- In addition to replacing leaky toilets and faucets, think about improving the pipes feeding the fixtures.

- Low-flow faucets & fixtures are more costly than standard fixtures but will help you save money on water bills and, ultimately, will pay for themselves.

- Low-yield showerheads let you reduce water use while still having an enjoyable shower.

- Faucet aerators and sensors and touch technology cut down on wasted water.

Insulation is one of the most important aspects of energy-efficiency in a home.  There are many types of insulation , the majority used for thermal purposes.  Insulation reduces unwanted heat loss or gain and can decrease the energy demands of heating and cooling systems.

Over the past years we’ve seen leaps and bounds towards creating cheaper, thinner, more breathable materials with higher R-values. Aerogel is one of the top contenders for most efficient & “green” product used for insulation.  This space-age material has the lowest bulk density of any known porous solid as well as some incredible insulating qualities, and recently two companies rolled out Aerogel sheets that make installations a breeze.

It is made up of a gel that has had its liquid component replaced by air — in fact the material is 99% air. It’s quite thin, breathable, fireproof, doesn’t absorb water, and is very strong considering it doesn’t weigh much. What makes it such a great insulator is its low thermal conductivity (14 mW/m-K) and results in an R-value of 10.3 per inch, which is twice as much as rigid foam board. In fact you can light a blow torch on one side and it won’t burn a hole through it or even get hot enough to light a match sitting on the other side.

Unfortunately the material is still fairly expensive and out of the price range for the average homeowner. NASA has used it as insulation for a number of projects including the Mars Rover and space suites. Two companies currently have a commercial product available – Aspen Aerogel and Thermoblok. Aspen Aerogel offers a roll of the material in 0.2 or 0.4 in thicknesses and 57 inches wide. Thermoblok has 1-1/2″ wide strips, which are used to cover framing studs and help prevent thermal bridging and costs about $1.99/ft.

Aerogel a great material for renovations where size matters, and would make great insulation for shipping containers. Due to it’s incredible R-value and thin form factor it’s one of the best insulative materials out there, and we hope to see prices come down so that it is more affordable for the general public.

The AFUE is the measure of the amount of heat delivered from your furnace through your house. For example, a furnace with an efficiency rating of 70 percent means that the furnace converts 70 percent of the fuel you supply to heat. What happens to that other 30 percent? It’s lost. The higher the AFUE percentage, the better the efficiency. Good efficiency units today are 85-plus for furnaces and 90-plus for boilers.

According to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), for a material to qualify as “green”, it must:

• Meet or exceed performance requirements.
• Have sufficient, predictable strength, durability, or stability.
• Be resistant to moisture, decay, or biocontamination.
• Be nontoxic or nonhazardous to occupants and installers.
• Be comparable in cost (labor + materials + equipment + other) to traditional materials.
• Be able to be harvested sustainably and installed efficiently.
• Be rapidly renewable or abundant.
• Be a closed-loop material, which means it can be recycled again and again.
• Involve minimal direct/indirect use of nonrenewables.
• Be adaptable, reusable, or recyclable.

Looking to reduce your hydro bill and your impact on the environment? Unplugging often-used appliances and electronics will solve the problem, but isn’t always the most convenient solution.

Check out the SmartStrip Power Saving Surge Protector, which detects when a device is plugged in, and automatically cuts off power to its peripherals.

Not only does it save electricity, but it also protects electronics from power surges. The design has multiple plugs in mind, with generous spacing between each outlet, making it customizable to fit your needs. And once plugged in, the angled plug doesn’t cover the other outlets.

It’s available in seven- and ten-outlet models, provides 1225 joules of surge protection, and includes a 30-day unconditional return policy and two year guarantee. It also includes a lifetime return policy if, indeed, there is a power surge.

How can you go wrong? Although it’s a little pricier than most (about $22 for a single strip and $34 for a double), the average home can save about 260 watts of electricity per hour, or 113 kilowatts per month (about $30), reimbursing your cost in just 1 month.

Check them out at CableOrganizer.com and Amazon.com.

EnviroGLAS's EnviroSLAB countertop

Bio-Glass makes solid surfacing for countertops, walls, or anywhere else you want to slap it down.  Want something with a bit more pizzazz?  EnviroGLAS makes recycled terrazzo with glass from discarded bottles, and porcelain from recycled sinks.  IceStone and Vetrazzo area two more terrazzolike options made with at least 75% recycled glass (Vetrazzo used old traffic lights, windshields, and more!).  Eleek makes slick metallic counter tiles out of 100% recycled aluminum.

Sounds crazy but you can also get counters made with recycled paper that can actually stand up to kitchen use;  two sources are paperstoneproducts.com and shetkastone.com.  And keep your eyes out for butcher block surfaces made with reclaimed and local FSC wood, as well as bamboo.  Just note that wood doesn’t hold up as well over time and durability is a cornerstone of sustainable renovations.

Wheatboard Cabinets

Whether you’re trying to cover up your mismatched beer stein collection or you’re showing off your matching china, you’ll need cabinets to hold it all.  Stay away from anything made of pressed sawdust and wood shavings, like medium-density fiberboard (MDF) and particleboard.  They sound eco-friendly because they should be made with by-products from the wood-cutting process, but they actually use up to 80% virgin tree content, according to Green Seal.  Plus, all that sawdust is bound together with the probable human carcinogen urea formaldehyde, which offgasses air-polluting, headache-inducing fumes into your home.  So even if you’re buying regular cabinets from mainstream stores, avoid MDF and particleboard unless you know they’re formaldehyde-free or have only trace amounts, like IKEA’s cabinetry.

Looking for something in a deeper shade of green?  You’ve got a few options.  One is strawboard or wheatboard cabinets.  Made of compressed waste straw or wheat stems, they’re basically bio-based particleboard, or MDF, made without formaldehyde and often finished with a pretty veneer of sustainable wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).  Humabuilt and CitiLog both offer cabinets made with formaldehyde-free wheatboard with certified wood exteriors.  EcoCraft uses FSC veneers on urea formaldehyde-free fiberboard.

Eco-Craft Kitchen Cabinets

Wherever you end up buying, be sure to ask for water-based finishes, low-VOC stains or paints, or natural oils.  Otherwise, get them unfinished and stain them yourself.

Green gadgets are becoming increasingly at our attention, but charging our new toys with conventional batteries isn’t keeping it eco-friendly.Fuji has introduced their new EnviroMAX, a new eco-conscious, high performance battery.

Not only do they equal (and often exceed) the performance of equivalent conventional versions, there is nothing inside the battery itself that depletes our earth.

You won’t see any mercury or cadmium in these mini-powerhouses, along with other ozone-depleting compounds. Their packaging it free of PVC plastics; instead they utilize recycled paper and recyclable PET plastic.

They arrived in stores in April, and have recently earned the 2009 Seal of Approval from The National Parenting Center.

Fuji EnviroMAX batteries are available in Super Alkaline AA, AAA, C, and D (MSRP $3.99), and Digital Alkaline, AA and AAA (MSRP $5.99).

Consumers can find them at ACO and ACE Hardware stores; select Sears, Target, Do It Best and Tru Value Hardware stores; Dick’s Sporting Goods, and other chains. The batteries can also be ordered online at Amazon.com , and direct from the company at www.greenfuji.com.

Foam board insulation products are quite popular with some aspects of today’s green construction.

You may not think foam board insulation is green. However, recent studies from insulation manfucturers suggest that polystyrene insulation is manufactured with as much as 24% less energy compared to fiberglass insulation.

Some manufacturers are even offering recycled foam board products. The nice thing about recycled foam board is any off gasing is most likely completely finished and you’re recycling a product that is already quite green.

To achieve an EPA zero-VOC rating, paint must have fewer than 5 grams per liter.  For a low-VOC rating, paint must contain 5 to 250 grams per liter for latext paint, or 380 for allkyd (oil-based) paints.

In addition to the federal government, private-sector building and trade groups have started certifying products.  For paints, look for materials certified by Greenguard, Green Seal, Scientific Certification Systems, or the Master Painters Institute’s Green Performance Standards.