Cut down on air conditioning by wearing natural fibers in the summer. Cotton and similar fabrics will draw moisture from your skin, so you will stay cool. Lighter colored fabrics will help you stay cooler without needing to turn on the air conditioner.
You may be surprised at how many cheap and easy ways there are to make your home more energy efficient. The intent of this article is to provide you with different methods to use green energy at home and benefit from it.
On hot, summer days, hang your clothes outside. In addition to the energy savings, you clothes will smell incredible. Sun-drying clothes gives them a fresh smell. Also, using your dryer less will save you money in energy costs on your utility bills each month.
Cutting back on your daily electricity usage is a simple way to conserve energy. When you are not using certain appliances, unplug them until you are ready to use them again. Always turn off the television and lights when you are not using them. This is easy to do and saves a lot of energy.
A green tankless model of water heater can replace a regular tank styled water heater. Tankless water heaters still require power to heat the water, but they heat only the water that you want to use, rather than heating a tank of water that you’re not always using. There are various options when it comes to tankless water heaters, from heating enough water for your entire home to ones that only serve one faucet.
You can save electricity by unplugging chargers when they are not in use. Charging devices for several common types of electronics, including laptops, cell phones, and MP3 players all draw “phantom power” if you keep them plugged in while they are idle.
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. They can tell you the amount of money you will save, and quote the cost of a new system.
If you have a farm try some energy saving alternatives. 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.
Watch your watt usage. Use gadgets such as Kill-A-Watt or Watt Minder and figure out what your consumption is and where it is coming from. Using these devices with your appliances will tell you how much energy is used. This will show you the cost of your appliance.
Check your furnace and air conditioning filters monthly. Clean or replace them as needed. Warm-air registers should also have filters installed on them. Register filters will help prevent debris increasing efficiency.
If you really want to take a bit out of your fuel consumption, try making more extensive use of carpools, even to destinations other than the office. Set up carpooling with other parents to get the kids to soccer practice or band camp. You can even carpool to the supermarket with your neighbors.
Think about buying solar water heaters for heating your water. Using a solar water heater to warm your water with the energy of the sun works to save money and energy. However, you should still have a traditional water heater as backup for times when the sun won’t come out or if you’re going to be using a lot of hot water.
Use automatic motion or sound sensors on the lights in high-traffic rooms. These motion sensor lights will turn off lights in rooms that are not in use automatically, which in turn, will save you money with your energy bills. Use these sensors on outdoor garage lighting, as well.
Batteries need to be situated closely to the cells in solar power systems. This can stop power loss in the cable. It can also reduce the chance of a cable shading a cell, and reducing its generation capability.
Heat each room separately to save money on heat. A floor heating system that allows individual room control is a great investment. This is particularly effective if you own a bigger home.
Storm Doors
Refrain from using bottled water. This water comes from a tap and is then filtered or has minerals put back into it, and the bottling process uses a ton of energy and pollutes the environment. If you think your community’s tap water is either unhealthy or tastes bad, buy a metal water bottle that can be used over and over again, and invest in a replaceable filter.
Storm doors and windows help control air flow into a home. They will help prevent cold air drafts in your home. Storm doors and windows can increase a home’s energy efficiency by up to 45%, which can have great impacts on utility bills.
Greener living can come in the form of large home improvements, or ones on the smaller scale like using energy-efficient light bulbs. There are several projects you can undertake yourself at home which will save money and reduce your energy usage. Pick one small project and pretty soon, you’ll be on the path towards being green!
As this article has shown there are many ways to incorporate green energy into your life. Greening your home will save you money, help the environment and bring you some peace of mind!
Turn off lights when you’re not using them. Only use the lights when you really need them, and switch them off when exiting a room. Don’t leave lights like those on the porch on so as to save energy. This will reduce your energy usage.