Getting in on the green energy trend doesn’t have to involve a time-consuming or costly effort. It can be as easy and cheap as making a few home modifications that save electricity. Read this article for ways to use helpful green energy!
The U.S. Government makes grant funds available as an incentive for consumers to start using green energy. Talk to your local representative to see if programs operate in your neighborhood. There might be programs in your area that can allow you to install solar or wind energy solutions for free or with taxable deductions if you qualify for them.
Cover your windows when no one is at home. They will help to keep the temperature and the energy consumption of the house down when the house is vacant. Typically, the south facing windows are the ones that get the most amount of sun due to their location. Use dark curtains, roman shades, roller shades or other coverings on all windows.
Do not use your dishwasher unless it contains a full load of dishes. The same amounts of water and energy are used every time. Also, use your dishwasher’s energy-saver setting so that the load will air-dry.
A good benchmark to use when determining how much power a new solar system is likely to generate is the number of hours of sunlight in the winter. This way, you aren’t beyond your capacity in the winter, and you have plenty of excess power in the summer. If you generate excess energy during the summer, with the right plan, your utility company will send you a check!
Homes with storm doors and windows have better airflow than homes without these upgrades. Storm windows and doors prevent cold air drafts filtering into openings. Homes which have stormed windows and doors increase their energy efficiency by as much as 45% which also ends up costing you a lot less on your utility bills.
Use a laptop computer instead of desktop, which uses much more energy. It can mean a savings of up to seventy-five percent on the electricity if you are a frequent Internet user or if you use word-processing software. In addition, the laptop is portable and be used anywhere in the house.
Try not to set the heat very high in your home unless it’s an absolute must. Wear sweatpants and a sweater if you are chilly. When your heat is running it uses more energy than necessary.
Investigate options for heating your oven through solar energy. It’s fairly easy to make a solar oven using a discarded window box lined with foil to reflect the heat. They don’t use any outside energy and can get up to 300 degrees.
An old, yet good tip, for those looking to save on energy is to turn off your lights whenever you leave a room. Turning off the lights will save a surprising amount of energy. Additionally, it decreases your electrical spending.
Add motion-detecting light sensors to the rooms in your house that you use most. This turns the lights off in rooms that have nobody in them, which saves a lot of energy (and money). Use these sensors on outdoor garage lighting, as well.
Solar Panels
If you are planning to make your home a greener one, consider adding solar panels to your roof. The cost of installing solar panels is small compared to the amount you will save over the years on energy bills. Solar energy is free once panels are installed, and you might even have the opportunity to sell off some of this power to local electric companies.
Heat the rooms in your home separately. To do this, your home will need a board that makes it possible to control the heating for different areas of your home. This is particularly effective if you own a bigger home.
To make you home greener, install a programmable thermostat. It can save you a significant sum of money your monthly energy bills. These devices come with many different heating schemes programmed into them. Some settings are suitable for saving energy during the summer, while others are more suited to the winter months. They can also be used to schedule your daily heating.
Reduce your water heater’s thermostat to 120 degrees, and you can go green while saving money on your utility bills. Not only will it provide a good water temperature, but it will also save up to 10% on your bills.
Make use of rainwater for washing dishes and flushing the toilet. Not only will your water bills be less, you will be helping the environment. Storing rainwater for later use is easy. Just set a bunch of glass jars outside before the rain begins, and put a lid on them once the water has been collected.
Green energy can benefit anyone, whether they think global warming is real or not. By making a couple small changes like turning off lights when not needed, can really help save you lots of money on your electric bill.
