We have been in our house for over 4 years and I would say a good solid 3 of those we had no curtains on our front window. A window that is 2 storey’s tall. This has really hampered my ability to run down the stairs naked to grab clothes out of the dryer. It has also made our home impossible to heat and cool. The windows are so large and get direct sun for about 900000% of the day so not having any window treatments for such a long time was really reducing our energy efficiency. While off on mat leave almost 2 years ago I clued into this and had curtains made. When they arrived I was so stinkin’ excited to get them up and yet they sat in their bags until a few weeks ago. The curtains finally made their way to the top of the Honey Do List!!! I am amazed at the almost instant change in the temperature of our home. It cools faster and it stays cool throughout the day. What I am really looking forward to is the winter and finally being able to have the front room be somewhat warm.
We have been thinking a lot about our energy consumption lately. I find it is easier to ignore because you don’t instantly see your impact the way you do with say waste. The bill just comes and we pay it. We do have a list of items that annoy us about our home that are linked to energy and we plan on fixing those this year. Like our craptastic front door. When I was off on mat leave I decided to go and get the mail while B napped. I tried to open the front door but it was sealed shut from all the ice and snow we had gotten. Of course I thought I was stronger than the ice/snow/door so I continued to pull and pull and pull until I got that sucker open. And it did open…and it did bend. Yes, I bent a metal front door. Watch out Magnus van Magnusson here I come! The door was drafty to begin with and now it is even worse.
All this talk of energy conservation has been thinking about where our energy comes from. That is another thing that is easy to over look. You don’t see the coal powered station beside your home or the natural gas plant across the street so you can just push it out of your head. We have decided that we want to invest in renewable energy solutions and as such we are going to Bullfrog Power our home! Watch for upcoming posts on this process and the overall impact the changes we are making have on our consumption rates.
Do you think about your energy consumption? What have you or are you doing about it?
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Our water heater is on the wall
I of course think about my energy consumption...:) I think it is so important. And maybe puts some blinds up so you can run downstairs! lol
ReplyDeleteI am now following through GFC. I am new to blogging and I am excited about linking up with fellow bloggers! Follow me at http://materialgirlgreen.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteDH and I are always thinking about conserving energy. We hardly use AC during the summer, only to sleep when it gets really hot. During the winter, we keep the house at 55 degrees when we are not home and a cool 65 degrees when we are home. Thank god for hoodies!
@GGGG - The curtains are up so I am now roam free around the house ;)
ReplyDelete@MGG - Thanks for stopping by! Holy cow 55 is cold! We keep ours at 62 when we aren't home and 70 when we are...but that may change with the improvements we are making. We may be able to have the thermostat set lower.
I stumbled you - please consider stumbling my post at
ReplyDeletehttp://www.alittleumbrella.com/2011/03/how-to-get-cash-back-shopping-for.html
I stumbled you - please consider stumbling my post at http://www.actingbalanced.com/2011/08/mmmmonday-back-to-school-lunch-ideas.html
ReplyDeleteI really need to get curtains on the sliding door in my place because in the winter we can always feel cool air coming in. ahhh.. no fun.
ReplyDeleteI stumbled your post! :)
Mine: http://uhohmom.com/2011/08/vinegar-and-its-many-uses/
Krystal - have you tried also checking for leaks? You can then reseal the door up to stop them.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of Bullfrog, but I'm in the US and it looks like it's something specific to Canada :-) We are far from perfect, but we do what we can most of the time. We keep the blinds closed in the summer to help with cooling, turn off lights that aren't being used, etc.
ReplyDeleteI stumbled your post. If you'd like to stumble back, here's a link: http://www.mamamommymom.com/2011/08/sweet-chili-stir-fry-itll-rock-your.html
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