The number of small ways you can help make your home more energy efficient are too many to count -- if everybody's tips in the world were condensed together you'd probably have a book about 3 feet thick! But there's no doubt that certain basic principles keep coming around again as good common sense ideas that can really make a difference: insulation is one. Take a look at these inexpensive and easy suggestions and see if they're appropriate for your home:
Get a water heater insulation jacket. For only $10-$20 bucks it will likely pay for itself in the first year just in reduced loss of "stand-by" heat.
Get weatherstripping (and actually get around to installing it!) for doors and windows that leak air
Insulate any hot water pipes that run through unheated areas
Consider displaying decorative rugs not on the floor, but on the walls. They'll be beautiful and will provide an extra layer between you and the cold outside.
Magic mushrooms can insulate your attic
I've written before about alternatives to fiberglass when insulating your home. Greensulate is yet another emerging material that is effective and environmentally friendly only this time fungus is the main ingredient.
Made from mushroom cells, hydrogen peroxide, starch, and water, Greensulate is poised to replace foam insulation. It's naturally fire retardant, inexpensive and requires no petroleum products to produce. Inventors Eben Bayer and Gavin McIntyre have patented their product and are looking into manufacturing it large scale.
Green Daily
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