Going green benefits your home and your health, as well as leaving a minimal impact on the environment. Changing just a few things in the way your home runs can make it use energy more efficiently and cut your monthly electric bill. Read through this article for great tips on how you can use green energy technology in your own home.
Cutting back on your daily electricity usage can save lots of energy over time. Unplug alliances when they are not being used. Television sets and lights should never be left on when not in use. These easy ideas will help you save a lot of money over time.
When doing laundry, try to use cold water. Almost 90 percent of energy consumed by washing machines is used when heating the water. Washing your clothing in cold water will get them just as clean as washing them in hot water if you have a good laundry detergent. Another great tip is to always fill up the washer with a full load so that you’re being as efficient as possible.
If you heat your home with fuel, talk to a technician about using biodiesel. Many systems will take a switch to some level of biodiesel without any extra parts or modifications. Biodiesel runs more efficiently, burns more clean, and costs you less during the winter.
Window coverings should remain closed while you are away. Heavy drapes help keep you home cool, resulting in energy savings. Pay particular attention to covering the windows on the south side of your house. They typically admit the most sun. Try to cover the windows using coverings like roman shades, roller shades, and dark curtains.
Learn about energy sources within your community. Compare the costs of operating your home using several of these utilities, making sure to take into consideration any legislation with regard to energy costs that has recently been passed. You may choose, for example, to go from electric to natural gas for heating, or using a well instead of city water.
Maintain your refrigerator well. Since refrigerators tend to eat up a great amount of power, it is crucial you keep it in perfect working order. Make sure to clean heating coils often. Also, check the door to be sure it is sealed tightly.
Storm Doors
Air flow is better controlled in home that has stormed doors and windows installed. 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.
There are products available for purchase that can help you reduce your energy costs. There are a variety of products, including eco-friendly doors and double-glazed windows that will make your home run far more efficiently. If you use these products extensively, you will see quite a bit of savings on your energy bills.
Use a laptop for your computing needs rather than a power hungry desktop. These portable machines will reduce your electrical use by 75% while you do everyday tasks. Not only that, the laptop offers you the benefit of taking it anywhere.
Make sure you remind yourself to be on top of being energy efficient and check into your energy bills on a monthly and annual basis to see what the difference is. By being conscious of how you use energy, you can help significantly reduce the amount of energy you consume. For instance, if your stated goal is to reduce your consumption of electricity and water, you are more apt to remember to turn off the lights and shut off the faucet when not using them.
When Christmas or other holidays roll around, try LED decorative lights instead of traditional lights to spruce up your home. There are many studies from the U.S. to back this up. Department of Energy stated that Americans could collectively reduce their energy consumption by over 2 billion kW/h if they all changed over to LED lights. This electricity could power more than 200,000 houses for a year. At a minimum, you will save a little money on your energy bill.
To cut back on your fuel usage, consider carpooling for more than just work. Kids can also form carpools to school by alternating parents days. If you have family or friends close to you, try going to the grocery store together and taking turns driving.
Use your microwave whenever you can reasonably use it. Each time you cook in the oven or stove, you tend to use lots of energy. When you can cook food in your microwave, do it and cut down on your energy usage.
A good, old common sense tip for saving energy is turning off the lights as you leave the room. Turning off lights habitually will add up to great energy savings over time. This has an environmental benefit and a budgetary one.
If you can, check into windows for your home that are energy-efficient. You’ll not only see a reduction in your energy bill, but you will also reduce carbon dioxide, condensation on the inside of your windows and a reduction of outside noise in your home.
60 Degrees
Set your home’s thermostat to 60 degrees if you are sleeping or leaving the house for several hours at a time. Setting the thermostat to 60 degrees will help cut energy usage. You can minimize energy usage and save money.
Consider having a programmable thermostat installed in your house, in order to help significantly decrease your energy bills. These devices come with many different heating schemes programmed into them. Some settings are suitable for saving energy during the summer, while others are more suited to the winter months. You can actually help program them to manage temperatures in the day and night.
As previously stated, going green doesn’t need to be costly or time-consuming. Usually this can be accomplished with just a few simple changes that can save you money on electricity costs. Apply the tips laid out here and share them, so you can start to see improvements to the environment.
