Updating your client’s house to make it more energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly requires educating them on a few upgrades. Installing a solar electrical system or replacing hot water tanks can set them back thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars.

They may not save enough money on these types of upgrades to cover their investment for decades. However, there are several quick and inexpensive green upgrades they can make that will start paying off quickly.

1. Install Faucet Aerators – $10

   An aerator is a device that fits on or into the end of a faucet. It forces water through tiny holes, restricting water flow but making the flow feel stronger. It can be used on either kitchen or bathroom sinks and can be found in water-saving shower heads. An aerator can cost as little as $10 and can lower water use by up to 50%. Using less water also means less energy to heat the water, resulting in further savings.

2. Buy Compact Florescent Light Bulbs – $3 Each

   Changing light bulbs from incandescent to compact florescent is the easiest green switch of all. Compact Florescent Lightbulbs (CFLs) are inexpensive and can save up to $40 over the course of their lifetime. They last 10 times longer than incandescent and use much less electricity. According to Energy Star, CFLs use up to 75% less energy than normal incandescent bulbs. Replacing all old light bulbs immediately with CFLs saves the most.

3. Replace an Old Dishwasher – $300

   According to Energy Star, if you replace a dishwasher built before 1994 with a new Energy Star model, you will save 10 gallons of water per cycle. At one cycle a day, that’s 3,650 gallons of water per year. New energy-efficient dishwashers start at around $300. Between the cost of the water and of heating it for the dishwasher, payback on this upgrade can be achieved in about three to four years.

4. Install Ceiling Fans – $50

   Ceiling fans are popular in the south but not as common in cooler climates. However, they can make both your air conditioner and heat unit operate more efficiently. Ceiling fans circulate the air in the house, drawing the cool air from the air conditioner and distributing it around the house. They also push warm air from the heat pump down from the ceiling back into the living space to reduce the amount of time the furnace has to run.

The Bottom Line

Let you customers know that going green isn’t an all-or-nothing proposition. There are many inexpensive and cost-effective changes that make a noticeable difference. Once the savings from these changes start accumulating, they can be used to start investing in larger upgrades.

Original article found on SFGate

Have you considered how much it costs you to have a light on in your home? Saving the Earth is not the only goal of conserving energy or electricity; saving money is a direct result of energy-saving tools and appliances. Some people don’t even take a look at the electric bill. The monthly bill comes and as long as there is not a noticeable rise in the invoice, the details of your energy use are not typically stats most folks seek out. In fact, the electrical jargon itself inhibits us from even attempting to understand those meter readings. Watts and kilowatts and kilowatt-hours each come with their own code of abbreviations that leave the average, not-professionally-licensed-electrician homeowner, a little bit baffled.

When you make time to get to the pile of bills, sit at your kitchen table and try to focus, ignoring all the background noises, it’s all a person can manage just to get that checkbook to balance, let alone decipher the foreign terms on the electric meter reading. However, it only takes a moment to understand the basics, and getting these fundamentals down will help you make the best decisions when it comes time to purchase green products and energy conserving items.

So let’s get started. First of all, electricity is billed to you by the kilowatt-hour or kWH. On average, one kWH costs about $0.08 to $0.15. To rack up a kWH, you must use 1,000 watts of electricity. To put it in more common terms, 1,000 watts is equivalent to using a 100 watt light bulb for ten hours.

Now that you have a better understanding of a basic fee associated with your electric bill, here are some ways you can go green and get more electricity for your dollar and promote energy conservation in your home.

1. Buy CFL bulbs: CFL bulbs cost more up front, but average to save you $40.50 per year, per bulb in electricity fees. While the out of pocket expense is greater, you will recoup those costs by the 720th hour of usage and from that point on, you are saving money. These green bulbs use less energy, usually a fourth of what a standard bulbs would use up. They also last longer than standard bulbs. Typically, the life of one CFL is equal to about 10 standard bulbs.

2. Don Your Sweatshirt: A sure-fire way to conserve energy is not to use so much of it. In the winter months, keeping the heat on a low setting and adding a layer of clothing, like a sweatshirt or simply a pair of socks, is a highly effective way to save money and energy.

3. Flip It and Exit: An obvious but often neglected green practice is turning off a light when you leave the room. Your mother probably nagged you about this when you were a child – you probably nag your children about the same thing.

Just make sure you are aware of how much energy you are using and how much is either leaking out or being wasted. Keeping a steady eye on things can save you money and even help out the environment.

Did you know if every American home replaced just one light with a light that’s earned the ENERGY STAR, we would save enough energy to light 3 million homes for a year, save about $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent 9 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions per year? Excellent news right? Yes its true, CFL light bulbs are increasing becoming more popular and the green way to go. Although CFLs are an excellent source of energy-efficient lighting, and work well with most lighting outlets there are a few that is not the best choice. Here are a few limitations to consider:

• On/Off cycling: CFLs are sensitive to frequent on/off cycling. Their rated lifetimes of 10,000 hours are reduced in applications where the light is switched on and off very often. Closets and other places where lights are needed for brief illumination should use incandescent or LED bulbs.
• Dimmers: Dimmable CFLs are available for lights using a dimmer switch, but check the package; not all CFLs can be used on dimmer switches. Using a regular CFL with a dimmer can shorten the bulb life span.
• Timers: Most CFLs can be used with a timer, however some timers have parts which are incompatible with CFLs; to check your timer, consult the timer package. Using an incompatible timer can shorten the life of a CFL bulb.
• Outdoors: CFLs can be used outdoors, but should be covered or shaded from the elements. Low temperatures may reduce light levels - check the package label to see if the bulb is suited for outdoor use.
• Retail lighting: CFLs are not spot lights. Retail store display lighting usually requires narrow focus beams for stronger spot lighting. CFLs are better for area lighting.

Proper disposal of CFL bulbs is important as with most items today, to keep the environment clean and healthy, proper disposal is key. Burned out CFLs can be dropped off at Home Depot and Ikea stores. Another solution is to save spent CFLs for a community household hazardous waste collection, which would then send the bulbs to facilities capable of treating, recovering or recycling them.

Have you considered how much it costs you to have a light on in your home? Saving the Earth is not the only goal of conserving energy or electricity; saving money is a direct result of energy-saving tools and appliances. Some people don’t even take a look at the electric bill. The monthly bill comes and as long as there is not a noticeable rise in the invoice, the details of your energy use are not typically stats most folks seek out. In fact, the electrical jargon itself inhibits us from even attempting to understand those meter readings. Watts and kilowatts and kilowatt-hours each come with their own code of abbreviations that leave the average, not-professionally-licensed-electrician homeowner, a little bit baffled.

When you make time to get to the pile of bills, sit at your kitchen table and try to focus, ignoring all the background noises, it’s all a person can manage just to get that checkbook to balance, let alone decipher the foreign terms on the electric meter reading. However, it only takes a moment to understand the basics, and getting these fundamentals down will help you make the best decisions when it comes time to purchase green products and energy conserving items.

So let’s get started. First of all, electricity is billed to you by the kilowatt-hour or kWH. On average, one kWH costs about $0.08 to $0.15. To rack up a kWH, you must use 1,000 watts of electricity. To put it in more common terms, 1,000 watts is equivalent to using a 100 watt light bulb for ten hours.

Now that you have a better understanding of a basic fee associated with your electric bill, here are some ways you can go green and get more electricity for your dollar and promote energy conservation in your home.

1. Buy CFL bulbs: CFL bulbs cost more up front, but average to save you $40.50 per year, per bulb in electricity fees. While the out of pocket expense is greater, you will recoup those costs by the 720th hour of usage and from that point on, you are saving money. These green bulbs use less energy, usually a fourth of what a standard bulbs would use up. They also last longer than standard bulbs. Typically, the life of one CFL is equal to about 10 standard bulbs.

2. Don Your Sweatshirt: A sure-fire way to conserve energy is not to use so much of it. In the winter months, keeping the heat on a low setting and adding a layer of clothing, like a sweatshirt or simply a pair of socks, is a highly effective way to save money and energy.

3. Flip It and Exit: An obvious but often neglected green practice is turning off a light when you leave the room. Your mother probably nagged you about this when you were a child – you probably nag your children about the same thing.

Just make sure you are aware of how much energy you are using and how much is either leaking out or being wasted. Keeping a steady eye on things can save you money and even help out the environment.

Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (or CFL) have several advantages over incandescent light bulbs: they last longer, use about 75% less energy, and produce 90% less heat while delivering more light per Watt. Here’s an example; a 25 Watt CFL provides about 1800 lumens, compared to 1750 lumens from a 100 Watt incandescent lamp. CFLs also save you money! One 20 Watt CFL which replaces a 75 Watt incandescent bulb, can save you about $66 dollars over the life of the bulb. Replace one 100 Watt incandescent bulb with a 25 Watt CFL and the savings can be as much as $74 dollars over the life of the bulb. As you can see the life cycle cost reductions can really ad up.

CFL’s provide a flicker-free, soft-white light and come in many different styles. Twist bulbs are the most popular style, but if you need a more stylish version consider the household style. This bulb is similar in design to a standard incandescent bulb but uses significantly less energy. The 3-way CFL is perfect for reading lamps or conversation areas where ambience is a factor. The globe style is designed for bathroom fixtures. Replacing one incandescent light bulb with an energy saving CFL bulb can reduce carbon monoxide emission to the atmosphere by 1,000 pounds.

According to the Department of Energy, as a nation we spend about one-quarter of our electricity budget on lighting, or more than $37 billion annually. And while traditional incandescent light bulbs are less expensive to purchase, they are much more expensive to operate.