You don’t need to spend a lot of money to save energy. Here are ten quick and easy tips that will help you to conserve energy and save money at the same time.
1. Turn it off!
2. Unplug unused devices
3. Buy & use rechargeable batteries
4. Use less hot water
5. Take shorter showers, wash clothes in cold water, and run full loads
6. Buy smart power strips
7. Keep your refrigerator and freezer full (but not too full)
8. Tune up your heating system at least once a year, and clean or replace filters monthly during the heating season
9. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs)
10. Prevent air leaks
Energy saving has become a very important issue in recent years. Environment pollution, energy crisis and increasing energy prices have now become global issues and the importance of finding new sources of energy is becoming more and more obvious for everyone. There are many topics that we can discuss about energy saving, but today I want to share with you some tips that you can use at home.
1- Turn off all lights when you leave a room.
2- Use natural light as much as possible instead of electric lights.
3- Don’t leave your TV on standby mode when not using it, turn it off!
4- The same goes for your microwave and other kitchen appliances.
5- Avoid using your dryer and hang clothes to dry outside instead.
6- Turn down the temperature of your hot water heater (consider 120 degrees Fahrenheit – 50 degrees Celsius).
7- Clean or replace air filters regularly to maximize efficiency in air conditioners and heaters.
8- Turn down the thermostat at night or when leaving home.
9- Set the refrigerator temperature between 36 and 38 degrees Fahrenheit (2 to 3 degrees Celsius) and the freezer temperature at 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-18 degrees Celsius). Keep the refrigerator door closed as much as possible. Don’t put hot
Turn off lights switch off the lights when you leave a room.
Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs.
Unplug gadgets and appliances when not in use.
Use less hot water wash clothes in cold water, take short showers instead of long baths, and only run full loads of dishes and laundry.
Buy energy-efficient appliances.
Only heat or cool your home when you’re there. Set the temperature back when you leave or go to sleep.
Dress for the seasons wear lighter clothing in the summer and warmer clothing in the winter so that you don’t have to rely on air conditioning or heat as much.
Caulk, weather-strip and insulate your home prevent air leaks through windows and doors, sealing leaks around pipes and wires, adding insulation, etc.
Use less energy at work turn off your computer monitor at night (instead of just putting it to sleep), use a power strip for printers, scanners and other office equipment so that everything turns off at once, etc.
The heating, cooling, and ventilation for the typical home account for about 42% of the energy use in a year. For example, in a colder climate, your furnace might use more energy than all of your other appliances combined.
This is because most homes are not designed and built with energy efficiency in mind. And with the rising cost of electricity, natural gas, and oil, it’s time to take action!
We have compiled this list of tips and tricks to help you save energy and money. Some are simple DIY projects that you can do over the weekend while others will require the help of an HVAC professional.
The good news is that many of these tips are FREE or very low cost and can quickly pay for themselves through lower utility bills. Many also qualify for rebates from your local electric company or state energy office.
A couple of times a year I get curious about my electricity usage, and resolve to do something about it. I’d like to see how much energy I’m using, where, and when. I’d like to be able to reduce that amount. And being a geek, I’d like to find ways of doing it using technology, ideally open source technology.
But while there are many gadgets available, they all have problems.
I’ve had a Belkin Conserve Insight energy monitor for several years. It works by measuring the current between the live and neutral wires of your home’s mains supply. Unfortunately it was designed before smart electricity meters were widely available in the UK, so it only has two modes: either you tell it which electrical appliance you want to measure (eg TV), or you don’t. The latter is useful for measuring total household usage; the former is less useful because if you tell it what’s plugged into a socket, it assumes that all the power used by that socket is used by that appliance (and not by anything else plugged into the same socket).
With a little investment and some small adjustments to your lifestyle, you can cut your electric bills and help the environment at the same time. Here are some tips from the U.S. Department of Energy that will help you get started:
1. Replace your light bulbs with compact fluorescent lights (CFLs). CFLs last up to 10 times longer than incandescent light bulbs, use 75 percent less energy, and can save about $30 or more in electricity costs over each bulb’s lifetime.
2. Use a programmable thermostat to automatically turn down the heat at night or when you leave for work. You can save as much as 10 percent a year on heating and cooling by simply turning your thermostat back 10°–15°F for eight hours. A programmable thermostat is especially useful if you’re gone from home during set periods of time throughout the week.
3. Unplug electronic devices completely when not in use. Many electronics continue to draw a small amount of power when turned off or in standby mode (“phantom power”). This “vampire” power accounts for 5 percent–10 percent of a typical home’s electricity use, according to ENERGY STAR® estimates, so unplugging electronics