consumer affairs bermuda

green energyBuilding a Green Home

Equipping your home with energy efficient appliances and products won’t just reduce your energy consumption- it’ll save you a lot of money.  In 2005, the average household spent almost $1,900 on home energy bills. You can save 10% - 50% each year by making smart energy choices. We demonstrate just how much energy and money you can save with a range of consumer choices:

  1. Replace regular incandescent light bulbs with a compact fluorescent light bulb (cfl).   CFLs use 60% less energy than a regular bulb, saving you more than $65 a year in energy costs, last up to 10 times longer and still provide the high-quality light output that you require.
  2. Install a 2.5 gallon-per-minute low-flow shower head.  A low-flow shower head will save up 5 gallons of water over a typical bath and up to $145 each year on electricity.
  3. Install Energy Star qualified windows.  With proper installation to ensure all gaps around them are sealed, Energy Star qualified windows can cut drafts and reduce fading of interior furnishings.  Home sealing involving windows and door frames can save up to 10% on your energy bill.
  4. Consider an on-demand hot water system.  On-demand hot water systems deliver electrically heated water directly to your faucet and can be located under a sink or in an adjacent cabinet to eliminate water run-off.  Priced locally at approximately $430 for a kitchen and $650 for a full bathroom, you will probably recoup your costs in energy bill savings within a year.
  5. Replace your old refrigerator (10 years old or more).  Low efficiency refrigerators account for about 15% of a home’s energy demand.  Look for an Energy Star model or a Sun Frost model, which are even 36-51% more efficient. You’ll save approximately $120/year.
  6. Replace your older toilets (5+ gallons per flush).  New toilet models use only 1.6 gallons per flush and dual-flush models save even more.
  7. Choose countertops made of renewable or recycled resources.  The ingredients in many conventional solid surface materials are made from non-renewable resources such as acrylic resins derived from petroleum.  Consider instead stained concrete, indigenous stone countertops or products that use recycled materials.
  8. Select eco-friendly flooring.  Products manufactured from rapidly renewing forests such as bamboo, cork and eucalyptus, provide you with a beautiful, affordable and durable floor.
  9. Replace your oven with an induction cooktop.  Induction cooking heats only the cookware and not the stovetop, so less heat is wasted and food heats faster. Induction cooking is approximately 90% energy efficient as compared to gas and electric radiant, which are 50-60% efficient.
  10. Think small.  Huge appliances use more energy and take up more space than you might need in a family kitchen so you must build, heat and cool additional square footage to accommodate them. If you don’t need the extra capacity, and thus the extra energy-draining appliance bulk, think twice before purchasing them.  
  11. Evacuate cooking fumes with a high-efficiency, variable-speed exhaust fan.  Energy Star qualified fans in general are the most energy-efficient models, and the variable-speed option lets you use the lowest effective setting, further reducing your energy demand.
  12. Install a kitchen recycling centre.  Available pre-assembled or in cabinet retrofit kids, kitchen recycling centres make recycling easy for you and your family.
  13. Replace a traditional computer monitor when you are buying a new computer for an LCD monitor and save $20/year.  Recycle your old computer.
  14. Replace a top-loading clothes washer when it needs replacing with a front-loading washer and save as much as $0.40/load.