ENERGY EFFICIENCY…
What’s the Brouhaha Over Gas Stoves?
By Linda Mason Hunter
January 20, 2023
In January, a study linking nitrogen dioxide from gas stoves to serious respiratory illnesses, including 12% of childhood asthma cases, prompted the Consumer Product Safety Commission to consider regulation. A spokesman went so far as to say a future ban on gas stoves may be possible.
Well, that got my attention. I’m not prone to falling in love with a household appliance, but I’m not overstating it when I say I LUV my a four-burner Wolf range with lipstick red knobs. I saved for months to buy it. The adjustable flame gives me the exact amount of heat I want for whatever I’m cooking. Electric stoves simply aren’t that flexible, and they take longer to heat.
I try to forget I’m combusting fossil fuel in my kitchen each time I turn on one of those glossy red knobs. And I try to forget that I’m releasing methane, a major factor in climate change, into my indoor air. With climate change disasters present and looming, it’s imperative we decrease our use of fossil fuels, including natural gas. I get it. But there are alternatives to an all-or-nothing ban.
For starters, proper ventilation is a must. Open a window if you have to, but you really should have a range hood vented directly to the outdoors. Recirculating range hoods can’t do the work; they simply dump pollutants back into your kitchen.
For my part, I’m thinking of buying one of those portable induction hot plates. I’ve heard they’re very efficient, you just plug it into an outlet. Some have as many as 20 settings, so you can control the heat. They get great reviews.
Source: https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/gas-stoves-debate/
Don’t Pre-Rinse. Let Your Dishwasher Do the Work.
February 1, 2023
From The Washington Post
The dishwasher has come a long way over the past century. Washers nowadays can perform like miracles, they use so little water. The most efficient dishwashers now use close to two gallons to clean a load of unrinsed plates. Modern dishwashers are designed to remove dried food on plates, allowing you to wait until the machine is full to run it. Scraping is enough. Just leave room for water sprayers to reach every dish.
What if you only have a few dishes to wash? You might think doing them by hand is less wasteful, but that’s not what research shows, even if you run a half-empty dishwasher. A peer-reviewed study, sponsored by Whirlpool, found that running the tap to wash a single place setting (a plate, cup, bowl, utensils and some serving dishes) consumes about three gallons. That means running the dishwasher for just two people saves water compared to washing dishes in the sink, assuming you’re not pre-rinsing. On average, dishwashers also yield less than half the greenhouse gas emissions as washing dishes by hand, mostly thanks to heating less water.
“Households using machine dishwashers can lower their carbon footprint by scraping dishes rather than heavy rinsing before loading, running full loads, using ‘normal’ wash settings, not using heated drying, and purchasing an efficient dishwasher,” said Gregory Keoleian, the director of the University of Michigan’s Center for Sustainable Systems. The only way to beat this by hand is by using a two-basin method to wash and rinse, rather than letting the water run as most people do.
It’s Time to Change Your Laundry Routine
January 25, 2023
Washing can be the most significant thing you do to your clothes. It can cause your clothes to shrink, become misshapen, fade, or pill. It also shortens the life of your clothes, causing you to buy more clothes. And don’t forget about energy, water, and detergents used in the process, which can release microplastics into waterways and exacerbate the problem of microplastic pollution. It’s a double whammy.
Dryers are environmental culprits, as well. They’re energy gobblers, and when combined with machine washing can quickly wear out your clothes. Making simple changes to your laundry routine can go a long way to helping you reduce emissions, save money, and take better care of your clothes.
Choosing more efficient washers and dryers is a good first step. Energy Star certified washing machines generally use 25% less energy and 33% less water than regular models. Certified dryers are 20% more efficient.
But even if you have high efficient machines, it’s still important to cut down on the laundry loads you’re doing. Every time you put a garment in the washing machine some of it goes down the drain. We lose another piece of it in the dryer, in the lint trap. So we’re disintegrating our clothes.
Here are a few good tips:
· Wash your clothes in cold water, and don’t wash them so much.
· Don’t use single use detergent pods.
· Hand wash delicate fabrics, like wool and silk.
· When the weather cooperates, dry them outdoors on a clothesline in the sunshine where they’re exposed to UV rays. Or inside on a drying rack.
· Dry clothes back-to-back in the dryer to make use of residual heat.
· Hang up your clothes in the bathroom while you’re showering or use an at-home steamer to de-wrinkle and refresh them.
Turn Down the Dial on Hot Water
October, 2019
Whether it’s laundry or dishes, you don’t need hot water to get things clean. The perception that hot water cleans better than cold stems from the way we did laundry years and years ago. Back then, heat was useful because it sped up the cleaning process when detergents and machines were less efficient. Nowadays, detergents are formulated to be effective even in cold water. They no longer need to be “activated” with hot water. And they contain enzymes that literally cut up the soils and allow surfactants to move stains off clothing.
Cold water has additional benefits. It doesn’t set stains the way hot water does, and it’s gentler on fabrics, especially if you hang dry instead of putting them in the dryer. Combined with a bit of oxygen bleach and an extended pre-soak, cold water can work wonders on tough dirt.
The same applies to automatic dishwashers, where agitation and modern detergents are more than sufficient to clean dishes, no hot water or heated drying cycle needed. The hot water in a dishwasher usually tops out at 120 degrees F, which isn’t enough to sanitize dishes. You need 150 degrees F for that. When it comes to laundry, the only time you need to sanitize with hot water is when soiled clothes are harboring nasty bacteria, such as fecal matter or vomit.
The only time hot water makes sense is when you’re washing clothes or dishes by hand. Liquid detergents are formulated to need warm or hot water to kickstart their degreasing power. Otherwise, turning down the heat on your dishwasher and clothes washer can save you a boatload of energy. Three-quarters of emissions associated with a single load of laundry comes from heating the water itself, so a small tweak practiced over time can go a long way toward reducing your household’s carbon footprint.
Source: “Use cold water in your cleaning machines,” by Katherine Martinko, treehugger.com, June 4, 2019.
Don’t Save Ancient Appliances. Replace Them.
February 8, 2023
If you’re using a 15- or 20-year-old machine, replacing it will almost certainly save cash, and emissions. Even today’s inexpensive dishwashers are more efficient than top-of-the-line appliances were a decade ago.
For example, today Whirlpool’s most efficient top-loading washing machine is 50% more energy efficient than earlier models. So you see, pushing appliances well beyond their expected lifetime just delays their imminent replacement while burning cash and energy.
But, according to manufacturers, appliances are becoming about as efficient as they can be. When that happens, we will rely more on software updates than new hardware to improve them. It will soon be a whole new world where energy efficient appliances are concerned.
Set Your Refrigerator Thermostat At 37 to 40 degrees F
Jan. 24, 2023
Source: The Washington Post,
The refrigerator was once the most energy-thirsty appliance in the family home. Today, it is one of the thriftiest. Since 1972, refrigerators’ energy use has decreased by three-fourths, even as their interior volume has expanded. Thanks to improved compressors, coolants and insulation, those numbers look even better today.
Yet many people still ignore manufacturer recommendations and set the temperatures too cold. Colder isn’t necessarily better. Decades of improvement in insulation, air seals and airflow mean temperatures between 37 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit preserve food the longest without wasted energy or frostbite. Just arrange your food so it’s easy to find and hard to forget (wasted food remains a major source of emissions).
The biggest mistake, however, is keeping fridges past their expiration dates. If you have an old model in a garage or basement, best advice is to ditch it. In most cases, you’re paying more for electricity than you’d save by upgrading. Payback periods can be as short as a three to five years, and utilities will even pay you for the clunkers. The EPA’s RAD program (R A D for Responsible Appliance Disposal) partners with recyclers and recycling facilities capable of properly handling the environmentally harmful substances contained in the units, including foam insulation. Find a program near you https://www.epa.gov/rad/find-rad-partner-programs.
(2) https://www.weforum.org/reports/energy-vision-update-2010-towards-more-energy-efficient-world/
Advice for Making Your Home More Energy Efficient
November 11, 2021
There’s a lot you can do to increase your home’s energy efficiency — beyond spending thousands on solar panels or replacing appliances. It doesn’t have to be complicated or costly. Here are things you can do to help the planet and your wallet. Older homes, especially, need this advice from The Washington Post.
LED Bulbs: The Smart Choice
By Linda Hunter
April, 2017
After years suffering through the nightmare that was compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs)—which are expensive, don’t last as long as they’re touted to last, and contain toxic mercury (thus making disposal difficult, not to mention dealing with breakage)—we now have a safe, reliable, energy efficient, and fairly affordable option: LED (low emitting diode) bulbs. LED bulbs look and feel like a traditional light bulb, but use up to 85% less power and last 20 times longer. They cost more than traditional incandescent bulbs, but payback is one year or less depending on usage, according to manufacturers.
When I tested LED bulbs, I found the light output and color to be virtually indistinguishable from a normal incandescent bulb. They fit into traditional electrical sockets and run cool, which saves on air conditioning in summer. (The energy provided by incandescent bulbs is 90% heat and only 10% light). LEDs don’t contain mercury and emit low EMFs (electromagnetic radiation). Perhaps best of all, as prices for LEDs continue to fall, replacing your light bulbs with LEDs makes good financial sense, making LEDs the smart choice this spring.
