What If Everybody Did?

A town in Massachusetts made a study of their energy costs and found that by installing timers in municipal buildings so that lights were turned on in hallways, offices, classrooms, restrooms and maintenance areas when they were needed, rather than all at once at 7:00am, they would save as much as $500,000 annually.

A homeowner in northern New Mexico found that by installing outdoor screening on their portal, they reduced heat transmission to the house in the warm months and saved nearly 25% on the summer air conditioning bills.

A shopping center in Silver City erected awnings over the store windows and doorways and discovered that they used less air conditioning to maintain a steady inside temperature for customers throughout the day.

Folks in Tucson, Las Cruces and other southwest towns are painting their roofs with a solar reflective white coating which is significantly reducing their interior cooling costs. A 2018 study from Yale suggests that larger areas with white roofs could be as much as 3 degrees cooler.

A gardening enthusiast in Santa Fe installed a shade sail over the patio which cast a shadow over a section of the garden in the late afternoon. She found that the soil there was cooler, required shorter watering times and produced a tasty crop of vegetables. She also spent more time on the patio and entertained outdoors more often because it was cooler.

What if everybody did?