Sierra Club Green Home

Give your house a healthy glow using green cleaning supplies

When we get out the rags and the wash buckets, we have the best of intentions. Cleanliness is a virtue, right? And healthy too! Well, if you use conventional cleaning products, perhaps not. Have you ever cleaned your shower or oven and then had teary eyes, [...]

Strong and beautiful, wood is the material of choice for all kinds of home projects, from building a crib to finishing a basement to constructing a whole house. What’s more, wood is a renewable resource. But even though a tree can be replanted to replace one that gets cut down, wood consumption does have consequences.

Most of us are not strangers to recycling. We are familiar with the multi-colored bins and the appropriate way to sort our recyclables. Despite our dedication and commitment to recycling, many items are ultimately diverted out of our recycling bins to landfills.

Any of you old enough to remember the classic rock tune “My City Was Gone” by the Pretenders? Like singer Chrissie Hynde, I go back to Ohio, but my city (Akron, aka The Rubber City) is not gone. Can you imagine my surprise to find a great organic restaurant, VegiTERRANEAN, by none other than Chrissie Hynde herself, on my last visit?

These days it’s fashionable for celebrities to hitch their stars to the green movement. Many of them claim to be green, but in my experience, only a few are really doing substantive things to back up the PR flackery. Ed Begley Jr. rides a stationary bike each morning to power his coffee-maker, admittedly on the lunatic fringe.

Fuel cell technology is an emerging form of clean energy that seems to be within reach for consumers. The main drawback is in the costly expenses associated with the units, in comparison to conventional fossil fuel systems. Fuel cell systems have proven to produce at least twice as much energy and little to no pollution, unlike their ‘dirty fuel’ counterparts.

Small-scale wind turbines have become a viable, if not yet mainstream, means of powering homes with clean, renewable energy. You’ve probably seen clusters of huge wind turbines in rural areas. Those wind farms produce power for the utility grid. A residential wind turbine is much smaller, and rather than multiple turbines, a home typically has just one.

Lighting controls, from basic dimmers to daylight-sensing photocells, can cut the amount of light you waste by lowering lighting levels and reducing the amount of time lights are on. Exert self-control. The best lighting control is turning off the light yourself, even if you’re just going to be out of the room for a few minutes. This is true of all lamp types: fluorescents, incandescents, halogens, and LEDs.

Are your home energy bills out of hand? Does your house feel drafty even when you crank up the heat? Have you been dragging your feet on giving your home an energy-efficiency tune-up because you don’t know where to start? Watch this home energy audit video and then click to read how a home energy audit could start you on the path to having a green home.

Leaving cracks and crevices for air to leak in and out of your home can make life feel drafty and uncomfortable. It can allow moisture-laden air to sneak inside, increasing the likelihood of condensation, mold, and rot.