Florida Homebuilder Centerline Homes | Real Estate Blog

Have you ever asked yourself what going green will do for you?

Green Tips For Consumers

• Solar Energy
  • Solar Hot Water, is by far the easiest way to cut back on energy and save power.  A Typical home will cost between $3000 - $4000 Dollars to install Solar Hot Water.  It will save you on average about$50-$75/mo Depending on where you live.  That means it takes about 3.5 - 5yrs to recover the up front costs on installing a system.
  • Solar Panels - With Federal and State Rebates Solar Energy is becomming a reality for Many.  Costs can be dramatically reduced and often energy can actually be resold to the utility company when produced in excess
• Wind Turbines
• Water Conservation
  • Low Flow Shower Heads
  • Low Flush or Dual Flush Toilets
• Slow Down, Driving your vehicle 55 mph instead of 65 mph can increase your mileage by 15 percent and reduce carbon emissions considerably. You’ll also get better mileage if you avoid "Jack rabbit" starts and sudden braking whenever you can, and if you keep your tires properly inflated to the maximum recommended pressure.
• Switch to public transportation, carpooling, biking, telecommuting and other innovative ways to save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions on your way to and from work.
• Adjusting your current water heater - Simply lowering the thermostat on your hot-water heater from 145 degrees to 120 degrees could save you more than $20 a year if you heat water with gas and more than $50 if your water heater is electric. Best Part is, you probably wont even notice the temp change.
• Buy or use a programmable thermostat for your home. They cost between $30 and $100 but you can easily make that cost up in your first year depending how you keep your temperature set.
• Do laundry efficiently, save energy and money by using cold water instead of warm or hot and only do full loads when drying clothes  You should also try to dry two or more loads in a row to make use of the heat already in the dryer.
• Recycle Cans, Plastics, and Paper.  Many states offer redemption on products, if you live in one you will certainly want to take advanatge of that.  Many other states and cities have programs in place to collect these materials for free and some even use proceeds to reduce the costs for collecting trash and items which ultimatly reduces taxes/fees for this service.  It also saves businesses money from producing raw materials and helps the environment at the same time.