Residential Buildings
Home Energy Briefs: #8 Kitchen Appliances
This Home Energy Brief discusses kitchen appliances. The Brief covers the following topics: food and the impacts of what we eat; the electricity use of refrigerators and freezers; cooking appliances; and food waste. Having an energy efficient kitchen means understanding the energy consumption of the appliances in your kitchen, the…
Home Energy Briefs: #6 Cleaning Appliances
This Home Energy Brief focuses on cleaning appliances. The Brief covers cold water washing, efficient dryers, and dishwashers. Dishwashers and clothes washers and dryers all use a lot of energy and water and are responsible for a significant portion of the average household’s energy bill. Often, this warrants a change…
Home Energy Briefs: #1 Building Envelope
This Home Energy Brief focuses on the building envelope. It provides guidance for making improvements to a residential building envelope. One of the key features of an energy efficient home is a tight and properly insulated building envelope. Improvements such as adding insulation, sealing air leaks, and improving window features…
Cool Citizens: Everyday Solutions to Climate Change: Household Solutions
This brief describes residential carbon dioxide emissions profiles and calculations of carbon dioxide reduction measures. The brief contains a profile for energy consumption, energy costs, and the emissions of greenhouse gases resulting from the direct and indirect use of energy in the household. The goal of this brief is to…
Water Efficiency: The Next Generation
This paper from 1998 describes different technical methods by which households can save money and save water. These methods include low-flow toilets, low-flow faucets and showerheads, graywater systems that funnel water from homes for use in landscaping or flushing toilets, composting toilets, smarter water meters that provide feedback to customers,…