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Discussion in 'Newbie Forum' started by GoGreenGirl, Apr 18, 2012.

  1. GoGreenGirl

    GoGreenGirl New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 18, 2012
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    Central KY
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    Other Non-Hybrid
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    Hey! Just wanted to introduce myself. Although I don't own a Prius or a Hybrid (because I just can't afford to buy one right now), I think of Prius owners as being environmentally conscious. With that said, could you all tell me what other things you have done to reduce your carbon footprint, or save on energy costs and such?
    Thanks! Glad to meet you!
     
  2. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Alaska
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Well hello, welcome aboard!

    Just had our house run through an energy audit and improvements... reduced 12tons of CO2/year and NatGas reduced by a 1/3.

    What have you done?
     
  3. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

    Joined:
    Apr 14, 2009
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    Location:
    Greenwood MS USA
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    As my wife remodeled every room in our house, I added energy savings as as I could
    two A/C units 20 SEER
    'on demand' water heater
    3 LED lights where they need to run forever
    72 CFL lights
    T8 tubes replace T12 Fluorescent light bulbs
    additional Attic insulation
    additional insulation on all outside walls
    double pane low E gas windows
    Solar/Hybrid Attic fans on south side, low Amperage attic fan on north side and garage
    Reflective shingles to reduce A/C use
    Gas Dryer rather than Electric
    Front load washer leaves clothes dryer

    Unlike Spiderman, I have no idea how much this reduces my carbon foot print, but every month since I started, my energy bill has been smaller than 12 months ago.
     
  4. GoGreenGirl

    GoGreenGirl New Member

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    Location:
    Central KY
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    Other Non-Hybrid
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    Nice to meet you all and so glad to hear that I'm not the only one who has done some work on a house to make it more efficient!

    Hey Jimbo...what color are your reflective shingles? My house has a really light grey shingle and I think it's fine....much better than black!

    Have you all done any air sealing?

    I have added insulation to my house, although I still have some to add...cannot afford to do it all at once. I have also done a complete air sealing on the home. I have to add some Q-lons to the side and back door to seal them properly and seal my ductwork. I have some CFL's...like you said Jimbo...where they have to last forever. But in some of my lamps that I don't use often, I just left the cheap bulbs.

    Hey Spiderman, was it difficult to get on board with an energy audit? People here in Central KY don't seem to be too interested.
     
  5. massparanoia

    massparanoia Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2012
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    Location:
    Virginia
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    If you don't mind me asking, how much were the 20 seer ac units? What brand are they? Did you upgrade the whole hvac system or just the ac unit?
     
  6. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Location:
    Grass Valley, CA.
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    I protect land from development, restore natural habitat and plant thousands upon thousands of native plants.
     
    1 person likes this.
  7. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Alaska
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
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    II
    Actually, it was easy. That State of Alaska has a program that will actually pay for energy efficiency upgrades and the audit itself! We just scheduled an audit, the auditor came in and ran tests and sat down with us discussing all the things we could do and the points associated with the improvements. The largest point increase was replacing our old furnace (~84 to 96% eff.). That along with insulating the crawlspace walls, sealing walls and outlets, replaced most of the windows, and new garage door came to about 11.5K and we got reimbursed 7.5K. What a blessing. Anyone can apply and can get up to max of 10K.
     
  8. Constance83

    Constance83 New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 3, 2012
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    us
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    [​IMG]Well hello, welcome aboard!
     
  9. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

    Joined:
    Apr 14, 2009
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    Location:
    Greenwood MS USA
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    The whole house HVAC was a 5 ton American Standard and including labor was about $13,000 The unit it replaced was over 30 years old.
    Platinum ZM Air Conditioner - Air Conditioners - Allegiance® 20 Air Conditioner - American Standard Air Heating and Air Conditioning
    My computer room got an LG mini-split unit for about $2500 I use a lot of computing power. (folding@home)
    High-efficiency Single Zone Inverter
     
  10. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

    Joined:
    Apr 14, 2009
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    Location:
    Greenwood MS USA
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
  11. Mrwong

    Mrwong New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2012
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    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
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    Hello!

    I'm new too and don't have a prius but I love reading what people have done to them
     
  12. ralleia

    ralleia Active Member

    Joined:
    Apr 2, 2012
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    Location:
    Omaha, Nebraska, United States
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    I'm a bit of a green nut, though I am not a believer that carbon dioxide is the evil that some make it out to be. It's what my beloved plants need to perform photosynthesis.

    I'm a composting fool, and between the worm compost operation, the many outdoor windrow and upright compost bins and the recycling, our household trash amounts to a couple cubic feet a week, uncompressed.

    We also ripped out most of the drywall in our house to remove the inadequate vintage 1930s "balsam wool" insulation and some fiberglass. We had closed-cell insulating foam applied at R-6.8 per inch, plus it's an air barrier so it seals out all drafts. Now the second floor of the house really doesn't really need heating (it's heated by the warmth radiating up from the lower floor). It used to be extremely drafty and that balsam wool had almost no insulating value.

    The insulating foam is applied directly to the underside of the roof decking, between the rafters. This eliminates the "vented" roof assembly and keeps the hot and moist/cold and dry air from entering your attic area in the first place. No fans required, no vents, and it feels far more comfortable.

    One of the projects coming up will be relamping the whole house for LED lighting or "tube" fluorescent lamps. CFLs really aren't a terribly efficient choice--fluorescent "tube" lights beat them hands-down. Plus, every CFL has to have a ballast (that big base) in order to be compatible with the incandescent base. That ballast is a throwaway when the lamp goes out, unlike the dedicated fluorescent fixtures that have a built-in ballast and you just replace the tubes. Though I have several CFLs installed, I'm not buying any more and will relamp in lieu of continuing to buy a product that is inherently wasteful.