Energy Saving With Green Home Tips

If your electric meter is spinning as fast as slot machines for as long as you can remember, then today is the right time to be concerned.

You are paying large on electric bills month after month right? And you are still trying to figure out how will you be able to lower down your energy cost to somehow make paying easier for you.

You see, you are not alone on this problem. Many American households are trying to find ways on how to lower down their electric bills just like you. To be specific about it, there are two ways on how to cut the cost of your electric bill.

One is to minimize the use of your devices.

Two is to use home energy saving devices.

The former deals with controlling your use of your devices and becoming more responsible in using them. The latter on the other hand entitles you to purchase specific devices to replace or add on your existing fixtures.

This article emphasizes on the use of home energy saving devices for 2 reasons: 1, home energy saving devices would let you save on electric bills and 2, it will let you save money without restricting your use of your devices.

Among all electronic devices you have in your home, the home's heating and cooling system and the water heating system are the 2 biggest contributors why you receive big electric bills. Thus focusing on how to reduce consumption on these two would certainly affect the figures of your electric bill.

From here, we will discuss some ways on how reduce the cost of your monthly electric bills through the following home energy saving devices:

Home energy saving devices for your heating and cooling system:

Centralized Heating & Cooling - this device would let you set your desired room temperature on each room. The central control will let you adjust the temperature even if you are not on that specific room. This is a great help if you have the tendency to leave the room and leave the heating and cooling system in its current state. Most households practice this way. And no one seems to care. But if you do, invest on centralized heating and cooling system.

Programmable Thermostat - Installing this device would let you set specific room temperature even if you are not home. The best example to use this is when you are often leaving the heating and cooling system as is when you leave home. Now, you can set the temperature minutes before you come home. Just set a temperature in a specific time and it will automatically adjust without you.

Remote Control Heating System - Even you are away or if you are just arriving or if you forget to change the thermostat before leaving, the remote controlled heating system works best. With a simple phone call, the thermostat will automatically change. The remote control heating system has special device to give you this convenience.

Home energy saving devices for your water heating system

The reduction of water consumption would yield to many good effects. And the number 1 effect we would like to hear is the cost we would save on electric bills. As the second biggest reason why we receive such large electric bill, here are the home energy saving devices you can use:

Low-Flow Showerhead - This device would let you save as much as 40% on your water consumption. And since you are using less water, your water heating system is less used.

Multi-Setting Showerheads - There are several showerheads with settings such as pause, spray, puls, turbo pulse, and outsider spray. These functions let you save on water and in turn heating requirement.

Toilet Flush Water Saver - This device would let you save as much as 25% of your water consumption.

You may ask: Is it worth to invest on these devices? On the first months using these devices, you will certainly see the savings you get. But since you have invested money on these, the first months will literally just pay you back what you have spent to have these devices. But in the long run, when you are using these devices for years, savings are evidently felt.

Solar energy for residential houses is nothing new.

It has just been relegated to the background in lieu of rising cost of real estate; newer more advanced building materials, design and the limitation of resources.

Since man started building homes, sunlight played a major influence in the design. In fact, even in the more advanced urban planning method of the Ancient Chinese and Greeks, the orientation of the buildings is as much as possible directed towards where it could capture the most sunlight.

The ancients might not be as intellectually sophisticated then to use catch phrases as passive solar and thermal mass but when they build, they were building in compact proportion, employing overhangs, producing insulations and building in manners that direct the airflow within the structure and producing well lit, well ventilated spaces using the relative position of the sun to the orientation of their structures.

Lately, as the conventional sources of energy became more expensive, homeowners were once again turning to the sun for energy requirements.

Since the 1950's, harnessing the sun's rays has been developing and today the solar cell technology has achieved very efficient levels that modern (so-called green house) designs apply the sun's power to provide energy for the home.

While solar energy is free, the device that will convert it to run our appliances is not. To provide solar energy for the home, solar cells called photovoltaic made from semi-conducting materials, are grouped into modules. These solar panels are mounted on rooftops, yards or open spaces where it can capture the maximum amount of sunlight.

Whenever possible, the panels will be installed facing south to get the most out of the sunlight but tracking systems are also used to follow the direction of the sun. The solar panels collect the energy from the sunlight. The process basically is that when the panels are exposed to sunlight, the electrons are separated form the atoms. This movement of the electrons creates electricity.

To store power, pumps are often used - circulating water in the cells. The water goes into a storage tank where the power is stored, ready for use. Sometimes, the use of gravity is employed if it will just the same store the heated water in to the tank.

In spite of all the development in solar energy though, the use of this technology is not enough to provide power to the whole house. The best method so far can only fulfill about 80% of a households power needs. The employment of solar energy for the home will still require the use of the conventional power distribution method.

Powering the homes by solar means will still, for a while be augmented by a local power distribution agency. To many, this is already a good starting point. Homeowners that feel that the high cost of powering their houses through solar power, is justified when compared to the price that is now being paid for conventional electrification method where horrendous amounts of CO2 are being dumped into the atmosphere just to generate a pitiful amount of electricity.

However, due in part to the rising costs of energy, the technology for solar energy has been undergoing rapid phases of development. Experts are confident that within five years, powering the home through the solar method will be made widely available for those who prefer it as its sole energy source.

For a very long time, we have relied on fossil fuels.

It provides heat to our homes, gas for our cars and electricity. Since we are now using it more than ever, there is a consequence. We are depleting our resources and slowly killing our planet. Fortunately, we can change our ways and then shift our attention to green energy sources.

But why green energy sources? Well because there are advantages to using them which we will never be able to get if we don't change our ways. This is also even if some will argue that the problem with green energy is that it is sometimes difficult to generate the power we need. While that may be true, that is why there are other green energy sources available and we just to know which ones are viable given the geographic location.

The various green home energy sources such as solar, wind, wave, hydropower and geothermal do not produce anything harmful which may have a negative effect on the environment. This is the exact opposite of what you get when you continue to operate a coal or nuclear power plant.

Coal you have to remember releases carbon dioxide into the air. On its own, it may not cause that much damage but there are currently 50,000 coal plants around the world and that number is expected to grow.

Nuclear plants may not release anything harmful into the air. The issue is how we dispose of the spend rods and if another nuclear accident should occur. We remember Chernobyl and Three Mile Island. We have probably learned better ways to prevent another incident from happening. Through the years, a few minor accidents have occurred and although the leak was contained, just imagine if it wasn't?

Green energy sources may not be maintenance free but at least it does not require that much to maintain them compared to conventional means. In the end, we save money because such facilities don't cost that much to operate.

The next advantage of using green energy sources is that we will never run out of them. For centuries, the sun's rays have reached so has the wind which is blown from the sea. By using it, we decrease our dependence on oil which is a nonrenewable resource.

If you think about it, many of us have taken these green energy sources for granted. If we do the right thing now, future generations will not have to face the mess that we could have handled on our own years before.

In short, the power is in our hands. We have the technology and we know what to do with it. The only thing we need is to do is to put our money where our mouth is because despite the number of conferences on global warming and climate change, little has happened.

It is easy to talk about how concerned we are about the environment but you have to ask yourself when will more solar panels or wind turbines will be erected? When will the number of coal or nuclear power plants be reduced?

Green energy sources is the solution to the environmental, political and social problems of this lifetime. By spending more on these technologies, no country will have to depend on another or even a corporation for their power needs because they are self dependent and free.

One mainstay of green living is using eco-friendly products and today, almost anything you want to buy can be had in eco-friendly version.

Eco-friendly simply means that the product is made in a way that is friendly to the environment. It could mean that it is made of sustainable materials such as bamboo flooring or that it takes an old material that would be dumped into the landfill and gives it new use such as recycled glass countertops.

Eco-friendly products aren't just reserved for major home remodeling however. You can get eco-friendly bamboo laptops, belts made from recycled bike inner tubes, and even shoes made from recycled quilts.

Whenever you look at buying something, you want to look at how it is made. Is it manufactured in an environmentally friendly manner? There are actually a couple of levels of eco-friendly products. One is that the product itself is made from renewable or sustainable materials and the other is the method of manufacture and its effects on the environment. The best of both worlds is to be able to get a product that is made from renewable materials and manufactured in an earth friendly manner.

You can take the concept of using eco-friendly products down to any level. For example, even your grocery shopping can be made more eco-friendly by buying locally grown, organic produce and using recyclable bags to carry it in.

When it comes to home renovations, you have a lot of great options. Everyone has heard of bamboo flooring which is both beautiful and made from a renewable resource but there other types of flooring that you can use as well.

Cork flooring is also renewable and can be very beautiful and it is warm and soft on the feet. Marmoleum is a type of flooring that's actually been made for quite some time using earth friendly methods and has a great industrial or retro feel that fits right in with today's styles.

Even clothing can be eco-friendly. Choose items made from organic cotton, hemp and even bamboo. Even big name manufacturers are getting on the green bandwagon with Levi Strauss using recycled zippers and buttons as well as organic cotton. Today's eco-friendly clothing can also be trendy so when you're in the store pay attention to the labels and try to help out the environment while you are picking out your new wardrobe.

Even things like cosmetics and cleaning products can be eco-friendly. You want to choose items that are made from organic materials that don't have toxic chemicals in them. In fact, using these products will be better for the environment as well as for your health so it's worth your while to seek them out.

Some of the best eco-friendly products also help you conserve resources like water and electricity. Showerheads and faucets that help conserve water are great choice as well as compact fluorescent bulbs that lower your electric bill and help reduce the strain on energy worldwide.

Today there is a large demand for eco-friendly products so you will find more and more choices as time goes on. Look at your product labels carefully and take the time to make sure what you're buying really is eco-friendly and you'll know that you're doing your part to keep the planet healthy.