Set sprinklers to water the lawn or garden only - not the street or sidewalk.
Use the microwave to cook small meals. (It uses less power than an oven.)
Purchase "Green Power" for your home's electricity. (Contact your power supplier to see where and if it is available.)
Scrape, rather than rinse, dishes before loading into the dishwasher; wash only full loads.
Cut back on air conditioning and heating use if you can.
Turn off appliances and lights when you leave the room.
When it comes to saving energy and the environment, the Ernie Morgan Center in Norfolk is a working model of environmentally-friendly design.
Outside, plants and trees block the sun. The shade keeps temperatures and cooling costs down.
The water bill is low because it stores free water - the rain.
"Throughout the year, we collect our rainwater in these cisterns. During times of severe drought which we've had this summer, we utilize the water that is collected there called "gray water" to water our plants here in the garden," explains Holly Carson.
Holes purposely left between pavers allow water to naturally seep into the ground.
"With the asphalt, all of the rain water was washing into the parking lot and into the storm drains, which as you know don't get cleaned. All the sediment and oils and gases were going right into the Chesapeake Bay."
Looking up, solar panels provide about 40-percent of the center’s energy needs. The small dome next to the panels is called a sun tube. Sunlight is reflected on mirrors inside and is scattered by a fixture inside the building.
It spreads light throughout much of the building without windows and electricity.
Beneath your feet, there’s flooring made from recycled tile and carpeting.
"The bottles are shredded very finely, turned into fibers and rewoven just like a normal carpet would be. However, this carpet will never really stain."
For even greater savings, new construction is using these ideas and more.
A home being built for the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority features better insulation and tighter seals on the windows and doors. All the duct work runs through air conditioned spaces so the ac and heater don't have to work as hard.
The crawl space is sealed tight and set up to actually help the home stay comfortable.
"We have a six-inch supply line that goes into the crawl space of conditioned air and it conditions the crawl space so it radiates up through the floor," explains builder Joe Ketchum.
