Green Leader: Natalie Phillips
School: Sample Home Profile
Project Objective: Save Energy, Water, and Natural Resources
Project Activities or Steps: 1. Save Energy and Water
Use energy saving appliances
Fill your dishwasher as fully as possible to save money and energy
Use fluorescent or LED bulbs, which last longer and use 25% less electricity
Unplug or shut down and appliance you are not using
Try to use natural lighting as much as possible to save power
Planting trees can lower your cooling costs
Use solar lights in the walkways of your yard
Improve the efficiency of your hot water heating by
1. Insulating your hot water heater
2. Reducing your water heater thermostat to 120 degrees
3. Replace your hot water heater with a tank less hot water heater
Run your laundry on warm/cold, not hot
Use your ceiling fan as much as possible
You can save on your heating and cooling costs by setting your thermostat back when you are sleeping or not home
Install low flow showerheads, low flow toilets and faucet aerators to save water
2. Save Natural Resources
Use non toxic dish soap, detergent, and cleaner
Recycle and reuse
Buy sustainable furniture
Buy an irrigation controller that reads the weather and adjusts water according to the conditions to save water
Use non toxic methods to fight pests
Use a recycling bin
Project Resources: Create a weekly list of activities your family could do that will help put the at home ideas into effect.
Project Budget: Record what you have saved each month, taking time to go green may have some start up expenses but should produce long term savings.
Time Required: Create a chart of the time you saved each month or week within your own family household or the neighborhood meetings.
How This Affects Your Community: Send emails of different statistics and easy ways to incorporate going green into your household. Contribute a column to the community newsletter or write to your local newspaper and share the news of how your neighborhood is going green.
Getting Others Involved: Hold monthly neighborhood meetings with each family providing input of how they "went green" during the previous month. Provide incentives for your children/husband/wife.