Page 30 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • March 25, 2009 Home Improvement & Gardening (NAPS) Living in an energy-efficient, environmentally sustainable home is now more easily attainable. The experts at the United States Department of Energy offer the following tips: Keep appliances clean and in good repair; clogged air vents or worn-out parts make motors work harder, which wastes energy. Insulate your water heater and hot-water pipes. Plant trees, shrubs and hedges around your home so they shade your home in summer and let sunlight right in, in winter. Change your lights to energy-saving compact fluorescent lights (CFL). If every American home replaced just one light bulb with a CFL bulb, we would save enough energy to light nearly three million homes. We would also save more than $600 million in annual energy costs and reduce greenhouse gases by the equivalent of nearly 750,000 cars. The average CFL lasts 6,000 to 15,000 hours, and when you replace it, you can recycle it. Use solid-state lighting (SSL) for holiday tree lights, nightlights, and walkway illumination. They are durable and long lasting and use about a tenth as much energy as incandescent bulbs. Turn off power strips or unplug electronics. Electronics, including the computer, TV, VCR, and phone charger, use energy even when they are turned off. Standby power can account for as much as 20 percent of home energy use. Caulking your window seals around the glass can provide insulation. Air seal and insulate your attic and ventilation ducts. More than half the energy used in a typical American home is for space heating and cooling. Much of that conditioned Spring Cut your costs and your carbon footprint air escapes through poorly sealed, under-insulated attics. The Department of Energy and homebuilders are working together to combine advanced building techniques with renewable energy sources to minimize energy needs from outside providers. When you live in a “green” home you reduce the amount of carbon dioxide, the building block of greenhouse gases that are added to the environment, otherwise known as your carbon footprint. Fortunately, reducing your carbon footprint does not cost a lot of money. New homes built green from the ground up can cost the same as a conventional house, as homebuilders incorporate innovative technologies directly into these new buildings. ���������������� ����������� The Villadom TIMES is giving you the opportunity to present your quality services and merchandise in its special Home Improvement & Decorating section. In The Villadom TIMES, you’ll get the exposure you need in 56,300 homes right in your market area. And, as always, your Villadom TIMES advertising message is conveniently delivered each week by US mail to every residence in the 12 Bergen County towns listed below. ������������� ��������� ���������� �������� �������� ��������� ��������� ��������� �������� ������� ������� �������� Call The Villadom TIMES today to place your advertisement. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD NEWSPAPER ������������ ZONE 1 - Wyckoff, Midland Park, Franklin Lakes ZONE 2 - Ridgewood, Glen Rock ZONE 3 - Ho-Ho-Kus, Allendale, Waldwick, Saddle River, Upper Saddle River, ZONE 4 - Ramsey, Mahwah