You don’t have to look under the floorboards to find the cash that’s hidden in your home. Many of your ongoing monthly costs come in the form of energy — you know, those bills that keep showing up every month.

We can show you how to take control and reduce your carbon emissions in each room of your home — and discover that hidden cash.

If you have a few evenings free, become a Weeknight Worker with our simple, easy projects.  If you have a little more time to dedicate, become a weekend warrior — it’s a bit of a bigger time commitment, but you’ll see bigger savings.

Laundry room: Save $60 to $185

Weeknight worker
Did you know that 90% of the energy needed to do a load of laundry goes into heating the water? The easiest way to start saving money in the laundry room is to simply wash your clothes with cold water.

With today’s advanced detergents and soaps, cold water can be just as effective as hot water. Merely pressing the “Cold/Cold” button on your washing machine 80% of the time will save you between $60 and $100 per year.

Weekend warrior
Want to “launder” even more money? Well, add another energy saving twist: Skip the clothes dryer and line-dry your laundry. By avoiding another laundry room appliance you can save up to an additional $85 per year. Adding that savings to the $60 to $100 you saved with the cold-water laundry, you could save anywhere from $145 to $185 every year.

Kitchen: Save $20 to $300

Weeknight worker

Here’s a simple way for you and your family to save money: Use the dishwasher less. Many people do a load every day, but by waiting for the dishwasher to be full before you run it, you could cut your dishwasher use by a third, saving you a total of $21 per year.

Weekend warrior
If you’re ready for extreme kitchen efficiency, it’s time to upgrade those old clunkers. New Energy Star-rated refrigerators and dishwashers use a fraction of the energy that those terribly inefficient older models use.

If you upgrade your older dishwasher and refrigerator to Energy Star models (top freezer for fridges is the best), you could lower your annual energy cost by $85 every year (from $170 down to $85).  And if you use the government’s new stimulus money for upgrading appliances, you could receive up to an additional $200 for your new Energy Star-rated refrigerator. That’s a total of $285 saved in the first year alone.

Bedroom: Save $50 to $150

Weeknight worker
Replace just five incandescent light bulbs in your bedroom with CFLs and over their lifetime — a little over three years if you average five hours of use every day — you can save $30 per bulb. That works out to about $10 a year per bulb, so by replacing five incandescent light bulbs you can save around $50 every year.

Weekend warrior
If replacing more incandescent light bulbs means saving more money, why stop at just five? You’re a weekend warrior, you’re committed. Why not go for an additional 10 light bulbs: 15 CFLs could save you a total of $150 every year. Heck, replace every light bulb in your home, and cash will pour out of every light socket.

Living room: Save $20 to $225

Weeknight worker
Money is flying out your windows: Leaks can be responsible for 30% of the total heat lost in your home. There’s a simple solution though — and that’s weather-stripping.

Depending on your window type and air-flow method, you could potentially save $7 to $14 per window, per year in efficiency upgrades. If you weather-strip just three windows in your living room, you can save $21 to $42 every year.

Weekend warrior
Why not weather-strip your entire home? Increasing the efficiency of your windows and blocking the small leaks that allow air to go in and out, you can knock off up to 15% of your annual heating and cooling costs. A typical U.S. family spends about $1,500 on its utility bills every year, so by minimizing air leaks through your windows, you could save around $225 every year.

Adding it all up

So how much cash is hiding in your home?  If you follow all of the weeknight worker tips, you can count on saving $152 to $213 every year, and all for a few simple changes and a few hours of dedication. Now, if you put in some serious time as a weekend warrior, you’re looking at annual savings of $805 to $845.

Yes, you’re saving a lot of money.  But don’t forget the environmental benefits as well: For example, just one CFL bulb can save over 2,000 times its weight in greenhouse gasses over its lifetime compared to an incandescent. Now that’s big savings.

The easiest way to switch to green energy is to call your current provider and see if they offer an alternative. An increasing number of companies do, harnessing renewable sources like wind and solar power to offer electric service in their markets. This costs more for the consumer, since you’ll pay a premium to offset the money involved in tapping the alternative source, but the price varies: in Sacramento, you’ll pay 5 cents per kilowatt hour or $30 a month for solar, and in Oregon you’ll shell out only .8 cents per kilowatt hour for wind, geothermal, or hydropower. Curious about the options in your state? Check this chart of Green Power Networks to see your local providers.

Plug in to solar power

There are two kinds of solar power you can use in your home: active and passive. Active solar power is captured through solar cells (also known as photovoltaics), and then stored to later provide heat or electricity-or to supplement a traditional heating or electrical system. But before you buy a solar system for your house, keep a few points in mind: many towns have restrictions on the size and type of collectors they’ll allow; the annual number of sunny days in your climate will affect how much power you can collect (the Southwest usually has the best luck with solar collection); and the system’s cost efficiency varies based on its size, your location, and the amount of power you plan to get from it.

Get passive solar to work for you

The second kind of solar power, passive solar, doesn’t involve the (expensive) photovoltaic cells and mechanical systems of active solar, but still takes advantage of the sun to heat your home in one of three ways: direct gain, which collects light through the windows; indirect gain, which stores thermal energy within the walls; and isolated gain, more commonly put to use in a solarium or sun room setup. By thinking about window placement, insulation, and even landscaping–trees can be the ultimate passive solar helpers, since they soak up solar in the hot summer, and let the sun through in the winter—it’s possible to help keep your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Opt for solar hot water

You can also use solar power to heat the water for your showers, dishwasher, and laundry (though why aren’t you using cold water for that?) by installing a solar hot water system. If you live in a place where freezing temps aren’t a concern, look for a direct circulation system-this cycles water through the solar heater and into the home; otherwise, go for an indirect circulation system, which runs a freeze-proof fluid through the system to prevent icing. Both those active systems are generally more efficient than passive solar heaters, which don’t have the same pumps and controls but can be more dependable. No matter which system you choose, you’ll want to consider a (smaller) more traditional hot water heater for backup on days when the sun won’t come out or for showering during peak times.

Tap into the earth’s natural geo-energy

The terms “geothermal” and “ground source heat pump” are nearly interchangeable in casual conversation-but they shouldn’t be, since they’re not the same. Geothermal energy comes right from the ground-think hot springs, geysers, and volcanic areas—while ground source heat pumps use the relatively steady temperature of the Earth (as compared to the air) to heat and cool buildings. These heat pumps use as little as half as much electricity as traditional systems, and generally last between 25 and 50 years; while they are more expensive to install than other systems, you can expect the system to pay for itself in energy savings in less than 10 years.

Replace oil with biofuel

You can also heat your home using biofuels—nontoxic, biodegradable, and renewable power sources, like those made from animal and vegetable fats and oils or wood. If you’re using oil heat, have a technician take a look at your furnace and get the okay to switch to a blend of 20%-99% biodiesel; in most cases, you won’t need any additional parts or service to make the switch. Using a woodstove to heat your home is an age-old solution, but the more modern version is the pellet stove: The pellets of compressed sawdust take up less storage space than a wood pile, and burn with so few emissions that they aren’t required to get EPA certification. (One tip: if you’re going this route, find a local source for inexpensive pellets first.)

Harness the power of the wind

Wind energy is one of the cleanest forms of alternative energy available, and using it can cut your electricity bill by as much as 90 percent. Once you make sure your area is zoned to allow wind turbines, you’ll want to make sure you have enough space—the Department of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy suggests at least one acre of rural land—and a climate that affords a steady breeze. Run an energy audit on your home to determine what size turbine you’ll need; most houses require between 5 and 15 kilowatts to produce an average of 780 kilowatt hours every each month. And wind turbine systems aren’t cheap, so run the numbers to figure out if you’ll save enough to make the 20-year investment worth it.

Capture small-scale hydropower

Before you can use hydropower for residential energy, you’ll need one very important jumping-off point: running water on your property. If you are lucky enough to have a creek, stream, or river in your backyard, then a micro hydropower system may be a good alternative energy solution. By diverting a portion of the water through a wheel or turbine, you allow a shaft to spin; the spinning allows immediate results, like pumping water, or more indirect usage, like powering a generator. These calculations from the Department of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy can help you figure out if your water source will provide enough energy to significantly offset your electric bill.

Make a smart start

If you’re in the process of buying a home, it’s easier to make alternative energy work for you, by buying a property that comes with running water or room for wind turbines, for example. If you’re designing from the ground up, choose a roof that’s specially fitted for solar panels; place your house on the lot so it takes advantage of the sun; build with passive solar materials; and use daylighting technology by installing windows and doors in places that allow you to get the most out of natural light sources.

Think smaller

If you can’t make the jump to powering your entire house with alternative energy, start by focusing on one room at a time. A small solar kit can get you started, or follow George Mokray’s lead and use solar power in less energy-starved rooms, like a bedroom. Or look even more closely at your life, and get small solar cells to charge your laptop, cell phone, iPod, and other small gadgets—every little bit helps!

1. It has to be said: the very best thing you can do to help the environment with your car is stop driving it! However, you may not have that option, so drive slower instead. Most cars perform best at speeds of between 50 mph to 60 mph. Not too slow and not too fast is how to drive smart, save green.

2. A staggering 20% of your car’s fuel consumption is used up just overcoming tire roll resistance! How can you drive smart, save green in these circumstances? Buy quality tires that get great reviews. They may cost a little more, but they will perform better. And remember too that under inflated tires will cost you more in gas bills!

3. Lighten the load in your car. I’ll bet there are things in your car’s trunk that don’t need to be there. Go through each item you regularly carry. If you don’t really need it, dump it. You can drive smart, save green with a lighter load. That will let your car be more fuel efficient.

4. Switch off your engine while you wait if you are likely to be waiting more than one minute. Restarting your engine burns roughly about the same amount as one minute of idle time, so if you think you will be idling for more than a minute, cut the engine. You’ll save gas and money – drive smart, save green.

5. Drive smoothly. This one shouldn’t need to be mentioned. It should be the unspoken part of drive smart, drive green. Erratic driving with sudden accelerating and hard braking uses up extra gas. It puts extra wear and tear on your car, which means extra costs to you and the environment.

Learning to drive smart, save green is largely common sense. If you really need your car, then learn to drive it responsibly and sensibly. However, if you can walk easily to where you need to go, then do so! Only drive smart, save green when you can’t walk.

That cell phone charger that stays plugged in, the DVD player that waits for the occasional playing, and the TV that sits on standby all night, these are prime examples of how going green saves you money – if you unplug them, that is. For even if the items are not working, they are consuming energy!

Another of the prime examples of how going green saves you money is switching from bottled water to filtered tap water. The average family spends some $1,400 a year on bottled water. And the worst part is that 95% of the plastic bottles are not recycled! For less than $100 you could get a high quality staged water filter to make your tap water perfect.

Examples of how going green saves you money are everywhere. Do you drive as fast as the law allows? You shouldn’t. Car engines perform most efficiently at around 55 miles an hour. If you combine that with gentle driving on properly inflated tires, you will save money and help the planet too.

You could always use a bicycle to travel around town. Or you could simply walk for those short trips. You won’t be pouring hydrocarbons into the atmosphere, warming the planet, you will save money, and you will get some good exercise at the same time. Walking and cycling when you can are excellent examples of how going green saves you money.

Some 65 million newspapers are printed every day in the US. Some 70% of them will not be recycled. What a waste of trees! You can do your bit to help, and read whatever news you want to read at the same time simply by going online. Very few newspapers don’t have an online presence these days, so save some money and read from the web pages.

Do you want more example of how going green saves you money? They are all around you. Just look and you certainly will find them.

Why go green

“All of a sudden, everybody wants you to be in their movie,” Ruta, director of corporate partnerships with Environmental Defense, said recently with a laugh.

It’s possible to take that statement quite literally — after all, the environment was the star of the Oscar-winning “An Inconvenient Truth.” But what is really exciting Ruta these days isn’t the buzz out of Hollywood but the increasing interest across the country, on Wall Street. For corporate executives, going green is becoming, if not mainstream, at least more commonplace.Companies ranging from retailing titan Wal-Mart to investment firm Goldman Sachs are jumping on the green bandwagon and pledging to make tangible changes that go beyond the public relations-oriented “greenwashing” of years past.

In another major shift, some big companies are even asking that they be regulated on greenhouse gas emissions, arguing that it is the only way for them to plan for how to deal with the rising threat of global warming. A coalition of businesses and environmental groups earlier this year formed a partnership called the U.S. Climate Action Partnership aimed at doing just that.

Are corporations experiencing a sudden rash of social consciousness? Not exactly. Instead, companies are increasingly realizing that going green could be a new way for companies to save — or even make — more green, as in money.

“The strategies that are being … implemented by some of the leading-edge companies are done to maximize profits and to mitigate risk,” said Fred Wellington, senior financial analyst for the environmental group World Resources Institute.

Still, the big surprise isn’t so much that companies are getting involved in environmental issues, but what companies are doing it. People expect companies like Whole Foods, Patagonia and REI to have environmental initiatives; not only is it key to their public relations efforts, it also makes good business sense for them to preserve resources.

But DuPont? BP? Wal-Mart? These are companies that still raise the hackles of environmentalists for some of their practices, yet are also taking serious steps toward promoting things like solar power and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. What exactly do they have to gain?

The answer, as always, lies in the bottom line.

Cost savings in energy savings
When Wal-Mart Stores Inc. pledges to significantly reduce energy use at its stores, that translates into lower costs for running the same business. It’s not the only money-saving environmental effort under way at the famously stingy retailer.

DuPont, the giant chemical maker that once was considered among America’s worst polluters, estimates that it has saved $3 billion from a nearly two-decade effort to dramatically reduce carbon emissions. Not surprisingly, the company is pushing for even more cuts.

And what about BP? The oil and gas giant will remain just that for a long time, but it pays to be thinking about the future now. If oil prices surge even higher, or supplies dwindle, people will still want to heat their homes, drive their cars and turn on their lights. For a company like BP to make it in that type of market, it might help to be able to offer alternative products, such as solar or wind energy.

Pat Tiernan, Hewlett-Packard Co.’s vice president for social and environmental responsibility, says that for the computer maker, “sustainability is about making business sense.”

“We don’t do things just to be good. We don’t do things just to be, for example, tree huggers,” Tiernan said. “We do select things that have a brand value to them, but most of the things that we do, it has to make business sense.”

Environmental groups also are increasingly trying to show companies the business case for environmental improvements. Ruta, of Environmental Defense, said her group notes three major potential benefits — cost savings from energy reductions, increased market share from more competitive products, and managing the risks associated with depending on fuels such as oil, which could spike in price or become more heavily regulated.

Companies are starting to pay more attention.

“What we’re witnessing is some of the bigger, major corporations in the United States understanding that these are fundamentally business issues, and they’re developing business responses and strategies,” said Wellington, of the World Resources Institute.
The same logic applies to corporate efforts to push regulation of carbon emissions, which many say are a key driver of global warming.

By now, it seems inevitable that big businesses will eventually face some sort of U.S. regulation, so clearly there is an incentive for corporations to be involved in how those regulations are crafted. For those that have already taken action to reduce such emissions, there’s also a big incentive to get credit for what they have already done voluntarily.

Some big businesses are calling for a system dubbed “cap and trade,” in which companies that beat emission targets can essentially sell pollution credits to more egregious polluters who don’t meet the standards. Such a free-market system could prove lucrative for companies that employ the right strategy.
One alternative to cap and trade would be an outright tax on all carbon emissions. Supporters of that idea say it would force costs directly onto almost all carbon emitters, perhaps pushing them to move more quickly to find cleaner alternatives or cut energy use.

The trend toward going green is extending beyond the most obvious polluters, and reaching companies ranging from big Wall Street firms to technology mainstays.

“Whether for altruistic reasons or not, (companies) realize that our sort of 19th-century energy economy that we are currently running on is coming to an end,” says Josh Dorner, spokesman for the Sierra Club. “It’s to their advantage — to their business advantage — to start gearing up for a low-carbon economy.”

The Goldman Sachs Group has invested more than $1.5 billion in alternative and clean energy including solar and wind power, and also is establishing a business dealing in carbon-emission credits. A “cap and trade” system similar to what U.S. companies are proposing is already in place in Europe, and a voluntary trading system has been set up in the United States.

Golman Sachs also is now applying environmental criteria when deciding whether to approve a loan or underwrite a transaction, and it has developed a business giving institutional investors information about companies’ environmental and social practices.

“We’re proud of the environmental things we can accomplish, but we’re also, I think, being smart business people,” said Mark Tercek, head of Goldman Sachs’ office of corporate citizenship.

Electronics makers including Dell and Hewlett-Packard are encouraging more recycling amid mounting concerns about the environmental effects of dumping electronics — and their accompanying toxic chemicals — into landfills. HP’s Tiernan said part of his company’s motivation is an expectation that regulations on electronics recycling and disposal will become more stringent.

In some cases, HP charges for shipping and handling of recyclables. The company also sees some benefit from reusing plastics and other products that it recycles.

HP and other companies also are seeing increasing interest in products that can save their customers money. Dell’s Web site keeps a running tally of estimated carbon emissions avoided — and money saved by customers — because of its improved technology.

Strange bedfellows
Environmental groups, some of which have been enlisted to help corporations achieve their new goals, admit that it can be a bit strange to work with companies who have been — and in some cases still are — their opponents in other areas.

BP has pledged to spend $8 billion over 10 years to develop a profitable alternative fuels business, among a host of other environmental initiatives. But the British company also has come under fire for leaky pipes and lax maintenance at its giant Prudhoe Bay oil field in Alaska and for a deadly explosion at a Texas refinery.
DuPont is often mentioned as one of the most aggressive companies tackling environmental issues, having effectively reinvented its practices since about 1990. But the company also is embroiled in several disputes with environmental regulators, and continues to produce some products environmentalists would prefer not to see, such as insecticides.

Wal-Mart continues to build Supercenters the size of several football fields, surrounded by massive parking lots. But the world’s largest retailer also has pledged major energy-saving initiatives over the next few years, and is pushing its environmental agenda onto its massive chain of suppliers. Wal-Mart’s potential clout is so great, in fact, that Environmental Defense recently put an office in the company’s hometown of Bentonville, Ark.

Instead of getting a new bottle each time you drink water get some reusable containers. You can fill them up with water and even ice if you prefer and drink them everywhere you go. There are several sizes, colors, and designs that you can choose from. This process will significantly reduce the amount of plastic that is in our environment.If you do live in an area where it isn’t safe to drink the tap water then you want to make sure you recycle those plastic bottles. That way they don’t end up in landfills. You can also get bottled water delivered to your home in large containers.Then you can just fill up your own water bottles that you reuse from there. That is a great way to get healthy water and to eliminate waste at the same time. You will also find that getting bottled water this way is cheaper than buying those individual bottles at the store and from the vending machines.

When you complete projects in your home such as remodeling and painting you will likely have left over supplies. You aren’t going to be able to do much with most of them. Paint is a substance that you don’t want to place at landfills due to the chemicals found in them. They can get underground and do a great deal of damage. A better alternative is to donate that left over paint and supplies.

There are many organizations that collect such items to help others. This can be Church groups, community organizations, and specific programs so find out what is available in your area. You can even search online to find out how to donate such items to a worthy cause.The left over paint can be mixed with many others that people have donated. It can be used to paint houses, paint schools, and to make your town look nicer by reducing fences and such. This is a great way to prevent those leftovers from being wasted and from harming the environment.Make sure you properly dispose of pollutants that can be very dangerous for the Earth. It is common for people to change their oil at home to save money and to get the job done quickly. Never pour that oil on the ground as it will get into the soil. This is going to erode the ground of essential nutrients necessary in order for something to grow there.

When oil gets into the water it can result in aquatic life dying. This is very serious as it will upset the balance of the natural food chain. It can result in problems in that part of the water decades after it has taken place. It is also possible for the oil to get into drinking water if you aren’t careful.

We have all heard plenty of information about the warnings of skin cancer from being in the sun without proper sunscreen. What we often don’t realize though is that what is in that sunscreen can be polluting both the water and the air around us.You want to avoid using chemical sunscreens as they aren’t good for the environment. They aren’t going to offer you any more protection than those made from titanium oxide or zinc oxide. Read the labels on the sunscreen products you purchase and make sure you get a high enough SPF that is right for your skin.There are plenty of aerosol cans of sunscreen out there and you want to avoid using them as well. These types of dispensers can be very harmful to the ozone layers. Instead choose one you can spray on your body with a spray bottle nozzle or that you can dispense like a lotion and spray on your body.

Sunscreen isn’t the only type of aerosol that you should avoid though. Look for products to clean your home and even hairspray that isn’t going to be harming the environment. There are alternative dispensing sources to them so you aren’t limited to relying on anything in an aerosol form.

We also won’t be preventing future generations from having the chance to future grow and evolve beyond what we were able to see take place in our own lifetime. This process involves taking these types of natural resources and turning them into a product we can use for power.That means a great deal of information and technology has to be collected and evaluated. Many of these methods though continue to see advances in the designs and processing which will result in them being even more valuable in the future than they are right now.

Most will agree that renewable energy sources are better for the environment,and go green projects. The burning of fossil fuels including gasoline and coal isn’t good for the environment. These natural resources will allow us to save resources and at the same time to live in a cleaner environment than we have now.Many believe it isn’t practical or safe to depend only upon these types of resources though. That is because the sun doesn’t always shine so the energy can’t be collected. There are many places where the sun is blocked for days due to the changes in the seasons.

You can’t predict how much wind will be produced or how much power can be taken from the water. It will vary significantly but there is no reason why we can’t rely upon these renewable energy sources as the primary providers. We can then depend on fossil fuels as back up so we never have to go without the energy we want to use.Chances are you have heard about the various forms of renewable energy but not in detail. Keep on reading and you will get all the information you need including the pros and cons of each type. You will find each of them does offer some hope for the future though as far as reducing our dependency on those resources which we can’t replenish.

When you think about the natural things around us a couple of things come to mind. First, you have the sun that continues to shine brightly in the sky day after day. It gives off a great deal of heat which can be converted into energy. The sun shines brightly some days and then is covered with clouds other days. So the amount of energy you can collect each day is going to vary.

Next, you have water which covers the majority of the surface of the Earth. There is also the additional moisture and rainfall that can be collected as time goes by. There is energy found in the water as it moves along and this can be converted into energy at hydropower plants.Even if it is just barely there on certain days, you also have the wind. In some areas it is extremely windy all the time. In order for the equipment used to create wind power to be worth the cost it must be blowing most days at a speed of at least 15 miles per hour.

Most people view that as a nuisance but they don’t realize the full potential of it. They aren’t really aware that the wind that is all around you can be used to create renewable energy. It is also very clean for the environment so you don’t have to worry about negative effects from it.Biofuel is also a source of renewable energy and the one most people know the least about. This concept involves using types of materials that you can burn to create energy. This can be left over paper and wood, trash, and even manure from animals.

It is quite an interesting concept and one you will want to be sure you read about. You can be sure this is one area of renewable energy that will continue to grow by leaps and bounds in the next decade. Don’t underestimate how valuable it can be as it also removes waste from our environment. This type of renewable energy is scientific in nature and one that has been around the least amount of time.