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" Carbon footprint, glacial melting, carbon offsets, all buzzwords that would have generated a blank stare from the average American as recently as ten years ago.
Bob Dylan said it best, the times, they are a changing.
Today green lingo has become indelibly ingrained into our collective vernacular; but no matter where you stand on the issue of global warming there is a shade green that we can all agree on, that is the color of the good old fashioned greenback.
You may not know it, but there are a number of surprising ways that the right paint job can save cash and energy.
Color One of the big topics lately is painting your roof white.
Steven Chu, the US Secretary of Energy has said that making roofs white or light colored would help reduce global warming by conserving energy and reflecting sunlight back into space.
Steven stated that this simple act of painting your roof white can reduce your electricity consumption by 10-15%.
This can cause you to run your air conditioner less in the Summer and actually helps trap heat in the house in the Winter.
Steven even went so far as to say that if all of the roofs were painted white, this would be the equivalent of taking all of the worlds cars off the roads for 11 years.
That's pretty significant.
Interior paint colors can make a big difference as well.
Scientifically speaking (in a really dumbed down way), the lighter the color of paint the more light that will be reflected by that paint.
A light colored paint will accentuate the rooms natural lighting making the room appear bigger and brighter.
This in turn will decrease the need for artificial lighting thereby lowering the amount of electricity you consume.
Finishes also can help reflect light.
The glossier the finish, the more light that will be reflected, but be cautious, too much gloss and you may feel like you're living in a house of mirrors.
Once upon a time I decided to paint my bathroom sky blue.
It was a tiny bathroom in a 100-year-old apartment building.
A tropical themed shower curtain and a few sea shells later and my room had morphed into a seaside resort.
Every shower was a mini vacation to Cozumel.
The point being, color can have a psychological effect on our moods and behaviors.
Colors such as red, orange and yellow may make us feel warmer than we are.
If we feel warm we may be less inclined to turn up the thermostat (take heed Minnesotans).
If you're living a warmer climate pick a color that gives you a cooler feel to lessen your use of the air conditioner.
Insulation Before your home is painted, you can take several steps toward improving the energy efficiency of your home.
Windows, interior moldings and exterior trim can all be caulked to help prevent air and other elements from invading your home.
There are also a variety of products such as Sherwin-Williams E-Barrier Reflective Coating which are designed to reduce your energy bill.
E-Barrier is formulated with microscopic metal particles that, when used to coat the underside of attics and roof deckings, can reflect energy from the sun in the summer keeping your home cool and trap the energy from your heating system in the winter keeping your home warm.
The next wave of energy efficiency may come from cutting edge ceramic based additives produced by companies such as Insuladd and Hy-Tech.
These additives can be mixed with paint and are purported to cut energy costs dramatically.
These additives are based on technology designed by NASA to protect space shuttle tiles.
Though, not yet used on a mainstream scale, these additives may be the future of energy efficient paints.
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