How can we, in one 'big bang', reduce the costs of energy-consumption to cool and heat our homes?

It might help if we built our homes with thicker more insulated walls and windows. This would keep the warm air inside in the winter and the cool air inside in the summer. People would use their heaters and air conditioners less often. This would result in less CFC's being released into the atmosphere. CFC's deplete the ozone layer.

Smog contains mostly Ozone (O3), however, it is bad Ozone for humans because it is too low. Ozone is created when Nitrous Oxides (NOx) react with Volitile Organic Compounds (VOC's) in sunlight. VOC's have many sources. Among those are vehicle exhaust, chemicals in the air, gas fumes, paints, preservatives, aeresol sprays, pesticides, dry-cleaning emissions.

If your goal is to eliminate smog, I would concentrate on eliminating the VOC's we create everyday. Ride a bike to work and stop getting your shirts dry cleaned with those chemicals.

Why should we be looking for a 'big bang'? If there were a big bang that was actually an viable option, then I am sure that it would have happened by now. The reality of life and the environment is that there is not one single thing that will reduce energy-consumption to heat and cool our homes.

The biggest way to reduce the energy consumption would be to not heat our homes to a toasty temperature during winter and drop in just a couple of degrees and be willing to wear warm clothes in our homes and not shorts and a T-shirt. Completely getting rid of Air conditioning all together would be a huge energy reduction. However, for this to happen we all need to be willing to sacrifice. We have the luxury of being able to cool our homes. This is not our right. If cooling our homes is doing more harm than good, then we need to stand up and say that we are willing to live without air conditioning.

As far as the smog goes, well the smog you are talking about is not being caused primarily by heating and cooling homes. Smog is consistant of ozone which id formed from NOx and VOCs (if you want to learn what these are, do a search on them). The largest source of ozone, a.k.a. smog is TRANSPORTATION, it causes 50% of the ozone. The only way that reducing heating and cooling would reduce smog is to reduce power consumption which would thereby decrease power plant emissions of NOx. However; the majority of the smog would remain from transportation.

Some of these make sense, but not every one is practical. Most people don't live close enough to work or school to ride a bike. What do you do when it rains? We're entering storm season around here. I wouldn't want to be on a bike during a thunderstorm. Many of us can't afford new hybrid-electric cars, though if you want to buy me one, be my guest and I'll help the environment. It's too cloudy too often around here for solar power to be practical. Wind is even less practical. About the only time we have much wind is during thunderstorms. The home energy ideas are generally pretty good. I'm not convinced on fluorescent light bulbs yet, mine don't last that long, not like they say they're supposed to. I've given up on them. But if you want a good idea, you could shut off the computer.

Actually, I may be considering a bridge purchase myself, lol! (look at other answer)

I've been pondering a theory for a few years now on a fully self sufficient power source for homes. I would love to have the money to finance an actual experiment one day. Think about it, with all the technology we have today, trust me, it's possible! I won't disclose all the details, cause you will not be stealing my idea, lmao, but I am a electrical foreman specializing in automation and controls, so I know a little something about how electricity works.

Imagine having all the power you need, and never paying an electric bill. I can make that happen, but it will never happen. Why? Cause too many people make money from our energy bills, and that's the bottom line. Those that have the power to do something about it, make money from it!!!

Oh and about the smog, MOVE!!! EEWWW!! LMFAO!

I live in Central Texas, among the hotter places in our nation. We still have not used the air conditioner at all this year. You can be comfortable without it in weather up to 90 degrees, no joke! We keep the windows open about 2 inches all the time. We use locks so that no one outside can open the window more than this. They are very cheap, you can get them at wal-mart or wherever. Although we don't have very cold winters here, I think you can be warm enough most of the time with just a space heater in the room(s) you are using. If you have a fireplace, they can generate alot of heat. Turn your computer off or in sleep mode when not in use. We keep all appliances unplugged and off when not in use. This reduces electricity used, as well as noise and heat they can emit. Right now, there is no "magical solution" or 'big bang'. Be a repsonsible person, and take care to do the little things that add up. Get your air conditioner/heater serviced once a year to make sure it is working efficiently, and keep your filters changed/cleaned. There is maintenence that can be done to the hot water heater to make it work more efficiently. Use the energy efficient light bulbs and keep lights off unless you REALLY need them. During the day, most lights remain off at all times at my house. There are so many ways to insulate your house (attic/wall insulation, double-pane windows, siding, weather stripping) Shrubs and trees can do a WHOLE lot to shade your home, and they help the air quality becuase they use up the carbon dioxide we emit. There are lots of attractive plants you could plant, especially on whichever side of your house gets the most sun. Really, you have to take a little bit of time and effort to adapt your lifestyle. There are very few quick fixes in this world, and most everything is worth doing right.

I don't know... ask the fairy godmother?...

Some people have a very hard time accepting reality.

There's no such thing as a perpetual motion machine, no free and totally clean and safe for everybody source of energy. Everything we do has advantages and disadvantages.

We had Hydroelectric power years ago. Now we're tearing up dams to preserve the red spotted whatchamacalits. Wood is a totally renewable source of energy, and catalytic stoves make it possible to burn it very cleanly, but now we can't cut it because of spotted owls.

Hydrogen sounds like your dream come true, except if you have any brains you would know that it takes a LOT of energy to produce hydrogen, and the cheapest source of hydrogen is from methane which is not a renewable source of energy.

solar and wind energy are a drop in the bucket of what the world really needs. If you believe there's a silver bullet answer out there that we humans will discover in the near future, I've got a bridge to sell you.

The most cost-effective way to reduce the cooling load is to exchange all your incandescent lighting for florescent or LED bulbs. You first save 80% or more on your lighting bill. Then, the energy you saved in the switch is heat you don't have to pay to remove with the air conditioning.

For overall heating and cooling, upgrading your home insulation gives the most bang for the buck. The reference gives a few more tips.

The answer is deceptively simple.

There are enough government subsidies in place, and enough readily available lending institutions available that every home can install and maintain a solar electric system on its roof or in its yard to defray all if not most of the electric energy used by that home. If all homes did this, we could remove at least half of the pollution caused by burning fossil fuels for electricity.

SOLAR, its now an investment, not a liability!

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Geothermal heating is a method of heating and cooling a building. It takes advantage of the natural stable warmth stored in the earth. Normally the earth temperature is around 55 °F (13 °C) at depths of 10 ft. In climates warmer than 55 °F (13 °C), this can be used to cool a building, and in colder climates (those under 55 °F or 13 °C) it can be used for warmth. This is accomplished by one of a number of methods. A heat pump uses the extracted water or transfer fluid (such as water mixed with antifreeze) as a heat source in winter and a heat sink in summer. Some heat pumps provide heating and cooling via forced air distribution, and others through the heating and/or chilling of water for radiant type systems. Some systems are used to heat domestic hot water.

Types of geothermal systems:

Closed Loop. Loops of pipe are buried at a depth of 6 ft (2 m) and greater in the ground. Pipes are placed horizontally (buried in trenches) or buried in deep, vertically-drilled holes, often 200 ft (60 m) and greater below ground level. Water and antifreeze (or other transfer fluid) are circulated through the heat exchanger (heat pump) and back out through the loops continuously. Some closed loop systems bypass a portion of their working fluid with a thermostat to keep the source temperature stable.

Open Loop. Pipes draw water from a nearby water well or a shallow body of water. Once this water passes through the heat pump, it is released back to its source, generally as far from the intake as possible.

Geothermal heating is one of the most efficient ways to heat a building, but it can have high initial costs. If you have sufficient area, the initial cost can be minimized by using a horizontal loop system. If you have limited space, then the cost rises as you need to drill wells deep enough into the earth to take advantage of the earth's temperature. It also has ongoing costs for the electricity to power the fluid circulation pump and the heat pump compressor. Otherwise, geothermal heating is much more efficient than air heat pumps and other supplemental electric heat used in warmer climates. It has the added benefit that it requires no burning of fossil fuels at the heating site, as opposed to systems that use natural gas or heating oil fired furnaces. But in order to achieve the most comfort, it can be paired with a natural gas heater to dramatically reduce, but not eliminate, the amount of fuel needed to heat a building.

With geothermal cooling the process essentially works in reverse. Heat is transferred from the building into the ground. Traditional air conditioning transfers heat from the indoors to the outside air which is usually hotter than the temperature the system is trying to achieve indoors. Since the ground temperature at a depth of 10 ft (3 m) is about 55 °F (13 °C) and since ground transfer is more efficient than air transfer, geothermal cooling is much more efficient. Additionally, as a byproduct of the heat exchange process, a large amount of excess heat is generated. This heat can be used to heat domestic hot water before it is dissipated into the ground.

November 4 2008. BANG!