Your home is your castle, but have you ever considered what is powering it? Green energy is a great solution that you can implement in your own home, in order to clean up the environment and lower your bills. Read on for some simple strategies that you can start using right now.
If you're considering switching to green energy sources, the easiest thing you can do is call up your current electric provider and see if the offer green energy. Many electric companies offer these power sources to their customers. They may cost a bit more, however, to offset the amount of money they would've had to invest in the sources.
Check whether your furnace filters need to be replaced each month. Make sure that you actually replace these filters at least once each year. It's a good call to add filters to warm air registers. This will keep everything out of the air ducts, keeping your energy efficiency high.
Plant trees around your home. The trees will help provide shading for you home and therefore will help keep your home cooler in the hot summer months. It will not require as much air conditioning to keep it at your desired temperature. Since trees lose leaves in the winter, they will still allow the sun to come in and help heat your home during the winter months.
Use electric heaters minimally in the winter. Instead, wear multiple layers, slippers and socks, or even consider investing in a stove or fireplace. Also, it has been shown that people sleep better in cool environments.
If you are in the http://www.privateschol.dept.ku.edu/Final_Table.php/ process of, or planning to, design your own home, you can build some green energy sources right into your home from the beginning. Start by looking for land that https://www.nytimes.com/section/climate has a water source such as a creek or room for wind turbines. Another good idea is to choose a roof with solar panels built in. You can even position them to get the most out of sunlight.
Save energy, and your hard-earned dollars, by only using your washing machine and dishwasher when you have a full load. A small load uses just as much energy as a full load and accomplishes a lot less for the energy expenditure. Let laundry stack up another day or two in order to maximize savings and efficiency. Also consider drying clothes outdoors on a clothesline if allowed in your area. The fresh outdoorsy scent can't be beat, and you will show a significant savings in your utility bill if you cut back on your dryer usage.
You can save on your energy bill by dressing warmly. A thin sweater will provide you with two degrees of additional heat, while a heavier item will add four. So, to save some money, pick up a nice warm sweater and refrain from dressing scantily.
One of the cheapest and easiest ways to make your home more energy efficient is by replacing all of your standard light bulbs with green versions. Not only do such bulbs reduce your energy bill through lower wattage and higher efficiency, but these bulbs are also made to last longer, giving you a two-fold return for your investment.
If you are struggling to maintain low energy costs in your home, you should try putting in a water-efficient flow control washer or shower rose that is Triple A-rated. Triple-A appliances are designed to decrease the amount of energy used in your home, which will ultimately lead to large savings.
In a colder climate, make sure you weatherize your windows to be energy efficient. This will not only help you stay much warmer, but it will save you on energy costs. You can have this done for a fee, or you can do it yourself after purchasing the necessary products.
Learn all you can about solar power that is active and passive. Using active power means storing energy for later use, while passive energy is about benefiting from the warmth or light of the sun rays right away. Installing an active solar system requires more money and work, with panels and an entire system. Passive power, on the other hand, stores the power in your walls and allows it to radiate outward, heating your home.
Watch your watt usage. There are devices like Watt Minder or Kill-A-Watt that can monitor your wattage and help you see what is consuming energy. If you attach the device to the appliances in your home, it will let you know how much energy that appliance uses for different lengths of time. With that information, you will be able to calculate how much that appliance costs to operate.
Keep your fridge and freezer closed as often as possible. Refrigeration consumes about a third of your households total energy and constantly leaving your fridge and freezer open can increase the energy needed by up to 25%. Make sure that you know what you want before opening up your refrigerator.
If your dishwasher was made before 1994, replace it with a new, high-efficiency model to save both electricity and water. Modern dishwashers use fewer gallons per load than older units, and they come with a wider variety of settings that allow you to customize your energy usage based on the size of the load.
Seal any air leaks in your home. Air leakage, or infiltration typically occurs when the outside air enters your house uncontrollably via openings and cracks. You can properly seal these openings and cracks via sealant or weatherstripping. This greatly reduces cooling and heating costs, betters your building's durability, and helps you mainatain a healthier home environment.
Harness wind power in your home. Wind power is probably one of the cleanest sources that we have available now, and using it just might cut your electric bill down by up to 90%. You will have to make sure that your home is zoned correctly and then invest in a wind-turbine unit in order to take advantage of this technology.
Avoid putting hot foods in their fridge or freezer for people looking to save energy. When you put hot foods in the fridge, it warms the total internal temperature causing your appliance to run longer to get it back down to the desired temperature. Rather, let your food cool before you refrigerate it.
One simple way to update your home with green technology is, to install solar panels. These can help decrease the amount of energy you use, and save you some money. Not to mention they are not extremely expensive, and are easy to install. There are even some government incentives for updating your home with solar panels.
So there you have it, green energy is not only great for us, but for the environment. The best thing about it is how relatively simple it is to use in any home. All you need to do is use the information presented here and your home can harness the power of green energy.
