Most of us are do not think about how much energy we use in our homes. At least, not until we receive our energy bill from our service provider. Here are a few statistics that we should be familiar with concerning how much energy buildings use in the United States according to the U. S. Green Building Council, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) web site:

  • buildings use 39% of the total energy consumed
  • they use 68% of the electricity
  • emit 30% of greenhouse gases
  • use 30% of the raw materials
  • produce 136 million tons of waste annually
  • are responsible for 12% of the portable water consumed

Are these statistics indicating good energy use or bad? Can those numbers be changed? What can an individual do to deminish the energy we comsume in our own home? All of us need to educate ourselves about how to more efficiently utilize our limited resources. There are options that make sense and some that may or may not make sense. I will explore some of the options in a series of blogs over the next few weeks. I will share with you what I learn and provide you with references that you can use to find answers that might work for your circumstances. Here are a couple to start with:

www.energysavers.gov;

www.thegbi.org.

Enjoy your research!