Author Archive | Jennie Lyon

Reducing your carbon footprint at home might seem like a confusing hassle, but it can actually be quite simple. Many homeowners think that they have to rebuild their home and upend their lifestyle to help the environment, but there are many smaller steps that can still make a big difference to the planet.

As a bonus, cutting back on your energy use and material waste can not only help save the natural environment, but it can also help you save money in the long run.

Take the following steps to reduce your waste for a greener planet and a greener wallet.

1. Remember Your Three “R”s
   Reduce, reuse, and recycle as many items as you can. Try to only buy food that comes in packages that can be recycled, or buy produce at farmers markets to reduce food package waste. Buying used clothes, furniture, and even vehicles is also a good way to cut back on energy waste from manufacturing, and will help you save money on needlessly new products.
2. Get an Energy-Efficiency Audit
   Every home uses energy to stay well-lit and warm– in fact, 45% of the average energy bill is spent on heating, according to the Department of Energy. Scheduling an energy efficiency audit with an energy professional can help you figure out where your home is wasting electricity and heat. The experts will give you recommendations for reducing waste and saving cash on your utility bills.
3. Invest in Energy-Efficient Features
   After your energy audit, you may realize just how much energy your refrigerator, washing machine, television, and other large appliances expend. Purchasing Energy Star rated products is an investment that will save you money in the long run in terms of quality and reduced energy bills. Even replacing windows with energy-rated panes can reduce consumption — the single-pane windows common in many homes built before the mid-1990s are notorious for releasing heat in the winter, releasing cool air in the summer, and letting in noise year-round. Upgrading household items, from windows and doors to light bulbs and microwaves, is a great and green choice.
4. Get Chilly
   Though insulating your home will help you stay warm and help reduce heating waste, staying cool can also reduce your carbon footprint. Specifically, use your water heater as little as possible for a cooler planet. Wash clothes in cold water, and even consider taking cooler, shorter showers. Setting a programmable thermostat a few degrees lower will also have a small impact on your day-to-day comfort, but a big influence on your energy waste.

Though reducing your carbon footprint may seem like a waste of time, taking the time to reduce energy waste can actually save you money. Use these steps to live a little more conscientiously to protect your paycheck and the planet from unnecessary consumption.

Now that it’s finally fall, you might be relieved that the temperatures are dropping a bit. Before too long, it’ll be time to crank up the heat. While it’s a good thing that furnaces last an average of 15 to 18 years, the costs that show up on your monthly heating bills might not bring you much joy. But there may be a way to keep costs low and support efforts to live a greener lifestyle: smart HVAC.

Although today’s newest air conditioners use nearly 50% less energy than they did back in 1990, HVAC designers and manufacturers still aren’t completely satisfied with the energy efficiency rates offered by the average unit. In fact, one source reports that HVAC systems account for almost half of all energy used in an American home. Thus, industry professionals have continued to make improvements — and these advancements may appeal to tech-lovers who want to reduce their carbon footprint.

One of the ways to make HVAC greener is to focus on designs that are small and flexible. These units need to be able to fit into tight spaces that already exist in buildings, rather than being installed through a big reconstruction project. Customers want more modular systems that are ductless. And while the centrifugal blower found in HVAC systems — which has fan blades that can be arranged in one of three different ways — might not be replaced with another option, there are big changes that can be made to these systems that can mean big savings (of both energy and money).

For example, there are actually ice-powered and solar-powered air conditioners that use less energy than conventional systems. These systems may be supplemented with natural gas in some cases, which is still less expensive than what you might pay for installation and use. Reportedly, these systems are also more reliable, particularly in the event of a power outage; they’re more efficient on an everyday basis and they’ll keep on running if the electricity goes out, too.

There are also systems that self-monitor or that allow homeowners to control the temperature in individual rooms. The idea there is that you’ll save money by being able to keep temperatures exactly to your liking, rather than compensating with extra units or overheating or overcooling rooms just to get comfortable elsewhere. This idea expands on the smart thermostat — but instead of merely being able to adjust the temperature from your phone, this would allow the homeowner to automatically close vents and redirect air elsewhere when it isn’t needed.

There are many possibilities on the horizon for smarter, greener HVAC systems. From better heat pumps to wireless units, it doesn’t look like the industry will be shifting its focus away from these innovations any time soon. In the meantime, of course, there are ways to reduce your energy consumption from heating and cooling — even without a smart HVAC system.

For one thing, you can put your curtains to good use by letting in light during the brightest and warmest parts of the day and shutting them to keep the heat in at night. You can also pick a thermostat setting and stick to it, rather than fidgeting with the temperature all day. (Of course, a smart thermostat that automates these temperature changes is ideal.) Make sure to check for leaks and seal up drafty doors and windows. And of course, get your existing HVAC system serviced. Efficient HVAC maintenance systems require maintenance checks twice a year to keep running smoothly. While it may not be the most energy efficient model currently available, you can improve its efficiency by ensuring that it’s clean and repaired, if needed.

The global hydroponics market was last valued at $19.95 billion in 2015, but is expected to grow significantly over the next few years, reaching approximately $27.33 billion in 2020.

Hydroponics is termed as one of the fastest growing soil less farming practices at a global level, and has evolved over the years to not only reach commercial farmers, but smalltime residential ones as well. The industry isn’t done expanding yet, ether. As the market continues to grow, more and more farmers are looking to not only utilize hydroponic gardening setups, but fully customize these crop spaces as well.

Soil stores about 0.01% of the total water on Earth within its pores. But for plants and crops to successfully grow, they need much more water than what the soil is already providing. Even with natural rainfall and frequent watering, it can be extremely difficult to find the exact amount of water in order to optimize plant growth. With hydroponic farming, however, it’s much easier to provide the plants with exactly what is needed. Some crops can even grow twice as fast in hydroponic farming setups because of the ability to receive correct amounts of not only water, but oxygen and essential nutrients as well.

In Florida,

According to Florida Today, a hydroponics farm in Central Florida is letting buyers pick not only the type of vegetable they want to purchase, but the is allowing individuals to cook them and eat them as well — right on the farm’s location.

Wichmann Farms and MJ Farm to Table in Melbourne has rows and rows of high-quality hydroponics fruits and veggies; along with a chicken coop and other amenities along their three-achre patch of land. They are even offering a hydroponic gardening workshop for kids in hopes of teaching the next generation of innovative farmers this new and exciting approach to gardening.

“We’re family-oriented,” said Matthew Wichmann, owner of the farm along with his wife, Joyce. “We have opportunities for mothers to come here and get healthy food at reasonable prices.”

“And to educate the children about where it came from,” Joyce Wichmann added.

The entire agricultural property is self-pick, meaning cutters get a basket, a pair of scissors, and a choice of all the vegetables than can gather. If a buyer isn’t able to spend time perusing through the hydroponic farmland, they can simply purchase bags of mixed lettuce greens, eggs, tomatoes, and all kinds of fresh produce and be on their way.

“Everything we grow out here has lots of flavor,” added David Murray, farm manager and hydroponics expert. “I tell everybody all the time, it’s the best salad they’ll ever have. There’s all kinds of things we can teach out here, not just healthy eating. There’s chemistry and business. We try to show them different hydroponic designs.”

Farms like this one in Melbourne and similar ones all across the globe are going to need to remain sufficient in the near future, especially as the global population reaches 7.5 billion. But it’s certainly an exiting time for agriculture and the hydroponics industry.