Energy Efficiency In The Home and Cutting Your Energy Bill

Statistics say that one of the leading causes of environmental damage from individuals is energy waste. Aside from that is the amount of money wasted on energy each and every minute of every day!

The average household wastes $300 dollars a year in energy. Whether in the form of lights, heat loss, dripping faucets or heating when the home is empty. Inefficient furnaces, air conditioners and other forms of climate control can wreak havoc on your utility bills, and have a damaging effect on the environment.

Save Energy Save Money

20 Energy Saving Tips To Cut Your Energy Bill

1. Always wash your clothes in cold water. Many laundry detergents have been developed to work best with cold water. The major cost of running a washer is in heating the water.
2. Hang your clothes on a line. In fair weather hang your clothes outside nothing beats the smell of laundry dried in the summer breeze. Sunlight can also have a natural bleaching effect on your whites. In the winter or on rainy days hang your laundry in the house on a small drying rack and set up a fan to quickly dry.
3. Only wash full loads in your dishwasher. When only a small load of dishes needs to be done hand wash which will save water. However if you have a huge load it can be more water efficient to use the dishwasher.
4. Turn your PC off. There is no point in leaving your PC on all night turn it off before you goto bed or before you go to work.
5. Turn down the air conditioning in summer and spend more time outside. During the hot days of summer spend more time outside make a nice shady spot in your backyard and relax you can even buy a baby pool to soak your feet in! Use fans instead inside of the house.
6. Turn down the heat in the winter and put on a sweater. During the winter months turn the heat down and put on warmer clothes you will be surprised how much of a difference this will make on your bill. Get a timer for your heater so that the heat will not be on all day when you are not home.
7. Don’t use a wood fireplace. Wood fire places although lovely to sit by in the colder months can be very inefficient. The heat that is created by this type of fireplace is generally sucked back up the chimney and out of the house. Gas fire places are proven to be 80% efficient as opposed to be -10% to +10% efficient in heating your home.
8. Lower your shades during the hot times of the day. Keeping the hot rays of the sun out of your house can reduce solar overheating and reduce cooling costs for your household. Shades that are light coloured on the outside work best because they will reflect the most solar energy back outside whereas darker colours will absorb and allow heat into the house.
9. Lower your water heater’s thermostat. Your water heater thermostat is a box located low on the front of your water heater. It is generally recommended that you leave your water heater thermostat at around 120° F. This not only saves energy, but prevents scalding.
10. Think twice before turning on your oven. Smaller appliances use half the energy of your oven. Try using toaster ovens, microwaves, barbeques, and crock pots as an alternative when and if possible.
11. Make new appliance purchases wisely. Read the labels and carefully investigate your new appliance purchases. ENERGY STAR label products in addition to saving up 50% more energy than conventional products can also be eligible government tax credits and rebates.
12. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs. These bulbs may cost a bit more but are worth it not only do they last longer they also use 75% less energy than your standard bulb.
13. Turn off the lights. Turn lights off when you leave a room; leave the house for the day or simply if it is not needed. Use motion detection lights outside so that they turn off after 3 or 5 minutes. Painting your walls a lighter colour and selecting your lighting wisely to train on specific areas instead of overall lighting of a room are also ways to cut your costs.
14. Take shorter showers. Use a shower timer and try to keep showers to five minutes sometimes just being aware of the time you take in the shower will help you keep your shower time shorter. Using a low flow shower head will also help keep that bill down.
15. Take fewer showers. Limit yourself to one shower a day. It’s all right not to shower everyday. In fact it is not all that good for your hair and skin to use soap everyday it can dry you out and make you flakey.
16. Keep appliances in good working condition. Keeping your appliances clean and in good working order will allow them to work more efficiently and not as hard. This can be accomplished by larger tasks like cleaning refrid
17. Take shorter showers or don’t shower every day. Save some of that hot water! Don’t spend too long in the shower, and if you don’t need to, don’t shower every day!
    
18. Phantom Loads. Take some time to learn about Phantom Loads. Even when your appliances are “off”, they are still using energy!
    
19. Solar Lighting for your garden. There are some nifty solar powered lights nowadays for your garden and pathways. Try some of those out!
    
20. Seal up your window with weather stripping. You’d be surprised at how much heat and cool air you lose through the cracks around your windows and doors!! Use weather stripping to close off any of those gaps!