indoors
LIV IN G G R EEN
PROGRAMMING
POINTERS
..........
W h e n is a program m able therm ostat
n o t an energy saver? W h e n it’s not
program m ed. It sounds obvious, b u t as
m any as 70 p ercent o f all program m able
therm ostat ow n e rs keep th e ir units on
“hold,” a cco rd in g to therm ostat m anu-
fa ctu re r H o n e y w e ll.
A n e w H o n e y w e ll p ro d u ct,
above
right,
sim plifies p rog ram m ing w ith
questions th at guide yo u th ro u g h the
process. A fe w o f these questions w ill
help yo u set any program m able th e rm o -
stat b y id e n tifyin g y o u r p referred
tem peratures fo r fo u r tim es o f day:
• W hat tim e does the first person in your
house wake up?
• W h en does the last person leave the
house in the m orning?
• W h en does the first person return home?
• W h en does the last person go to sleep?
t a k in g c r e d it
I f yo u ’re co n sid e rin g hom e im p ro ve -
m ents fo r e n e rg y efficiency, yo u m ay
w a n t to pla n yo u r installation fo r th is
year o r next. Th a n k s to the federal
stim ulus b ill signed in February, tax
credits have im p roved significantly.
The Prestige is the first programmable
thermostat with a high-definition, full-
color touch screen. Starts at
$200
installed;yourhome.honeywell.com
U n s u re o f y o u r p re fe rre d tem pera-
tures fo r each o f these tim es? U se the
default settings fo r all E n e rg y Star-
qualified program m able therm ostats
as yo u r guide:
SETTING
TIME
SET HEAT
TEMPERATURE
SET COOL
TEMPERATURE
WAKE
6 AM
70
° F or lower
78
° F or higher
DAY
8 AM
Turn down
at least 8° F
Turn up at
least
7
° F
EVENING
6 PM
70
° F or lower
78
° F or higher
SLEEP
10
PM Turn down
at least 8° F
Turn up at
least
7
° F
“T h e ta x credits are n o w bette r than
ever,” says K a te ri Callahan, p residen t o f
the A llia n ce to Save En ergy. “T h is is a
great tim e to tackle the p rojects that
can re a lly m ake a difference.”
W H A T Q U A L IF IE S T h ro u g h 2010, yo u
can claim a tax cre d it o f 30 percent o f
the cost up to $1,500 fo r n e w qualified
w in d o w s, doors, insulation, heating and
co o lin g system s, and oth e r energy-
efficient hom e products.
Some specialty system s in v o lvin g
geotherm al heating, solar energy,
w in d energy, and fuel cells q u a lify fo r
credits w ith m ore generous a llo w -
ances. T h e re ’s no $1,500 cap, effective
th ro u g h 2016. T a x credits cover
installation costs fo r some but not all
im provem ents. F o r m ore inform ation,
see
ase.org
and consult a ta x expert.
A S K D A N N Y S E O
I have two soi
who constant
get holes in -their
eans. Can they
e recycled?
Pamela Ekker, Billings, Montana
b
D on't be afraid to donate
ripp ed and w o rn -o u t
clo th in g to G o o d w ill.
C lo th e s th at aren't sold in
th e organization's retail
sto re s are sold to textile
re cycle rs w ho m ake them
into in d u strial rags, so
G o o d w ill still m akes
m oney. A n o th e r option
th is m onth is to tu rn jean s
into e co -frie n d ly
insulatio n.
National
Geographic Kids
m agazine
is tryin g to set a G u in n e ss
W o rld Record fo r th e
largest co llectio n o f
clo th es fo r recycling.
T h ro u g h Co tto n Inc's
“ Fro m Blue to G re e n ”
pro g ram , th e d enim is
shred d ed , tu rn e d into
U ltraTouch N atural Fib er
in su latio n , and donated
to fa m ilie s in need. See
cottonfrom bluetogreen
.org
fo r details.
Jean s m ust be
received by
Ju n e 30.
H A V E A Q U E S T IO N FO R
O U R G R E E N E X P E R T?
Send it to
AskDanny@
meredith.com,
or post it on
Danny’s Simply Living Green
blog at
BHG.com/livinggreen,
where you’ll find more tips. ®
96 JUNE 2009 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS
PHOTOS: (INSULATION) KRITSADA; (PORTRAIT) ADAM ALBRIGHT
