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Tips and Ideas On Saving Energy In The Home by Jack Bowles Energy saving in the home is central to your personal responsibility in reducing harmful carbon emissions as part of wider personal, local, governmental and international initiatives to develop an environmentally more stable environment. Energy saving in the home will benefit the environment far more than any waste reduction measures. Saving energy at home helps save the planet by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Saving energy in the home can be accomplished in many ways,some large, some small. By saving energy we can all help fight climate change. By bringing energy saving into our everyday lives we can all help to prevent climate change, from simple actions turning off lights to installing loft insulation. Key energy saving measures; Energy saving appliances use less power and are cheaper to run. When replacing appliances (especially large appliances like fridges and washing machines), look for ones displaying the energy saving recommended logo. There are several energy saving ideas that you may want to consider applying to your home: Use energy efficient appliances: There is a universal labeling systems now in place to help you choose energy efficient electrical goods for your home. Are you really an efficiency angel or is there room for improvement. Energy efficiency means getting the same job done while using less energy. Efficiency is usually done by replacing an older, less efficient appliance with a new one. Dishwasher: Load dishes in their proper locations to ensure maximum cleaning efficiency. Keep your stove's reflector pans shiny to maximize efficiency. Check for products bearing the Energy Star logo, which have been determined by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy to increase efficiency and save money. Place your dryer in a warm space for maximum efficiency. By upgrading heating controls you will improve the efficiency of any central heating system and cut your energy wastage and costs by up to 17 per cent. Educating tomorrow's consumers about energy efficiency is becoming increasingly important given the potential impact of climate change. However, through intensive research, I realised how little I knew about various aspects of energy efficiency and began to take action on saving energy at home and at work. For those with the know-how and persistence, optimizing your home's energy efficiency can be a fun challenge. But not everyone knows enough about energy efficiency, appliances, and insulation to make informed decisions. HEATING AND COOLING Space heating and cooling accounts for about 45 percent of your utility bill and offers the greatest opportunity to improve energy efficiency. Keep furniture and drapes away from the HVAC air supply and return air ducts to increase the energy efficiency of your system. When installing a new furnace, check the energy rating and choose a high-efficiency unit for maximum energy savings. Empty your clothes dryer lint screen between every load to improve energy efficiency. One of the little-known ways to save energy is to drain a quart of water from your hot water tank every few months to remove sediment that impedes heat transfer and lowers it's efficiency. To improve energy efficiency even more, replace the incandescent light bulbs in your home with energy saving compact fluorescent lamps. For more energy efficiency, remove both light bulbs from your garage door opener and replace the garage wall light switch with a motion sensor control. Replace your lighting with fluorescent bulbs they last 5 to 10 times as long as regular tungsten filament bulbs; so, between much longer life and much greater electrical efficiency, they are significantly less costly to operate, and their widespread use would save significant energy on a national and global scale, with all the benefits that would accrue from that. Refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers,furnaces, heat pumps, air conditioning units and water heaters all have high-efficiency models. Keep the top of your refrigerator free of clutter, and clean the coils once a year for maximum efficiency. Send this article to everyone you know and start a "social virus" of energy efficiency. The numbers you set for your air conditioner, thermostat, hot water tank and refrigerator are all critical to energy-efficiency. Outside, clear away yard debris and shrubbery from around a central air unit for maximum efficiency. Believe it or not, the impact of dirty, dusty, insect-laden globes, diffusers, reflectors, or shades on your fixtures' light production and efficiency is enormous. So, if you're aiming for efficiency, get up there and clean them off. Adding insulation, caulking, replacing windows or remodeling your kitchen can affect the efficiency and safe operation of flame-burning appliances. Air conditioniners can have leaks that can lessen their efficiency. Your local utility may provide technical guidance and rebates or other financial incentives for many energy efficiency measures. Improve your home's heat efficiency by adding insulation, installing insulated window coverings, weather-stripping doors, and putting gaskets behind electrical outlets. Select a high efficiency water heater: Higher-efficiency water heaters may cost more, but actually save you money over time because they use less electricity to operate. Just stop for a minute and think about all the things in your home that use electricity. And electricity generated by fossil fuels for a single home puts more carbon dioxide into the air than two average cars. Every time you use electricity generated from fossil fuels, it contributes to climate change by releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and adding to the greenhouse effect. If possible, replace light bulbs with low energy ones, these on average use four times less electricity and last eight times longer than a standard bulb. Switching to fluorescents would trim the world's electricity bill by nearly one-tenth. Washing at 30 oC rather than normal temperatures means you use 40% less electricity. It is easy to fall into the trap of not considering it important to, for example, turn the lights out when you are not in a certain room; after all, light bulbs use relatively little electricity. The way most of us use electricity to heat our homes is wasteful. Moreover home heating causes the highest peaks in electricity demand. As a rule-of-thumb you can assume that mechanical and electronic appliances use electricity efficiently, but anything that produces heat is likely to be quite wasteful. Will saving energy at home also saves you money? You can save money, create a more comfortable home and help prevent climate change. You can weather-strip around windows and doors and you'll save money and energy. It may be a chore to clean behind your fridge once every three months, but it will save you money. Fix those Drips. If you have a leaky faucet, you're pouring money down the drain. In just one day a dripping hot water tap can waste enough water to fill a bath and costs you money in fuel costs. Simply changing the small things you do every day can help to save energy, money and the environment. Not only will you feel better about yourself, you'll be healthier and it might save you money too. Living areas switch to compact fluorescent lights to save up to 80% of CO2 emissions and money. The good news is that by being energy smart and environmentally responsible, we also save money and help conserve our valuable energy resources. Storm windows, caulking, weather stripping and double paned windows can save you money. Replacing a dirty air filter can save money by reducing the amount of electricity needed to run a blower motor (because there is less resistance to airflow with a clean filter). Appliances that aren't working properly can run inefficiently and cost you money. Properly seal your ducts: When the duct work in your cooling and heating system has leaks or is not properly sealed, air is allowed to escape into the attic, which ends up wasting energy and costing you money. Select a high efficiency water heater: Higher-efficiency water heaters may cost more, but actually save you money over time because they use less electricity to operate. The process of implementing thousands of energy saving ideas and overcoming obstacles to success can be lengthy. Also, it can be expensive, although it will save money in the long term. Start saving energy today by implementing the easy things such as replacing lighting, checking and changing filters, etc. Then develop a long term plan for fixing the big items. Set aside a portion of you savings each month to help defray the cost of the expensive items. Get started today improving your home's efficiency. Get the whole family involved. Make a list of things that everyone can do to help, such as turning off the lights when not needed, turning of radios and televisions when not watching or listening. There are many little things you and your family can do to make your home more energy efficient. Think about it, devise a plan, do it! You'll be glad you did. Jack Bowles authors articles on various subjects, and maintains a web site where you can learn to make money from home. http://solid-homebusiness.com/ Also an audio book download site where you can get over six thousand titles immediately by download. http://www.4553.leisureaudiosales.com/ Article Source: ArticleRich.com |
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