Making the switch to green energy can be a little overwhelming, but it can be pretty simple. Even the most seemingly tentative step in the right direction can be very important from an environmental perspective. This article will give some great tips for making the switch to green energy.
Keeping your windows shaded to keep sunlight out of the house will greatly conserve energy. Do this by installing blinds or curtains. Doing these things will let you use less air conditioning in the summer. The result is a significant energy savings and money in your pocket!
You will find that it’s easy to get solar panels and they’re a great way to get energy for your home. There are a few things to consider before installing them. How much sun is your house getting on average? You are not going to get much solar power if your home has too much shade.
Save electricity while becoming a more conscientious energy consumer by unplugging the chargers for all your electronic gadgets when they aren’t in use. All the chargers you use for mp3 players, cell phones, laptops and any other devices draw in some charge when they’re plugged in and aren’t being used.
Do you have a farm? If you or someone you know does, you can rent a piece of your land to a company looking to put in a wind turbine. Everyone surrounding the area where these turbines are installed are sure to benefit, and the installation doesn’t take up that much space.
When you can, wash your laundry in cold water. Almost 90% of energy consumption during clothes being washed is a result of the hot water usage. As long as you have reliable clothes washing detergent, using cold water is just as effective. Only wash when you have a full load of clothes to put in the washer.
Instead of using the dryer in the summertime, hang clothes outside in the warm sunshine. Using the sun can make clothes smell a lot better. They will have a much fresher smell than drying them with an appliance will provide. You can also save money on your energy bills.
It’s important to maintain your refrigerator properly. Refrigerators take lots of energy to run, so it’s crucial to make sure it is running effectively. Clean heating coils regularly to get rid of dust. You should also be sure that the door has a clean and tight seal.
You can get rid of your old, tank style water heater and switch it out with a new, greener, tankless one. Tankless water heaters still require power to heat the water, but they heat only the water that you want to use, rather than heating a tank of water that you’re not always using. You can purchase a tankless heater for a faucet or your whole home.
Rather than using an energy-hogging desktop computer, switch to a laptop. You can reduce your energy use by three-quarters if you use the internet a lot or do a lot of word processing. Not only that, the laptop offers you the benefit of taking it anywhere.
Solar Oven
Make use of a solar oven for baking needs. It’s fairly easy to make a solar oven using a discarded window box lined with foil to reflect the heat. The oven can heat up to well over 300 degrees using no electricity!
Is your boiler over 10 years old? Buy a new one to save money! Many older boilers weren’t made to save energy, whereas the newer ones tend to be much more energy efficient. They have two advantages: reducing your energy bill by a large amount, and producing a lesser amount of CO2, which is much more healthy.
Get a water-saving toilet. Up to half of the water that your household uses is when flushing the toilet. Older toilet models use up to 70 percent more water per year than newer ones.
It will pay off over time if you spend more on green efficient products in the future. Though the newer technologies are often much more expensive than standard items, the up-front investment will often save tons later in the form of lower energy bills. It also results in long-lasting environmental benefits.
Energy Star
Appliances with the Energy Star certification bear a distinctive logo that makes them easy to identify. ENERGY STAR appliances are designed to follow guidelines from the U.S. Department of Energy and additionally the Environmental Protection Agency. The products with this distinction are often the only eligible ones that can be used for tax rebates.
One way to conserve energy at home is setting your furnace to 60 degrees during the night and while you are out of the house. At this temperature, your home is not using much energy. You will decrease energy used and increase money saved.
Save money on your electric bills by being stingy about light usage. When the days are longer, leave your lights off as long as possible. Install dimmers to reduce the amount of energy lights require, and use sensors or timers to prevent lights from staying on when no one is in the room.
It does not have to be all that complicated to go green. There are many ways to live a green life, as you can clearly see from this article. Make use of the information you’ve learned in this article. In addition to being effortless, you will see many positive results from going green.
