Staying Warm in Minnesota

Anyone who lives in a cold climate knows that the only thing that can chill you more than Old Man Winter is that energy bill in February.  About eight years ago, the first winter in our home was quite a learning experience; the February gas bill was over $350!  We didn’t realize just how much it would cost to heat our home, and we didn’t sign up for a budget plan with our utility provider.  Even though it balanced out with lower gas bills in the summer, we still needed to do something to reduce that winter bill.

Two years ago, our monthly budget for natural gas averaged out to $103 ($1,236 per year). We then started on our green journey and made small improvements around our home; a little here and a little there. Last year our budget dropped to $64 monthly ($768 a year).

Last summer when I became a Green Irene Consultant, I decided to challenge my family to bring down our energy consumption even more without breaking the bank on home improvements.  So my first makeover was our own house, and just by doing the simple things and modifying our habits we were pleasantly surprised when our utility company sent us our budget amount for the 2009-2010 winter.  We now pay only $41 per month or $492 per year!

That’s over a 60% savings, and we did NOT replace our furnace, windows, doors, or any other major gas appliances.  Our house is a toasty 69 degrees when we are home and we use NO space heaters!

Just goes to show that you don’t have to invest a ton of money to save money!

Chris Hughes
Green Irene Eco-Consultant
Minneapolis, MN
http://www.GreenIrene.com/MNGreenteam

Water Conservation: Little Steps = Big Rewards

Most people don’t think twice about their water bill until they start watering their lawn in the summer.  Compared to other utilities water is very inexpensive for the end consumer compared to their natural gas bill in the winter, or their electric bill in the summer due to running the air all the time.

When it comes to our fresh water from the tap have you ever thought of just how much time, money and energy it takes to deliver that water to you?  Just running your kitchen tap for five minutes can cause your local water treatment plant to use enough energy to light a bulb for 8 hours!

Last year we decided to take a look at our water usage in our home.  First stop, faucets.  We noticed our faucets were running 2 gpm (gallons per minute) or higher.  We swapped those out with 1½ gpm aerators.  Next, the toilet. It is an older model with that runs 4 gpf (gallons per flush), but we never thought about replacing the toilet. Quite honestly, when a toilet breaks it’s usually a trip to the local hardware store and $20 later it’s fixed.

Instead of replacing we decided to give some products a try.  We used the Green Irene Fill Cycle Diverter and the Toilet Tank Bank.  I also had an adjustable flapper that I had purchased previously but never installed.  After installing these toilet items, our toilet now flushes and refills faster than I ever thought possible.

We didn’t replace the showerhead at that time; we couldn’t decide what model to go with.  The next month our water bill came and I couldn’t believe it.  With just $20 and a commitment to ourselves to use our water smarter in our home, we reduced our consumption and waste water by an entire unit!  That’s 800 gallons!  This was during non-watering months so it was probably the best data we could ask for in our test. 

This is just an example of how all the little things add up around your home. On average, over the past year our utility bills are a combined 20% lower just by implementing some Green Irene tactics on top of what we considered already “Green.”

Chris Hughes, Minneapolis, MN
Green Consultant
http://www.greenirene.com/MNgreenteam
MN.greenteam@greenirene.com