April 22 will be here before we know it—are you ready to celebrate Earth Day this year? Earth day is an international day of observance dedicated to the planet and protecting the environment. Our experts compiled some information you can use to go green for the planet this year.

Cool Your House with Greenery

When you plant trees in front of the east- and west-facing walls and windows, the trees fill in with leaves in the summertime and provide cooling shade for your house.

Not only do the trees stop the hot sun from beating into your windows, but they also prevent exterior walls from heating up.

This allows you to reduce your air conditioning costs by up to 30 percent. Then in winter, the leaves fall off, allowing the hot sun to naturally warm your house.

Close the Chimney Flue

The flue in your chimney is an integral part of the fireplace architecture because the flue is what allows smoke, steam, heat, and gasses to safely escape from your home when you’re having a fire. But when you’re not using the chimney, the flue is just a massive gaping hole in your house that allows climate controlled air to escape, and hot or cold air to enter from outside.

Switch to Energy-Efficient Bulbs, Appliances, and HVAC Products

Heating and cooling your home is one of the biggest bills that you face as a homeowner, but you can save money, reduce energy use, and save the environment by upgrading to energy-efficient light bulbs, which use up to 80 percent less energy than incandescent ones, and appliances and products such as ENERGY STAR:

  • Air conditioners
  • Furnaces
  • Tankless water heaters
  • Duct wrap to reduce heat gain and loss
  • Heat pumps

Adjust Your Thermostat

Heating and cooling are big expenses and huge energy users. You can save tons of both just by reducing your thermostat by 10 degrees during the time you’re out of the house. In fact, you can cut your heating and cooling bills by 10 percent just by changing the thermostat settings.

A programmable thermostat makes these transitions easy and helps keep your house at the ideal temperature for when you’re home, sleeping, and active. In winter, set your thermostat to 68F, or lower if you can. In summer, set it as high as possible while still being comfortable, and don’t go lower than 78F.

Invest in Solar Appliances

Your carbon footprint is directly related to the number of fossil fuels you use. Your carbon footprint comes from things like driving, buying plastics, and the energy you use if your home is powered by fossil fuels.

To reduce your carbon footprint without having to change any of your habits, you can switch some of the appliances you use to solar-powered ones.

Solar energy is completely green and renewable energy. Some solar appliances and systems you can consider using include:

  • Solar panels for your roof
  • Solar-powered refrigerators and freezers
  • Solar-powered phone and gadget chargers
  • Plug-and-play solar systems for the house

We are committed to doing our part for a greener world, and we’d love to help you do this same this Earth Day.

For more information, call our Green Horizon One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning® team in the Durham, NC area, at (919) 646-3639.