You probably hear friends and TV personalities extolling the virtues of green energy, but just what is this green energy stuff? If you’re wondering what green energy technology is all about or why you should care about it, you’ve come to the right place. Keep reading to learn some of the best ways that green-energy can help your home.

When drawing up the landscaping plans for a garden path or patio, incorporate solar-powered lamps. Not only are they a reasonable purchase price, but they do not require electricity to run. This will end up saving you a lot of energy. It also means you don’t need hard wired outdoor lights.

Saving energy and money is as simple as closing your curtains. Another option is installing darkening shades. Doing both these things will decrease your usage of the air conditioning during the summer because your house will be cooler. You will save energy, which will in turn save you substantial money.

Save on the use of electricity in your home, and become a better consumer of energy by unplugging your electronic devices and gadgets when they are not in use. Many chargers for various electronics continue to draw electricity even if they are not plugged into a device. The energy usage is not as high, but it wastes electricity and adds up to a considerable amount over time.

Replace or clean your furnace filters yearly, and recheck them monthly. Adding filters to warm-air registers is also beneficial. These filters keep children’s toys, dirt or dust from clogging the heating ducts.

During the hot summer months, hang clothes outside rather than tossing them in the dryer. This can cause your clothes to smell really good. Line-dried items will be just as clean and dry as they would be if you used the dryer, but they will also smell so much fresher. In addition, you’ll save money on your utility bills.

Turn things off when not in use. When you exit a room, be sure to turn off any unused electronics or lights. Try using a power strip so you can turn off all of your electronics at once, instead of letting power be wasted in standby mode.

Make sure that the batteries to store the power are placed as close as possible to the cells when installing your solar energy system. This makes sure power is not lost somewhere in the cable. It can also reduce the chance of a cable shading a cell, and reducing its generation capability.

Storm Windows

When a home has windows and doors stormed air flow is actually better in that household. Storm windows are good at cutting down on the cool air that tries to get in. Energy efficiency can be increased up to 45% in a home with storm windows and doors.

Use electric heaters minimally in the winter. A fireplace for the living area, wearing warmer clothing and purchasing some slippers are all greener ways of keeping the family warm. Also, it has been shown that people sleep better in cool environments.

Less Energy

Replace your older appliances with the newer, energy-efficient ones that have Energy Star ratings. The Energy Star rating guarantees that the appliance you are using has been built to use much less energy than its non-rated predecessor. Refrigerators and freezers use about 20 percent less energy, while the energy that washing machines use is cut in half.

Replace your old toilet with a water-saving one. People have estimated that you flush about 50% of the water from your house down the toilet. An older model toilet uses a lot more water than a water-saving one, 5 gallons versus 1.6 gallons, almost 70 percent more.

You will save money eventually if you buy green appliances. Green technology may be more expensive at first, but your utility bills will be reduced. It also results in long-lasting environmental benefits.

Heat rooms separately to save heating costs. A good way to get that done is to use floor heating that has a main board for allowing you to set a certain temperature in different areas. If your home is big, this is especially beneficial.

You can use ceiling fans in the winter. Switch them to rotate in a clockwise position, which pushes warm air back down where you need it, and reduces your overall heating needs. Although these fans use a little bit of electricity, you’ll save a ton because you won’t have to use your furnace as much.

Move your frozen foods from the freezer to the refrigerator when you are thawing them out. Not only is this a safer way to thaw out food, but the cold air released by the frozen food will help keep your refrigerator cool, reducing the total energy consumption that is required.

Though you may not be ready to convert your entire home to a more energy efficient power source, you can start by trying it on some areas of your home. For example, get panels installed which will only heat hot water, or ones that specifically heat your basement.

Buy an energy monitor in order to keep tabs when it comes to the energy you use at home. Devices like these give you real-time data and show you exactly how much energy you are using, and what your costs are. Research showed that customers are more eager to reduce costs when they know the current cost of doing so.

Programmable thermostats are interesting high tech ways to harness green energy. They regulate temperatures in the home when you aren’t there, or if you are sleeping. In order to conserve power, the newest models allow you to program them for various start and end times for different days of the week.

Now that you understand the basics of green technology, you are now ready to start using it in your home. Apply the ideas that you’ve just learned, and start going green today. Not only will the environment thank you, your wallet will too.