Wash Twice – Dry Once
Next time you need to do a load of laundry – Try washing ALL your clothes before turning on the dryer. The new front loading washing machines hold a great deal of clothing. The problem is – we still need to separate the colors during the wash cycle.
After each washing load – place the freshly washed load in the dryer without turning the dryer on.
Wash your second load. Then place this second load in the dryer with the first load. Then turn on the dryer.
It is often times not as critical to dry “separates” together – and you will save electricity by drying two loads with only one dryer cycle. Plus you will save money and the wear and tear on your dryer.
Talk about a WIN-WIN.
Saving Energy
In many cases, the most expensive appliance to run inside a home is the furnace.
Heating a home comfortable takes up to 60% of the energy budget used in the average sized house. Ensure that your furnace is operating as efficiently as possible by changing the filter every sixty days. A great way to save money is to purchase a reusable filter. These filters can be washed out by a garden hose and reused on a regular basis.
The initial higher cost of one of these aluminum filters is more than made up by the elimination of future filters you will need to buy. In just a few minutes of proper care and regular upkeep – you can increase the efficiency of your heating appliance as much as 40-50%
Heating or cooling a home to prime levels when it is vacant – or when everyone is tucked away in bed, uses a large and unnecessary amount of energy. Common sense tells us that this equates to a poor scenario for both the environment and your bank account.
Rather than wasting energy, a programmable thermostat could be used to set the temperature to the desired settings during the occupied hours of the day – and to operate at a reduced rate when your family is away from the home.
With the programmable settings, it is easy to have your home trend back to the desired temperatures when you arrive home from work or get out of bed to start your day.
To better insulate your hot water tank – use fiberglass blankets to wrap around the device to help hold in the heat. These blankets are a common item now, found at any hardware or home improvement store. They are easily installed by the homeowner. Doing so will easily pay for the cost of the blankets within the first year.
Another saving tip is to insulate the first three to four feet of pipe leading in to and out of your hot water tank. Metal water pipes that lead through open areas rapidly lose their energy and effectiveness.
For owners of older hot water tanks, consider replacing it with one of the new tankless hot water heaters on the market. These appliances heat water on demand as you need it – rather than keeping an entire tank heated throughout the day at all times. Because of this – the tankless water heaters use a considerable smaller amount of energy and money to operate.
Many experts advise that a 50% savings can be realized by switching to a tankless hot water heater option.
Alternative Energy
There are a variety of ways in which one is able to generate electricity that comes from an alternative source. For example, solar panels located on the roof will collect and store electricity. This power bank can be the entire source of electricity for a single family home. If the solar panels deplete their store of energy – your home immediately switches over to electricity from a traditional source to provide uninterrupted power.
There is also the use of wind and water power as a source of alternative electricity in many locations. A great deal of information can be found today on the internet to help you learn more about these providers of alternative energy.
The use of windmills in many states is now being seriously considered as an alternative source of energy. Also gaining popularity is harnessing the power of water to create energy through hydropower.
Each year we learn more and more about creating electricity from more environmentally green sources.
Outdoor Lighting
A huge area of wasting electricity that does contribute to polluting our environment is leaving light bulbs on and burning at home. Outdoor areas are the worst offenders – such as burning your porch light when the family is away from home for an extended amount of days.
We are not recommending going without home lighting – but it is not necessary to leave outdoor lights on 24 hours per day. Today, there are many attractive alternatives to look at.
There are many options today of using decorative solar powered lights along your dirveway. Some of the light fixtures are small while others can be more of a taller lantern style. It is completely up to the homeowner as to which design to consider when landscaping your exterior home.
Outdoor solar powered lights do not need to be plugged in or connected to an electrical grid – so you are free to place them on your property in the best desired position.
These solar powered lights collect energy from the sun during day light hours and illuminate your garden or yard as soon as the sun sets. When the sun rises – or the supplied solar power is exhausted, the lights simply turn themselves off.
As soon as sunrise the next morning – the lights once again begin collecting additional solar power for the next evening.
Another way to conserve more energy is to install a motion detector light. This type of lighting system does not need to be left on when you are not at home. When you arrive back home to your driveway, the motion sensor will activate the light for you to safely see where to park. The light then remains on for a short length of time before automatically turning itself off.
This will allow you to get out of your car and safely get inside your home with plenty of lighting around you.
Indoor Lighting
Are the types of light bulbs in your home causing issues with the environment? There is no shortage of retail locations that sell a more energy efficient, environmentally friendly light bulb. They are available for purchase in many different sizes that would fit all the rooms inside your house.
They are very practical – economically priced and any increase in cost will be offset very quickly by a savings in your monthly utility bill. You will find that cutting back on the amount of lighting you use is an easy goal to achieve.
Opening the curtains during daylight house to allow the natural light in would immediately cut in half the time you would need to turn on lighting in an occupied room. Turning on lights would be needed only during evening hours and on cloudy days.
The use of sky lights has also become a popular new feature in existing homes and in new home construction. A sky light will allow more natural sunlight to come in from above and also cuts down the use of electricity.
Many larger retailers will use this type of lighting as much as possible with dozens of sky lights on the roof tops of each store location. The next time you are in a big box retailer – take a look up overhead and check it out for your self. You will see that not many lights are being used at all. The lights in use are often the low level variety.
Use of skylights and the correct light bulbs will make a great and immediate impact on the electricity you use inside your home and you will also be helping the environment.
