TerraPass handbook for climate conscious living

Get a home energy audit

A professional home energy audit uses high-tech tools to determine where your house is leaking energy. Not only is an audit a great way to save energy, it can also help you address basic comfort issues such as drafts and condensation problems.

How to get started

Do-it-yourself audit

The easiest way to get started is with a do-it-yourself audit. To conduct a self-inspection, walk through your home looking for air leaks. Peek in the attic to see whether you have adequate insulation. The Department of Energy provides a detailed checklist and even gives a instructions for a homemade pressurization test.

   » Guide to do-it-yourself home energy audits

Professional audit

A professional home energy audit will provide a far more thorough picture of house's efficiency. A professional audit may include a blower door test and a thermographic scan to detect where your home might be leaking energy.

   » Guide to professional home energy audits
   » Directory of home energy auditors

Landscape for energy efficiency

Plants can help our natural environment in more ways than you might realize. With proper placement, plants can provide wind breaks and shade, reducing your heating and cooling needs. Landscaping with native species, particularly in arid climates such as Los Angeles, can significantly lower your water consumption.

Determining the appropriate way to landscape your house requires knowledge not just of your regional climate, but also your microclimate. If you live on a sunny southern slope, for example, your house may be warm even in a cool climate. If you’re near a lake, your home will probably be both cooler and more humid than those farther from shore.

Microclimate matters because there’s a great deal of subtlety in proper landscaping. The two big issues to consider are sunlight and wind.

In hot climates, shade trees can significantly reduce your need for air conditioning. Not only does shade directly block sunlight from heating walls and entering windows, but plants also increase water evaporation, which leads to further cooling. The area underneath trees can be a full 25° cooler than nearby asphalt.

Tree type matters as well. Trees with high, spreading canopies are good for the south side of your house, where they can shade the roof. Lower trees are better on the west side, where they can block the setting sun. Deciduous trees are useful in areas that have cold winters, because they lose their leaves at just the time that you most want to let the sun’s heat in.

Wind breaks are another important efficiency measure. Dense, low trees and shrubs such as evergreens can significantly lower the wind chill and cut the heating costs in your home. If you live in a snowy area, plants on the windward side of your house can be used to keep drifts from forming along your walls.

How to get started

Needless to say, a landscaping project is a serious undertaking. But the Department of Energy estimates that a carefully considered landscaping project can pay itself back in eight years.

   » A consumer’s guide to landscaping for energy efficiency
   » Find a landscape architect in your area

Use solar panels to make your own electricity

Financial incentives such as the California Solar Initiative make putting solar panels on your roof a sensible investment as well as an environmental statement. And the rise of a sophisticated service industry means that installing and maintaining solar panels is now no harder than putting in a sprinkler system.

How to get started

There is lots of information available on how solar panels work, and, more importantly, how to find a reputable professional to assist with siting, design and installation. It is important to find a certified professional with experience installing the type of photovoltaics you plan for your home.

   » Learn more about solar panels and the solar industry
   » Estimate your system size and locate a professional

Install a solar water heater

Solar panels get all the attention, but the easiest and most cost-effective way to harness the sun’s energy is with a solar water heater, which you can use to heat your shower or your pool. These systems are simple heat exchangers that use the sun to warm your water directly, and they work in any climate.

This relatively basic technology can be employed to capture the energy of the sun both actively and passively. The passive technology is perhaps the simplest and most cost effective of any solar home improvement projects. The 4–5 year payback period and low maintenance costs (there are no moving parts) make it very attractive.

The principle employed is to take advantage of the great furnace in the sky to heat water in a closed loop system (preferably on a south-facing roof). The system can provide warm showers and hot water with little need for gas or electricity. With a lifespan of roughly 35 years, these systems pay dividends long after they’re installed.

How to get started

   » Learn more about how solar water heaters work
   » A detailed look at different types of systems

Cut back on plane travel

We often think of our cars as the primary culprit, but odds are that your plane travel is responsible for much more environmental damage, especially if you travel on private jets. A Citation X burns 430 gallons of fuel in a single hour. That’s about as much as a typical hybrid car uses in a year.

Worse, the emissions from jet planes are created at high altitude, where they have a greater impact on our climate. Scientists estimate that carbon dioxide emissions at altitude have about twice the impact of carbon dioxide emissions from cars.

Planes are an increasingly popular way to travel, and they make up a growing share of greenhouse gas emissions. Unfortunately, the hybrid plane hasn’t been built yet. So when you can, cut back on your trips, combine trips, fly direct, and fly commercial airlines.

Drive a more fuel-efficient car

This is an area where you have a lot of discretion. Fuel-efficient vehicles come in all shapes and sizes, from hybrid SUVs to electric sports cars. Our advice is to get the smallest, most fuel-efficient car you actually need.

And beyond choosing a more fuel-efficient car, there are a ton of additional things you can do to cut your fuel consumption. The biggest one, of course, is driving less, whether by combining trips, carpooling, or dusting off the bicycle.

You can also improve the mileage of your car by removing unnecessary cargo from the trunk, taking of the roof rack, and keeping the tires properly inflated.

Your own driving style determines how many miles you can get to the gallon. Fast stops and starts burn gas. Speeding doesn’t save you much time, particularly when you factor in how much more often you’ll have to go to the gas station.

Finally, do you have employees that spend a lot of time on the road? Consider what they drive as well.

Learn more

   » How to get the most miles per gallon

Swap out incandescent light bulbs for compact fluorescents

If only all conservation were this easy. Compact fluorescent light bulbs fit in regular sockets. They are 75% more energy efficient and last 6–15 times longer than normal bulbs.

Everyone is getting on the CFL bandwagon. Australia recently announced that it will phase out incandescent light bulbs entirely over the next three years. Wal-Mart has a plan in place to sell 100 million compact fluorescent by 2007, which will eliminate the emission of 20 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.

And the technology has improved greatly. You can now find dimmable CFLs, CFLs that give of a warm white light, and CFLs for outdoor use.

How to get started

It may make sense to experiment with different CFLs to see which ones give off the best light. Some people find the most success by mixing CFLs and incandescents to achieve the desired quality of light.

As a rule of thumb, CFLs have the most energy-saving impact when they are used to replace lights that are on most of the time. For example, hallway lights or foyer lights are sometimes left on almost constantly.

You can find CFLs at any major retailer.

   » How to choose a CFL
   » Find the right light bulb for you

Get a low-flow showerhead

A huge portion of home energy is used to heat water. Solar water heaters address one end of this problem. Low-flow showerheads address the other.

The good news is that new models of low-flow showerheads help you conserve without sacrificing a great shower. Get a spa-like experience while reducing your carbon footprint.

How to get started

Installing a new showerhead is an easy job you can do yourself.

   » Installing a low-flow showerhead
   » A round-up of some products on the market

Calculate your carbon footprint

Once you know your carbon footprint, you can take steps to reduce it.

Calculating your carbon footprint is simple using the tools on the TerraPass web site. If you have special considerations, such as multiple homes or frequent private plane travel, give us a call. We’ll calculate a carbon footprint for you and help you develop a personal plan for lowering it.

How to get started

Feel free to call us at (415) 692-3411 or email us at info@terrapass.com if you have any special considerations. Otherwise, the easiest way to get started is using the tools on our web site.

   » Calculate your emissions from driving
   » Calculate your emissions from flying
   » Calculate your emissions from home energy use