.

[Jalans]

House size is a major issue. Even the USGBC LEED for Homes certification penalizes houses on size.

I'm not sure what you meant by, "The meat comment is a farce." since the production of meat is proven to be a huge and inefficient user of energy and water resources. It's not to say "don't eat meat" just be more conscious about it.

And it's true, CFL bulbs contain less mercury than the emissions created to power a conventional bulb AND you don't get the CO2. They are not the ultimate technology and will probably be phased out in 10 or 15 years, but in the process they will save millions of tons of CO2.

Better yet, sign up for WindSource power if it's available in your area. My house is 100% powered by wind through the utility program.

There are lots of options when you apply a little creative thinking. In fact I installed my solar cloths dryer today and it works great!