Consumer Reports created this book to offer relief from the rising energy costs that steadily drain your wallet. It's jammed with easy-to-follow advice straight from Consumer Reports experts in the areas of home improvement, appliances and autos.
You'll discover that there's nothing difficult or mysterious about saving energy dollars--it's really just a bunch of little things you can do that add up to big savings. In fact, many of the tips are surprisingly cheap--or even free. As much as 30 percent of the money you spend on heating and cooling may be wasted through small leaks throughout your house. This book offers step-by step photos that make it easy to find those leaks and plug them up. If your doors and windows are old and drafty you don't necessarily have to replace them. This book offers fix-ups that can drastically improve the efficiency of those old windows and doors and save you the huge expense of replacing them. If it is time to replace, you'll learn how to buy the ones that are beast for your house, climate, and budget. Should you fix that old washer, fridge or other major appliance, or is it time to replace it with a new, more energy efficient model? Consumer Reports testing and reliability experts help you make the right decision. The engineers at Consumer Reports Auto Test Center help you choose the fuel-stingiest autos and provide driving and maintenance tips that squeeze extra mileage out of every tankful. You'll even find clearly illustrated directions for simple energy-saving jobs such as caulking windows and checking tire pressure, so you can save even more money by doing them yourself. And, Twenty Free Ways to Start Saving Today -- 20 simple habit changes that will save you significant energy dollars without investing a penny.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5.0
Great comprehensive source of energy saving information:
This is a great comprehensive guide. But if you're already energy conscious, there's not much new in this publication. For the general homeowner, it's definitely a must-have. Here are the most significant facts: new window replacements don't usually pay for themselves; CFL bulbs save a ton of energy and reduce carbon emissions at a low cost; front load washers save water but not much energy; your home loses energy through electrical outlets and switches; central cooling and heating is most efficient (don't... more info
If you buy only one book for home energy efficiency, this is it.:
This is an excellent and complete overview to the improvements you can make in your home to make it more comfortable and more energy efficient. By following it's advice, you can improve your efficiency by up to 30% - depending on the age and condition your home is - I've personally experienced 27% savings on a 2800 sq ft home built in 1989. This has been a hobby and passion of mine for over a year, I've used various resources on the Internet. This one book covers all the topics I've discovered elsewhere,... more info
Excellent Practical Guide to Reducing Your Greenhouse Gases:
This book covers the basics of what consumers need to know to reduce their utility bills and reduce their consumption of Greenhouse Gases. The one section that is outdated refers to heating your house using cord wood. Please do not cut down trees and burn them to heat your house! Trees are the one carbon-capture technology that actually exists, everything else is smoke-and-mirrors. We need trees to help clean up the mess we are making of the environment!
