Faced with a high vacancy rate, the people running New York’s tallest building* had to find a new hook to lure tenants. When your currency is one of the seven wonders of the modern world*, you need to think hard about what it would take to turn the fortunes around. They decided to give the old girl a makeover that would make a difference, and what they’ve come up with seems to be working. And it’s got the future in mind.

The Empire State Bulding has gone green.

Buildings account for nearly 1/3 of America’s energy costs according to The Rocky Mountain Institute, an independent, entrepreneurial, nonprofit think-and-do tank™. Much of that energy is wasted because of inefficient design. The Empire State Building’s retrofit program has put the focus on energy savings — of 35-45%, reducing its carbon footprint by 105,000 tonnes of CO2 over the next 15 years, and making it a comfortable place to work.

If they can do it to The Empire State Building, shouldn’t I be finding ways to reduce my carbon footprint at home?

Here are eight easy ways to make a difference and save energy at home:

1. Turn off the lights when you leave the room (I said these would be simple).
2. If you’ve got a leaky faucet, get it fixed. That water being wasted and is costing you money.
3. Check your air conditioner filter. A dirty filter uses up to 5% more energy than a clean one.
4. Still on the subject of air conditioning: set your thermostat to 78 degrees Fahrenheit for the summer months. That’s the most energy efficient temperature.
5. Replace old appliances with ENERGY STAR appliances. ENERGY STAR products use 15 to 75% less energy to operate than standard models, without sacrificing product features or performance! And don’t give that old fridge away: recycle it. Old, non-energy efficient fridges can cost around $100 a year to run. You can get a 1.7 Cu. ft. compact refridgerator with an ENERGY STAR Qualfied rating at Best Buy for $129.99
6. Replace your thermostat with a programmable thermostat — that way your house doesn’t need to be summertime cool or winter warm when you aren’t there. These cost between $29 and $98 at Lowes - and some carry the ENERGY STAR rating.
7. Turn your water heater down to 120ºF. Most water heaters are set to 140ºF (manufacturers’ recommendations) but each time you reduce your water heater temperature by 10ºF, you can save an additional 3-5% in energy costs. And running your water heater at a lower temperature also helps slow down mineral buildup and corrosion in your equipment!
8. Turn your PC into a Green PC. Norton has a Green PC Service ($19.99) where an expert will connect to your PC and optimize your power management settings — which can save you up to $75 a year. 

For more tips, check out EnergyStar.gov or EnergySavers or your local electrical utility.

*After the Twin Towers were destroyed on September 11th, the Empire State Building regained her status as that city’s tallest building. 

** The Seven Wonders of the Modern world are: The Empire State Building, Channel Tunnel, the CN Tower, The Golden Gate Bridge, Itaipu Dam, Netherlands North Sea Protection Works and the Panama Canal. See a cool video on these here.

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This entry was posted on Monday, July 6th, 2009 at 10:48 pm and is filed under Americana. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.