Just how much can a clothesline save you?
What’s good for the environment can be great for your
wallet, and a clothesline is a perfect example.
Clothes dryers are among the biggest power hogs in your
home, consuming about 4500 watts of power – equal to six microwave ovens or 350
compact fluorescent light bulbs. If your power rate is 10 cents/KWH, a big
load in the dryer adds 45 cents to your power bill. One such load a day uses about $150 worth of power annually.
Then there are emissions.
If your power comes from coal or oil (as most of North
America’s does), one big load in the dryer equals 4 kilograms of
emissions. One such load a day for a
year adds over a tonne of greenhouse
gases to the atmosphere.
Clotheslines make environmental and economic sense. Springtime is a great time to get
reacquainted with yours, or to install one if you don’t have one. Here’s a great seven minute video that
explains everything about planning and installing your clothesline (except they
use a rope where most clotheslines are plastic coated wire).
In the News:
Nova Scotia
has launched a bold
plan to produce 40% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020 –
just a decade from now!! Strategies
include net metering
and a community-based feed
in tariff.
A change in thinking?
A new
poll suggests 72% of Canadians would pay extra for an Earth-friendly house
or condo if they could lower energy bills, reap health benefits or reduce their
environmental impact. And a new report
suggests Canadian
CEOs are more keen on going green than their foreign counterparts.
What’s thinner
than our atmosphere but just as critical for life?