Green Energy and You: Tips On How To Make Positive Changes | Green Living

TIP! You might be able to get a government grant to finance your green energy installation. Check with the local government and see what programs are available to you.

Have you been wanting you go green but are not sure how to go about it? Difficulty or expense should not hold you back from making a wise decision. Now is the time to make the changes that you want to make. Forget about anything negative you might have heard about green energy and continue reading to learn more about this great technology.

TIP! Are you a farmer? You could rent a small portion of your property to an energy company willing to install a wind turbine. The energy generated can benefit your entire area without taking up much room.

Cover your windows when no one is at home. Heavy drapes help keep you home cool, resulting in energy savings. Usually the windows with the most sun are the one’s which face south. Dark curtains, roller or roman shades can cover windows well.

TIP! Check whether your furnace filters need to be replaced each month. Make sure that you actually replace these filters at least once each year.

When planning out your solar PV system, try to locate the battery storage system as close to the cells as possible. This prevents power from getting lost in the cables. You also will not have to worry about the cells being shaded by a cable and not producing as much energy as they could.

TIP! Do things like wash your clothes inside some cold water, if you can. The majority of energy use from washing clothes is in the heating of the water.

Keep your refrigerator in good condition. Refrigerators take up lots of energy, so making sure they’re in working order is always good to know. Clean the dust off of the heating coils on a regular basis. It’s important to check that the seal is tight and clean around the refrigerator door.

TIP! On hot, summer days, hang your clothes outside. The sun will dry your clothing for free and the summer breeze will leave it smelling amazing.

Help to control the air flow in your own home by installing a storm door and storm windows too. This will reduce drafts, make your home more comfortable, and reduce your energy usage. Storm doors and windows can increase a home’s energy efficiency by up to 45%, which can have great impacts on utility bills.

Passive Power

TIP! The flow of air in a home is better controlled when you have stormed windows and doors installed. Storm doors and windows dramatically reduce the amount of drafts and cold air that get into your home.

If you are interested in solar power learn about the difference between active and passive power. While active power requires storage cells, passive power doesn’t. Active power will require a large installation process and can cost a great deal more. Passive energy is using the sun’s thermal energy to heat your house.

TIP! To save money on heating your water, buy a tankless system. Tankless water heaters still use electricity or gas, but they do not run constantly heating a large tank all the time.

One way to participate in the green energy movement is buying products that are specifically designed to save energy. There are a variety of products, including eco-friendly doors and double-glazed windows that will make your home run far more efficiently. By installing these products, your home is sealed tighter, and you use less energy to heat and cool your home.

TIP! Fans of green energy should limit their use of electric heaters in the winter. Instead, start wearing warmer clothing indoors and use a pellet stove or fireplace to keep main living areas heated.

Use a laptop computer instead of desktop, which uses much more energy. This can cut up to 75% of your electrical use, especially if you are frequently on the Internet or using word processing software. The laptop is also mobile, so you can take it with you everywhere.

Solar Oven

TIP! Try to get your mail, like bills, sent to you through email. Specifically, go paperless whenever you can.

Make use of a solar oven for baking needs. Use common household items to make a solar oven. Put a piece of an old window into a box and place foil inside the box to reflect the sun’s rays. The internal temperature of these easy-to-build ovens can top 300 degrees, and they do not require any energy besides the sun’s rays.

TIP! If you are someone who is seeking out ways to live green so you can help save the planet’s energy, there’s a lot you can do. Going green doesn’t mean you have to spend tons of money, as you can begin simply by setting the thermostat to 60 degrees for those periods when you are not home.

Replace aging major appliances with ENERGY STAR appliances. This rating will guarantee than your appliance is using less energy! For your refrigerator/freezer, Energy star appliances promise to cut energy usage by 20%, and you will see 40% and 50% energy usage, respectively, in Energy Star dishwashers and washing machines.

TIP! You can actually use biofuels to add heat for your home. Biofuels consist of vegetable or animal fats, wood and oils.

You may be wondering what you have to do in order to make your home green, and to see its positive results. You now have the answers but it is up to you to take initiative and use the knowledge you gained from this article. Once you begin to implement them, you will notice results right away.