Over 50 Tips to Save Energy Around Your Home
Saving energy around your home is easier than you think; often without spending a cent! Here are some proven tips that will start saving you money immediately. That's money you can spend on something else, and you'll also be doing a lot of good for the environment.
- In the cold season (s), reduce your home a few degrees at night or when you are away. In the warm season (s), increase you Air Conditioner a few degrees.
- Close blinds, shades and drapes during the hottest part of the day in the summer and open southfacing blinds on sunny winter days!
- Clean or replace the air filter on your furnace every month. This will improve the furnace efficiency.
- If you feel a bit cool, rather than turning up the thermostat, put on a sweater.
- Use area rugs on cold floors or wear slippers. If your feet are cold, your body will feel cold.
- Plant a tree! Plant leafy (deciduous) trees on the sunny side of your house. During the summer they provide shade. In the winter they will shed their leaves to let the warm sunshine through. They may also provide an energy-saving windbreak.
- Turn off unnecessary lights in the house.
- Take a shower rather than a bath. Showers save a lot of hot water. A typical bath uses approximately 75 litres of hot water, while a 5-minute shower with an efficient showerhead will use about half of that.
- Use the vacation setting or turn off the water heater when you are out of town.
- Don't let your freezer (s) build up more than 6 mm of frost. Defrost regularly to keep freezers working their best.
- Set your refrigerator's temperature for only as cold as you need; check manufacturer's recommendations.
- Don't overfill the refrigerator, as this blocks air circulation. Conversely, a full freezer performs better than an empty one.
- Don't keep that old, inefficient fridge running in the basement for the occasional refreshment. It could cost you $150 or more per year in electricity!
- Allow hot foods to cool before placing them in the refrigerator.
- Clean your refrigerator's coils and air intake grill every 3 months. The coils are at the back and the intake grill is below the door (s).
- Keep your fridge and/or freezer out of direct sunlight, and allow at least 5 centimetres all around (or as recommended by the manufacturer) to allow heat to escape from the compressor and condensing coil.
- When using the stove, be sure to place the lids on pots in order to keep the heat in the pot. This will enables you to use lower heat settings!
- When boiling water, use an electric kettle rather than the stove, which is less efficient.
- If you put tin (aluminum) foil on the bottom of your oven to catch drippings, ensure the foil does not block any of the oven's circulation holes and do not put foil on the oven racks.
- Do not use a bigger pot than you need. Make sure you match it to the right size element.
- Turn the oven off just before finishing. It will remain hot long enough to complete the job.
- For smaller cooking jobs, use smaller appliances (i.e., instead of your range or cooktop, use the electric kettle, toaster oven or microwave.)
- Microwave ovens use up to 75% less energy, so whenever possible, use a microwave instead of your stove.
- Don't waste hot water by rinsing your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher; just scrape off food and empty liquids.
- Try to operate your dishwasher with a full load and use the energy-saving cycle.
- Rather than using the dishwasher's drying cycle, air dry your dishes - you can save 10% of the cost of operation.
- Check and clean all drains and filters regularly to ensure efficient operation.
- Washing Machine - Run full loads whenever possible but don't overload the machines.
- Wash your clothes in cold or warm water. A whopping 85-90% of the energy used by washing machines is for heating the water! This will save you a lot of energy!
- Always use cold water for the RINSE cycle. Using warm or hot water for the RINSE cycle does not get your clothes any cleaner.
- Make sure your clothes are effectively wrung before placing them in the dryer. Front-loading washers are the best at squeezing the water out!
- Separate your drying loads into heavy, medium and lightweight items. Lighter loads will take less drying time than a mixture of items.
- Dry consecutive loads to utilize otherwise wasted heat from the dryer.
- Clean the lint filter after every load! A blocked lint filter can increase energy use up to 30%, and may be a fire hazard!
- Use a clothesline when possible
- Consider energy-efficient computer systems and monitors when you are replacing a system. Make sure you enable your computer's energy-saving features.
- When not using your computer, be sure to at least shut off the monitor, as 60% of the power used by a computer is used by the monitor!
- Place your home entertainment systems on a power bar and turn off the bar when you are not using them. (Components without clocks and timers, of course.)
- Unplug infrequently used TVs and other electronic devices, as many continue to draw power even when turned off.
- If you have a swimming pool, put the pump on a timer, or run them only a few hours a day. Ensure you keep the filter clean for greater efficiency.
- Use a solar blanket to keep swimming pool water warm, and use the heater only when necessary.
- Use compact fluorescent light bulbs. They cost more than regular light bulbs, but can use 75% less electricity and last years longer. One compact fluorescent bulb can save you three times its cost in electricity.
- For outside lighting, install a motion sensor that turns the lights on automatically when somebody walks by, and then turns the lights off automatically after 1 to 5 minutes.
- Dimmer switches are not just a great way to set the mood; they're an inexpensive way to save energy. Please Note: Do not use a dimmer switch with compact fluorescent bulbs.
- When decorating your home keep illumination in mind. Lighter colours reflect light, so use them in areas you want to be bright.
- Opening your window coverings is a free way to brighten up a room.
- Keep light fixtures clean! A cleaner bulb is a brighter bulb.
- For any light that must be on all night, replace the bulb (s) with the lowest wattage bulb (s) that you're comfortable with or consider a compact fluorescent or a nightlight.
- You can lower your overall energy demand by concentrating bright light where you require it rather than evenly lighting an entire room. This is called 'task lighting'.
- Turn off lights whenever you leave a room or don't need them.
- Install ceiling fans. Use them to supplement or as an alternative to air conditioning. Ceiling fans generally use very little electricity. Ensure your fan is blowing air downwards in summer.
- Install a programmable thermostat with a built-in timer. This way you can set a program for your specific needs. You can set it to lower the heat by a few degrees at night and when you're away, or turn off the AC when you leave for the day. Contrary to popular belief, this method uses less electricity than having the AC constantly maintain a cool temperature! The savings you will see from this can easily pay for the cost of the thermostat in the first year. Just think of the savings over 5 or 10 years!
- Fix your leaky faucet! That little drip can add up to 95 litres of water per month!
- Installing low flow aerators on faucets can save water and energy.
- If you have a natural gas hot water tank, drain a pail of water from it every 3 months, or as recommended by the manufacturer. This will help to remove sediment that prevents heat transfer, lowering the unit's efficiency.
- Wrap your electric water heater in a special tank blanket. This will insulate it and reduce its electricity use.
- Make sure your refrigerator's door seal is working properly by closing the door on a $5 bill. If it's held tightly in place, the seal's OK; if not, the door should be adjusted or the seal replaced.
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- brumot brumot Oct 22, 2009 @ 1:13 am
- Just came across this, very good.....Tom
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- Sep 7, 2008 @ 10:57 pm
- Hi,
The lens is great and the tips about saving the energy are wonderful and I hope they must really work.Thanks for providing with such great tips.
Feel free to visit my airconditioningproviders blog
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- Help4You Help4You Aug 25, 2008 @ 9:48 pm
- Saving energy and saving money go hand in hand. You may have to decide if the cost of saving energy with some improvements is worth the cost. One way to amplify your savings is to find the lowest electricity rate and switch your service if you live in a deregulated state.
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- anilg anilg Jun 19, 2008 @ 7:20 am
- Nice lens with lots of useful information. If you are willing to make money online, then please visit my lens
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- knurlman knurlman Feb 29, 2008 @ 1:49 pm
- Nice site. Hope you can visit my site. squidoo.com/gopaperless. Thanks
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