Let’s Make Chico CA a Little Greener
May 2nd, 2008categories: Chico CA Real Estate News
by Mike Wiegert
This post is dedicated to providing information on making Chico a little “greener” by giving information on eco-friendly products, services and practices available to all of us.
Are you in a quandary about what material to use to replace existing countertops or install in a newly built home? The variety of products for counter tops is a virtual smorgasbord of surfaces ranging from rich choices in granite and marble to concrete to a wide variety of tile and slate. How about broken glass for an option? Yes, it’s true, recycled glass counter tops are available in a host of visual choices from subdued to ultra flashy. Want to check it out? Granite Transformations right here in south Chico has a wide variety of recycled glass products. Local owner, Don Thomas also reminded me that their business covers existing counter tops with their products, thereby eliminating the need to remove and deposit the old counter tops into the county landfill.
Ever hear of “phantom loads”? If you have, good for you. I hadn’t and here’s the lowdown: By way of example, most of us have a cell phone charger that we only use at night. We leave the docking station plugged in and ready to use. By doing so, we are leaking small amounts of electricity out into our environment at no benefit to us. If you had a dripping sink you would get out the wrenches and fix the leak, right? Most of us are wasting more electricity of components in our homes such as the TV, VCR, DVD player, stereo and other devices that utilize a remote to turn them on and off. These components use power in the standby mode so that they can be turned on by our remotes. I don’t know about you, but I spend a lot more energy searching for my remote that is usually under the couch then I would walking up to the TV and turning it on manually. With all the multiple components an average American household has these days, you’re probably resistant to the idea of turning them all on or off. Why not put them all on a power strip, preferably one without the light which also wastes electricity, and then you can turn all of your entertainment needs on in the push of one button. That big transformer you’re using to charge you’re laptop is sucking up the juice when not in use. How many clocks does a household really need? And why do you need one on your coffeemaker when you make the coffee manually? I’m sure many are wondering how much electricity are we really wasting with all this all this nonsense. A recent ad from PG&E announced that if all Californians eliminated their phantom loads, it would be the equivalent of taking 8.5 million cars off the road.
Want to save energy, save money and maybe get a rebate? The California Public Utilities Commissions publishes a list of energy saving tips and also rebate information pertaining to appliances and other devices used the home or office. Please visit: www.FlexYourPower.org.
