Ten Ways to Use Less Energy

Lowering your energy use at your residence will also minimize pollution (from burning fossil fuels) on a worldwide scale and save you money. Methods to save energy are simple to implement and, when carried out, go a very long way.

1. Turn down the Thermostat

An effortless solution that will save you cash and save energy is to turn down the heat. Lowering your heat in cold weather by just only two degrees can cut your energy bill by almost 10 percent. Acquire an automatic or programmable thermostat to make it simple to save on heating. Program it to turn down when you're absent from home or you are asleep, and to turn back up half an hour before you'll be up and about.

2. Disconnect Gizmos

Electronic gear and devices consume energy even when they are off. They've in fact been called energy suckers.

Americans waste $1 billion a year powering items like TVs and DVD players despite the fact that they're turned off.

Therefore, unplug your Television, stereo, PC, microwave, and additional devices when you're not using them. Make sure to disconnect your cell-phone and MP3 chargers as soon as they are charged.

3. Set Computers to Sleep and Hibernate

Enable the "sleep mode" feature on your computer, permitting it to consume less energy during durations of inactivity. In Windows, the power management settings are found on your control panel.

Set your PC to "hibernate" routinely after thirty minutes or so of inactivity. The "hibernate mode" turns the PC off in a method that doesn't require you to boot everything when you turn it back on. Allowing your PC to hibernate saves energy and is more time-efficient than shutting down and restarting your computer. After you're done for the day, shut down.

4. Clean Clothes Efficiently

90%, of the energy consumed in the washing of clothes goes to heat the water, so washing in cold is an easy way to cut energy use dramatically. Wash just complete loads. When drying, be certain to check the lint screen prior to each load and clean it afterward. Furthermore, if you wish to take efficiency a step further, suspend some or most items and let them air-dry instead of running them through the dryer.

5.Take shorter showers and don't have baths

Hot water heating is one of the major uses of energy in any home. Showers are the best way save on energy consumption. Baths use much more water and heat than do baths unless you also decide to take very long showers.

6. Eat a smaller amount of Meat

Meat production requires plenty more energy and resources than raising vegetables or grains. In actual fact, eighteen percent of human-caused greenhouse gases comes from the livestock business. You need not have to be a true vegetarian to make a change in this area. Attempt skipping meat just one day a week. If every American had one meat-free day a week, it would cut emissions as much as taking eight million automobiles off the roads.

7. Do not drive to car often or leave it completely

Automobiles devour half of the world's oil, and spew 25% of the world's greenhouse-gas emissions. Leaving your car at home even one day per week will save a lot of gas and reduce emissions. Attempt walking, cycling, carpooling, or taking the bus or subway. See if you can telecommute to work one day a week. Before you drive, be certain your tires are correctly inflated -- underinflated tires will cut your gas mileage by 5 percent.

8. Slash your flights.

Nothing else you do leads to so much climate change in such a short period of time

9. Try green living

Choose one small assignment you can perform in the house to cut back energy consumption. Substitute regular light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs. CFLs consume roughly 1/5 as much energy as normal bulbs, and last about twelve times longer. Install a low-flow shower head that can save on water heating and use. Lessen the temperature of your water heater to one hundred twenty degrees, and insulate the boiler.

10. Repair the drafts

In an average house, up to twenty percent of warmth is lost through drafts. To experiment an area, simply hold the palm of your hand up alongside a door or window. If you feel cold air coming through, warm air is escaping. This is easy to repair and can save you hundreds on your yearly heating bill. In addition, to cut overall home energy consumption, you can also use highly reflective materials to lower surface temperatures of your roof by up to one hundred degrees. Cool roof methods perform best on smaller buildings in sunnier environments.
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