Save energy at home with these easy steps to reduce your energy consumption
Save Energy At Home Efficiently
- Use Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFLs) instead of regular incandescent ones for saving energy at home. The CFLs use 2/3 less energy and last 10 times longer.
Replacing a 60-watt incandescent bulb with a 13-watt CFL will save you $30 energy costs over the life of the bulb. - Cut your carbon footprint and keep your thermostat at home 2 degrees cooler in the winter, and 2 degrees warmer in the summer. You can save 5% of your energy bill with this green living tip! Even better, you can save over 2,000 pounds (907 kilos) of CO2 emissions in a year. Select a programmable thermostat that allows automatic temperature adjusting overnight or while you are out. A ceiling fan consumes only as much energy as a light bulb, which is 98% less than most air conditioners!
- Switch your computer off overnight or place it into the 'hibernate' state when you don't use it. This will save energy at home and the costs of $90 per year compared to a computer with screen saver running.
Always switch off and unplug your TV overnight to save energy at home - don't just keep it in standby mode. Appliances like the TV and remote control censors still use energy when they are turned off. You can install switchable extension cords and plug in multiple appliances to make this easier, or you can use a smart power strip that senses when appliances are off to improve energy efficiency. Switched off TVs that are still plugged in cost US households $750 million a year.- Never preheat your oven for more than 10 minutes to save energy at home. If everybody in the US reduced their oven time by an hour per year, we would save enough energy to bake a billion cookies.
- Cover your pots while cooking to reduce energy consumption. This can save a lot of the energy needed for preparing the dish. Also consider going green with pressure cookers and steamers: they can save about 70%!
- Consider hanging your clothes on a clothesline to dry instead of running them through the dryer every time. You can save 5-10% of energy costs that way. Plus, sunlight is the most effective stain-remover - how is that for going green? (1)
- Save energy at home by washing your clothes in luke-warm or cold water with a cold water detergent. Almost 90% of washer energy use goes into the water heating and washers produce over 500 pounds (226 kilos) of CO2 a year when run on hot water. Your clothes will be just as clean and may even last longer when laundered in cold water.
- Only wash clothes and dishes when you have a full machine. The energy use is the same for a half full machine! Hand-washing dishes can use up to 50% more water than a water-saving, energy-efficient dishwasher. Look for units that were made after 1994 and have the energy star to reduce energy consumption (1).
- Set your outside lights on timers or motion sensors. Reducing usage on a single outdoor floodlight can save you energy costs up to $120 a year.
- Clean your refrigerator to save energy at home. Do you have a lot of stuff on top of your fridge? Clear it off. These boxes and containers can prevent your fridge from effective heat venting. Once in a while remove the grill at the base of the fridge (or turn the fridge around) to clean the coils and reduce your carbon footprint further.
- Reduce the use of your refrigerator's icemaker and your carbon footprint along with it – it may be convenient but adds energy usage by as much as 20%!
- Get a home energy audit. Many utilities offer free home energy audits that will show you where you can save energy at home and improve energy efficiency. By using a programmable thermostat and sealing or insulating ducts, you can reduce your home's carbon dioxide emissions by about 5%.
If every US household would replace one regular light bulb with a CFL, we could reduce our global warming pollution by 90 billion pounds (40 billion kilos) over the bulb's life; that's the same going green effect as taking 6.3 million cars off the road(1).
Dryers produce about 1,450 pounds (657 kilos) of CO2 per year and the high heat damages fabric. You keep your garments longer, lower your electric bill, and cut your carbon footprint by drying your clothes on a rack or line.
Reduce and save water at home to go green
Did you know that an average shower uses 4 gallons of water per minute? That makes long showers even more water-wasteful than bubble baths! Find out more interesting water usage facts and how you can reduce your water use efficiently.
Cut down on paper waste for a greener home
While paper is the most recycable waste we produce, this should not be a thumbs-up for continuing our paper habits unchecked. The average US household receives 1.5 trees worth of junk mail every year. Find out how you can reduce your paper waste and live with less clutter in your green home.
See more tips for recycling and going green at home
You may already recycle your paper and some plastic, but what about electronics or used oil? Find more tips on going green at home and some astounding facts.
Get our latest 5 go green at home ideas
These are not your everyday going green tips! Get inspired with some new green living ideas that you may not have thought of before.
Green driving increases your fuel efficiency, saves emissions
While keeping your car at home is still the best carbon cutting measure, there are a few very effective steps you can take for the planet while you drive your car!
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Healthy Dieting Tricks:
Sources
(1) - National Geographic
(2) - Based on Tim Flannery's book "the weather makers: how man is changing the climate and what it means for life on earth".
(3) - The study, by Javelin Strategy &; Research, is called "2007 Online Banking and Bill Payment: Trends, Forecasts, and Strategies for Reinvigorating
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