One of the best things about going green is that you’ll save money on your energy costs, too! Here are a few things you can do around the house to cut your energy bill for good:
Research Providers: Some people are lucky enough to live in deregulated states which means they can actually CHOOSE their energy provider. Sites like energysavings.com make it easy to compare rates and practices in your area.
Change Your Habits: Switch out all the bulbs in your house and learn to unplug when you’re not using certain appliances to save on the amount you’re outputting and what’s coming out of your wallet, too.
Plant a Garden: The great thing about gardens is that they’re awesome for the environment and you can grow your own vegetables! It’s going to save you money on your produce and you’ll get to do something good for the planet while you’re at it – what more could you ask for when it comes to your eating habits?
Congrats for even thinking about your energy consumptionyou’re ahead of the game, now do something about it!
The LEED system was originally started by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in March 2000. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The LEED certification system is a way to measure if a building’s design, construction, maintenance, and operations are environmentally friendly.
Building owners can use the LEED system to determine if their building is green. The LEED standards can be applied to residential and commercial buildings. The standards can be used during design and construction to ensure that a new building will be green. LEED standards can also be used on existing buildings to determine how green they are and what items can be improved.
There are several major areas that LEED measures to determine how green a building is, including the selection of the building site, energy efficiency, water use, and recycling efforts. A building owner can go through each of the main LEED areas to determine how green their building is.
Building owners who want to determine how green their building is can rate their buildings based on the LEED standards. Using the LEED criteria will allow building owners to determine what areas the building is performing well in and areas that can be improved.
For consumers who are interested in making their office buildings greener, there are a lot of options that can be used. The first is starting with the structural aspects of the building. Foam insulation isn’t expensive, and is a a great way to conserve energy. The heating bills and utility costs of the company are going to go down, and the appliances like heaters and air conditioners will work a lot more efficiently. Energy efficient windows and appliances are another great way to make the building a lot greener, and friendlier for the environment.
Inside the building there are several better choices that could be made on a daily basis. Try to send as many documents as possible electronically to customers and clients, and print all of your documents on recycled paper. Use only recycled products throughout the building, and have recycling bins everywhere so its convenient and easy for people to use them. Have workers plug all of their electronics into a single power source, even their computers, and then unplug that source at the end of the day when they leave. This will reduce the amount of electricity tremendously, and help your office to be a greener and cleaner place.
There are so many advances in technology that can be used to make an office building greener, and to also cut the company on costs at the same time. The reward to using green products is that the company is going to be doing its part to help the environment, and they are going to be helping the budget. Easy and quick fixes to the company are using energy efficient light bulbs throughout the building, and energy saving appliances from heaters and refrigerator to computers and more. Using power stations to plug devices into during the day, and then unplugging the stations at night will also save a lot of money and energy. Use only recycled paper products throughout the building, and have several recycling centers.
Some structural type fixes that can be implied are insulating the entire building with a polyurethane foam. This helps heaters and air conditions work better, and prevents drafts and leaks in the building. Solar panels on the roof are a great idea, along with getting energy efficient windows. All of these small things combined together are going to make a huge difference on the way the company runs and uses energy, and saves money.
Some of the most exciting Green Commercial buildings can be found all around the world. Here are three of my favorite buildings designed to save energy.
Heliotrope: Freiburg Germany
This is the first building in the world that creates more energy than it consumes. It uses solar power, and designed to rotate. So it follows the sun to get the maximum amount of solar power. In an effort to save water, the Heliotrope was designed with a gray water circuit. This uses rain water to wash dishes and clothes.
Pearl River Tower: Guangzhou China
Ironically this building houses the China National Tobacco Corporation. It was built with wind turbines, solar collectors, and photovoltaic cells to collect energy and raised floors using radiant heating to conserve energy. It is the most efficient super-tall building in the world.
Masdar City: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
This entire city section relies entirely on solar energy and supports a zero carbon zero waste ecology. It is only natural that the International Renewable Energy Agency can be found there. The city also uses wind farms. The city is built using Palmwood which is a wood substitute made from coconut palms that no longer produce fruit.
Top government incentives for green technology are targeting businesses of all sizes; to replace, recycle, reuse and reinvent. The incentives for businesses to take on the green responsibilities range from tax credits, funding opportunities and investment in their own futures. State and Federal governments have committed to partnering with businesses electing to comply and improve how business is done generating more income, while retaining earned income beyond incentives.
Top incentives are federal funding and tax credits for businesses that developing effective energy sources to power our communities and fuel our transportation for commercial and residential modes. Independent departments of the U.S. are offering grants and financial support to small business trendsetters as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Acts. Billions of funds have been set aside to boost the economy, linking the conduit to protect the environment and improve business strategies promoting green jobs.
New green technology approaches are being research and tested, using natural sources to produce energy through solar, wind, and water powered devices, offering producers and buyer’s green legislation and government incentives, triggering economic explorations. These renewable resources are using convertors to produce energies with fewer emissions to the environment. Best solutions and methods identifying production of renewable energies 24/7 to energize our communities is still unpredictable. 2012 targets will regulate business lighting sources reducing costs by 75 for businesses, residential imposed restrictions will follow energy environment goals.
Other energy sources favorable to government incentives are green technology, attempting to reduce the energy requirements for electronic power supplies. Regulations will impose manufacturing specifications and guidelines reducing energy levels significantly. Inventors, contractors and originators are seeking to take advantage of the government incentives using environmentally intelligent materials and techniques. Advocates are promoting and infusing information through social practices passing on consumer incentives in the form of savings.