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Protecting our environment starts at home.  By adopting the Energy Star Action Guide, there are five steps you can take to reduce air pollution.

Five Things You Can Do at Home

Step 1: Change five lights.  Change a light and you help change the world.  Replace your five most frequently used lights, or the bulbs in them, with ones that have earned the Energy Star, and you'll use less energy, which means less pollution from power plants.  For more information, see Energy Star: Change a Light, Change the World.

Step 2: Look for products that have earned the Energy Star.  Look for Energy Star qualified products in more than 40 product categories, including lighting, home electronics, cooling equipment, and appliances.  With the Energy Star name, you will get the features and performance you want and help reduce air pollution.  For more information about Energy Star appliances, see the Energy Star appliances page.

Step 3: Cool and heat smartly.  Improve the performance of your cooling system.  Have it serviced annually and remember to clean or replace air filters regularly.  When it's time to replace old equipment, choose an Energy Star qualified model.  If just one household in 10 did this, the change would prevent more than 17 billion pounds of greenhouse gases.

Step 4: Seal up your home.  Seal air leaks, add insulation, and choose Energy Star qualified windows when replacing old windows.  That way you will improve the comfort and durability of your home, save energy and help protect the environment.

Step 5: Tell family and friends.  Spread the word that energy efficiency is good for your home and good for our environment.  Tell five people and together we can help our homes help us all.

Five Things You Can Do at Your Office

1. Power Strip

Use a power strip as a central “turn off” point when you are done using equipment. Even when turned off, electronic and IT equipment often use a small amount of electricity. For home office equipment, this stand-by or “phantom” power load can range from a few watts to as much as 20 or even 40 watts for each piece of equipment. Using a power strip for your computer and all peripheral equipment allows you to completely disconnect the power supply from the power source, eliminating standby power consumption.

2. Multi-Function Device

Save energy and space with an ENERGY STAR qualified multi-function device that combines several capabilities (print, fax, copy, scan). Make sure power management features are enabled for additional savings.

3. Computer/Monitor

Enable power management features on your home computer and monitor. And look for the ENERGY STAR when purchasing products for your office. They use less energy without sacrificing quality or performance. Most office equipment is left on 24 hours a day. Remember: Office equipment that is set automatically to switch to sleep mode not only uses less energy, it runs cooler and helps the equipment last longer, allowing for savings on air conditioning, as well. In addition to power management, you can save more energy with your office equipment by doing the following:

• Avoid using a screensaver when your computer monitor is not active (let it switch to sleep mode or turn the monitor off instead).
• Turn off machines when not in use (fax machines, printers, scanners, copiers).

4. Turn Off the Lights.

Use ENERGY STAR qualified fixtures and light bulbs. Remember to always turn off your lights when leaving a room. Office lights are often used for many hours a day. ENERGY STAR qualified desk lamps or compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) provide high-quality light output, use 75% less energy, and last up to 10 times longer than standard incandescent light bulbs, saving money on energy bills and replacement costs.

5.  Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Recycle office paper, newspapers, beverage containers, electronic equipment and batteries. Reducing, Reusing, Recycling in your office helps conserve energy, and reduces pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from resource extraction, manufacturing, and disposal. You can reduce, reuse and recycle at the office by using two-sided printing and copying; buying supplies made with recycled content; and recycling used printer cartridges. For your old electronics, investigate leasing programs to ensure reuse and recycling or donate used equipment to schools or other organizations.

Click Here For More Tips on What You Can Do both Inside and Outside of Your Home

Five Things You Can Do on the Road

2. Drive smart
May factors affect the fuel economy of your car. To improve fuel economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, go easy on the brakes and gas pedal, avoid hard accelerations, reduce time spent idling and unload unnecessary items in your trunk to reduce weight. If you have a removable roof rack and you are not using it, take it off to improve your fuel economy by as much as 5 percent. Use overdrive and cruise control on your car if you have those features.

3. Tune your ride
A well-maintained car is more fuel-efficient, produces fewer greenhouse gas emissions, is more reliable, and is safer! Keep your car well tuned, follow the manufacturer’s maintenance schedule, and use the recommended grade of motor oil. Also check and replace your vehicle’s air filter regularly.  

4. Check your tires
Check your tire pressure regularly. Under-inflation increases tire wear, reduces your fuel economy by up to 3 percent and leads to higher greenhouse gas emissions and releases of air pollutants. If you don’t know the correct tire pressure for your vehicle, you can find it listed on the door to the glove compartment or on the driver's-side door pillar.

5. Give your car a break
Use public transportation, carpool or walk or bike whenever possible to avoid using your car. Leaving your car at home just two days a week will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 1,600 pounds per year. Whenever possible, combine activities and errands into one trip. For daily commuting, consider options like telecommuting (working from home via phone or over the Internet) that can reduce the stress of commuting, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and save you money.

Renewable Energy Technology Grant Program

From July 1, 2006, through June 30, 2010, any resident of the state who purchases and installs a new photovoltaic system of 2 kilowatts or larger, a solar thermal system that provides at least 50 percent of a building's hot water consumption, or a solar thermal pool heater, is eligible for a rebate on a portion of the purchase price of that solar energy system.

To qualify for rebates, systems must be installed by state-licensees and must comply with pertinent codes. Rebate amounts for photovoltaic systems will be $4 per watt, not to exceed $20,000 for a residence or $100,000 for a business, publicly owned facility or one owned by a not-for-profit organization, including condominiums or apartment buildings.

 

Rebates for solar thermal systems for a residence will be $500. For a place of business, publicly owned facility or one owned by a not-for-profit organization, including condominiums or apartment buildings, the rebate will be $15 per 1,000 Btu, with a maximum of $5,000. For a solar thermal pool heater, the rebate will be $100 per installation.

 

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