It’s simple to reduce the amount of energy your home is using, or make it more green. With a few simple changes and perhaps some bigger ones, you can lower your carbon footprint while cutting down on energy costs. Get a few ideas about how you can do this by checking out the tips in this article.
Do your best to consume the least amount of energy possible in your home. Do things like unplug any electronic device that you aren’t using that may still be plugged into an outlet. Charging devices for several common types of electronics, including laptops, cell phones, and MP3 players all draw “phantom power” if you keep them plugged in while they are idle.
Replace or clean your furnace filters yearly, and recheck them monthly. It is also a good idea to install filters on warm-air registers. This will help keep debris or dirt from clogging vents and reducing their overall efficiency.
Think about heating your water with solar water heaters. Using a solar water heater to warm your water with the energy of the sun works to save money and energy. However, it’s best to keep a traditional heater for times when you need a lot of heated water, or if the sun does not come out.
Clothes Outside
During the hot summer months, hang clothes outside rather than tossing them in the dryer. You’ll love how your clothes smell after being sun-dried. They will smell better than anything coming out of a dryer. Additionally, you will have substantial savings on your utility bills every month that you dry clothes outside.
If you prefer to use your dishwasher to wash your dishes, only run it when it is full to capacity. Dishwashers do not allow for minimizing water or power consumption. It is the same, full or not. When you run a dishwasher, use the ‘energy-saver’ setting so dishes can air-dry.
If you would like to reduce the cost of your hot water, use solar energy. Look into hot water systems that run by solar power. Two types are available, direct and indirect. Indirect is the best choice if you have pipes which often freeze in the winter.
Have the bulk of your correspondence sent to your email. Don’t use paper whenever you can afford to do so. You help both you and other businesses you communicate with save resources and energy. As you can see, going paperless helps the environment in many ways.
Keep track of your watt usage. There are many items on the market you can buy to track your energy use, such as the Kill-a-Watt. All you need to do is plug the item in question into the device to find out how much energy it uses in an hour. This can let you see how much your devices really cost you.
Less Energy
Use Energy Star rated appliances instead of your old appliances. Appliances that have an Energy Star rating states that the particular appliance being used is made to consume less energy compared to its predecessor that is not rated. Refrigerators and freezers use 20% less energy and dishwashers use 40% less. Energy Star rated washing machines save at least 50% of the energy used by the older styles and also save a lot of water.
Use your microwave whenever you can reasonably use it. Ovens and stoves use lots more energy to prepare food than microwaves. Take advantage of the microwave whenever you can to cut down on your overall energy consumption.
A simple way to locate appliances and products that are energy efficient is to see if they have an Energy Star logo. ENERGY STAR appliances have been approved by the U.S. Department of Energy plus the Environmental Protection Agency These products are also often the only ones eligible for tax rebates.
Heat each room separately rather than all at once to save money. Certain floor heating solutions allow you to set a different temperature for each room on a main board. This is great if your home is big.
Thawing frozen food in the refrigerator is an unexpected way to save energy. Thawing your food in the refrigerator allows the cold air to be released back into your refrigerator resulting in reduced energy needed to run the appliance.
If you can’t get renewable energy like solar to do your whole house, see if it’ll power one room. For instance, just installing enough solar panels to provide hot water helps a lot.
If you want to save energy, think about putting your freeze and fridge in a relatively cold location. Don’t put them in sunlight or by heating vents.
Water heaters take up a lot of energy, so simply by lowering the temperature to around 120 degrees can save a lot of money. A four-person household could save up to 10% on gas or electric bills, and your hot water temperature will still be hot enough to be safe.
Remember the tips in this article so you can use them in your house. You will save much on energy costs, and you will also reduce your carbon footprint on the environment. Implement each idea one by one, and before you realize it you will be living in a very green home.
