Minimize Your Commute

Even though gas is getting cheaper, commuting still wastes time. I would be pleased if I never had to fill up, change oil, wait for red lights, and navigate traffic again. And let's face it - cars are pretty much just bad for the environment no matter how fuel efficient they are.

The good news for anyone relocating is that you can choose where to live based on your commute - and you can use the Optimal Home Location tool to help you figure out where would be best. The tool takes the addresses of your 6 most frequently visited locations (work, school, grocery store) and maps your ideal home location for minimal commute time.

The tool will tell you property tax, median condo and home values, median age, and percentage of homes with kids.

How to Make the Most out of an Inefficient Furnace

So, like many renters, I don't have much say over the furnace my apartment has. As it just so happens, our furnace's efficiency is rated near the bottom. We live in a floor of a drafty old house, and I'm terrified of my upcoming Xcel bill. The Department of Energy says we spend most of our money heating and cooling our home (see this chart).

In honor of this expense, I bring you tips for maximizing the heating efficiency of your living space.

1. Lower the thermostat as much as you can stand. Even turning it down 2 degrees can save you $300/year, according to New Jersey Natural Gas.

This comes from a person who can't stand it any colder than 66, but at least 66 is better than 70. They say you should be able to withstand 60 dressing in layers, but I just can't do it. I do turn it down to 60 whenever I leave the house, though. But don't turn the furnace off altogether - if you do, the furnace will have to spend a lot of energy the minute you get home.

2. Weatherize your home. If you have storm windows, be sure to close both sets of window. When fall has arrived, get plastic weatherization film.

3. Take shorter showers. It means you'll spend less heating the water. Wash clothes in cold or warm water instead of hot.

4. Make sure your vents are unobstructed. I was keeping my laundry basket in front of a vent, which was dumb.

5. Open shades to let sunlight in during the day. Who needs solar panels! Close blinds and curtains before the sun sets to keep the night cold out.

6. Limit the use of kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans. This shoots your nicely heated air out into the world, wasting all that heat!

7. Add a rug to wood or tile floors.

AFUE is the American Fuel Utilization Efficiency rating. Your furnace will say what its AFUE rating is - a rating of 78 means that, of every dollar you spend on natural gas, 78 cents of it turns into heat and 22 cents is wasted.


(more tips from GasSouth)

When do you turn your car off for a train?

Q. Do you turn your car off for a train or not?
A. If the train will take more than 30 seconds to pass, yes. Idling for 30 seconds or more uses more gas than re-starting a car.

(From The Green Guide.)