What it means to be" GREEN" (part 2)

A I mentioned in my last post, I earned the National Association of Realtor’s “GREEN” designation several years ago. I am always ready willing and able to help the consumer “Green” their home, which to me means showing them how they can conserve energy and save money. I have implemented many of the techniques I’ve learned and have reduced my personal utility bill in my own home. Does cutting down on your water bill make you an environmental nut? How about reducing your electric bill by 20 to 30 percent? Call me whatever you want, but if I can actually measure the results in those terms, I’m going “GREEN”. I’ll give you one quick one. Many of us have recessed lights around the house. They are usually 75 to 120 watts per bulb and many times there are 4 to 6 in an average room. My family room has 8 recessed lights and for some reason they were usually all on, even when no one was in the room. 8 x 75 = minimum 600 watts burning for hours.

I replaced the bulbs with eco-smart LED bulbs. LED stands for Light Emitting Diode.

They look just like a regular bulb but they create no heat,

which is one reason they use so little energy. I’m not talking about the fluorescent squiggly kind that take a second or two to reach their full brightness. Those are toxic and should have never been allowed on the market. They are loaded with mercury and give off high levels of radiation. LED bulbs use about 7 watts of electricity for that same recessed bulb. 8x7 =56 watts compared to 600 watts.

Now I don’t stress out when all the lights are on in that room.

Today’s home buyers are extremely concerned about variable costs of owning a home. They can budget for the mortgage payment and taxes but the utility bills are considered out of their control. The more energy efficient a seller makes their home, the better chances they have for getting it SOLD.