The Community Foundation has made a commitment to Downtown Reading and a commitment to sustainable energy practices through the construction of a Community Conference Center and Headquarters Building that is energy efficient while remaining cost-effective.

There are several things you can do at home to live a little "greener." Our architects put together ten suggestions, which we will highlight one at a time over the next few months:

1. Turn it Off!
2. Go With the Flow
3. Go Native

1. Turn it Off! 
Simply turning off unneeded lights can reduce direct lighting consumption up to 45%. To aid in this, consider installing occupancy sensors at light switches. Parents particularly like this idea as an alternative to nagging kids to turn off the lights! 

Another turn-off tip is to use power strips and turn them off when appliances are not in use. One good product for this is the Smart Strip Power Strip, where the outlets work together, auto-switching your devices on and off automatically, saving you money on your electric bills. Three of the outlets always have power, allowing you to plug-in devices that should never turn off. 

Finally, install a programmable thermostat and set your heating/cooling thermostat one-or-two degrees lower in cold months and one-or-two degrees higher in hot months.

2. Go with the Flow.
You can reduce your water consumption at home by following these suggestions. First, consider switching to a high efficiency toilet (HET). Toilets manufactured before 1994 use 3.5 gallons per flush. Newer conventional toilets use 1.6 gallons. Some HETs flush with 1.1 gallons or less.

Some toilets even have dual buttons, a technology that has been used in Europe for years. One button flushes at 1.6 gallons and the other at .9 gallons. It doesn't take long to figure out when you use one or the other.

Alternatively, a device called the Aqus uses the water from your sink to flush your toilet.

The easiest option, however, is to install a water-filled bottle in your toilet tank (assuming your toilet uses 3.5 gallons per flush) to reduce the flush rate.

Another way to reduce your water consumption is to replace existing shower heads with low-flow models. Your shower uses about 20 percent of the total water you use in your home. A good portion of that water goes through your water heater, raising your energy bill as well. You can assume that with an old standard shower head, a five-minute shower uses about 30 gallons of water. Shower heads manufactured since 1994 use 2.5 gallons per minute, or 12.5 gallons during that five-minute shower.

A low-flow shower head usually works by mixing air into the water flow, which is restricted to increase the water pressure, reducing the use to 1.5 gallons per minute, or 7.5 gallons for a five-minute shower.

You can also reduce your water consumption by installing faucet aerators on your kitchen and bathroom sinks. Under the Energy Policy Act of 1992, kitchen and bathroom faucet aerators can have a flow rate of no more than 2.5 gallons per minute. A faucet aerator can reduce this flow to 2.0 gallons per minute, and even to as little as .5 gallon per minute. We find that 1.0 gallon per minute aerators satisfy most users. Aerators are available online and at your local hardware store.

You can also purchase high-efficiency and water-saving washers and dishwashers. After toilets and showers, clothes washing is the next-largest water consumer in homes. The best clothes washers are front-loading. Water-conserving dishwashers have advanced circuitry that determines the water use based on how soiled the dishes are. Some European and advanced domestic models use as little as one-half as much water as a typical, older American models. Using energy star rated appliances, which use 10% -50% less water than conventional models, will help with your energy bill as well.

Finally, add a rain barrel to collect rainwater for irrigating your garden.

3. Go Native.

Plant native or adapted native garden plants requiring no irrigation. Top with compost from your kitchen or organic fertilizer in place of synthetic fertilizers. Landscape irrigation accounts for roughly 32 percent of residential water use nationally.

Click on a link below to learn more:

A Permanent Place
A Good Location
One Building: Three Unique Spaces
A Living Building
Frequently Asked Questions
The Design Team
What Makes it "Green"?
What Can I Do At Home?