Advice on saving the environment?

Question

Hi all,

Im thinking about two ways of cutting my carbon footprint and i would be interested in hearing BOTH the pros and cons of my ideas:

1. My water heater is left on 24 hours a day , but i only really need it when i'm taking a shower in the morning. Does it consume more energy to keep the heater on 24 hours and just maintain the water temperature as opposed to just putting it on in the morning some time prior to the shower and putting it off when im done. If the answer is the latter, are there any disadvantages to this on/off procedure for example in wear and tear of the heater?

2. When 'm at a traffic light and i know its gonna be red for a few minutes - is it worth putting off the engine? is there any downside to putting the engine on and off about 5 times during my daily commute to work?

Thank you

Answer 1

1. if it's off, it saves. Just don't on and off the heater within a few minutes. It may also depend on the heater (brand, quality, etc.)

2. Some really do this but I'm not sure if they have saved a lot, Those whom I know who does it doesn't count their gas consumption.

Answer 2

frist of all they make on demand water heaters that heat water as you use it instead of the water heater you are using and second starting and stopping your car at a red light will not help anything

Answer 3

#2 if you are at a real long light perhaps it pays. The more times you start your car the harder it is on the starter. Also be mindful of the fact that your car may not start can you afford it?

#1 Modern hot water heaters are insulated quite well so you won't save a lot but there is some savings there. I would recomend a timer if you have an electric. If you have gas a timer gets a bit more expensive. I always turn mine down if were away for a weekend or more. My wife gets real mad if I forget to turn it up.

Answer 4

2) the more often you stop and start the engine it actually is worse for the environment

try also taking shorter showers and just simple things like that-they add up

Answer 5

You have good ideas, but I think you are looking at it wrong.  With the water heater, look into a solar water heater.  They work even under cloudy conditions and hold heat for quite some time (over night).

With the car, if your commute to work is not to long (30 miles or less one way) look into converting a car to electricity.  This is a 100% emission free way to go.  If you do not want or can not go this route, look into converting your own car to either pure ethanol or E85.  Ethanol burns much much cleaner than gasoline and is a renewable resource.  You can email me for more information on both cars since I have done them both myself, or if you are willing to buy or make your own E85 a device can be bought and installed called flextek.

If you want, for as little as 500, or as much as 15,000 you can buy a grid-tie or a full off-grid solar array, this could be used to run everything in your house emission free, or with the grid-tie reduce your carbon footprint by reducing electricity used from coal/oil burning plants.

I do not want to get into to much detail on each topic since they are not really what you asked about, but my advice to you in order to drastically reduce your carbon footprint is to...

1. get a solar water heater

2. convert a car to electric or ethanol (pure or E85)

3. get a grid-tie or off-grid solar system

I have experience in all these areas and can help you in each, if interested give me an email.  They all will cost up front, but over time will pay for themselves.  Solar energy is free, E85 is cheaper and ethanol can be produced yourself for as little as $0.09 to $0.75 depending on raw material prices in your area.  Even if all you save is the planet, is that not worth it?

Answer 6

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