Santa Cruz Green Living

Love it or hate it, winter is here. If you’re having a hard time appreciating that fact, there are some things you can do to make your Santa Cruz home more comfortable this winter, without running up your heat bill. Here are some to try:

• Check and lock windows. Even if you think your windows are shut, go around and check each one to make sure it’s snug - and lock it.

• Use ceiling fans. Consider adding ceiling fans to every room; they truly make a difference. Set them spinning in the correct direction to pull air up this winter so they displace warm air at the ceiling and send it down the walls. Set on the lowest speed, a ceiling fan evens out indoor temperature without creating drafts.

• Invest in insulated window treatments. Stop…

Here is a painless way to reduce your energy use and your heating bill: Set your thermostat to go down 5 to 10 degrees while you’re gone all day and while you sleep at night. This could reduce your heating bill by 15% without compromising comfort.

Programmable thermostats cost anywhere from $30 to $150, so they quickly pay for themselves. By programming your thermostat to return to  your comfort level before you arrive home or get up in the morning, your Santa Cruz home will be just as comfortable as what you’re used to, and you’ll reduce your carbon footprint.

Here is how easy it is to install a programmable thermostat:

• Turn off the circuit breaker for the thermostat. Since you will be handling wiring, you must cut off the…

Now that winter is here, we’re spending more time indoors and keeping our homes closed up against the cold. These two factors mean we should pay more attention to the air quality in our homes. Here are some things to consider at your Santa Cruz home:

• Ban the use of pesticides in your home. Insecticides are toxic to all life forms, not just insects. Many are carcinogenic. If you have a serious pest problem like roaches, try using boric acid against them. Otherwise, the occasional spider or beetle is not a real threat to you.

• Simplify cleaning. Most commercially available cleaners are a stew of chemicals. You don’t need to be breathing their fumes. Instead, you can use baking soda and/or white vinegar for most jobs.

• Ventilate the bathroom. In order…

Within the walls of your house, you’ve probably raised a family, made future plans and created years of memories. Take time this month to be thankful for everything your Santa Cruz home has given you by giving it some green TLC this Thanksgiving.

With Christmas right around the corner, I know it’s hard to justify spending a lot of money on your Santa Cruz home. Below are a few easy and affordable green projects for you to do this Thanksgiving holiday — and they’ll start paying off immediately!

• Buy compact florescent light bulbs. You don’t have to do this all at once. As your light bulbs burn out, replace them with these energy savers for around $3 a piece. They last about ten times longer than incandescent light bulbs and can save you close to $40…

If you’ve been thinking about replacing windows, doors,  roofing, insulation, the heating and cooling system and/or hot water heater in your Santa Cruz home, don’t delay!

You can qualify for the energy-efficiency tax credit by installing eligible energy-efficient products, but only until the end of 2011. For most upgrades, the credit is equal to 10 percent of the equipment cost (labor is usually not included), with a cap of $500. Remember, a tax credit is much better than a mere deduction because a tax credit is subtracted from the taxes you owe.

In addition, here are other benefits you’ll reap from a green renovation.

• Your home will be quieter. With tight new windows and doors, or added insulation, you won’t hear what the neighbors are doing,…

If your Santa Cruz home still has old, single-pane windows, the answer is a resounding YES! Otherwise, it depends on the quality of your windows.

Today’s windows are improving all the time, with added features making them tighter than ever.  For added comfort, lower energy costs and a soon-to-expire tax credit, it might be time to upgrade. Before you go window shopping, it will help to know something about the following terms:

• NFRC: This is the National Fenestration Rating Council, which brings you the labels found on all new windows. They test and rate the window’s performance in several important categories.

• U-Factor: This indicates the window’s resistance to heat loss. It is the inverse of the R-Factor used in insulation, so the lower the…

Now that summer is behind us, it’s a good time to get up in the attic and assess your insulation. If it’s been a while since it was installed, there may well be peaks and valleys in it that are less than ideal for keeping your Santa Cruz home comfortable and energy-efficient.

Luckily, more insulation can be blown in over what you already have. Blown-in cellulose insulation is a good option because it’s considered a "green" product, is highly effective and is less costly than fiberglass. Here are several benefits to adding cellulose insulation:

• Allows you to recycle while you insulate. As they say, if you don’t buy recycled, you’re not recycling. Cellulose insulation is made from recycled paper and treated with a flame retardant for…

If you notice a musty or dusty smell when you turn on the furnace, you should look into having your air ducts cleaned. People with allergies or respiratory issues are especially vulnerable to the circulation of dirt and mold spores that accumulate in the HVAC system.

To help you determine if it’s time to clean the air ducts in your Santa Cruz home, here are answers to some frequently asked questions:

• Why should I have my ducts cleaned? Particulates in the air ducts become airborne throughout your Santa Cruz home whenever the blower goes on. In addition, contaminant buildup can reduce the efficiency of the heating system.

• How often should my ducts be cleaned? Even if your heating system has a good, effective filter, some experts believe your air…

Few things are as unsettling as the suspicion that termites are attacking your Santa Cruz home. This is one thing you do not want to stay in denial about. Here are some steps to help you face the possibility and prevent problems:

• Don't let any wooden parts of your Santa Cruz home touch soil directly.  As always, the best solution is prevention. If wooden parts of your house are touching the soil directly, a professional can remedy it by installing metal shields and re-grading the soil along the foundation to improve drainage and create a gap between soil and wooden structures.

• Determine whether you do have termites. Subterranean termites build characteristic mud tubes for movement between nests. The appearance of these tubes is often the first sign…

All things must pass. No matter how the gardening at your Santa Cruz home went this year, it’s getting time to move on and change with the seasons. Here are some tips to help you:

• Dig those sweet potatoes. Harvest sweet potatoes before the first frost, or they will be ruined. If you wake up and find the frost has hit before you had the chance, run out there immediately and at least cut the vines off at the base of the plants. This may stop damage to the roots, but you still need to dig your sweets before the next frost. After digging, cure them by keeping them in a warm, dark place like the attic of your Santa Cruz home. This sweetens them up and gets them ready for storage. After curing, store them somewhere that never goes below 40 degrees; they can…