Saving Energy Without Breaking A Bank

Energy is not just the monthly bill you have to pay each month; it is the foundation of everything you do and the life to everything you have. But with the increasing cost of energy, it cannot be denied that we need to take important measures to limit our energy consumption. Saving energy becomes a must and a habit that everyone should seriously adapt.

Heating and Cooling.

Almost half of your electric bill goes for your heating and cooling systems so if you really want to maximize your savings here are the following things you can do:

Clean your air filters at least once a month.

Clean baseboard heaters, radiators, and warm-air registers as often as necessary; make sure that they are working properly; and that they are not blocked by drapes, carpeting, and furniture.

Set the thermostat as high as is comfortable when it is hot or as low as is comfortable when it is cold.

Turn off exhaust fans (kitchen, bath, others) 20 minutes after cooking or bathing. Keeping them on for a long time affects the temperature of the room.

Lighting and Appliances

As much as possible, use natural lights – working near the windows will prevent you from turning on the light and consuming energy. Utilize the power of the sun.

Switch off the lights every time you leave the room even if it is just of a minute.

If you are using the 4-foot fluorescent lights, install reflective backings to maximize the light.

Switch to compact fluorescent lights. There are 4-watt minifluorescent lights and 40-watt fluorescent lights have the same illuminating effect.

Turn off all lights and appliances when not in use. Unplug unnecessary appliances like microwaves, television, stereos, computers, and VCRs if you are not using them. Also, unplug chargers and devices with bloc-shaped transformer on the plug. All of them consume energy when plugged in. Do not leave them on “stand-by” mode.

Look of Energy Star label when purchasing lighting product.

Use task lighting instead of lights that cover the entire room. For example, use lamp shades when reading and not the lights for your room.

Laundry

Washing your clothes cold will reduce washer’s energy consumption by as much as 90%. Air drying eliminates the energy use for machine drying.

Always do full loads whenever possible. If you are washing a small load, use appropriate water level and wash setting.

Refrigerator

Maintain a right temperature for your freezer and refrigerator.

Do not hold the refrigerator or freezer open. The energy consumption increases if the motor works endlessly just to maintain the temperature of the refrigerator and freezer.

Check for leaks and cracks in the gasket. Make sure that your refrigerator is completely sealed to maintain the temperature inside.

Insulation

Heat loss happens when your house is not properly sealed. Use sealants or weather-stripping on windows.

Make sure that air cannot escape or enter in to the pipes, doors, walls, floors and ceilings. A properly insulated home saves as much as 10% in electric bill.

In a typical household monthly electric bill, 44% goes to the heating and cooling systems; 33% goes to lighting and other appliances; 14% goes to heating the water; and 9% goes to the refrigerator. Take note of this power distribution to know where exactly you can maximize your saving.

Saving Energy – Using CFLs Gets You 66% Less In Energy Cost

For most homes in the developed countries, lighting alone accounts for 9% of the total energy requirement. For other parts of the world, it is far more than that. Thus, using cost-efficient lights can be a real life-saver, or should we say, energy-saver.

Compact fluorescent light bulbs are made to be very efficient; it uses 66% less energy than the conventional light bulbs. Just by changing from the incandescent to the CFLs could already reduce electrical consumption to 7%.

When compared to the regular light bulbs, CFLs give the same amount of luminescence for less power and while it has a higher purchase price than the incandescent, CFLs have longer lifespan (approximately 12 times than the incandescent light bulbs, about 11,000 hours), enough to save $US30 in electrical costs during the bulbs lifetime.

A US published article claimed that if a household changes 30 fixtures in their home, investing $90, the money saved in the span of five years could be anywhere from $500 to $1,500 depending on the areas electrical costs. For commercial buildings and other bigger establishments, the savings are even greater. An average CFL at 75 watts could save $22 dollars in direct energy savings per year. If that is multiplied by the number of light bulbs in a building, and include the cost of labor that could be saved from changing light bulbs, the savings could rise exponentially. True, there is a capital investment of about $2 USD per fixture; however that could be recovered in a month from money saved.

Other manufacturers of CFLs also apply titanium dioxide coating. This is because titanium dioxide is claimed to neutralize bacteria, odors and molds. Still many manufacturers of CFLs apply a luminous coating to the bulb for the purpose of luminescence after the CFL is turned off. The idea behind is that a little light could still remain, even for a short while, in cases of power failure and accidents.

Because Carbon Fluorescent lamps do not emit as much heat as the incandescent light bulbs, there is also less work for air conditioners in cooling up the space.

Surely there must be a downside.

If this could be called a downside, CFLs behave differently from the ordinary incandescent bulbs. For one, it takes longer to attain its full brightness depending on the temperature. The colder the climate is, the longer it will take for the bulb to give off full brightness. CFL also gives off the brightest light during its first use and begins to dull gradually, giving off less light as it nears the end of its life; a CFLs is expected to reduce its brightness by 20% from its original brightness on first installation. But that is just about it.

Saving energy, in almost all conceivable phases of production, is in focus today. The fuel that is currently in use, as we are all aware, is non renewable. This is why even in the field of lighting, continuous research is being done to further reduce the coefficient of energy that has to be saved.

Solid state lighting, for example, is widely used in traffic lights; although for now, using this technology to be an energy saving method for domestic consumption is still being developed as the current cost is still high. For now, saving energy through the CFLs remains to spell a definite advantage compared with incandescent light bulbs.

Saving Energy for Kids- Teaching Your Kids To Be Energy Efficient

Saving energy and saving money should not be your sole responsibility as parents. Your kids must also learn to contribute in keeping the electric bills down. This way, your effort will not get wasted and at the same time, your kids will learn good values while growing up.

Because teaching your kids to be energy efficient requires some effort, here are easy to follow suggestions you can do:

Education

Teaching your kids the importance of saving energy should be your first goal. Take note that making them understand the value of being energy efficient is more effective than enumerating the ways to save energy and leaving it at that. Teach them how conserving energy helps the environment. Tell them stories or read educational books about the importance of energy.

Lead by example

You know very well that kids tend to follow what elders do. Practice what you preach. You may have listed and posted a litany of things-to-do to conserve energy but if you don’t follow them yourself, you cannot expect your kids to follow it too. Do not just tell them to turn the lights off before leaving their room; show them by always turning the lights off every time you leave a room in your house. Education and leading by example are a good combination if you want to make good habits stick.

Make it fun

Find educational materials where your kids will learn the value of conserving energy as well as the ways on how to save it. Computer software, educational websites, books and television shows that educate and entertain kids would really make a difference on how well they will respond. This is especially applicable to kids from 5 to 10 years old.

Get your kids involved

Family activities should not limit to eating, playing and entertainment. Chores can also be a good way to bond with your kids. Manually wash the car, water the plants, clean the table, wash the dishes, clean the house etc. These are some of the things you can do with your kids while conserving energy.

Teach your kids according to their age.

Kids of different ages have different attitude on things around them. If your 5-year son doesn’t know how to turn off the lights before leaving the room, all you need to do is to talk to him well about its importance and showing him that you practice what you teach.

Your 10-year old daughter may require different approach like showing her your electric bill and explaining to her that it will greatly help if she will change her bad habits. You are teaching your 5-year old good habits while you are teaching and emphasizing your 10-year old good habits and responsibility.

Same thing applies to kids of different ages. The point is, make sure that you teach your kids proper ways to conserve energy using an approach suited to their ages.

*Energy saving tips for kids.

1-Turn off the water while brushing your teeth.

2-Always turn the lights off before leaving the room.

3-Turn the computer off after use.

4-Do not hold the refrigerator open.

5-Unplug unnecessary appliance.

6-Use natural light if possible.

Saving energy is not so hard if your kids are involved. And just like any family activities you do, energy conservation should be fun, educational and driven by good motivation.

Saving Energy For Home-Based Folks

Working from home brings a lot benefits. It saves you from commute and dressing up everyday, it gives you tine for that extra minutes of sleep and it lets you work from your most convenient hours. But working from home it may also increase your energy bills – unless you carefully choose your office equipment and do some energy saving measures.

Buy energy efficient office equipment – computers, fax machines, scanners, printers, monitors and multifunction devices (scanner, copier, fax). Some ENERGY STAR office equipment can save as much as 90% of the standard energy consumption.

Most ENERGY STAR office equipments consume 50% less energy than standard ones. Aside from energy saving advantage, some office equipments reduce electromagnetic field emissions (for monitors), air-conditioning loads, and noise from transformers and fans.

An ENERGY STAR computer is 70% more energy efficient than computers without this designation. When left inactive, this computer shifts into a low-power mode, which only uses 15 watts of power or less.

Some office equipments that do not have to be turned on all the time should be shut down and unplugged because they still draw power when turned off.

Unplugging unused electronic devices is not limited to office equipments; unplug your television, VCRs, stereos, microwave oven, electric stove and other appliances when not in use.

Do not leave other appliances turned on while working. Avoid leaving unused appliances on “standby” mode.

Turn off the computer monitor if you are going for a break. Manually turn off your computer if you are leaving for an hour or more. Avoid using screensavers because they consume the same amount of energy as with normal computer use. Activating the computer’s sleep mode is also a better way to save energy.

Do not believe that office equipment should always be turned on because it will last longer. Practicing this belief may only result to higher electric bill.

On your next upgrade, consider buying a laptop as a computer replacement as they consume less energy than desktop computers.

When the battery chargers are not in use or if the batteries are fully charged, unplug the charger immediately.

Set up your home office where you can utilize the natural light to minimize the use of lamps and room lights.

If you are working at night, prefer task lights that consume less energy instead of using room lights. Close the drapes and shades of the windows to keep cold air out and save energy on heating the room.

If you are alone in the house, make sure that you lock all the doors and windows before working.

Set the thermostat of your cooling or heating system to a comfortable level. A digital thermostat can provide better electricity savings. Work where you can reduce the use of heating or cooling system and lights. Prefer a small room as an office rather than the entire living area. Always maintain your air conditioning system clean.

Make energy saving improvements to your home. Home energy saving improvements like insulation, repairing of crack and holes (on the windows, walls, ceiling, floors, attic and basement) and switching to compact fluorescent bulbs can bring down your electric bills.

Not only that, if you are planning to sell your home, making your home energy efficient is a good strategy.