This Summer, Cool Your Home For Less Money

According to ENERGY STAR®, the typical household spends close to $2,000 per year on heating and cooling, and up to $600 of those costs are a waste; the result of energy inefficiencies in every U.S. home.

With the hot months of July and August ahead of us , therefore, consider these simple-to-follow, cost-saving tips for keeping your home cool. None are expensive and each can yield quick results.

First, convert your home's light bulbs to to CFLs.

It's well-known that CFL bulbs use less energy than comparable incandescent bulbs, but they also generate far less heat. A "traditional" bulb converts 97.5% of its electricity into heat, which will require extra cooling in your home. CFL bulbs give off heat, too, but at a fraction of the level of an incandescent.

Next, make sure your HVAC air filter is clean. A dirty filter can add up to 7% to your cooling costs because your HVAC unit works harder to move the same amount of air. Change your filters quarterly, at least. If your home has shedding pets, consider changing monthly.

There's other steps you can take, too, including:

1. Keep your shades drawn. By blocking out the sun through your windows, you can lower a room's temperature by as much as 20 degrees. That will require less cooling.
2. Tune your HVAC unit. If you air conditioning unit has not been inspected this year, call a service technician to make sure it's running optimally.
3. Use a programmable thermostat. When you're not home, set your home's temperature to be higher. You don't need to cool an empty home.

And, lastly, use your ceiling fans. A room's temperature can feel up to 8 degrees cooler when a ceiling fan is running. Just remember that the ceiling fan cools you and not the room. Remember to turn it off when the room's not in use.

Get customized cooling recommendations from the EPA.

How Do I Clean Up A Broken Compact Fluorescent Bulb?

Compact fluorescent light bulbs are widely praised for their energy-efficiency and relatively low price points. However, unlike traditional light bulbs, they pose a specific health risk to humans and pets.

Most compact fluorescent light bulbs are loaded with mercury vapor and mercury is poisonous -- even in very small doses.

And, unfortunately, sometimes light bulbs break, releasing toxins into the air.

To assist homeowners , the EPA published a series of CFL-handling guidelines on its website under the heading "How Should I Clean Up A Broken Fluorescent Bulb?".

The EPA's advice is specific and geared toward safety. A few of the tips include:

1. Have people and pets leave the room immediately
2. Shut down your home's HVAC unit to prevent airflow
3. Using rubber gloves, place glass fragments and "powder" in a glass jar, or sealed plastic bag.

In addition, the EPA says to throw out all clothing and bedding that has come into direct contact with a broken bulb. You should not attempt to wash items such as these. They may contain mercury fragments that could contaminate your laundry machines and/or your sewage system.

Lastly, make sure to keep your CFLs separate from your regular trash; they're not meant for landfills. Compact fluorescent light bulbs should be recycled with a verified waste management company.

You can find one at http://earth911.com.

How To Prevent Mercury Poisoning With CFL Light Bulbs

According to the EPA, if every household in America replaced one "traditional" bulb with an energy-saving compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) light bulb, it would result in $700 million in energy cost savings each year, plus a greenhouse gas savings equivalent to that of 800,000 automobiles.

They're expensive, but CFL bulbs tend to pay for themselves in less a year, and often last for several. It's no wonder they're so popular with homeowners in Hayward.  But, CFLs also come with health risks.

 

Namely, CFL bulbs contain mercury -- an average of 4 milligrams per bulb.

 

The mere presence of mercury doesn't make CFLs dangerous. It just means that you should exercise care when handling them, and take certain precautions when disposing of them.

The Environment Protection Agency offers some tips:

1. Screw/unscrew the bulb from the base and not the bulb to prevent breakage
2. Never force a CFL bulb into a light socket
3. When the bulb burns out, bring it to one of 3,106 recycling centers

The EPA website also give guidance for dealing with broken bulbs. Among the recommendations: Don’t wash mercury-covered clothing to prevent contaminating other clothing, too, and don't vacuum up the poison, either. There are special handling instructions to prevent poisoning yourself and others in your household.

The EPA's CFL safety PDF is 3 pages long and can be viewed on its Web site.

CFLs provide long-term energy and environment cost savings. And, with some common sense care, their risks to your health can be minimized.