Save Money And The Environment With These Simple Green Energy Tips | Green Living

TIP! Solar powered outdoor lighting is a wonderful enhancement to your outdoor living areas. They are not only affordable, but they do not have to be hooked up to any power source, needing only good access to sunlight.

It does not have to be difficult, expensive or take a lot of time to go green. Simply making small changes in your home could reduce electricity bills, and offer a lot of benefits to our environment. Continue reading to learn how you can use green energy and help our environment.

TIP! Solar water heaters are a great option and can significantly decrease the cost involved with heating all of the water in your home. Using natural gas and electricity is certainly the norm, but it’s not very energy efficient.

Use solar-powered lamps for outdoor lighting. This type of lamp is cost-effective and needs no power other than sunlight. This doesn’t merely save energy. It means you don’t have to wire up outdoor lights.

Electronic Devices

TIP! Wash clothes with cold water, as much as you can. Almost 90% of the power you use to do laundry is simply used to heat the water.

Save on the use of electricity in your home, and become a better consumer of energy by unplugging your electronic devices and gadgets when they are not in use. Unplug your electronic devices when they are not being used or fully charged. This wastes energy otherwise.

TIP! Turn off appliances you aren’t using. Make sure that all lights are off when you exit a room, and also consider switching off the power for your television set, computer and stereo.

Do you have a large plot of land? If you do, then you probably own property. This might be an opportunity to rent a portion of that property to a company that will build a wind turbine on it. You and the neighbors can relish in the free energy and installation, if it doesn’t require too much space.

TIP! If you clean your dishes using a dishwasher, don’t run it until it’s completely full. An equal amount of water and energy is used, whether it is full or not.

Speak to a technician to find out if your fuel oiled heating can be changed to an alternative fuel, such as biodiesel. A lot of existing systems can change to some bio-diesel utilization without modifications or using any extra parts. Biodiesel is a clean choice when it comes to fuel, and using it will reduce the impact that your family has on the environment.

TIP! If you would like to reduce the cost of your hot water, use solar energy. Purchase a solar water heating system.

If you are not using something, turn it off. Upon leaving a room, turn off such things as the lights, computer, television or entertainment center. Power strips are handy, because you can turn a number of devices off with the flip of one switch.

TIP! If you’re installing a solar energy system, be sure to place the batteries in close proximity to the cells. This procedure guards against power loss as energy travels through the cable.

Dress in warm clothes to cut costs! A sweater that is light can provide 2 degrees of extra warmth, while a heavy one provides 4. It’s not necessary to wear so little at home, so out on a sweatshirt and save some cash!

Active Power

TIP! Instead of buying that new desktop computer, purchase a laptop, as desktops use much more electricity. This can cut up to 75% of your electrical use, especially if you are frequently on the Internet or using word processing software.

When looking at solar power, know the difference between passive solar power and active. When it comes to active power, the energy is stored for later use, while passive doesn’t need expensive cells in order to store power. Active power will require a large installation process and can cost a great deal more. Passive systems use the sun’s rays to store energy withing the walls of your home and are significantly cheaper.

TIP! Hire experts to check your plumbing and heating systems before investing a lot of money in installing new, greener systems. They will be able to tell you how much money you are losing on inefficient appliances, and they can also give you an accurate estimate of what it will cost to upgrade or replace your systems.

Save energy by buying products that conserve energy. Certain green items, such as eco-friendly windows and doors and double glazed windows, cut down on energy you need to keep your home going efficiently. The use of these types of technologies can drastically reduce both your cooling and heating costs.

TIP! Opt out of snail mail where possible, and choose to get bills and notices by email. In other words, go paperless as much as possible.

There are many renewable energy rebates offered by the government, so be aware of them. Sometimes your utility company may offer additional rebates which will help pay for the expense of the systems. The federal government offers tax write-offs and other credits in return for your changes. These credits and rebates will ultimately cut your costs of bringing green energy technology to your house.

TIP! Make reminders for yourself to set new energy efficiency targets, and be sure you examine each utility bill that comes in against last year’s bill to see if gains are being made. Be more conscious of energy usage so you can reduce it.

While many people do not see global warming as a threat, everyone can benefit from indoor green energy. You can save a lot of money each month just by making changes, such as turning off lights when you aren’t using them.