It’s no secret that in general, money is a little bit tight these days. Everyone is doing what they can to save money. Reducing your energy bills not only saves you money, it’s good for the environment as well. But how can you do this without sacrificing the A/C or heat you may need to get through the extreme temperatures of the summer and winter? The answer is in how you select your window treatments.

Let’s say you live in a region where it is cold most of the year and your biggest concern is losing heat. If correctly installed, window shades can be one of the simplest and most effective ways to prevent heat loss. Shades that are mounted as close to the glass as possible with the sides of the shade close to the wall create a sealed air space, making it difficult for the heat to escape. During the winter, shades should be raised on the south side of the house in the daytime to let in the heat from the sunlight and then lowered at night. Dual shades are even more effective for insulating as they are reflective on one side and heat absorbent on the other. These types of shades must be drawn all day to be effective and the reflective side should always face the warmest side.

Draperies are a very common form of window treatment, but it is difficult to generalize about their energy efficiency as it relies on many factors. Draperies can reduce heat gain by up to 33% if they are medium-colored and have white plastic backings. They are also perfect for summer weather as their pleats and folds lose heat through convection. Unfortunately, most conventional draperies can only reduce heat loss by 10%. However, if they are hung as close to the window as possible with a cornice installed at the top and the drapery is sealed at both sides and overlapped in the center, you can push it to about 25%.

If heat gain is your primary concern, it might be best to go with blinds. Because of the numerous openings between the slats, blinds are much more effective at reducing heat gain in the summer than heat loss in the winter. But, the advantage blinds have over shades is that these slats and be adjusted to control light and ventilation. Heat gain can be reduced by around 45% when highly reflective blinds are completely closed and lowered on a sunny window.

There is no single type of window treatment that can be energy efficient if applied to every home. Your home’s specific insulation needs are the biggest factor, but the type, color and fabric of your treatment all play a part as well. But, with this information you’ll be able to make a more informed decision about which treatment is best for you, your wallet and the environment.

Today’s NY Post Real Estate section features a really nice article — Fresh Start: It’s Easy Being Green — about green building and energy conservation. It’s a great read filled with stats, tips, and real-world examples of New Yorkers going green in their homes or helping develop the green building industry in our city.

As can be expected, Brooklyn is heavily represented. We start with Sarah Beatty, founder and CEO of Brooklyn based Green Depot:

“The last five years have seen exponential growth in the number of high-quality [green] products that have come to market.”

Then me:

One good starting point, says Ethan Oringel, publisher of the greenbrooklyn.com blog, is giving your apartment an energy audit. Take out your heating and electric bills, make a checklist of all the ways you use energy and look to see if any can be made less wasteful.

It sounds mundane, but given that 80 percent of New York City’s greenhouse emissions come from its buildings, making sure your home uses energy efficiently is one of the greenest things you can do.

Then Eitan Baron, the brains behind Brooklyn Greenstone (and the guy in the photo above):

“To me, [proper sealing] is worth as much as any solar panel on the market,” says developer Eitan Baron, who recently did a green renovation on the Park Slope brownstone that houses his 1,700-square-foot duplex. “It’s the parts you don’t see that are the most important.”

[...]

This work hasn’t just helped save the environment — it’s saved Baron money, as well. He estimates his heating bills this winter were about 60 percent less than they would have been in a typical brownstone.

Also mentioned was one of GBK’s favorite companies from last year’s Green Buildings NY convention and expo — green roof and green wall start-up, NYC-based Greensulate.

Check out the full article at NYPost.com.

And many thanks to the author of the article, Adam Bonislawski, for both including myself and the Green Brooklyn website in the article and helping raise awareness about the importance of energy efficiency and green building in NYC.

Guest-post from our friends at Center for the Urban Environment:

Did you know that Bay Ridge has one of the first green spas in New York City; that wheatgrass and other sprouts are grown in a warehouse along the Gowanus Canal; and that socially responsible investments manage for local and global climate change?

These facts offer just a small glimpse into the range of issues that Green Brooklyn…Green City will tackle on September 18th.

With ten workshops — from exploring green jobs in the new economy to engaging sustainability in the nonprofit sector — the event features discussions led by the city’s preeminent leaders in sustainable design, sustainable food, green manufacturing, transportation alternatives, energy efficiency, and environmental education.

Creating a healthy and livable environment requires an understanding of the many facets of urban life — Green Brooklyn…Green City is New York City’s largest showcase of green and sustainability issues, programs, and products.

“Besides its sheer size,” said Aisha Glover, Director of Public Affairs and organizer of the event, “what makes this event unique is the full spectrum of participants who attend. Once a year, Brooklyn brings together community, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies from across the five boroughs to share ideas with the public about how to live greener in our everyday lives.”

“Green Brooklyn… Green City is in its fourth incarnation — and is reaching more and more New Yorkers every year,” agreed Sandi Franklin, Executive Director of the Center for the Urban Environment (CUE). “Its momentum is in close step with the city’s commitment to developing more sustainable communities. We are excited by the energy of this event and are eager to expand our role as a critical resource for discussions about the issues that most affect the future of our city.”

Workshops are free and open to the public. Come— listen to the experts, ask your own questions, catch a film, and bring home some of the city’s newest eco-products… For more information on the event visit us at www.greenbrooklyn.org or contact Aisha Glover at aglover@bcue.org.

Whether you’re eight or eighty, there is something for everyone. To view workshop times and presenters— click here.

Green Brooklyn… Green City
Thursday, September 18, 2008
11:30am - 5:00pm
Brooklyn Borough Hall
209 Joralemon Street
Brooklyn, NY
Always Free and Open to the public

With the summer heat nearly behind us, energy usage will undoubtedly decline over the coming weeks. As fall approaches, however, nature will offer new reasons for our energy usage to increase once again. There is always something more we can do to curb our use of valuable energy and resources. What follows is a list of things you can do to minimize the amount of energy and resources that are used on a daily basis.

1. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs: This is not a new concept, but one that needs to be brought up every once in a while. Standard incandescent light bulbs are inefficient and have a very short life when compared with their fluorescent counterparts. Compact fluorescent technology has gotten better over the last several years and the cost of the bulbs has decreased significantly. Most of the newer CFL bulbs last up to ten times longer and use 75% less energy, while providing the same amount of lighting for your home.

2. Be smart with your windows: Windows can be responsible for 25% to 50% of energy loss in your home. Take a look at your windows. Are they properly caulked? Do they shut completely? If not, ask your building super to fix these problems, or do it yourself. Depending on the weather, open your windows and avoid using the air conditioner or fans, or use blackout curtains to curtail the heat in the summer or prevent heat loss in the winter. Open shades and blinds can also let in natural light, eliminating your need to use lights during the day.

3. Acclimate yourself to the weather: Rather than immediately turning to heating or cooling, see what you can do to acclimate yourself to the temperature in your home without using extra energy. If your place feels hot, remove excess clothing and have a cold drink. In cooler times, put on a sweater or an extra pair of socks and relax with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate. These simple, yet overlooked techniques can save energy and have an inherently comforting appeal.

4. Take a 5 minute shower: Showering is an absolute necessity. However, if you can reduce your shower time to five minutes or less, you can save thousands of gallons of water used per year, per person! This staggering fact might help you realize that you’re not rushing, but helping to do your part to reduce your personal impact upon the environment.

5. Unplug your unused electronics: Most electronics, even when turned off, are on stand-by mode, using up small amounts of power that add up to a lot of wasted energy over time. Take an extra minute before you leave each day to unplug your electronics, such as televisions and stereos. If you have your electronics on a power strip or surge protector, simply switch it off and go about your business.

Although many of these may seem like common sense things to do, we don’t always do what we know is right. If you have already integrated some or all of these habits into your daily routine, let someone else know. Educating others on how to minimize our environmental impact is just another aspect of living green.

This post was contributed by Heather Johnson, who writes on the subject of green and organic shopping. She invites your feedback at heatherjohnson2323 at gmail dot com.

Shorter Pratt:

“Go solar! We’ll help!”

Did you know that every day enough sun shines on NYC to provide more than twice the energy we need? A property tax abatement and net metering law passed in June now make the city one of the most financially friendly places to install solar electric systems. Now on Energy Matters, learn about new solar power financial incentives available in New York City.

Energy Matters is a collaboration between the Pratt Center and Neighborhood Housing Services of NYC (NHS), who have joined forces as the coordinators of New York Energy $mart Communities Program for Brooklyn and Queens.

Pratt wants to know what you think, so if you have comments on Energy Matters, leave them here.

Keep up with all the latest NYC Solar advocacy at GBK’s SolarNYC initiative and at Solar 1’s I Heart PV initiative.

Read the full post for links to Pratt’s essential resources for energy efficiency and solar financing in NYC………………