Tuesday, April 05, 2011

Changing the Filter: A Lenten Carbon Fast Challenge

Replacing the filter
Is easy and quick!
Today's Lenten Carbon Fast challenge: (courtesy of my bloggy friend Small Footprints):
"Clean or replace air filters as recommended. Replacing a dirty furnace filter can save 15% of the energy used. "
I read that and thought, "Fifteen percent? FIFTEEN PERCENTS?!?!"
Ya know, I feel kinda dumb. Heating oil is expensive, as well as a contributor to global warming. I had a passive knowledge that cleaning filters is a good thing to do, but it only just now sunk into my thick head that changing the filters would be so important. Filling our oil tank costs several hundreds of dollars, so increasing efficiency by 15% means that I'm effectively getting $115 of oil for every $100 spent. This can make a real difference!

But me? I just hadn't gotten around to changing the filters. There's always another thing to do, and it hadn't sunk into my head just how critical changing the filters could be.
Inspired by the promise of an extra $15 per hundred, I trotted to the basement and prepared to change the filter. Like so many house chores, it turned out to be not much work at all, once I got started. The only reason that it took more than 2 minutes was that I carefully read the directions on the replacement filter. We have an older-style furnace, which requires trimming filter material down to the right size.
Next time, I recommend wearing gloves when handling the filter material, because it will scrub the fingerprints right off you. Other than that, this chore was just too easy for words, and I am now sitting back and enjoying my newfound wealth and environmental responsibility!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Isn't it funny ... we worry about the big stuff but sometimes a positive change is so simple and easy. I have to thank you for suggesting that we participate in these daily challenges ... they have been so much fun! And while many of the activities are things we've done before, the different wording seems to shed new light on them sparking all kinds of brilliant "conversations" (like this post). So thank you!! :-)