Having green energy at home is an excellent method of protecting the environment, while saving money. Buying an electric car is not going to be needed! Use this article to come up with ways to save on energy.
Shade the windows from sunlight to conserve energy in summer. Closing your blinds and curtains will keep out the sun in summer and keep heat from escaping in winter. Both of these adjustments can help you cut back on using the air conditioner, since your house will remain cooler. You will save energy and money as well.
Are you living on a farm? Farms are the perfect place to put a wind turbine. If you don’t have a farm, you might be able to rent from someone. Not only does it take up very little space, both you and the neighbors will greatly benefit from this free energy.
Check your furnace and air conditioning filters monthly. Clean or replace them as needed. Installing the filters in warm-air registers is also a great idea. This will help keep debris from clogging up heating ducts and becoming inoperable.
Clothes should always be washed in cold water, if possible. Almost 90 percent of energy consumed by washing machines is used when heating the water. If your detergent is of good quality, you should have no problems using cold water. Additionally, it is more energy-efficient if you are washing full loads instead of small ones.
During the summer, you should try drying your clothes out in the sun instead of using a dryer. You’ll love how your clothes smell after being sun-dried. It is a fresher smell than you would get from the dryer. This will save you a ton on your utility bills, leaving you extra money to turn your air conditioning on instead.
Turn it off. Turn it off. Turn it off. When you leave a room, shut off the lights, TV, computer, game systems, etc. You can save a lot of money on energy by investing into a new power strip for all of your electronics and turning it off when those electronics aren’t in use.
Use electric heating sparingly in the winter. Instead, start wearing warmer clothing indoors and use a pellet stove or fireplace to keep main living areas heated. An additional benefit to limiting the amount of electrical heaters is that it helps prevent your airways from becoming dry, resulting in better breathing.
There are active and passive options for solar energy systems. Active power is the power stored for later use and passive doesn’t require pricey cells for storing power. Active systems are what you would normally think of when you think of solar–PV cells, mechanical parts, and storage devices. Passive is just used via the sun for storing the thermal energy in the walls of your home to heat it.
Look for federal and local rebates that apply to renewable energy at home. Certain utility companies will provide rebates for these upgrades. Other companies may offer tax deductions from your local or federal government. Rebates and credits will help to offset the cost of implementing green energy technology you want to add to your home.
If you are not sure about making improvements to your home, hire professionals that can look over your systems and offer you ideas of what you can do to make your home more green. You can be shown where your money is being lost through inefficient products, and some great estimates on upgrades or replacements.
Get as many pieces of mail electronically as possible. Don’t use paper whenever you can afford to do so. This doesn’t only help you communicate and save electricity, it will lower your bills as well. That helps the environment for everybody.
Billion Kilowatt
When decorating for the holidays you should forgo traditional lights and get LED lights instead. Over two billion kilowatt power hours can be saved! The U.S. Department of Energy says we could save over 2 billion kilowatt hours of power if everyone made this change. That is enough power to run more than 200,000 homes for one whole year. Your holiday power bill will be smaller too!
If it’s feasible, replace old, leaky windows with energy-efficient models. When you use these type of windows you can notice a significant different in things like your energy bill, less condensation right on your windows, a quieter home, and one thing that you can’t see is less carbon dioxide in your home.
Use automatic light sensors that have motion detectors for your busiest rooms. These sensors automatically shut off the lights to vacant rooms, which saves both energy and money. If motion sensing lights are working for you indoors, try adding them outdoors and in the garage, as well!
You can conserve energy by doing things like using more efficient light bulbs, changing your furnace’s filter, and installing a thermostat that is programmable. Show your family how simple it is to live a green lifestyle, and maybe they’ll follow suit! Remember the tips you have read here, and start implementing them into your household today.