Energy News: Green Homes

According to a study conducted by UC Berekeley and UCLA researchers homes that were labeled green by LEED, GreenPoint Rated and Energy Star sold for 9% higher than nongreen label homes.

Source: http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/green-homes-sell-9-percent-more-study-says-17199

According to stopwaste.org there are many things you can do now to green your home without spending any money:

A:  First, before doing any construction and spending any money, you can immediately startoperating your home in a green fashion.

Save energy by:

1. turning off lights, TV, or stereo when you are not in a room
2. using ceiling fans to cool yourself, but turning them off when you are not in the room
3. don’t overheat or overcool your home, and adjust your system for when you are not home

Save water by:

1. not running water from any fixture when you are not using it directly
2. checking your timing schedule on your irrigation system and only running it when needed
3. washing only full loads of laundry or dishes, or setting the water level to the appropriate depth

Improve indoor air quality by:

1. taking your shoes off when you enter the home or using a sturdy welcome mat as this is how most of the dust and particles come into your home
2. running your bathroom and stovetop exhaust fans to remove humidity and fumes
3. keeping cleaning materials, pesticides and other hazardous chemicals safely stored in the garage rather than inside the home near the children. When you do buy these materials next time, try buying ones which are less toxic.

Lead a green lifestyle by:

1. preventing waste before it starts, only buy what you need
2. being conscientious about recycling and reusing as much as you can
3. start trying to compost some kitchen and yard wastes