c/climate-action

7

reese_anderson43•5d ago

Had to choose between a heat pump and a new gas furnace for my house in Denver

My old furnace died right before winter last year. The heat pump install was $2,000 more upfront plus I needed to upgrade my panel. But with the tax credits and my utility rebate it came out to only $400 more than the gas furnace in the end. Honestly I was worried it wouldn't keep up when it got below 20 degrees but it actually handled fine. My electric bill went up about $35 a month but my gas bill dropped to basically zero. Has anyone else made this swap and regretted it or been happy with it?

9

drew_patel57•5d ago

Just realized my reusable grocery bags are causing more hassle than they save

I had to choose between bringing my own bags to the store or using their paper ones, and after a month of forgetting them in the car, I went back to paper. The paper bags double as recycling bins for me now, so it's actually working out better. Anyone else find that their eco-friendly habits sometimes backfire in weird ways?

-1

jessec39•8d ago

Switched from paper towels to washable rags for kitchen cleanup and it's night and day

I kept buying those giant packs of paper towels and feeling guilty about the waste, so last month I grabbed a 12-pack of bar mops for like 15 bucks. One load of laundry later and I've barely touched a paper towel since, plus they actually soak up more without shredding. Has anyone else made the switch and found a good system for storing dirty ones without them getting musty?

30

emery879•10d ago

Swapped my gas lawn mower for a reel mower last spring

Used to burn through 5 gallons of gas a season cutting my yard in Portland. Bought a $90 Fiskars reel mower off Craigslist in May. Quiet, no emissions, and my grass is actually healthier now. Anyone else made the switch and noticed a difference?

10

alice121•12d ago

Swapped my lawn for native plants in Austin - 6 months later the water bill dropped $40

I ripped out 800 square feet of Bermuda grass last spring and put in all Texas natives like bluebonnets and little bluestem. After six months, my water bill went from $80 to $40 a month, even through the dry July we had. Anyone else seen utility savings after ditching turf?

10

phoenix_singh•14d ago

That heat wave last July ruined my whole week on the job

I was on a commercial job in Denver fixing a main drain line, and the temps hit 104 for three days straight. My crew and I had to keep stopping because the blacktop was literally burning through our boots. We lost two full days of work and had to refund the customer $800 because we couldn't finish on time. Has anyone else had a project totally derailed by extreme weather?

12

mary_patel59•14d ago

Used to leave my car idling for 10 minutes every morning to warm it up in winter

After a neighbor in Buffalo told me that modern engines only need 30 seconds, I started shutting it off immediately. Has anyone else noticed a real drop in their gas bill from doing this?

11

alice121•15d ago

Appreciation post: my little compost bin finally paid off

I started composting in my apartment kitchen about 3 years ago with just a little 5-gallon bucket under the sink. Last month I finally got a full batch of usable soil out of it, and I honestly didn't think it would work given my tiny space. I live in Portland, so I can drop scraps at a community site, but I wanted to try doing it start to finish on my own. It took a lot of trial and error with balancing greens and browns, and I had to stop myself from throwing in too many citrus peels. Last week I used that soil to repot a sad-looking snake plant on my balcony, and it actually perked up in like 3 days. Has anyone else managed to keep a small-scale compost going indoors without getting fruit flies everywhere? I still struggle with that part.

17

beth878•17d ago

Found out my compost pile was way too dry for months

I've been trying to get into composting for about a year now, and my pile always just sat there looking like dry dirt. Nothing broke down, no heat, just sad dead leaves. I tried adding more greens like kitchen scraps, even bought some compost starter from the garden center. Still nothing. Then last week I went to a local workshop at the community garden in Oak Park, and the guy running it asked me how wet my pile was. I told him it felt kinda dry and he laughed and said that was my whole problem. He showed me to grab a handful and squeeze it - it should feel like a wrung-out sponge, not powder. I went home and dumped like 5 gallons of water on my pile over two days and turned it all, and now it's actually steaming in the middle for the first time. Anyone else totally miss something basic like moisture levels when they started composting?

30

victor_carr25•18d ago

Spent $800 on a heat pump water heater, my electric bill went down $30 a month but installation was a nightmare

I had to run a new 240v line and the unit was too tall for my basement by 2 inches, cost me another $400 for an electrician and a plumber to reroute pipes. The energy savings look good on paper, but is the upfront hassle worth it for most people? Anyone else deal with this trade off?

27

xena_kim•18d ago

Last Tuesday my recycling bin was full of styrofoam I couldn't do anything with

Our town stopped taking styrofoam in the curbside pickup about 6 months ago. I had a bunch of packaging from a new TV and some appliance boxes. Called around to 5 different drop off sites and none of them take it either. Ended up just throwing it in the trash which felt terrible. Anyone else run into this problem with their local recycling rules?

15

wade_perez•18d ago

I used to roll my eyes at people talking about composting until I tried it in my own backyard

For years I thought composting was just for granola types with too much time on their hands, especially living in a small rental in Portland. But last spring I finally set up a cheap bin from the hardware store, just tossed in veggie scraps and leaves. After 6 months the soil I got back was way darker and richer than anything I've seen in a bag. Am I wrong for thinking this actually makes a difference, or is composting just another trend that won't scale?

6

james_torres•20d ago

Bought a heat pump water heater last spring or stuck with gas. Here's what I went with.

I had to choose between replacing my old gas water heater with a new gas one or switching to a heat pump electric model. My gas one was 12 years old and starting to leak a little. The heat pump cost $1,200 more upfront but my local utility in Austin had a $500 rebate and federal tax credits knocked off another 30%. I went with the heat pump because I wanted to cut my natural gas use for climate reasons. It took about 2 weeks to notice my electric bill jump up in summer since it pulls heat from the basement air, but then winter came and it actually made my gas furnace run less. The thing is noisy when it's running hard, like a window AC unit, and it takes up more floor space. Has anyone else made this switch and seen their power bill change more than they expected?

28

skyler_adams•20d ago

That advice to replace gas appliances with induction is overblown

My neighbor kept telling me to swap my gas stove for induction to cut emissions. I finally did it six months ago, spent $1,200 on a new unit. My electric bill jumped $40 a month and the food just doesn't taste the same. Has anyone else regretted making that switch?

23

wendy72•20d ago

Swapped to a heat pump water heater and my basement feels different now

I finally pulled the trigger on a hybrid heat pump water heater last month for my house outside Boston. The old electric tank was from 2008 and I swear it was half the reason my energy bills spiked every winter. I figured it would save some money but I didn't expect the basement to actually feel cooler and less humid. The thing pulls heat from the air around it so the space dropped like 5 degrees which actually helps since I store some canned goods down there. Only catch is the noise, it hums like a mini fridge that's a bit too loud for right under the bedroom. Anyone else deal with the sound issue or find a good spot to put one without hearing it all night?

9

rose_grant78•21d ago

Changed my mind about solar after visiting the county fair

I went to the county fair last month and saw a booth where they had a tiny solar setup powering a whole popcorn machine. The guy running it showed me how much power it made over the day and it was way more than I thought for such a small panel. Has anyone else had a real-life demo change their view on something renewable?

2

wade_perez•22d ago

Found out my dishwasher has a pre-rinse cycle that saves hot water

I was reading the manual for my 5 year old Bosch last week and found a setting I never knew about. Its a pre-rinse cycle that uses cold water instead of me running the faucet hot for 3 minutes before loading. I tried it on a load with dried egg and oatmeal and everything came clean. Now I save maybe 8 gallons of hot water per load and my water heater runs less. Has anyone else found hidden settings on their appliances that help save energy?

30

the_sean•23d ago

Used a smart thermostat for a year, then switched to a manual one - night and day difference

I had one of those Nest thermostats for about 12 months in my apartment in Columbus. It was supposed to learn my schedule and save energy. But it kept turning the heat on when I wasn't home, or off when I was. My electric bill averaged $140 a month. Then I got tired of it and put in a cheap $20 manual dial thermostat. Now I just set it to 68 in winter and 74 in summer before I leave for work. My bill dropped to $95 last month. Has anyone else found the fancy smart stuff actually makes things worse for your situation?

7

blair626•24d ago

My neighbor showed me a rain barrel hack that actually cut my water bill by 18 bucks a month

I live in Phoenix and my summer water bill was hitting 120 bucks just to keep my little veggie patch alive. I tried one of those cheap plastic rain barrels from the hardware store but it filled up in one storm and sat there. My neighbor Tom, guy must be 70, told me to daisy chain two barrels together with a simple hose fitting at the bottom. Second barrel sits on cinder blocks so gravity feeds the first one. Now I get through a whole dry week without touching the spigot. Anyone else rig up a multi barrel system or is there a better DIY setup for dry climates?

7

adam_nguyen7•24d ago

My neighborhood lost a big oak tree last month because of bad storm prep

There's this huge oak on Elm Street in my town, near the creek. Last month during a mild storm, it just dropped a massive limb through someone's roof. I talked to the arborist who came by and he said the tree had decay for years but nobody trimmed it because they thought it'd be fine. Has anyone else noticed more neighborhood trees failing because people don't think about climate change making storms worse?

27

evan_jenkins•27d ago

Just got back from Miami Beach and saw something scary on Collins Avenue

I was walking around the southern end of Miami Beach last Tuesday and noticed about 6 blocks of new flood barriers going in. They are these big metal panels that fold up from the sidewalk, I counted maybe 30 of them just on one street. A local contractor told me they're expecting another 18 inches of sea rise by 2035, which is like 10 years away. He said the city spent around $500 million on pumps and barriers already, but most people don't realize how fast the groundwater is coming up. Have any of you seen these barriers in person or heard about similar stuff happening in your coastal town?

4

leow90•27d ago

Pro tip: I cut my home energy bill by 30% with one cheap fix

Three months ago I got my electric bill and it was $180, way higher than normal. I figured out my attic hatch had no weather stripping, just a big gap letting air escape. I bought a roll of foam tape for $8 at Home Depot and sealed it up last month. My bill dropped to $125 this month without me changing anything else. The house also feels more comfortable, no more cold drafts upstairs. Has anyone else found simple gaps in their house that made a big difference?

14

perry.karen•29d ago

Thought those 'green' cleaning products were marketing fluff till my kid got rashes

I was super skeptical about swapping to eco friendly cleaners, figured it was just a way to charge triple. But after my 3 year old kept getting red patches on his arms after wiping the kitchen floor, I switched to a $6 bottle of Dr. Bronner's. Within a week the rashes went away completely. Has anyone else had a similar experience with regular cleaners causing skin issues?

4

blairj55•29d ago

Wasted $50 on a fancy composting tumbler that broke in two months

Bought it from a big box store in March, thought the spinning design would make turning easy. The handle snapped off on the third use. Went back to my old wire mesh bin and it works way better. Anyone else found those tumblers are junk?

7

blake_black47•1mo ago

Had a chat with my neighbor that made me rethink solar panels

I was talking to this older guy who lives two doors down, he's had panels on his roof since 2014 and said he saved $3,200 last year alone from net metering. I always thought the payoff took too long but he showed me his electric bills and it hit different seeing the numbers in black and white. Anyone else had a real conversation change their mind about a climate move they were on the fence about?