How To Create Some Home Energy Savings!
by Gilly Brewster
(California, USA)
Home Energy Usage....where does it go it all go to and how can I save some money?.
Do you ever sit & wonder where all your electric consumption goes to?, and wonder how you going to save on your electric bill?. Well, hopefully this article will help provide you with the answers to these questions!.
The largest proportion of ALL your electric consumption goes to space heating, 47% to be exact. This is almost half of the total cost of your electric bill. So whether it is cool air in the summer or warm air heating during the winter.....it consumes half of the electrical energy you use!. The other half is shared by lighting and electrical appliances with 27%, water heating with 21%, and refrigeration with 5%.
Now that you are armed with this information, you can easily determine where to start your move to cut the cost & electric consumption down.
Since the largest part of our electric consumption goes to space heating, we will start here.
Insulating the parts of your home particularly the ceilings and walls can save you as much as 30% on heating expenses that equates to 15% savings on total electric cost. That would be a big win in your fight to lower your energy costs!. Doing this will of course require you to invest on insulating materials that will be installed around your home but it is worth the money. Imagine a $150 savings per year just by insulating your home......what are you waiting for!.
If you live in cooler parts of the country you can further save on your heating expenses if you "super insulate" or double insulate your home, the additional costs will be paid back in energy savings within one year.
Doing some other changes around your home will also make a difference to your electric bill. If you live in a warmer climate, the shade of a large deciduous tree will help cool down your home in the summer & help those precious fall & winter "rays" get through once the leaves have fallen from the tree!. An appropriate roof and wall painting will further give you extra savings.
Covering your windows with plastic coating will provide extra insulation. This will help to keep the heat from going outside as well as the cold air from going inside the house.
Sealing all the leaks around your home will ensure that the heat will stay inside. Leaks will often come from windows, doors, sills, joints and walls.
A regular maintenance check on your home furnace will keep it running more energy efficiently, thus, ensuring you get your space heated more equally for the electricity consumed. A clean air filter will also ensure that you get efficient air recycling as well as clean air. Leaking ducts will make your heating system work 30% more, thus, you are using power and spending more money on wasted energy.
A quarter of our electric bill goes to the lighting and electrical appliances. Here, we must concentrate on the control and responsible use of lights and electronic devices.
Make sure that you turn the lights off when not in use. Turn off the lights when you leave the room even for a few minutes. Turn off the stereo and television if you are not using them and ALWAYS overnight, this not only saves you money, it also dramatically reduces the possibilities of electrical fires!.
Raise the temperature thermostat of your refrigerator. It constitutes 20% of your household electric consumption & is one of the most expensive household devices to run.
Wash your clothes with cold water. You can save as much as 90% on washing machine’s electric consumption if you will not use the heating. You do not need warn water so kill the germs on your clothes. The detergent will do.
Only use the dishwasher when it is fully loaded. Dishwashers uses the same amount of power and water whether you full load them fully or not. Also, air-drying your dishes instead of heating them inside the dishwasher saves energy.
Reducing the temperature of your water heater will also help you to further reduce the cost of your home energy bill. If the thermostat of your water heater is set on 140 degrees Fahrenheit, lower it down to 120. It will still be enough to give you warm water. Invest in a water heater jacket. It is cheap but & will certainly help yield bigger savings.
If you are going to replace your appliance, make sure you select energy efficient ones. Energy guide details can be seen on the label of ALLh new appliance.
Compact energy bulbs are cheaper and more energy efficient than incandescent lights. Compact lights also last 8-10 times longer than incandescent bulbs so you will also save yourself from buying incandescent bulbs 8-10 times.
Replace your regular showerheads with low-flow ones. This will reduce your water consumption by as much as 40%.
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I'm Kevin - Whether you own or rent, a more Energy Efficient Home will save you money. So why continue to waste energy and money?.
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