Ways The Whole Family Can Get Involved In Green Energy Savings
Lessening the amount of energy sources that run your home can be a lot simpler than you think. You can decrease your carbon footprint by implementing a few changes, big or small, that will help you save money in the long term. Continue on for some great ideas on how you can go about doing this.
To save money on your electric bills, simply try to minimize the electricity you use. When a certain appliance is not in use, unplug it. Turn off lights and the television when you are finished using them. These simple tips can save you money, as well as saving electricity.
Reduce the price of heating water in pools, hot tubs and inside your home by using solar-powered heating systems. Using electricity or gas to heat water is not terribly efficient, but water heaters that use solar power maintain water temperatures using only the sun’s rays by way of solar panels. You may be eligible for tax deductions for using energy efficient upgrades.
Do you or your family own a farm? If you have a lot of land, energy companies will pay you for the right to set up a wind turbine on it. The turbine will provide free energy to you and close neighbors, and won’t take up much space.
Wear natural fabrics during the summer in order to avoid wasting energy on air conditioning. Fabrics, such as cotton, draw moisture naturally from the skin, making it cooler. You may feel warmer when you wear warm-colored clothing, so wear light-colored clothing in order to use the air conditioner less.
It is important that if you take advantage of a dishwasher, that you only use it when you have a full load. The dishwasher uses the same energy when full that it uses when empty, but you’ll have to run it less often. Try using the energy-saving air-drying setting on your dishwasher.
You can reduce the amount of electricity that you use, and be a better energy user by removing chargers that power your devices from outlets when they are not in use. Chargers for laptops, mp3 players, cell phones and other devices use power when they’re plugged in. This happens regardless of whether you’re using the device or not.
If you’d like to cut down your hot water bill, look into using solar energy. Solar hot-water systems can reduce your energy bills significantly. There are direct circulation systems and indirect ones. If your pipes freeze when it’s cold, the best option is the indirect system.
Try to use cold water for washing clothes. Almost all of the energy used to wash clothes is used to heat the water. If your laundry detergent is a high quality brand, the use of cold water won’t affect the cleanliness of your clothing. It is also better to clean a full load, not smaller loads.
When determining the economical impact of a PV solar system, be sure to run a calculation using the hours of winter sunlight. This way, you aren’t beyond your capacity in the winter, and you have plenty of excess power in the summer. An even better benefit is that you can sell your energy back to the grid in the sunniest of times!
To conserve energy and save money, only run the dishwasher when you have a full load. Don’t run it with just a few dishes. The dishwasher can actually fit a lot of dishes when loaded correctly. Make sure you take time to place the dishes in properly so as to maximize the space available.
You can get rid of your old, tank style water heater and switch it out with a new, greener, tankless one. Tankless heaters require less energy to heat water, as they only heat it as needed. 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.
If you aren’t using something, turn it off. Make sure that all lights are off when you exit a room, and also consider switching off the power for your television set, computer and stereo. Put all of your entertainment electronics on a power strip you can turn off, as this will stop appliances from going into a power draining stand-by mode.
In winter, save energy and money by turning down the heat and adding a layer of clothes. A sweater that is light can provide 2 degrees of extra warmth, while a heavy one provides 4. You don’t need to be cold at home, get yourself some nice warm clothes you can use in your house today!
Keep your refrigerator properly maintained. A refrigerator uses lots of energy so should be kept in good working condition. Clean heating coils regularly to get rid of dust. Make sure the door seal is clean and also tight.
Switch as much of your correspondence as possible to email. This will help you use less paper and help the planet. This doesn’t only help you communicate and save electricity, it will lower your bills as well. Most importantly, it helps to protect the environment.
In homes with storm doors and windows, air flow is controlled better. Storm windows are good at cutting down on the cool air that tries to get in. Homes which have stormed windows and doors increase their energy efficiency by as much as 45% which also ends up costing you a lot less on your utility bills.
Investigate options for heating your oven through solar energy. These can even be made yourself using items such as a box, a discarded window, and some tin foil. These ovens can be quickly assembled, and reach 300 degrees in temperature simply using the sun.
Take the ideas from this article and find a way to incorporate them into your household. It is the easiest way to drop your energy costs and more importantly, your energy demands. By striving to use green energy, you will help protect our environment.
LED lights should be used during the next holiday season. According to a U.S. study. By having everyone make this change, the country can save 2 billion kilowatt power hours. This is enough energy to power 20,000 houses in one year. But for your own part, this is a great way to cut that power bill down.
