Making our houses run on less energy is not difficult, but not all of them know how to do. Just carry out some simple changes and then you can reduce the heating, cooling, and electricity costs remarkably. Especially, to those who always make the most of the advanced knowledge and systems in home energy efficiency, everything will be easy for them to look for the best energy solutions. So, the reason why you have to make your home energy efficient. Here are some good answers:
- It saves your money, and it costs less to power your house that has been converted to be more energy efficient.
- It decreases pollution.
- It enhances the comfort level indoors.
- It lowers your influence on climate change.
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You should displace incandescent lights
We often spend about 11% on energy cost for lighting the house. With each traditional incandescent light, it just transforms around 10% of the energy it consumes into the light while the rest will become heat. By using new lighting technologies like compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and light-emitting diodes (LEDs), about 50% to 75% will be reduced. Improvement in lighting controls supply further energy savings by decreasing the amount of time that lights are on but not being availed.
- LEDs often have a long life than CFLs because they consume less energy.
- CFLs don’t contain mercury while LEDs have no moving parts.
- CFLs avail about 75% less energy and last about 10 times longer than the traditional incandescent lights.
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Look for better ways to cool and heat your home
We often spend about a half of energy for heating and cooling the house. So, take a look at some below ways to reduce your heating and cooling costs.
- You need to program thermostats to a proper temperature. Remember to turn down at night and no one stays at home. If you degree the thermostat for every degree at least eight hours per day, you can save about 2% of the heating bill. For instance, you can save about 10% on heating costs when reducing the thermostat from 750F to 700
- In case that you don’t have any thermostat, you should try to install a programmable one. This device permits the cooling and heating systems to be automatically turned down to save your budget, especially when no home is home and at night. Just install it in your house, you can save up to $150 per year in energy costs.
- Additionally, don’t forget to install a ceiling fan because they can reduce a considerable amount of energy.
- Instead of installing furnaces, you should install a pellet or wood stove.
- Remember to use curtains to draw over windows for better insulation.
- Periodically displace air filters in heaters and air conditioners.
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Isolate doors and windows
According to a recent study, about 1/3 of every house’s total heat loss often happens through doors and windows. Follow these ways to save the energy now!
- You should install storm windows at windows with only single layers. A portable glass frame may be installed over an existing window.
- Or you can seal all window edges and cracks with rope caulk because it’s the simplest and cheapest choice.
- In case that your current windows have damaged or rotted wood, missing putty, locks, cracked glass, or poorly fitting sashes, you need to repair or replace all of them.
- Weatherstrip the windows with a special lining to make the window stick the frame. To the doors, you should weatherstrip around the whole perimeter to create a tight seal.
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You should change the way you do laundry
- Remember to clean the lint trap whenever you use the dryer because it will extend the amount of time required for your clothing to dry.
- Avoid using the medium setting on the washer and wait until having enough clothes because this setting will save less than half of energy and water.
- Don’t forget to wring or spin-dry clothes before using a dryer.
- If necessary, you should air-dry your clothing on racks and lines.
- Don’t use high-temperature settings when clothes are not soiled. Keep in mind that the water in 1400F is not much more effective for getting clothes clean.
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Avail electronics and appliances responsibly
Do you know that electronics and appliances cost about 20% of your energy bill? Yes, it’s true. So, please consult some tips here to save your money.
- Remember to shut off computers when you don’t use. In case that unattended computers have to be left on, you should turn off the monitors. It’s because the computers can cost about 3% of energy consumption.
- To charges that are used for cell phones or laptops, you should unplug them when you don’t use because it might consume more energy. And using the laptop will consume less electricity than desktop computers.
Freezers and refrigerators need to be placed near the dishwasher, stove, or heat vents or displayed to direct sunlight. Disclosure to warm places will force them to avail more energy to keep cool.
My husband and I are trying a lot of different techniques to try and conserve energy. For example, one of the things that we have done so far is have window film put on our windows. It has really helped us to lower our utility bill. However, we have yet to change the way that we do laundry and that may be something that we will consider. I always use the medium setting, but wouldn’t that be more energy-efficient than using the high setting?
It’s because I often avoid using medium setting for my washer all the time. And then i recognized that it’s worth for my utility bill, actually. So, i just want to share my small real experience in this issue. Thanks for your comment, Raylin. Hope to receive from you more!
I like what this article mentions about changing the way laundry is being cleaned. I think this could be very beneficial in my home, as with all the laundry I have to do we use a lot of energy. I’ll definitely have to look at ways I can air dry the clothes, etc. Thanks for sharing!