You may be amazed when you learn about the many ways green energy can be used in the home, ones that are easy to implement and don’t cost a fortune. The point of this article is to arm you with the information needed to begin a lifestyle of being green in your energy consumption and save in the process.
Feel Cooler
Instead of blasting the air conditioner to keep cool in summer, wear clothes made from naturally cooling fabrics. Natural fibers like cotton can absorb moisture from your skin, helping you feel cooler. Choose lighter colors so that you feel cooler and can resist turning up the air conditioning.
During the summer months, hang your clothes outside instead of drying them in the dryer. This can cause your clothes to smell really good. They will smell a lot fresher than being dried in the drier. Additionally, you will see a noticeable decrease in your utility bills.
Storm doors and windows can make air flow in the home better. Storm windows and storm doors reduce the amount of cold air entering the home in the form of drafts. If you use storm doors or windows, you can save at least 45 percent on your electricity bills.
Tankless Heaters
Replace an energy-hogging water heating tank with a greener, tankless variety. While tankless heaters still require gas or electricity to heat your water, they only heat the amount of water you need, rather than keeping a large tank hot around the clock. Tankless heaters can be acquired in models that could give the whole house or even just a single water faucet with water that is hot.
Whenever possible, keep the heat in your home turned down. If it is a little chilly, simply put on a sweatshirt, and pair of sweatpants. You use a lot of wasted energy when you have heat levels turned up too high.
Watch how many watts you use. Devices like Watt Minder and Kill-A-Watt can help you determine the highest energy-usage culprits in your home. Plug these gadgets into an appliance to find out how much energy is used in an hour, a month or a year. You can learn how much your appliances are costing you.
There are countless things you can do it you want to live a environmentally friendly lifestyle. You do not have to spend money to help, but you can clean your furnace filters once each month and set your heat to 60 degrees if you are not home. Reducing the temperature of your water heater to 120 degrees could save you a lot of money as well. No matter how small, everything helps!
Check your utility bills against previous years’ bills to see how you’re doing in your efforts to go green. You should also write down your goals for energy efficiency and reminders to help you stay on track. You can reduce your energy use just by being aware of what you are spending. It can be hard at first, but once you make conserving energy a routine it will become second nature to you, and will pay off greatly on your energy bills.
Use LED lights on your Christmas tree or when decorating your home for Christmas. There are many studies from the U.S. to back this up. One study conducted by the Department of Energy found that if everyone in the U.S. switched to these lights, more than two billion kilowatt hours worth of power would be saved. That is enough electricity to power 200 thousand homes for a whole year. At a minimum, you will save a little money on your energy bill.
Even though everyone knows better, many people do not bother to turn off electrical devices when they finish using them. If you make this a habit, your energy bills could be greatly reduced. Before doing something, be sure to remember to turn these things off.
In rooms that you are frequently in, put automatic light sensors that have motion detectors. These lights only go off when someone is the room, so you will save money and energy when no one is in the room. Use these sensors on outdoor garage lighting, as well.
Weatherizing your home is a great way to make it energy efficient. Seal the ducts, add insulation and install energy-efficient windows, and you will consume much less energy. You will also help reduce the cost of your energy bill in the process.
If you wish to reduce your heating costs, ensure that each individual room is separately heated. You can implement a floor-heating solution that has a main board. This will give you the ability to control each room, and select the desired temperatures. This is an especially excellent idea for large homes.
The tips you just read are easy to use, so there is no excuse not to use them. Environmental changes such as those discussed in this article protects our environment.