Maybe you don’t consider the environment as you go about life in your home. Believe it or not, everything you do has an effect on the environment. There are many simple ways to make your home more energy efficient and thereby have a positive impact on the planet. Use this advice to learn how to start using green energy.
Solar panels can be an excellent investment for the typical homeowner. Before you do this, you should research just a few things first. A big consideration is how much sunlight does your home typically receive? If you home is under a lot of shade, or in an area where you do not have a lot of sunny days, the power gained from your solar unit will not be very significant.
Are you the owner of a farm? If you do, or if you are aware of someone that does, you may be able to rent some of the property to a local energy company that will install a type of wind turbine. You and the neighbors can relish in the free energy and installation, if it doesn’t require too much space.
Turn off appliances if you are not using them. Upon leaving a room, turn off such things as the lights, computer, television or entertainment center. When you can, plug your electronics into a power strip and when you are not using it, turn it off. Energy is still being used when something is in standby mode.
Make use of a solar-powered oven for baking. You can create a solar over using common household items, including aluminum foil and a clean box. The temperature in these ovens can heat up to 300 degrees, they can be put together in a few minutes, and the only energy they use is the sun.
Keep track of how many watts you’re using. You can do this by using Kill-A-Watt or Watt Minder gadgets. These will help you find where your energy is being consumed. All you have to do is plug the appliance directly into the device so that it can calculate how much energy is being used per hour, month, or year. You can learn how much your appliances are costing you.
There is a lot you can do if you want to save energy. Simply cleaning filters in the furnace and setting temperatures lower can help! Reducing the temperature of your water heater to 120 degrees could save you a lot of money as well. No change is too small.
When the holiday season rolls around again, make the switch to LED lighting rather than sticking with traditional lighting solutions. A study was conducted by 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. This amount could actually power around 200,000 homes for a whole year. At least you will be saving money on your power bill.
Energy Star
Get rid of your old appliances and replace them with Energy Star-certified appliances. The Energy Star rating guarantees that the appliance you are using has been built to use much less energy than its non-rated predecessor. The amount of energy saved varies by appliances; you can save a lot of energy on your washing machine, refrigerator and dishwasher use if you switch to Energy Star appliances.
A great green energy device is the on-demand water heater. Water heaters that are old-fashioned will constantly run, which in turn heats water when not needed, and this ends up wasting lots of energy. On-demand models provide hot water instantly when necessary, instead of continuously throughout the day, saving you money and energy.
You might not have thought extensively on environmental issues, and you’re not alone. Change this by learning about green energy! These tips will help you to improve the sustainable nature of your own home.