#208 - In the Air Tonight

Turning Off the Furnace and the A/C... Again

Well it's that time of year again. The days are getting warmer, the nights are still a little chilly. It's in-between weather that fluctuates between hot and cold, shorts and long johns, or, in the case of my kids "naked" or "wrapped up".

In the past, I'm ashamed to admit, I would have spent my time at the thermostat switching from heat to cool to heat again in order to maintain a relatively constant temperature. But not EcoDorkess. Last fall I learned to live without my furnace and a/c by piling on or taking off clothes. This spring, I'm going to be tuning in to the weather a little more closely to see if I can't find a way to regulate the temps inside.

Previously oblivious to forecasts, I now keep a close eye on the weather. Because knowing whether it's going to hit 60 or 80 means the difference between airing out the house or sweating my ass off at night. It also means the difference between letting the sun shine in or keeping it blocked as much as possible. It helps me decide whether to run the dishwasher in the morning to take advantage of the heat, or wait until dark of night when it won't add to an already too warm house. Should I plan on grilling outside that day or cooking inside? Do I open the windows in the morning to let some cool air in or keep them closed tight until the sun warms us up a bit in the afternoon?

The only investment required here was an outside thermometer and a bit of my time and attention. You see, it's a lot easier to just set the thermostat to 70 and let the furnace and a/c do the work. But if I just slow down. If I just pay closer attention. If I just learn to live a little more deliberately. I can maintain a relatively comfortable, if not constant, temperature in my home. A little more work for me, a little less stress on the environment. Isn't that what living lightly is all about?

And so now I work a little more with the less-polluting resources like curtains, windows and fans; I plan a little of my day around the weather and, as a result, I'm able to rely a little less on the furnace and a/c - the two biggest energy hogs in our home.

And it makes a difference. I know because I see it in my energy bills. Which reminds me... I think I need to update my riot numbers. But not today. It's late, I'm tired and the house is the perfect temperature for sleeping. Good night.

#196 - Strip Tease

Installing Weather Stripping Around Doors and Windows

Yeah, I should have done this one last fall when all the SMART people were doing it. But, in my defense, it was cold out then and I might have caught a chill. So I decided to wait until we got a nice, warm 75 degree day. The kind of day when you don't mind opening the doors and windows to do some strippin'. And boy did I! I stripped the hell out of the house.

Weather stripping is beyond easy to use. If you can successfully wield scotch tape, you can strip. The stuff is pretty cheap, although it does come wrapped in plastic and, truth be told, I believe it's all made of plastic. Is foam plastic? I don't know. I know it's easy and quick. It took me all of a an hour to go through the entire house. You should totally do it now, while you're thinking of it. Unless it's cold out. Or you're tired. Or you're in the middle of a Scramble game. But do try to get to it soon. Definitely before it gets too hot to work outside.


Savings:

Most online sources say that you can lose up to 10% of your heat or A/C through cracks and leaks around doors and windows. I didn't find a lot of cracks, but the ones I did find were pretty large and I could feel air rushing around them. I'm gonna take a total WAG here and say 3% savings on my heating and A/C. I guess we'll see the next time I run the riot numbers.


Difficulty Level: 1 out of 5

Holy carp and walleye, this couldn't have been easier. In fact, it was kinda fun. Especially if you play stripper music while doing it. Although the neighbors complain when you pole dance at the mailbox. Well, some of them do.

#176 - Change Is Good

Changing (Or At Least Checking) My Furnace Filters Monthly

Do you do it? I don't. Not as often as I should anyhow. In fact, it's been longer than I'd like to admit. And when I say "longer", I mean "I don't remember the last time I did it".

But it's something I should be doing every single month. I don't necessarily have to replace the filter at that time, but I do need to check to make sure it's not all clogged up. Because a clogged furnace filter means my furnace isn't moving as much air as it was designed to do, which means it has to run longer to heat the house, which means we're using more gas and electricity than we should.

So why would I suddenly start doing something that I already knew I should be doing? Because, as of today, it is on The Calendar. And anything that goes on The Calendar gets done. So from this day forward, the 19th of the month shall henceforth be known as "Filter Checkin' Day". Should make for a fun Anniversary activity come September.


Savings:

Difficult, if not damn near impossible, to calculate. But it will result in a savings -- even if it's a small one.


Difficulty Level: 2 out of 5

OK, I'm sure no one's furnace is located in a super-easily accessible spot, but ours seems particularly hard-to-reach. I have to pull out the 12' ladder in the garage to access the furnace panel. And then there's the whole unscrew the panel thing and find a place to set it while I'm six feet up.

Whew. I'm breaking a sweat just thinking about it. Maybe I haven't forgotten the last time I changed it so much as I've blocked the horrid event from my memory.

#150 - Dodging the Draft

got drafts?

Our front door is beautiful, if I do say so myself - which I just did, for those of you who like the play-by-play. It is a Craftsman-style, heavy, mahogany slab with six stained-glass, square lights on top, in two rows of three. The single most important word in that description?

Heavy.

It is so heavy that it continually sags and poor hubby has rehung the damn thing more times than I care to count. But it's nine. Nine times.

All this hanging and re-hanging, chiseling, hammering, pounding and drilling has somehow left us with a sizable gap under the behemoth, through which the cold winter air blows like Louis Armstrong in a jazz quartet. Hubby has already tried to mitigate this gap by attaching one of those metal, floor scraper thingies. While this does keep the the rain and missionaries from getting through, it did little to impede the wind's progress.

Enter Crafty Erin's Homemade Draft Dodger.

Keep in mind, here, that I am a professional seamstress, folks, and some of you might just not be able to duplicate my fabulous design and intricate stitchwork. Try not to be jealous.

Here's how you can make your own:

1. Go to fabric store and purchase a quarter yard of whatever obnoxious fabric you like. I opted for something fuzzy, since scientific studies have shown that fuzzy = warm and warm stops cold. Also, rock beats scissors.

2. Fold the fabric in half lengthwise and inside out, so it looks like a long snake with his skin on the inside.

3. Stitch up one of the short ends and the long side.

4. Carry it over to your door and figure out how much to cut off the end to make it the right length, because God forbid you actually measure your door. Leave it a little long, though, cuz you're bound to screw something up before it's over.

5. Turn your snake rightside out and fill it with beans or rice or whatever makes you happy - but doesn't attract rats. Because this snake will not eat rats. I opted for Great Northern Beans because they're from the north and, ipso facto, are used to the cold. Also? They're great. Says so right on the package.

6. Sew up the open end.

7. Toss in front of drafty door. Reposition as necessary. Don't let the kids beat each other with it. Unless they can do it quietly and the loser will be willing to lay down in front of the door to stop future drafts.

Or

If you don't have a sewing machine and need a draft dodger, drop me a note and I'll whip one up for you. I'll have to mail it to you empty, though, so you can choose your own beans. That's a very personal decision. I'll leave one end open so you can fill it yourself and just tie a knot in the end. Tres chic.

Anyhow, if you want one, email me at erin AT verymerryseamstress DOT com. Hope you can decipher that secret code. Supposedly it thwarts the spammers, but I'm betting they now search for the words "AT" and "DOT". At least they would if they were smart. Of course, If I were smart, I'd know how to put a link in for that. Blogger Writing Level: Preschool

Savings:

I've gotten lazy on vacation here. Let's just say the furnace doesn't kick on quite as much as it used to.

Difficulty Level: 1 out of 5

The kids helped with this one. Both of them. 'nuff said.

Water, Water Everywhere....

I think I need a drink...

Well, folks it's Christmas Eve and I'm relaxing on the couch with a cold cider and some warm long johns. It's been quite a day here. We discovered last night that our hot water heater has sprung a leak. A big one. And it soaked through the dry wall in the garage and drenched all of hubby's power tools and building materials.

So instead of spending the day wassailing and going for sleigh rides, we were hauling out the garage, drying off tools and ferrying a generous load of gooey drywall and limp cardboard to the dumpster. But it wasn't all bad.

Ok, it was.

There is no one to call at this point, since tomorrow is Christmas day and we'll be gone for part of the week on vacation. So hubby drilled some holes under the water heater to allow the water to drain into a bucket (remember, the hot water heater is what heats the house, so we can't just drain the whole thing and deal with it when we get back). Fortunately for us, our dog sitter is our next door neighbor and he said he'd keep an eye on it for us.

So as I'm hand-drying routers, sawzalls and drills, I'm feeling a little down about the whole situation. I mean, I'd love to replace the whole damn heating system with a super energy-efficient solar-powered on-demand water heater, whole house fan and heat pump, but we just don't have that much cash laying around. So I know I'm going to settle for replacing the much less efficient gas-powered hot water heater with another one just like it.

But then I started to think about how lucky we are to even have a home. At a time when many Americans are losing everything because they opted for an Adjustable Rate Mortgage - and helplessly watched their monthly payment swell out of control - we should be thanking our stars that I'm a nervous Nelly and opted for a fixed rate. Otherwise, we could be in the same position as many others. So at least we aren't losing our home. It's just disintegrating around us.

But the bottom line is this - Sometimes you do what you can. If cash weren't an issue, we'd be living in a totally green home surrounded by energy efficient appliances, with a wind-turbine outback and R-45 insulation in the walls. However, like most Americans, cash is an issue. A big one. And it sometimes prevents me from going as green as I'd like.

So I make the changes I can with the money or time that I've got and call it a day. What else can I do?

Merry Christmas to All, And to All, A Dry Night.

Day 145 - Try a Little Damper, Mate

Closing the Dampers in Rarely-Used Rooms

We've been experiencing some kooky weather patterns here in the Richmond area recently. Last Wednesday it snowed and yesterday it reached 78 degrees. I'm alternating between long johns and tank tops while I wonder if winter is ever truly going to arrive. I am assuming that it will hit soon and so I have been preparing for it by studying our heating system, insulation and general air-tightness, looking for inefficiencies and opportunities for improvement.

One improvement I have made recently was to close several dampers in the house, in an effort to even out the heat distribution. We all learned in middle school science class that heat rises, so it's no surprise to find that, in the winter, our upstairs gets significantly warmer than our downstairs. Unfortunately, we do not have a dual thermostat system, so the furnace stays on until the downstairs thermostat reads 55 degrees - while the upstairs rapidly approaches the melting point of tungsten.

Last weekend I went through the upstairs and closed two vents in the master bedroom and one vent in the master closet. I prefer to sleep in a pretty cold room, loaded up with lots of blankets anyhow. I did leave the vent in the master bath open, just to take the chill out the air during the post-shower dampness, but I'm thinking I'll try closing it, since the heat from the shower really ought to be capable of warming up the not-so-palacious 5'x5' room.

I also closed the vent in my sewing room since 1. It's my slow season and I'm only sewing about twice a week now and 2. The combination of the lights, the machines and me moving around up there always makes the room feel too hot anyhow.

I ended up closing the damper in the kids' bath because they are now only getting a bath two nights a week and I just climb up on the vanity and open it up for bath time, then close it when they're done.

Ethan's room got dampered halfway down, as he is a lot like Mommy in that he sweats like a pig at night. Daphne, however, got to keep her damper open all the way, because it doesn't seem to work very well anyhow (I checked the duct and it looks fine) and any heat that gets through is welcomed.

The guest room already had its vent closed, but I double-checked it anyhow, because I'm OCD like that.

The final step of this process is to instill in hubby and the kids the concept of closing their room doors when they leave. This will take much longer than it took to close the damn dampers, but will help to ensure the warm air from downstairs doesn't just waft up to those rooms.


Savings:

By closing the upstairs dampers, I will be concentrating the furnace's efforts on the area that needs it most: the downstairs. After all, this is where we spend the majority of our waking time. Once we're upstairs and in bed, it doesn't much matter how cold it gets.

I don't know if I can quantify this, but I will definitely be tracking my gas bill to see if all my little changes add up to big savings compared to last year. I will let you know how the numbers shake out.


Difficulty Level: 3 out of 5

Ugh. We have cathedral ceilings in the master bedroom, so I did have to drag the 12' ladder up from the garage to close our dampers. Also, it is kind of a pain to have to open and close the kids' bath damper twice a week -- especially with my knees hurting -- but I think it's worth the time.

Day 140 - Let the Sun Shine In

Opening the Curtains to Take Advantage of Solar Heat

OK, I'll admit it. Even this weathered (or "wintered") Upstate New York-er can finally say: It's friggin' cold here. And it is. So cold it even snowed on Wednesday and I violated my compact to buy some long-johns to wear while jogging. With the cold weather settling in, and the thermostat staying low, I'm starting to realize just how much heat is generated when the sun comes shining through our front windows.

Our house, in addition to being poorly designed, is also poorly positioned to take advantage of the sun's warming rays. I suppose in a mostly-too-hot climate like Virginia, it's actually a good thing. But right now - With the cold and all? It's really pissing me off.

The only rooms in our house with southern exposure are the kids' playroom downstairs and the master bedroom upstairs. There are absolutely NO WINDOWS on either the east or west sides, so all of the other rooms, in addition to remaining in a state of total cave darkness, don't get any of that free solar heat.

But to make the most of what I do have, I'm giving the playroom and the master bedroom the ol' open and shut treatment these days. When the sun is shining I make sure to pull back the curtains in those rooms to let all that glowing, golden sunshine warm up my rooms for free.

Do I worry that the neighbors will peek in? Not really. It's way too chilly to be walking around naked anyhow. The best they can hope for is to catch me picking my nose or something. Besides, if they're so bored that the highlight of their day is to spy on the freaky eco-chick and her two kids, then who am I to deny them their entertainment?


Savings:

I don't have an actual number to put here. Which, of course, bothers the obsessive Mathlete in me. However, I can tell you that the kids and I are spending a lot more time sitting on the floor in the playroom than we are hanging out on the couch in the living room! The end result is that the thought of cheating and turning up the thermostat doesn't cross my mind nearly as often.


Difficulty Level: 1 out of 5

It takes all of one minute to pull back the curtains. I don't have fancy tiebacks or anything, so I just tie them in a knot (yeah, very Martha Stewart of me, right?). I've never been known for my interior design skills and I'm sure it looks just as bad from the outside as it does inside, but whatever. The only really big downer is that nearly every day I have to see exactly how filthy my windows are.

Day 132 - Shut 'Er Down

Shutting Down the House When On Vacation

I thought I had pretty much covered all my Green Holiday Plans but then today I was scheduling our Christmas trip and realized I hadn't talked about shutting down the house. It's something that I mean to do every time we go on vacation, but I never actually get around to it. This is because by the time we're ready to go, I've whipped myself into a minivan-packing, mapquest-printing, reservation-checking frenzy and have forgotten all about my side job as an eco-maniac. But, after giving it much thought, I think I have come up with a solution:

The Checklist.

Because there's nothing an obsessive-compulsive, ex-bean counting Mommy loves more than a nice excel spreadsheet with checkboxes. Oohhhh, be still my heart. Here's what's on my sheet:

• Turn Water Heater Down
• Set Thermostat to 50 degrees
• Unplug TV/DVD/Cable Box
• Shut off All the Lights
• Unplug Laptop and Printer
• Unplug Coffee Pot
• Close all Drapes (to keep the heat in)
• Close Upstairs Vents
• Shut all Upstairs Door (to keep the heat downstairs where the lone thermostat sits)
• Unplug Alarm Clocks

So what do you think? Is there anything I missed? Probably, but just remember the first two items will put me leaps and bounds ahead of what I had previously been doing - which was nothing. Plus, did I mention I have CHECKBOXES on my sheet?

Savings:

Gonna have to WAG this one again and guesstimate a daily savings of 2 Ccf per day (depending on the exterior temperature). Our holiday vacation will be five days this year, for a monthly savings of 10 Ccf. I'd also guesstimate approximately 8 kWh per day (compared to what I would have used if I hadn't unplugged stuff), for a total vacation savings of 40 kWh.

Difficulty Level: 3 out of 5

It's definitely a bit of a hassle. I mean, the last thing you want to do when the kids are all hyped up and hubby is itching to hit the road is to take five minutes to go through a checklist. But you know what -- it's FIVE MINUTES. They can wait five minutes. Who knows, maybe they'll do something constructive with the time, like use it to go pee before we get in the car for ten hours. Besides -- there are checkboxes, people.

Day 128 - Hot Frozen Cross Buns

Signing Up For Crunchy Chicken's "Freeze Yer Buns" Challenge

Last month, Crunchy Chicken posted a new challenge for all of her readers: Set your thermostat for as low as possible and keep it that way till spring. I LOVED the idea and immediately signed up! The idea is not, necessarily, to go to drastic extremes, but "to get you to drop at least one degree."

I initially pledged to keep my thermostat set at 65 during the day and 60 at night, but after throwing extra blankets on all the beds, I quickly found that the nighttime temp was actually too WARM and had to adjust it down to 55.

Want to know what else happened when I dropped the temperature? The kids slept in longer. Shhhhhhh. Don't let them hear my secret. I don't know why, but I swear it's true. Ethan hasn't wandered downstairs before 7:00 am and Daphne sleeps in till almost 8:00 am! I, too, am sleeping more soundly, as the house doesn't feel as dry and it's keeping all of our snoring to a minumum.

Savings:

According to Crunchy, for every degree set below 68 degrees, energy consumption drops 6-8%. My heat is generated via our water heater, which makes calculating the difference a little more difficult, since it's always "on" regardless of whether or not the heat is running. Our average gas consumption last year (November 1 - April 30) was 75 Ccf per month, so, I'm going to take a WAG and say that I'll be looking at an average of about 60 Ccf per month. this year. I will let you know if that average actually holds true.

Difficulty Level: 2 out of 5

I like it. Hubby? eh. I think he'd prefer a warmer house and I often catch him turning up the heat when he thinks I'm not looking. But, since I control the temps from 10 pm - 6 pm Monday through Friday, I think he's allowed his indulgence for a few hours at night and on the weekends. Afterall, I may have frozen buns, but I also have a warm heart. Sometimes.