More and more people today see the benefits of looking out for our fragile environment. You can help to take care of your environment and keep some money in your wallet by utilizing clean, green energy to power your home. The following article provides great information on the different ways you can incorporate green energy technology into your home today.
When designing outdoor lighting for your patio or garden path, consider solar-powered lamps. They are inexpensive and don’t require electricity. They also save energy. It also ensures that there is no need to wire lights outdoor.
Changing your heating to solar water can reduce the price to heat your water, hot tub and pool. Using electricity or gas to heat water is not terribly efficient, but water heaters that use solar power maintain water temperatures using only the sun’s rays by way of solar panels. While many of these upgrades have high up-front costs, they may qualify for tax credits or other rebates.
Do your best to consume the least amount of energy possible in your home. Do things like unplug any electronic device that you aren’t using that may still be plugged into an outlet. Whether you are charging your device or not, chargers for laptops, mp3 players, cellphones and other electronics keep drawing electrical power as long as they stay plugged in.
Washing Machine
Use cold water in your washing machine. Almost ninety percent of the energy used by a washing machine comes from heating the water for a warm or hot cycle. Provided you are using the right laundry detergent, you will not see a cleanliness difference by washing in cold water. Also, be as energy efficient as possible by only washing full loads of clothing.
Dry your clothes on a line or rack in the summer instead of a dryer. Hanging your clothes outside to dry in the sun will give your clothes an incredible fresh smell. They will smell better than anything coming out of a dryer. This will save you a ton on your utility bills, leaving you extra money to turn your air conditioning on instead.
Buy a solar oven to provide for the needs of your kitchen. Common items, such as a heavy cardboard box, some shiny foil and an old window are all that you need. These ovens reach temperatures greater than 300 degrees, while using no outside energy besides solar.
When you decorate a tree or the exterior of your home for the holidays, choose LED light strands instead of regular lights. According to a report from the U.S. The Department of Energy estimates that everyone can save well over 2 billion kilowatts including hours of power and energy if everyone did this type of change. To put this in perspective, that amount of power could supply the energy needs of 200000 homes for a whole year. An additional benefit to using LED lights is the savings you will receive on your electric bill.
Carpool so you can use less fuel. If your kids share activities with other children in the neighborhood, there’s no reason not to carpool to them. You could also start doing your grocery shopping with neighbors or friends and switch on and off with who does the driving.
Use the microwave when you can in order to save on energy consumption. Ovens use much more energy than the microwave for cooking. So, by microwaving instead, you save a lot of energy.
Add motion-detecting light sensors to the rooms in your house that you use most. These lights only go off when someone is the room, so you will save money and energy when no one is in the room. Include sensors on your outdoor lighting and lights in the garage, as well.
Solar Panels
You may want to install solar panels on the roof to create a more eco-friendly home. Although solar panels can be expensive, they will save money on electricity costs. Once solar panels are in place the energy is free, and you might have the chance to sell some of the power to your electric company.
Make better use of ceiling fans during cold weather. By switching them to clockwise rotation, you can use them to push warm air down from the ceiling where it pools, reducing the demands on your furnace or other heating appliance. It takes a minimal amount of electricity to run ceiling fans, especially when compared to running your furnace.
If you can’t get renewable energy like solar to do your whole house, see if it’ll power one room. For example, you can use a solar water heater.
One of the easiest ways to save energy is to put your refrigerator and freezer away from any type of heat source. They should be kept out of sunlight as well as away from heating vents. Heat from any source will cause these appliances to run longer.
Environmentally Friendly
By demanding green energy, you will help to drive the cost of it down. You can demand that your power be environmentally friendly. By buying more environmentally friendly products, you are increasing the demand, lowering the price, and essentially voting for change. Manufacturers will have to use greener practices if they want to make money.
Limit your use of bottled water. This normally came from a basic tap anyway, and it is simply a waste of energy and resources. If you don’t want to drink your tap water, buy a re-usable metal bottle for your water and buy a filter which can be replaced every couple of months.
As you can see, there are many ways to lessen your carbon footprint by making practical changes in the energy efficiency of your home. The money you save can make the changes even more enticing!