Get A (Green)Life!: 10 Tips For Eco-Friendly Living At Home (NAPSA)—With increasing concerns aboutrising energy costs and growing awareness about climate change spurred by green moments in time, such as “An Inconvenient Truth” and the Live Earth concert, more and more Americans want to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle these days. Yet, not everyone knows whereto start and how they can makea positive impact. Jennifer Hammons, a certified indoor environmentalist with Lennox Industries—a leading provider of energy-efficient home comfort solutions—believes consumers should start at home, where they can easily begin to incorporate an eco-friendly routine into their daily lives. “Consumers are hearing more and more about the importance of conserving the Earth’s natural resources and want to become part of the solution,” said Ham- mons. “There are a number of ways in which consumers can get | o 7” heating and cooling professional to identify potential sources of indoor pollution and other conta- WN" 4 “er A — — your home from a qualified home minants, such as chemical vapors, {has | —_ at SIS and airborne particles like pollen, dust and pet dander. @ Go Green!—Installing a program- mable thermostat can help save energy and money. needsto be replaced. e Tip No. 2: Seal cracks around windows and doors with caulk or weather stripping to prevent conditioned air from escaping. e Tip No. 3: Install a programmable thermostat to adjust the a green life—from improving your temperature at certain times of the day, automatically regulating the rating with environmentally friendly furnishings to using nontoxic household products.” e Tip No. 4: Consider replacing an air conditioner that is more than 15 years old with a newer, home’s energy efficiency to deco- To help consumers embark on the path to a greener lifestyle, Hammons recommendsthey start by focusing their efforts on making their home moreenergyeffi- cient and by reducing indoor air pollution. She offers the following tips for getting a greenlife: Improving Your Home’s Energy Efficiency e Tip No. 1: Schedule an annual routine checkup for your heating and cooling equipment to keep the system running aseffi- ciently as possible, and check the air filter each month to see if it temperature when youre away. more efficient model, such as the Dave Lennox Signature Collection XC21 Air Conditioner, which is ENERGY STAR qualified and may reduce annual energy bills by hundredsof dollars, compared to a standard air conditioner. e Tip No. 5: Add extra insulation to the attic, which will help prevent your home’s heating and cooling system from having to work harder to regulate the indoor temperature. Reducing IndoorAir Pollution e Tip No. 6: Request an independent indoor air quality test for e Tip No. 7: Store common household chemicals and cleaning supplies in a tightly sealed container or outside of the home to reduce harmful vapors from spreading into the air you breathe. e Tip No. 8: Avoid burning incense and candles with leadcore wicks, which can release con- taminants and potentially harmful chemicals into theair. e Tip No. 9: Decrease dust and dirt in the homeby cleaning with nontoxic, natural household cleaners, such as baking soda, corn- starch or white vinegar, and using a vacuum cleaner with a high-effi- ciency particulate air (HEPA)fil- ter, which will trap small particles like dust that others recirculate back into theair. e Tip No. 10: Consider using a whole-homeair purification system, such as the Lennox PureAir system or Healthy Climate 16 media filter, which is installed into your home’s heating andcooling ductwork. These systems are much moreeffective at eliminating airborne contaminants than portable room air cleaners and don’t produce ozone, which is a knownlungirritant. For more tips and advice for going green at home, Hammons recommends consumers check out online resources, such as Lennox.com, ItPaysToLiveSmart. com, and GetAGreenLifeSweep stakes.com.
