New house = super energy-efficient!

I continue to be thrilled by how energy-efficient (or really, carbon-efficient) the new house is! In the summer, we only needed air conditioning in July (when it was over 100 for several days, and over 80 at night, and we hadn’t sealed off the sunroom well yet). In winter, we have only run the propane

Carbon production at the new house

The first six months at the new house have been interesting in terms of energy use. Overall, we’re holding steady at about 1450lb/mo – on track for 4 tonne/person this year. Though winter’s coming up, and that’s likely to skew the trend upward due to winter heating. Electrical usage went down almost exactly what I

Propane mystery and comparison of heating fuel saving measures

As I’ve been doing the last few years, I tracked our propane usage this year. It was a rather nasty surprise. We used more this year than last year, despite getting some new windows, a new patio door, and switching from heating the living room to only heating the “library” a couple times a week.

State of the Homestead: Energy

Part of the State of the Homestead series Energy. We just about hit our carbon goal of 10.45 tonnes last year (actual: 10.53t). Heating was our biggest success, I think. We used about 400 gallons of propane last winter, compared to nearly 700 gallons the year before and 850 gallons in 2008.We used the fireplace

Propane savings to date

Well, we just got our first propane fill-up of 2010. Usually by Jan. 12th, we would have had fillups totaling around 500 gallons. This year, we’ve had a total of 371 gallons – about a 25% reduction in propane use and a savings of $325 and 1625 pounds of carbon. What we’ve done differently this

Greatest good

I realized the other day that the next realistic steps my household might take to reduce carbon emissions are to carpool more (we commute to work together but could add up to 2 more people in our car) and to move to geothermal heat. Geothermal systems – even with the rebates – would probably cost

How we save energy

I thought I’d list thethings we do as a matter of course to save energy. You can use this list as a resource, an inspiration, or ignore it completely; just please don’t use it as a springboard for guilt, unless guilt actually motivates you to change.And especially don’t guilt-trip if you’re un/underemployed and just trying

Carbon Budget – Year in Review

Goal: 10.25 tonnes Actual: 14 tonnes Well, we missed our goal. By a *lot*. We used only about 1 tonne less carbon than last year, so far as I can tell from my less-than-perfect recordkeeping for 2007-08. I’m not happy about it, and I’m not making excuses. I am looking for reasons, though, and ways

One Stone Carbon Challenge

If you read this blog, you’re probably familiar with the idea of global warming, and you know that it is going to have serious effects in the coming decades (see this image only if you want to be depressed). You may also know that scientists are suggesting there is a “point of no return” where

Project help?

Hey, folks- I’m hatching my next project – sort of a carbon-reduction challenge for those of us not yet ready to go for the 90% reduction levels of the Riot 4 Austerity. I could use a few more pairs of eyes to check my math and help me figure out a few calculations. If you’re