Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Two-part question on environmental action

ngdawg · 07-10-2007, 04:21 PM

Your home is really pretty. Being someone who loves old houses so much, I couldn't stand to live in an even 50 year old one, so I know how it is to keep these relics relatively stable in the heat and cold. Mine's just shy of 100 years old and when we bought it, it had the old weighted paned windows, big iron radiators and NO insulation at all.
We changed the radiators and oil heat to gas-fired hotwater baseboard. We replaced the windows with doublepaned vinyl clad ones. In the winter, we put shrinkwrap plastic over the windows to keep out drafts even further. We insulated the dormer, specially around the bathroom(the tub drain used to freeze!)
Every room has a ceiling fan. Downstairs, the ceilings are 9ft high, which helps with keeping the rooms cool, but all that heat gets trapped up there.
We have a large window fan downstairs that we set on drawing out air so every room gets a breeze(blowing in air doesn't do squat, really).
Air conditioners, among other appliances, can be had relatively cheap with a 10.0 or higher rating and, at least up here, we get a refund of part of the purchase price. Check with your utility provider.
To minimize costs, which also helps minimize eco-rudeness, we do some little things: We hang the laundry instead of drying it dry. We cook outside on the (propane) grill, even roasts. And use the microwave a LOT. We never run the AC's on high and we keep the thermostat on 66 in the winter. Our hot water isn't even hooked up to the washer, which is a front loader-uses a third of the water and energy of one with an agitator and doesn't harm clothes as much if at all.
Most of the things we do save us a bundle in utility costs every year; the best year we had gave us a credit balance of over $200. I wish more people would realize that being even a little eco-friendly is also good for the wallet.

07-10-2007, 04:21 PM	#22 (permalink)
ngdawg peekaboo Location: on the back, bitch	Your home is really pretty. Being someone who loves old houses so much, I couldn't stand to live in an even 50 year old one, so I know how it is to keep these relics relatively stable in the heat and cold. Mine's just shy of 100 years old and when we bought it, it had the old weighted paned windows, big iron radiators and NO insulation at all. We changed the radiators and oil heat to gas-fired hotwater baseboard. We replaced the windows with doublepaned vinyl clad ones. In the winter, we put shrinkwrap plastic over the windows to keep out drafts even further. We insulated the dormer, specially around the bathroom(the tub drain used to freeze!) Every room has a ceiling fan. Downstairs, the ceilings are 9ft high, which helps with keeping the rooms cool, but all that heat gets trapped up there. We have a large window fan downstairs that we set on drawing out air so every room gets a breeze(blowing in air doesn't do squat, really). Air conditioners, among other appliances, can be had relatively cheap with a 10.0 or higher rating and, at least up here, we get a refund of part of the purchase price. Check with your utility provider. To minimize costs, which also helps minimize eco-rudeness, we do some little things: We hang the laundry instead of drying it dry. We cook outside on the (propane) grill, even roasts. And use the microwave a LOT. We never run the AC's on high and we keep the thermostat on 66 in the winter. Our hot water isn't even hooked up to the washer, which is a front loader-uses a third of the water and energy of one with an agitator and doesn't harm clothes as much if at all. Most of the things we do save us a bundle in utility costs every year; the best year we had gave us a credit balance of over $200. I wish more people would realize that being even a little eco-friendly is also good for the wallet. __________________ Don't blame me. I didn't vote for either of'em.