How to Save Electricity in Your Home
Using electricity sensibly can definitely help you get more value for the money that you spend on energy. It will also help in conserving natural resources and reduces the influence energy use has on the environment. Follow the energy saving tips and advice that can be to use throughout the year, in order to gain more control over your energy use at home.
Here are several things you can do to save electricity in your home:
• Be certain to turn off all the lights whenever you leave a room. Do not forget to turn off any electrical appliances when you leave a room such as TV, computers, stereos, radios, video games, DVD players etc. In case you go away on a trip, be sure to unplug these same electrical appliances, reason being these appliances have stand-by functions that consume electricity even when they are turned off.
• Keep your furniture and other things away from the front of heating and air conditioning vents. Always keep all doors and windows closed whenever heat or air conditioning is running.
• By installing a programmable thermostat will keep your house at the correct temperature day and night. Programmable thermostats can lessen your cooling and heating bills up to 10% reason being it will help lower the heat or raise the air conditioning when you are not at home.
• Ensure how much electricity your water heater consumes. In case it consumes more than other models of water heaters, use instead a more efficient one. Install insulation all over the pipes going in and out of your water heater. In case you have an older water heater, put an insulated blanket around it. Also remember to turn off your water heater if you are going out of town for more than a couple days.
• Replace your furnace filter at least once a year or even more if possible. Usually filters get clogged up with dirt and dust that circulate in a house. This basically means that air will have more difficult time passing through the filter, and in return your furnace has to work mush harder in order to heat the house.
• You can also try holding a ribbon or feather close to windows and doors to check if there are any drafts. In case there are, place a weather stripping or caulking in order to keep the outside air out and the air conditioning or heating air in.
• Try and turn off the water whenever you are brushing your teeth or taking a short shower. This will just not save water, but also it will save the electricity required to pump and heat the water.
• Make sure you use daylight hours instead of turning on lights and lamps. Make use of one big light bulb rather than using a few small ones. For example one 100-watt light bulb will gives out more light and consume less energy and than two 60-watt bulbs.
• Make use of fluorescent light bulbs as they use 75% less energy and even last longer than incandescent light bulbs. Try and use light bulbs that are low in wattage in areas of your house where you don’t require bright light. Also do not forget to keep the outdoor lighting turned off during the day.
• Regularly vacuum the coils of your refrigerator in order to lower your energy bill and to keep the condenser working better. Always cool you food to room temperature before putting them into the refrigerator.
• Try and prepare several food dishes in the oven together. Do not open the oven door until the food is done with cooking. Remember to defrost the food before you bake or microwave it.
• Always wash full loads of clothing rather than smaller ones. Try and use cold water for washing and rinsing the clothes. Do not forget to cleanse the lint filter of your dryer after every load. Always dry only full loads of clothes. Dry one load after the other because this will use less energy since the dryer is already hot. Remember to stop the dryer as soon as the clothes are dry.