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Saving electricity at home
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There’s no point in trying to brush the problem of excess energy use under the carpet any longer. We need to realise that change begins at home and it is up to each one of us. If we own or rent a home and use all the creature comforts that we are used to, then we are responsible for using a certain amount of energy and have, consequently, a carbon footprint to worry about.
We cannot turn to big business and blame them for everything, nor can we half-heartedly point to the fact that we might take the bus when we go to work and not use a car. It is time to make considerable changes and search for significant ways to save electricity wherever possible. A journey of one thousand miles begins with a single step.
To start off with, you should make sure that all your windows and doors are fitting properly and you should go and check this right now. Don’t just give it a cursory glance as you likely won’t be able to see any problems with the naked eye - and as such, you should use an open flame to see if you have any drafts or even run your hand over the edges. Imagine how crazy it is to heat or cool the inside of your house according to the season, during these ever changing weather patterns that we deal with, when the money that you work so hard to earn is escaping through the window. Take steps to secure your home in this respect and then start to worry about your air heating and cooling costs.
If you have rooms that are not in constant use, consider putting any lighting appliances within on a timer. You could also put them on a motion detector, so that they will go on and off if someone enters or leaves the room. Almost every electrical item that you have actually wastes energy even if it is just plugged in and not switched on, and you should remove it from the wall socket just to be sure. Turn off computers at night. There’s no need for you to maintain them and they tend to build up heat within the casing anyway. Remember every bit helps and it will all add up over the course of a year.
Most people understand the benefits of renewable energy, but for some reason or another, we have a tendency to look to other people to take advantage of this knowledge. Why not consider some solar panels? Some home owners run their entire property on solar power, using either roof mounted panels or additional panels in their garden. One of the ways to save electricity is to cut down on its extraction from the grid and to reduce the size of your footprint. We all need to buy energy-efficient shoes that fit us, rather than continuing with this extravagant way of life. Turn your water heater thermostat down a notch and try to avoid using electricity to heat your water, as it is very inefficient. They say that roughly 2/3 of the energy actually produced to get the electricity to you, to heat your water in the first place, is lost in the distribution system. Direct oil or gas fired water heaters are far better at helping the environment and are much more efficient in the long run.
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Published by Dixon, on March 6, 2010 at 10:46 (0 comments)
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