Archive for the ‘Saving Energy’ Category
How to Save on Your Electrical Use
When you think about it, there are a number of ways that you can reduce the amount of electricity and other forms of energy that is used by your family. The most obvious of these are concerned with how you heat and cool your home, but there are still more ways you can act to reduce your electricity use and cost.
1. Use a fan in place of an air conditioner. During the milder times of the year such as spring and fall and even on summer days when the temperature is not that high, this is a smart way to reduce the electricity you use. Even in the middle of summer, it can be quite pleasant outside during the evening. On these nights, don’t use an air conditioner to cool your home - open a window and place a fan in it. The fan will act as an exhaust, pulling the cooler air in and pushing the hotter air out. As an added bonus, you are allowing fresh air inside the house.
Because hot air rises, if you use an exhaust fan in the attic or high space in your house, you will achieve even better results. If you cannot install an exhaust fan you can install a ceiling fan to obtain almost the same result. Most of these ceiling fans have a reverse switch, which allows it to pull the hot air up and out of the room.
2. Switch electrical items off when they are not being used. The conveniences we take for granted have allowed us to form bad patterns of behavior when it comes to using electricity. There are people who will never turn off a light, even in the middle of the day when it is unnecessary. This is a complete waste of energy and money. Other electronic devices that have “stand by” functions use electricity unnecessarily as well, so they should be turned off at the wall switch.
Make a point of switching these things off when they are not in use. When you leave a room, turn off the light, turn off the computer and the monitor when you are done with them and don’t allow yourself to fall asleep in front of the TV.
Why not take things one step further and take the plugs out of their wall sockets? If you have several digital clocks in your home, unplug all but a couple of them. Turn off and unplug the coffee maker when you have finished with it. Remember, anything that can be plugged into the wall has the potential to use some electricity even if it is turned off.
3. Replace your light bulbs. This will effectively reduce electrical expenses. It is possible to reduce your electricity bill markedly by replacing the old style incandescent light bulb with a new energy-efficient one. The amount you save will depend upon the size of your home, the number of people in your household there are how many lights you have. For some, the savings will be a modest $20; for others it may amount to $100 saved on their utility bill.
The new globes are strange looking items. The bulb section is curly and they resemble a pig’s tail (which is what some people call them). There have been some concerns about the fitting of these bulbs to existing lights, so some people have been reluctant to replace their old style bulbs. Whilst they look weird, they will actually fit into the same fitting as the old bulbs.
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Tags: electricity, expenses, Home, household, saving on electricity
Great Energy Saving Tips - Save The Environment And Your Wallet!
If you use a lot of energy in your house, you probably know that this is very expensive. Apart from that, it is polluting the earth as well! That’s why I will show you a few quick and easy energy saving methods that you can use in your everyday life.
Instead of using “normal” electricity from the electricity company, there is the possibility to switch to renewable energy as well. Instead of using less energy, you could install a wind power or solar power system and produce your own power. This is by far the most environmental approach, and it can save you a lot of money at the same time!
If we had to choose a renewable energy source that one can easily apply at home, we’d have to say DIY Solar Power is the smart way to go. It is a cost-effective, simple and very clean energy source, so you can help save the environment while you make some money as well.
If renewable energy is “not your thing”, there are still a lot of things you can do to lower your use of “normal”, fossil energy, and therefore save the environment and some money:
1. Light bulbs: A big opportunity to save electricity is by using CFL (fluorescent light) bulbs. If you compare them to conventional light bulbs, CFL bulbs use way less energy. Use them any time you can, and you will soon notice that your energy bill will drop significantly! Of course this means you are using less electricity, so this benefits nature.
2. Cars: If you own one or more cars, of course it is important to look at their mileage and maybe switch to a hybrid vehicle. Another way you can save energy in your car, is to make sure that the air conditioner is set to the lowest possible value that you are still comfortable with. Air conditioning is a sure way to spend a lot of energy fast.
3. Washing machine: First, when you buy a washing machine look closely at the energy labels. They will tell you if it is a energy saving or wasting machine. A good washing machine will pay back in lower energy bills! Also, try to only use a washer if you have a load of clothes to wash, not just one little dress.
4. Monitor: When you shut down your computer, what do you do next? Walk away? Wrong! You switch off your monitor. Maybe this sounds silly (it is), but there are millions of people out there that shut down their computers and then leave their monitor switched on. Unnecessary to say this is a pointless waste of electricity.
That’s it for today. I hope you learned something new to help you change your level of energy use, and do your part in the battle against pollution! If you haven’t done so yet, I would advise you to take a quick look at renewable energy, this is by far the best way to do some good for the planet and for your budget at the same time.
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Tags: energy saving, hybrid vehicle, produce your own electricity, renewable energy, solar power
