Submitted by porkchopexpress on August 25, 2008 - 11:21am.
Well, my home was built back in '47 and had minimal updates when I got it. It is a brick 2 floor Georgian (think cube shaped) with a full basement. I replaced all of the faucets and the shower head with aerating heads. There was a minimal difference in water usage. The biggest difference in water usage reduction came when my wife and I bought a new wash machine.
I also replaced all of the light bulbs with those high efficiency bulbs and that made a huge difference in my electrical bill.
The windows were replaced with double layer insulated glass windows and I added ceiling fans. That helped to significantly reduce the cost of both heating and cooling.
What I am looking into next are those solar panel roof tiles. They attach to the roof like normal roof tiles and last 15 years. That is supposed to make a really dramatic reduction in the energy costs of the house. But since I live in Chicago it may not make too much of a difference in the winter because 90% of the time there is cloud cover. If I go through with it I'll post any results.
Re: "Green" House = Cost Savings?
Well, my home was built back in '47 and had minimal updates when I got it. It is a brick 2 floor Georgian (think cube shaped) with a full basement. I replaced all of the faucets and the shower head with aerating heads. There was a minimal difference in water usage. The biggest difference in water usage reduction came when my wife and I bought a new wash machine.
I also replaced all of the light bulbs with those high efficiency bulbs and that made a huge difference in my electrical bill.
The windows were replaced with double layer insulated glass windows and I added ceiling fans. That helped to significantly reduce the cost of both heating and cooling.
What I am looking into next are those solar panel roof tiles. They attach to the roof like normal roof tiles and last 15 years. That is supposed to make a really dramatic reduction in the energy costs of the house. But since I live in Chicago it may not make too much of a difference in the winter because 90% of the time there is cloud cover. If I go through with it I'll post any results.