Top Tips to Green Your Apartment

If you live in an apartment and pay the energy and water bills, your landlord has little incentive to retrofit your apartment for energy and water conservation. Do not despair. There are several simple low or no cost projects you can do to reduce your utility costs and help the planet.

1. Turn down the water heater — If water coming out of the faucets is scalding hot and you share a water heater with other units, talk to the landlord about turning down the temperature to 120 degrees.

2. Buy a new toilet — If you have a 3.5 gallon toilet, ask your landlord to switch it out for a high-efficiency 1.28 gallon toilet or a dual flush toilet (that uses either 0.6 or 1.6 gallons of water).

3. Use less water with your current toilet — While you're waiting for the landlord to make a decision on a toilet retrofit, fill a 2-liter soda bottle with water and place it in your toilet tank so you use less water with each flush. Also, check to make sure your toilet is not leaking by putting several drops of food coloring in the tank and waiting a few hours to see if it leaks into the bowl. If there is a leak, you might just need a new toilet tank flapper or toilet fill valve. These are inexpensive and easy to install.

4. Install a low-flow showerhead with a shut off valve — Twenty percent of indoor water is consumed while showering. A great way to cut this down is to install a showerhead with a shut off valve. While you're soaping or shampooing, you can turn off the water. For more information, see Lower My Energy Bill.

5. Install Compact Fluorescent Lamps — Changing five incandescent bulbs to CFLs can save you at least $25/year. When choosing a CFL, make sure you have the right bulb for your fixture (three-way, recessed can, regular lamp), that you choose the right color (warm or cool light), that it is bright enough (compare lumens) and will last for several years. See Consumer Reports ratings online or at your local library to make sure you buy the ones that are right for you.

6. Programmable thermostat — Sometimes we forget to turn down the heat or air conditioning when we leave or go to bed. A programmable thermostat fixes that by automatically changing the temperature at preset times of day. This can save up to $150/year.

7. Install a water filter on your tap water — Bottled water is more expensive per gallon than gasoline, and the transportation of bottle water to your home generates greenhouse gases. Why not drink what comes out of your tap? If you don't like the taste of your tap water, install a water filter.

Do you have any other tips for greening your apartment? Share them here.