Easy Ways To Go Green

Easy Ways to Go Green

As the world is continuing to focus more on the idea of going green, there are many people who wonder what they can do to contribute towards protecting and preserving the Earth. Although there are many who would argue that people need to take action on a larger scale, there’s no denial of the fact that even a few simple changes can help in making a difference. Here are a few quick and easy ways that you can go green within your household.

Start Saving Energy

Energy consumption is one of the greatest issues in our world because we take advantage of energy on a luxurious level. During the summer, you might want to consider using a clothesline to dry your clothes instead of using so much energy by powering up the dryer. Instead of washing your clothes in warm water, you can save energy by washing them in cold water as well. Another popular way to save energy is to unplug your electronics and other devices when they are not in use, because these items can use energy even when they are not powered on.

Start Saving Water

Check your  taps around your household for possible leaks. These leaks can not only waste water, but cause your water bill to skyrocket in terms of pricing. Instead of buying bottled water, you can invest in a purifier to install on your tap, which will save you money and improve your water quality.

Research Green Products

Before you purchase your next appliance or even a household cleaning item, think about whether your purchase is going to affect the environment in a negative or positive manner. By investing in items that are only promoting conservation, you can ensure that you are not damaging the earth or its resources during the use of your products.

Consider How You Eat

Even the way that we eat ultimately affects our environment. Purchasing organic foods or foods grown by farmers within your area will help to support their work towards going green and are generally much healthier than the alternatives you would find in the store. Some people prefer to go vegan or vegetarian because it’s cheaper in comparison to a diet that features meat. Switching to organic food is a good way to ensure that you are not eating or investing in anything that hasn’t been naturally raised or fed, which may also be a healthier dietary intake option.

The Different types of Customers and their attitude to going GREEN

This was taken from the a  Green Marketing  Seminar , very interesting read.

In any business their are different types of customers but when your trying to promote your business and want to get your green message across you might come up against different types of customers.

You have three different types of customers

1. Ethical Seekers
2. Switch off 
3. Feel good factor 

Ethical Seekers actively seek green holidays as a continuation of their lifestyles. These are a minority but they are vocal and loyal. They want to know all about your efforts and what you do.

At the other end you have the just want to switch off group , they just want to forget about their daily lives and responsibilities. The are very unlikely to value your efforts. Environmental actions will need to happen behind the scenes and your communication should focus on what it does to improve their experience.

The"feel good factor" group is the majority, they are aware of the issues, but don't go out of their way to act.  They won't seek information, but will respond well to messages that show they can easily "do their bit" - or where they can get a better product or service that happens to be green.  This group will avidly read about you in the press travel pages because you are interesting and different, not because you are green. Awards and certification reinforce that you can be trusted, one more element to influence the booking decision.

The percentage of these groups are 

17% Ethical Seekers 

56% Feel Good Factors

27% Switch Off

A VERY INTERESTING ARTICLE ON WHY WE SHOULD SHOWER BEFORE SWIMMING

Most people shower after a day at the pool, but do you know anyone who's adamant about showering before going in the water? Many parents don't understand the risk of water infections from public pools and water parks, and few realize a pre-swim shower can largely prevent these illnesses, new research shows.

Recreational water illnesses (RWI), which are spread by swallowing, breathing in or contacting contaminated water in some way, affect more than 10,000 Americans each year. Public pools and water parks play a major role in spreading RWIs, but few parents have their kids take the necessary preventive steps, according to the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Childrens Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health.

The poll asked 865 parents, with children ages 5 to 12, questions regarding their opinions about water park risks and basic water park rules. When asked about whose responsibility it is to prevent infections, 28 percent of parents indicated it's the sole responsibility of the water park's staff. Furthermore, most parents chose to ignore parks' requests for hygienic pre-swim showers

Showering before a swim isn't just about curbing germs. A 2010 study by University of Illinois researchers found that when swimmers' nitrogen-rich consumer products, such as cosmetics and sunscreens, mixed with pool disinfectants, the products become chemically modified and converted into more toxic agents. 

"While 64 percent of parents feel it is very important for children to not swallow the water at a water park, only 26 percent of parents think it is very important to shower before getting in the water," Matthew Davis, director of the poll and associate professor in the Child HealthEvaluation and Research Unit at the university's medical school, said in a statement.

It's true that water parks should make sure that their water has been correctly disenfected — but disinfection can only go so far, the researchers say. Although chlorine kills most of the germs that cause RWIs within an hour, cryptosporidiosis, a parasite that causes abdominal cramping, diarrhea and nausea, can survive for days even in properly disinfected water.

The best way to fight the spread of RWIs like cryptosporidiosis is to prevent the parasites from entering public pools and water parks in the first place.

The researchers recommend that parents make sure their children wash thoroughly with soap and water before swimming.

Parents should also take their kids on bathroom breaks and frequently conduct diaper checks to prevent their children from urinating in the pool. Unfortunately, this problem isn't limited to children, as one in five adults admit to peeing in swimming pools, according to 2009 survey conducted by the Water Quality and Health Council.

Easy Energy Saving Tips For Your Home

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• Use your dishwasher instead of hand washing dishes. Hand washing uses more water that needs to be expensively heated.

• When using the washing machine, ensure it is a full load when possible.

• Wash your clothes in the washing machine at 30°C. Most modern detergents work fine at this temperature.

• Keep tumble drying to a minimum – dry clothes naturally instead.

• Only boil as much water as you need in your kettle. Filling the kettle full each time you boil it can waste almost €20 a year.

• Keep your fridge and freezer door closed to minimise warming.

• Defrost your freezer regularly. There shouldn’t be more than a quarter of an inch of ice in the box.

• Turn your hot water down. Just 5°C will make a big difference.

• Fit a good quality 80mm (3”) lagging jacket around your water tank. This will insulate the tank, keeping water warmer for longer.

• When cooking, cover saucepans with lids where possible to reduce cooking time.

• Grilling food uses less energy than oven cooking and it takes less time.

• Use low wattage bulbs in areas where appropriate, such as hallways.

• You can save a significant amount of energy by switching off lights and appliances (e.g. TVs and PCs). Turn them off fully – don’t leave them on standby as they will often still use energy.

• When buying new appliances, check the energy efficiency labels and buy the best rated appliance you can afford. “A” is the most energy efficient and “G” is the least efficient.

Top Tips – Water – Measuring Flow

Every business needs to know the volumes of water that flows from wash basin taps, showers,
toilets and cisterns. Why?
Because water costs money – and hot water can cost from 4 to 10 times the cost of cold water.
Currently in Ireland businesses are charged from €2.00 to €3.20 per cubic litre of water (1,000 litres).
So a cold water tap in a guest bedroom that has a flow rate of 15 litres per minute that is operated
for 3 minutes per use, 6 times per day (occupied room), @ 100% occupancy will cost you up to €158
– for each occupied room. Reduce the flows to 6 litres per minute and it will cost you €63 – a saving
of €95 – at a cost of a few Euro to install an aerator or nothing if you can reduce the pressure.
If it is a hot water tap using electricity to heat the water the 15 ltr cost will be c. €1,588 and the 6ltr
cost will be €950 – a saving of c. € 638 – per annum – forever! (Can you imagine the costs in your
public bathrooms which are constantly in use)
So, get measuring and start reducing those flows – without impacting on guests comforts or needs.

This article was taken from the greenhospitality.ie

Summer is a good time to save on those electric bills

It's great to see the fine weather , families out and about enjoying the sunshine.
It'a a great opportunity to save on your electric bill.
People are outside cooking on the BBQ
Clothes are getting dry on the line outside
No need for the heating to be on
No real need for lights around the house to be left on
But are you checking everything
Make sure all household appliances are turned off that are not being used
Heating timers should be off
Simple checks can further reduce electric bills

Energy Savings On Lighting

In our continuing efforts to reduce energy we have changed the lighting in the ladies and gents toilets from 300 watts to 30 watts LCD lighting. In addition to this we now have our service yard lighting on photo cell so when it gets dark they come on and are on a timer to go off. This will in effect reduce our electric output.