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Tips
10 Ways to
Reduce Your Summer Utility Bills
Now that the summer
heat--and summertime utility bills--are making you
sweat, you might want to consider making a few changes
to cut your energy consumption. You can shave dollars
off your monthly bills without sacrificing comfort, as
long as you plan ahead and get creative. Here's
US News and World Report's
room-by-room guide to saving money this
summer and benefiting the Earth at the same time.
Know Your Home Remodel ROI
An
often-used measure to evaluate the financial feasibility
of a project is “return on investment” or ROI, a
calculation of how much of the cost of the investment
can be recovered. The National Association of Realtors
suggests seven projects that will give you good ROI.
Although the data is updated annually, these 2009
approximate figures should give you a general idea of
what return you'll get on your improvements:
Improvement Job Cost
Value %
Recouped
Kitchen Minor
$17,950 $15,250
85%
Windows (Wood) $11,040
$9,400
85%
Bathroom
$12,900 $10,970
85%
Windows (Vinyl)
$10,160 $8,500
84%
Two-story Add
$105,300 $87,650
83%
Kitchen Major
$54,250 $43,600
80%
Attic Bedroom
$44,100 $35,250
80%
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Refrigerator Retirement Savings Calculator
You probably
know that refrigerators are typically the most
energy-hungry appliances in your home, so the more
efficient your refrigerator the more money you can save.
Older refrigerators are usually two to three times more
costly to run than newer models. If you still have a
fridge from the 1980s, replace it with an ENERGY STAR
qualified model and save over $100 each year on your
utility bills. Replace a fridge from the 1970s and save
nearly $200 each year! If you are wondering whether
replacing your refrigerator is a good decision for you,
ENERGY STAR
Savings has a calculator
you can use to find out exactly how much money you'll
save by replacing your existing refrigerator.
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Truths and Myths of Dryer Fires
Consumer
Reports says: "Here's a frightening claim:
Fabric-softener sheets can burn out the heating unit of
your clothes dryer and possibly cause a fire. That's the
warning in an e-mail message sent to one of our readers,
who asked us whether it's true. The short answer is no,
though dryer fires are a real hazard and there are ways
to protect yourself."
See the complete article
for a few tips to keep your clothes dryer running safely
and efficiently and to let their experts set the record
straight.
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NEWS
Most
families with young children live within a mile of a
public elementary school. The most common home heating
fuel in the U.S. is gas. Only a third of American homes
have a working carbon monoxide detector. These are just
some of the findings of a comprehensive national sample
of the more than 130 million residential housing units
released July 1, 2010 by the U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development.
HUD's 2009 American Housing Survey
(AHS)is the most thorough look inside the
homes of millions of Americans and reveals everything
from the square footage of the unit to how many homes
have front porches, garages or even usable fireplaces.
The 2009 survey reveals that significantly more American
homes are larger, are more air conditioned and have more
bedrooms and bathrooms than homes from the initial 1973
survey.
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Fast Facts
-
Months
that begin on a Sunday will always have a "Friday
the 13th." Next one? May 2011.
-
The
thigh bone is largest by volume and the longest and
strongest in the human body. It is stronger than
concrete.
-
You're
born with 300 bones, but by the time you become an
adult they have fused to only 206.
-
Ants
make up about one tenth the earth's total animal
biomass. About the same amount as humans.
-
Bamboo
plants can grow up to 36 inches in a day.
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