Going green benefits your home and your health, as well as leaving a minimal impact on the environment. It only takes a few changes to vastly improve your home’s energy efficiency, and cut that electric bill down to size! Read the following tips to learn how you can use less energy at home.
You can make a difference and save energy simply by taking steps to use less energy every day. Unplug appliances whenever you are not going to be using them for awhile. Turn off lights and the television when you are finished using them. This helps to save money without much effort.
If you want to preserve energy, keep your windows so they are shaded from sunlight. Keep blinds closed and curtains drawn. When you use these two things in tandem, you will find your heating and cooling bills will plummet. You will save money and energy at the same time.
Take the time to clean or replace your furnace every season. Monthly checks will assure your furnace never has to work hard. It is also recommended to put filters on every register in your home. This not only helps keep debris (and kids’ toys) from entering heating ducts, which reduces efficiency.
If you use fuel oil to heat your home, speak with a technician to see if it’s possible to change to bio-diesel. A lot of the existing systems can be modified with minimal parts or alterations. Biodiesel is cleaner and more efficient to burn than oil, and it has a better affect on the environment.
Find out what energy options your community has available. Find out what the cost would be to switch, how much it would cost to maintain, and whether your government has any legislation regarding its use. You might find that you could save money by switching from an electric furnace to a natural gas one, for instance, or from using municipal water to your own well water.
Calculate potential energy generation during the planning of buying home solar systems. That way you won’t run out of energy during winter months, and you will have more than enough in the summer. And even more exciting, on some plans, you can receive money from utility companies if you use less energy than you generate.
There is a lot you can do if you want to save energy. While you might not have much money to spend on going green, you can begin by cleaning up furnace filters every month and set the heat to 60 degrees when you aren’t home. Setting your water heater’s temperature to a maximum 120 degrees will also save money. No matter how small, everything helps!
Carpooling is a great way to save energy for transportation needs, even if your trip is to the mall or an after-school event. Carpooling with other neighborhood parents to transport children back and forth to school not only saves you time, it sames you money. Plan your shopping days to correspond with those of your friends. That way you can share a vehicle and the costs of fuel.
As you can see, it really can be quite simple and inexpensive to go green. Usually this can be accomplished with just a few simple changes that can save you money on electricity costs. Remember this article’s tips so you can begin making changes in your own life, and help out the environment in the long term.