Energy Conservation (continued - p2 of 2)

Solar Water Heating

All 17% of the energy used for heating water could be eliminated with a solar evacuated tube hot water heater, which can heat water all year round for free (environmentally and financially), nearly anywhere in the world, without electricity. They can even be used as a hot water source for space heating (via radiant floor heating or baseboard radiators), or as a heat source for stirling engines to produce renewable energy.

Alternative Refrigeration

Most refrigerators use about 5% or more of all electricity in the home, and nearly all of them use chemical refrigerants that pollute our planet. Earth friendly and energy efficient refrigerators may be used instead however, or root cellars may be used, in addition to a refrigerator or alone, depending on available space and one's food storage needs. Like a root cellar, an icehouse is built at least partially underground to make use of the earth for year round passive refrigeration. The difference is that an icehouse is also built with space between it and another thick wall around it, which is then filled with ice or a mixture of ice and sawdust each winter. If constructed properly, an icehouse can be used alone for both year round refrigeration and the freezing of any food. Another earth friendly and energy efficient means of refrigeration and freezing involves the use of a stirling engine run in reverse. Currently however, stirling refrigeration is limited to cryogenics and it is not generally available to the public. But this doesn't stop us from building our own stirling engines for cooling, refrigeration, cogeneration and/or energy production!

Cooking and Laundering

There are many health related reasons not to cook food or eat foods (such as animal products) which require cooking. Sometimes however, we simply cannot resist the undeniably delicious aroma of baked bread, the mouth watering taste of homemade desserts, or the ability of a home cooked meal to "hit the spot". Whether or not you find this pleasurable will of course depend on the cook... but using a solar cooker in the summer instead of an electric stove and oven is a great way to save energy in the home and help to reduce pollution.

As for laundering, a steam washer and dryer can save up to 75% of the water, and at least 30% of the energy used by most other washers and dryers on the market today. Laundry can also be dried on a clothes line outside in the summer, or on a laundry rack indoors during the winter.

Lighting, Home appliances and Other Electrical Devices

Daytime lighting is easily accomplished using sunlight, which can be directed and focused in countless different ways. Candles and/or phosphorescent minerals and materials may also be of use as a green alternative to electrical lighting, if not alone, then simply to reduce energy consumption. Candles have been made from beeswax for well... longer than I've been alive, but they can also be made of soy wax. Soy wax is usually made from partially hydrogenated soybean oil, but it can also be made of saturated fats in soybean and other oils (the more saturated fats such as stearic acid used, the harder the candle will be).

Home appliances and other electrical devices account for up to 50% of all energy use in the average home, but there are many commonly available non-electric appliances that may be used instead of electric ones and as stated previously, turning off electrical devices when they are not in use will also save energy.