Over the past several years, two things have come into focus as incredibly important: saving money and saving the environment. This post aims to show you six ways how you can very easily do both.
All of the solutions below clost little or no money, and have an immediate pay off in terms of reducing your energy consumption. This reduction will ultimately save you money and reduce your carbon footprint and impact on the environment.
1) Kill the energy vampires. According to Treehugger.com, electronics that are plugged in but not in use can account for up to 20% of your monthly electricity bill. Electronics that plugged in but not in use will still draw power, hence the name “energy vampires.”
Obviously, the draw is not as much energy as when the electronic device is in use, but, it’s still a waste. Some common energy vampires include cell phone and laptop chargers, TVs, and stereo equipment.
In order to kill the energy vampires, you can either completely unplug these sorts of things when they’re not in use, or, better yet, you can plug everything into an energy saving power strip that you can simply turn on and off as needed. Here’s a highly rated power strip from Amazon.com for only $6.77 – and it’s already 51% off!
Over time, these power strips should more than pay for themselves in the amount of money you save on your energy bills.
2) Use a programmable thermostat. A programmable thermostat allows you to adjust the heat/air conditioning temperature based on certain times of the day.
For example, in the winter, you can have the furnace kick on and heat the house to a comfortable temperature just before you get out of bed and start your morning routine. Then, while you’re out of the house and at work – when you don’t need the house to be warm and comfortable – the thermostat can drop to a much lower temperature, before returning to a higher temperature just before you get home.
Because you’re not keeping the thermostat set a higher temperature throughout the day, you’ll save a pretty good amount of money each month. In fact, according to EnergyStar.gov, the average household can save about $180 per year by installing and properly using a programmable thermostat.
Here’s a highly rated programmable thermostat from Amazon.com for only $65.76, which is 18% off the usual price.
NOTE – before purchasing a programmable thermostat, make sure it is compatible with your current heating and air conditioning system.
3) Clean your appliances. Your appliances will run most efficiently when they’re in good shape. One of the easiest ways to make sure your big appliances aren’t overworking and running inefficiently is to make sure they’re free and clear of debris.
This means doing things regularly changing your furnace’s air filter and vacuuming your refrigerator’s coils.
Here are some highly rated air filters from Amazon.com.
NOTE – Make sure you are purchasing the correct sized air filters for your heating/cooling system.
4) Unblock vents. Your heating and cooling system is a very complex system (sorry for the redundancy) where, in order for everything to work correctly, there must be a complete free flow of air throughout the vents and returns.
In order to allow the system to operate at maximum efficiency, you need to make sure all of the vents and returns in your house are neither blocked nor obstructed.
So, go around your house and make sure you don’t have your couch over a vent, or a curtain blocking a return. If you do, move the obstruction immediately.
5) Switch to CFL or LED lights. I’m sure you’ve already heard a lot about this one over the past two or three years. CFL and LED lights are much more energy efficient and last a lot longer than their old incandescent counterparts.
They also give off a lot less heat, which will help with your cooling costs in the summer time.
While they cost more up front, over the life of the energy efficient bulbs, you will end up saving money in reduced energy consumption and bulb replacement costs.
Here are some highly rated CFL and LED lights from Amazon.com.
6) Run your laundry on cold water and then air dry the clothes. According to Treehugger.com, 90% of the energy used in washing clothes goes towards heating the water. So, it goes without saying, the more loads of laundry you can do in cold water, the more money you’re going to save.
After you wash your clothes, instead of jamming them into the dryer, place them on a drying rack or clothes line and let them air dry and really watch your utility costs drop.
If you follow these six suggestions, I think you’ll see a significant decrease in the amount of energy you use each month. Not only will this add up to a lot of savings, but you’ll also be doing your part to help the environment.
Sounds like a win-win situation to me.
What are your thoughts? What do you do to save energy each month? Have you had success with any of the above tips? Leave your comments below.
Per FTC regulations, please be aware that the above links to Amazon.com are affiliate links, and I will receive a commission if you purchase items from Amazon.com after clicking my affiliate links.
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