Going green is a good thing to do for you, your family and your community. You can make simple changes inside your household in order to go green, and make your home more energy efficient. This will greatly reduce your energy costs. Use the tips from this article to help you conserve energy and be green in your home.
Do your part to make green energy technology more affordable by demanding it, since prices come down as the user base grows. You not only have the right to insist on having access to technology that is environmentally friendly, but the power to make companies listen to your demands. The more you and others purchase these products, they more that they will be produced and prices will be lowered. It also motivates other inventors to continue the green trend by producing more items like this.
If you want to live a life that is greener, there are many things that can be done to save the planet’s energy. You might not have the capacity to invest all of the money to go green immediately, but one can clean furnace filters and adjust the heat at home to be more green. Another money saving way to conserve energy is lowering the temperature of your water heater, under 120 degrees is best. Each step you take, no matter how small, will count!
Obviously if you are going to the expense of installing solar panels it is important that they are directed towards the sun. The Northern Hemisphere has to have panels facing the south. The angle should be placed at equal to your latitude plus 15 degrees. This will help you get the most energy from the sun.
Be socially responsible, and unplug electric chargers for all devices that don’t need immediate charging. 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.
A solar oven is a fun and effective way to reduce your energy needs for cooking. You can make one with easy-to-find items like old windows, boxes, and aluminum foil to reflect light. They require only sunlight to reach a temperature of more than 300 degrees, and they only take a few minutes to construct.
Do not leave your lights on if you are not using them. If you do not need the lights during the day time, keep them off. If you need them at night time, then make sure you switch them off after you exit a room. Turn off your porch light if everyone is home, or cabinet lighting in your kitchen when no one is in there. This simple change can go a long way towards reducing your electric bill.
An uncommon option for those consumers who see themselves as very green is to have a home made from straw bales. Straw is an excellent, inexpensive form of insulation. If you would rather not have a home that is made of straw bales, think about adding an additional building that is.
You can watch the energy use in your home by buying a monitor to track it. Devices like these give you real-time data and show you exactly how much energy you are using, and what your costs are. Research shows that consumers are more likely to cut down on their energy consumption when they can see exactly what it costs to run appliances, lights and so forth.
Replace your toilet with a water-saving model. Estimates show that about 50% of your home’s water is used by flushing toilets. Older models typically waste 5 gallons to flush, whereas newer models that are water-saving use about 10.6 gallons. This can save 70% of your water usage each year.
Save energy by running your laptop on AC current and taking out the battery if you don’t have to be mobile. The battery draws energy even when it has reached capacity, and by taking it out when your computer is plugged in, you can save some kilowatts and improve the life of your battery too.
Investigate all of the energy sources your community has to offer. Compare the costs of operating your home using several of these utilities, making sure to take into consideration any legislation with regard to energy costs that has recently been passed. For instance, it might be worth it to switch to gas heat instead of electric, or switch to well water instead of municipal water.
Try not to turn the heat up too high in your home, unless it is absolutely necessary for you to do so. If you feel cold, put on a sweater or blanket instead. If you turn the heat up to 75 degrees, you are using a ton of unnecessary energy.
Before you decide on large energy-saving projects for your home, get a professional evaluation of your existing appliances, windows and insulation and your heating and cooling systems. They can advise you about how much inefficient appliances cause you to lose financially, and they can estimate the price of upgrading or simply replacing your old systems.
Don’t neglect your ceiling fans in the winter. When you change their rotation to clockwise, they move warm air from the ceiling downward, and that keeps the air in the room a little warmer. That reduces the demand placed on heating appliances like a furnace. The little electricity used to run your fan is offset by what you save with your energy costs due to needing the furnace less often.
Using Eco-friendly lighting is a great tip. A variety of new bulbs, including compact fluorescent varieties, provide affordable alternatives to the incandescent bulbs homes have used for decades. CFLs use a minute amount of electricity compared to incandescent bulbs. This is a good way to reduce your environmental footprint at home.
As you can see, it really can be quite simple and inexpensive to go green. Making changes in your home now can end up saving you money in the long run. Remember these tips and share them to see improvements in the environment
About the Author
Many people will be shocked to learn that they can lose up to 25% or more of the energy in their home if they are now using ways save energy. You literally could be flushing your money down the drain.
Visit http://earth4energy.homedoover.com/ to discover ways to save energy and lower your electric bill cost with these simple steps.