17 Ways to Green Your House
For our Make Me a Ten! makeover, one woman buying her first house learns to live a little greener.
By Amanda Robb
O, The Oprah Magazine | From the December 2009 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine 
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Sylvia's home has a new roof, storm windows, and good insulation, so Michelle Madden, CEO of GreenYour.com, says her first eco-investment should be updating her 30- to 50-year-old appliances with Energy Star–qualified models. She'll benefit from the new federal stimulus program that allocates money to reimburse consumers for energy-saving appliances. The refunds vary by product but will likely run from $50 to $250. Refrigerator: Annual energy savings of about $176 would mean Silvia will recoup the $630 purchase price in three and a half years. Assuming she keeps the appliance for ten years, she'll save $1,760 on her electric bills. And that's without the government rebate. Dishwasher: With energy savings of about $35 a year, it would pay for itself in seven years. Washing a full load of dishes by hand can use ten times as much water as washing them in a new Energy Star–compliant dishwasher (some models use as little as 3 gallons for a full cycle). To be most efficient, run the dishwasher only when it's full, and don't use the dry cycle. The newest machines use about 1 kilowatt-hour per load—30 to 80 percent less than older machines. Air Conditioner: With savings of about $30 a year, the machine would pay for itself in seven years and produce $300 in energy savings over ten years. (Double these numbers if she buys two.) Washing Machine: A new front-loading model will cost about $16 a year to operate, and annual savings will be about $100 a year (new models use about half the water of older machines).
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