Tips for conserving electricity are easy to implement and are cost-effective as long as you're consistent in using them on a daily basis. Once you start making an effort to keep your energy usage under control, you'll find that it doesn't take very long to develop habits that can save you money while also helping to protect the environment.
Tips for Conserving Electricity
If you're serious about conserving electricity, then the first thing you can do to reduce your electricity consumption is to turn off all unnecessary lights. Get in the habit of turning off the lights when you leave a room. This small action can quickly become habit and will reduce your monthly electric bill. Here some other tips and suggestions you can implement to save even more.
Power Strips
You can power down with a power strip. Do you forget to unplug your cell phone and other electronic equipment rechargers? You can use a power strip to turn off these phantom power drainers. Instead of trying to unplug countless gadgets when not in use, simply flip one switch to disengage the continual transferring of energy.
Change Out Light Bulbs
Change your incandescent light bulbs for CFL (Compact Fluorescent Light) bulbs. This will give you a leg up for the 2012 enforcement of the 2007 energy law that mandates that by 2012 all 100-watt incandescent bulbs are to be phased out. The process will continue through the various watts until the end of 2014 when the 40-watt incandescent light bulb will be the last to be phased out. By switching over to CFL bulbs, you can save on electricity since a CFL bulb only requires one-third the amount of power it takes to power an incandescent bulb. In addition, the energy cost of replacing incandescent bulbs is ten times more than that of a single CFL bulb.
Weatherize Your Home
It might seem to be an unlikely way to save electricity, but if you have a leaky house it can cause a larger demand on electricity. This is especially true during the summer months when you run air conditioning. You can make cost-effective and relatively low cost adjustments like adding caulking and attic insulation.
Attic Ventilation
Hot air can get trapped in attics and increase the amount of power you need to cool the rest of your home. By installing attic fans or turbine roof vents, you can vent the hot air out of your roof and reduce the amount of electricity you need to cool your home during the summer months. If you want to reduce the electricity even more, consider installing solar powered fans.
Energy Star Appliances
If your appliances are older models, then you should retire them and purchase new ones as soon as you can. An Energy Star refrigerator can save money since this one appliance contributes nearly 15 to 20 percent of your energy consumption. A new washer and dryer, not only will save on electricity requirements, but also save on clothes. A partially filled freezer requires more electricity to keep the food frozen than a full freezer.
Cooking
If you use an electric oven and range, then you might want to consider other options of cooking such as a gas grill, slow cooker, or toaster oven.
Timers
You can save by putting some lamps in your home on timers. For example, if you leave your home when it's still dark outside, you can place a lamp or two to turn off at sunrise and turn back on at sunset so you don't enter a dark home.
Programmable Thermostat
Replace your furnace thermostat with a programmable one to reduce your electricity and energy needs. Set your timer to a low temperature during the night and to turn the furnace on at a higher temperature in the morning before you get up. Also, set the timer to a lower temperature while you're away at work and again to a higher one timed to turn on prior to your return home.
If your water heater is electric, then you can also place it on a timer to reduce the amount of electricity required to heat your household water.
Motion Detector Lights
While security considerations may mandate that you leave some lights on at night, such as those by an outside door entrance, you can place other lights that you use for security purposes on motion detectors in order to conserve electricity.
Saving Electricity Equals Saving Money
While your main goal in saving electricity might be altruistic in a desire to help the environment and reduce your impact on resources, the personal benefit is that you can save money by using these tips for conserving electricity.
