Weatherization Quiz

One strategy for reducing our nations’ dependence on fossil fuels is improving the energy efficiency of our homes and offices. An energy efficient home can help decrease our energy usage and lower our energy costs, putting more money in our pockets. In addition to old fashioned tips like keeping the refrigerator door closed and turning off lights, we now have access to a wide range of energy efficient appliances, lighting, and heating and cooling systems. Take the following quiz to find out how much you know about making your home more efficient.

Q. How do green house gas emissions from your home compare to emissions from your car?
A. The average home releases more than 24,000 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually, almost twice as much as a typical car (11,500 of CO2) emmissions0, estimates the Environmental Protection Agency. This is due to emissions produced by power plants to generate the electricity used to run modern homes – plus home emissions from such things as oil- and gas-fired furnaces.

Q. How do compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL) save energy?
A. CFL’s not only cost much less to use and last much longer but also “burn cooler” so they reduce your air conditioning cooling load in the summer. If every U.S. household replaced just ONE traditional light with an energy-efficient bulb we would save $600 million in utility bills, according to the Alliance to Save Energy’s Power$mart; the Power is in Your Hands booklet.

Q. What does the ENERGY STAR label mean?
A. ENERGY STAR, the U.S. Department of energy and environmental Protection Agency’s symbol for energy efficiency, appears on more than 40 product categories. In 2005 alone, ENERGY STAR products helped Americans save enough energy to avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 23 million cars – and save $12 billion on their utility bills.

Q. How does driving faster than 60 miles per hour impact your wallet?
A. Generally, the U.S. Department of energy says each 5 mph you drive over 60 is like paying an additional 20 cents per gallon for gas! Avoiding aggressive driving habits, such as rapid acceleration and hard braking, also will improve mileage and cut gasoline costs.

Q. How much can lowering your thermostat by one degree cut your winter heating bills?
A. For each degree you lower the temperature in your home, you can cut your winter heating bills by 5% percent, depending on your climate region and how many hours per day you turn down your heat. A programmable thermostat can make this easy – it “remembers for you” to adjust the temperature according to your daily patterns so you don’t waste heat on an empty home. It’s actually the 100th anniversary of the programmable thermostat, which predates the Model T Ford, the lawnmower, and the eight-track tape.

Q. How much energy can you save by switching to ENERGY STAR appliances?
A. The average U.S. home has about two TVs, a VCR, and a DVD player which consume energy in the “off” mode to keep display clocks running and memory chips and remote controls working. Replacing these products with ENERGY STAR models, which use as much as 50 percent less energy in the “off” mode, would save more than 25 billion pounds of green house gas emissions… in fact, if American households simply switched to the most efficient refrigerators they would eliminate the need for 20 to 30 power plants.