Green Ways to Stay Cool in a Heat Wave

We've been posting a little less often than we'd like. With the kids home from school for the summer we have less time for things like writing blog posts.

The past few days of much hotter than usual weather for our area has made us think about some tips for staying cool while still being good for the environment. I have to admit that we've had a few of our highest electricity-usage days all year, but we're working to keep the usage as low as practical, but maintain a comfortable environment.

Use Ceiling Fans - Ceiling fans should blow down in the summer (and up in the winter). They will help circulate the air and move the air that your body heats up away from you, helping you feel cooler. Fans are an economical use of energy. Use them with or without air conditioning, to keep the air moving and you feeling cooler.

Use Exhaust Fans - When cooking, turn on the exhaust fan. When it's cooler outside than in, like first thing in the morning or at night, run an upstairs window fan on exhaust. It will pull the hot air out of the house and suck cooler air in downstairs, cooling your whole house naturally. A whole house fan is best, but Jon found some window fans at Ocean State Job Lot for $30 each that claim they will turn over all the air in a 2000 sq ft house in under 10 minutes. Not sure if they're doing exactly that, but they definitely help.

Use Window Fans - When you go into the room, switch the window fan from exhaust to blowing in, so that you can directly benefit from cooler air outside.

Turn Off Air Conditioners When You Leave the Room - if you're done in a room for a while, turn the A/C off. It doesn't take long to cool a room down and it doesn't make sense to keep it cool while you're gone. My rule of thumb is if I'll be out of the space for an hour or more I turn off the AC.  Of course, you need to have A/C units that are sized appropriately for the space you are trying to cool or they will not be able to cool it back down during extreme heat waves.

Drink Cold Beverages - Hot beverages will heat up your body and increase your need for cooling. Try iced coffee and ice tea for a caffeine boost. Put an ice cube in your child's bottle or sippy cup too. They'll love it!

Where Shorts and T-Shirts, or Less - Dress informally when home, and even when going out if you can. This is the time to pull out your low-cut tanks and shorts. Loose clothes are cooler than tight. Cotton and natural fabrics are cooler than synthetics.

Don't Cover the Cloth Diapers - My toddler has been running around in his cloth diaper with no pants for days - even when we go to the store and events. It has opened the door for people to ask about cloth diapers and provide teachable moments. (Diaper leaks are less noticeable though, so pick ones that are less likely to leak!)

Keep Fruits in the Refrigerator and Freezer - Really cold fruit is more appealing in hot weather, and cools your body naturally. It's an appealing snack when it's too hot to eat. Fruit juice ice pops are a good snack too.

Eat Cold Meals - Yesterday we had fruit and tuna salad sandwiches for dinner. Shrimp cocktail is a good start at dinner, as are taboule and hummus. Think about lunch for dinner or appetizers as your meal. A well-balanced meal doesn't have to be hot!

Cook in Your Toaster Oven and Microwave - Neither appliance heats up your kitchen the way your stove and oven do. If you're using an A/C it won't have to work as hard if you don't heat up your whole kitchen baking.

Go to the Movies - The movie theaters need to keep the A/C on to keep the screens and other equipment in good working order. Take advantage of this and stay cool at the movies - you may even want to take a jacket! Don't forget to turn off YOUR A/C if you go out!

Above all, stay healthy. If you have young children, older people, people with health issues, etc, they should stay cool and air conditioned. However, this doesn't mean you have to keep them COLD. Use the tips above to stay cool and healthy while conserving energy.

Happy Green Cooling!

Alicia

Going for Solar - Becoming a Net Generator

Our March 2011 Electric Bill - No Payment Due

That didn't take long, it took longer to write and publish this post. As soon as the days started getting longer our solar awning started generating more and more electricity.  So much so that when we got our March electric bill (2/17-3/22) we were shocked that we didn't owe a penny.  Amazing!  We actually earned a credit of $0.49.

As we looked at the bill closer, we discovered that we were net-generators of 35 kWh of electricity that month.  That also helped illuminate how the net metering in Massachusetts really works.

Section of our March 2011 Electric Bill showing
net-generation of 35 kWh from Solar PV Awning

How Net Metering Works in Massachusetts

I was under the impression that we would somehow be credited in kWh and that we'd have a virtual bank of energy credits with the utility, but that isn't exactly how it works where we live.  Instead, we are credited a value of 12.85¢/kWh for each kWh generated beyond what we use.  That rate is really close to what we pay for our electricity at 13.57¢/kWh including the various distribution charge and other charges.  I know in some states, residential solar customers only get the generation charge of about 8¢/kWh.

Residential R-1 Electricity Rates in MA Mar 2011
Total COE	$0.13571/kWh
Delivery	$0.05488/kWh
Generation	$0.08083/kWh
Net-Metering Credit	$0.12851662/kWh

Here are a few other sections from our electric bills showing the different charges we pay and credits we receive for electricity.

Example of distribution and other charges from our Feb 2011 electric bill

Example of supply charges from our Feb 2011 electric bill

In addition to the cost of the electricity, we pay $4/month customer charge for being connected to the grid. Money well spent in my book since we get continuous access to electricity even when our solar panel are not producing enough electricity, like at night.

Details from our March 2011 electric bill showing credit of $0.49

I am still not sure what happens if we are net electricity producers for the year, but since our system is designed to meet about 90% of our annual electricity needs, I suspect that we won't be finding that out until we continue to decrease our electricity load in our home.  If you want to find out more about the net-metering terms where you live, or other renewable energy and energy efficiency incentives, check out the resource post I wrote about the Database of State Incentives for Renewable and Efficiency (DSIRE).

Happy Greening!
Jon

Going for Solar Series

Check out the other steps in Green Lifestyle Consulting's Going for Solar Series including photos throughout the construction.

Green Your Vacation - Go Camping!

We have always enjoyed camping,  long before being green was so important to us, we went on an annual camping trip with friends.  In fact, some of my oldest friends date back to high school when I belonged to an Explorer Post that went camping and rock climbing for fun.  We did it because we loved it, not because it was good for the environment.  Now that my family is trying deliberately to live a more eco-conscious life, we realize that camping is a very green way to vacation.

Why Camp?
We love camping because you get to spend more time out of doors getting a different perspective on nature.  There is something inherently relaxing and natural about not being surrounded by four walls and crowded in by stuff.   Taking a blanket and lying in a field is one of the most relaxing things you can do.  Similarly, spending a few days constantly outside, with just tents and chairs can be very calming and relaxing.  Granted,  it gets a little more hectic if you toss in a whole bunch of children and mosquitoes, but with some advanced planning, even camping with children can be relaxing. 

Camping is a low-impact and low-cost way to vacation with your friends and family.   When you're camping you use dramatically less electricity and water than staying at a hotel or bed and breakfast.  You're not using lights unnecessarily, there's no TV, no air conditioning, very few things that waste electricity.  And it's a great way to teach your children about nature and to get them unplugged for some time.  

Additionally, we find that camping is a great way to spend several days of quality time with our friends on a budget. When we camp for a long weekend we find that there is plenty of time for both the parents and children to get to spend some quality, relaxed time together.  Everyone has their own space,  but it's easy to interact and spend time together.  It's closer and more social than being in a hotel, but each family has more personal space than when sharing a house together.  Once you have some equipment, camping is also less expensive than a hotel or rental house.


Suggestions for Camping With a Group

Each family should get it's own tent site.   We always reserve early enough in the season so that we can get them all grouped together.  We pay attention to when the reservations open up for our area; in New England it is typically late January or early February for summer camping.  We typically have a lead coordinator or two (usually the families that are most gung-ho to go) and they make the final decision on where we are going and send out a list of the optimum tent sites for our group, usually in a descending order of priority.  This allows our friends to know what sites to reserve so that we are grouped together. 

We use Reserve America to make our reservations because in recent years that is the online system required by the campgrounds we use.  It doesn't allow for one person to make everyone's reservation, and this way each family takes care of paying for their own site. 


Picking a Good Location For a Group
At one campground we go to, we like to have all the sites on the interior of a road loop so the children can play between sites safely.  We like the loop that is closest to the beach, but not directly on the water.  It allows a few adults to take a large group of children to the water while the remaining adults do other things. 

At a different campground we enjoyed being on a dead end, with sites on both sides of the road.  Because the road was only used by our group, our young children were able to use scooters and small bicycles without a hovering adult. 


Food For A Group
We have tried many options for dealing with meals over the past ten years that have ranged from everyone doing their own to everyone eating all meals at one site.  In the end we have found that a combination tends to work best.   We have created a spreadsheet with a row for each meal.   Then each family checks off which meals they will participate in the group food for and lists what food they will contribute.  We find that each family ends up bringing some part of a meal for 1 or 2 meals (including snacks) a day).  This way no one family has to cook a whole meal, and there are some meals for which you don't have to do anything at all.  We've found that posting exactly what each person is bringing and not just "I'll make dinner Saturday" helps set everyone's expectations and helps families with picky eaters plan backups as necessary.

There are lots of things you can do to make your meals greener too, and planning ahead and working with others helps with this as well.  If one family can bring a big bag marshmallows and another brings a big thing of graham crackers, you don't end up with as many smaller packages.   Other tips on greening meals when camping will fill up another whole post - so keep your eye out for it!

If you've never tried camping before, consider asking around your friends, I suspect that you'll find some that are old hands who would be happy to go with you and help you get started.   Also, check out Greening Your Camping - Getting Started for some first-time campers tips.

Happy Greening!
Alicia

Some other posts you might enjoy from our Greening Your Camping Series:

• Greening Your Camping - Getting Started
  
• Greening Your Camping - Mosquito Bite Relief
  
• Greening your Camping - Reusable Utensils
  
• Greening your Camping - Cloth Diapers