Green Autumn Preparation

As summer comes to a close, now is the time to get a jump on green autumn preparation. These are all the little home improvement things you can do to get the most out of your energy consumption while reducing waste and saving money.

From your overall landscaping to those easy but often neglected weather preparation fixes, all it takes is a little TLC (tender love and care) to head into the fall season like a right, tight ship.

Shore it Up

Those pesky drafts around your home can mean your hard-earned dollars are flying right into thin air. Some of the easiest ways to shore up your home to save energy as well as financial loss include the following:

Weather stripping

A quick trip to your local hardware store is where you can find all kinds of weather stripping. From adhesive, spongy, draft-blocking material to more advanced applications, these options will allow you to block drafts around windows, air conditioners, and many other locations around your home.

Swap ‘Em Out

If weather stripping just won’t do it, then you may want to look at upgrading your windows altogether. Today’s window construction incorporates stronger glass and insulation that easily surpasses original windows, which may have settled with the house when it was built,t creating gaps.

Tamp the Fire

A fireplace with an open, faulty, or weak flue can raise overall heating-energy consumption by 30 percent. As reported by Housetopia, “a study showed that for many consumers, heating bills may be more than $500 higher each winter because of the drafts and wasted energy caused by fireplaces.”

To keep your fireplace from sucking up all your heating,

• Make sure your flu is tight
• Fireplace doors are closed and sealed
• Invest in a fireplace plug.

Don’t Forget Your Doors

Many interior doors are hollow. This can lead to compromised insulation when needing doors to maintain a warm (or, in the summer, a cold) room. Switching to solid doors and/or investing in a bottom door cover, either in the form of an attached rubber “lip” or a fabric “pillow-like” tube at the base, is highly recommended.

Replace It

If you can, look into replacing your faucets, toilet bowls, old appliances, and lightbulbs. All of these have been upgraded to meet green standards with various Eco-friendly programs or technology, such as:

• Energy Star
• Green Seal
• LED or LCD lighting
• Tankless water heaters
• WaterSense®, an EPA Partnership Program, uses about 32 percent less water without compromising performance

Program It

Now is the time to take advantage of the many automatic, self-programming thermostats that are saving homeowners money and aggravation. These devices are able to sense occupants in each room and, according to settings, can raise or lower the temperature depending on each person’s desire. When no one is in the room, the temperature reduces to an energy-efficient level, and you save money.

Pressure Check

When President Obama was in office, unlike the current debacle, he and his administration embraced climate change and alternative energy remedies. One thing the president mentioned was a very simple fix for saving fuel: check your car tire pressure. In cooler temperatures, the pressure can lower and create unnecessary drag, resulting in wasted gas. Look on the inside of the driver’s door or in your car manual for the proper tire pressure level.

Put Your Bed to Bed

Preparing for autumn outside is just as important as inside. The end of summer enables a slow closing of your yard and garden landscape. This can be beneficial to future yields as well as less energy needed when you re-open in the spring.

You can:

• Spread compost
• Bring in plants that will flourish indoors
• Dry and store your herbs for winter cooking
• Can or jar leftover fruits and vegetables
• Spread mulch to protect growing beds or trunk areas
• Cover fragile plants, bushes, or trees to protect them during the cold

Get your green autumn preparation on so you can stroll into winter,r saving the planet and saving some money at the same time.