Sustainability does not follow the one and done philosophy, rather the principles of constant renewal; one building upon another.
The recently completed bathroom boasts radiant heating throughout the main traffic areas as well as an energy star exhaust fan light combination. The radiant heat option cost $331.64, which was the matting and the digital thermostat. Again, like the programmable thermostat for the furnace, having the option to select the times of operation works well to save energy. The routines of the family throughout the week allow for efficient use by limiting the time the unit is running without anyone occupying the space. The combination exhaust fan light unit cost $ 137.98 to install. The primary benefit of this unit is the sensor in the fan portion that adjusts the exhaust rate according to the volume of moisture in the room. While showering the unit automatically runs at the highest level whereas when simply using the facilities requires much less force from the unit. Besides these two innovations, we have installed a low-flow shower head, a low-flow sink aerator for the vanity sink, and a dual- flush toilet. The total cost for these items was $ 329.65 and again were a breeze to install.
The kitchen appliances are all highly energy star rated. The upfront price increase was a worthy investment for the long term. One other upgrade we recently made was in purchasing a new coffee maker. Being that we enjoy coffee throughout the day the standard model we had always used was an energy hog. Simply by leaving the warming plate on we estimated we were wasting between three and five dollars a month in electricity. The new model we purchased, $85.57 at Target, brews the coffee directly into a thermos style pot. This allows the coffee to remain hot for a considerable amount of time without having to leave on the warming plate. In fact, the unit does not even have a traditional warming plate on it, which reduces the risk of failing, melting, or, worse yet, catching on fire when the pot is accidently left on upon exiting the house for the day. I can actually say that this purchase was the first time that we purposively set out to find something better environmentally than what we were currently using. We sought out this technology innovation because of a un-ecofriendly practice in place in our home. Interestingly, we were both quite excited with the entire experience…yes, just for a simple coffee pot.
Leave a Reply