Want to make your home more energy efficient and sustainable but don’t know how to do it?
Well, you all know how to tap renewable energy but adopting more energy saving behavior and technology can actually bring down your energy consumption by more than 50%.
So, without wasting any time further, let’s catch a quick glimpse of ways homeowners can adopt to conserve energy:
1. Switch to better ways to heat and cool your house:
While 50% of the energy is used up in heating and cooling the home, a few adjustments done can effectively bring down your power bills. A ceiling fan is a great substitute to air conditioners that eats up sizeable energy. Timely replace air filters in ACs and heaters to conserve energy.
You can also keep windows open or close to affordably manage your house temperature. Flung your windows open if you are feeling hotter or colder in house than outside and keep those closed if the situation is reverse.
Talking of a thermostat, installing a programmable thermostat that automatically shuts down after heating and cooling, setting thermostats to right temperature, turning them down at night or when there’s no one at place are all energy saving techniques.
2. Replace electrical lighting with day lighting:
Utilizing natural sun light to light up the home’s interior is called as day lighting. Using skylights that are double-paned and correctly flashed not only makes them cost-effective but also serves as the key to escaping leaks.
While light shelves bounce natural light far into the house, clerestory windows admit the winter sunlight to shine through for natural light and heat. Using light tubes is another way to use up renewable energy where sunlight is tapped through a tube covered with a superbly reflective material.
3. Revamp your laundry habits:
Never set your washer to medium and wait till you own a full pile of clothes since the medium setting saves 50% lesser water and electricity utilized for a full washer load. Try setting your washer to high temperatures when clothes are normally dirty.
Don’t forget to cleanse the lint cover each time before your dry as it both prevents fire hazard and stretches the time needed to dry your clothes. And, if possible, air-dry your clothes on racks and lines rather than using a dryer. If not possible, try to spin-dry or squeeze clothes before inserting them into an electric dryer. Isn’t it an amazing way to conserve energy? Yes, it is.
4. Practice water conservation wherever & whenever possible:
While energy saving is a fabulous way to conserve energy, using water judiciously also plays a pivotal role in conserving water. Get aerators installed for your valves and low flow showerheads as they facilitate right water pressure. Replace old high flow toilets with low flow toilets to cut down on water usage.
While all these are ways to conserve water you can actually use less water to conserve this priceless resource. Rather than turning the faucet on high to clean utensils, hands, face or teeth, crank the spigot on just adequate to achieve the task at hand. Moreover, you can also go for more concise showers to save water.
5. Take over incandescent lights:
According to a homeowner, about 11% of the energy budget is allocated to lighting. Conventional incandescent lights turns only 10% of the power they intake into light, while the remaining is wasted in the form of heat.
Use of latest lighting electronics like light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and condensed fluorescent lamps (CFLs) can do energy saving by 50-75%. Developments in lighting provides additional energy savings by cutting the time period that lights are working but are not utilized.
While CFLs utilize ¾th less energy, LEDs use up lesser energy and lasts even longer than CFLs.
6. Get a tank-less water heater installed:
Tank-less or demand-type water heaters give hot water only when required unlike conventional ones that generate double energy losses. As a result, you can easily conserve energy.
Since instantaneous water heaters heat water straight away without any need of storage, cold water goes through the pipe into the heating unit and what you get is hot water as soon as you turn on the tap. In this, either an electric unit or a gas burner heats the water.
7. Take some responsibility of electrical appliances:
The electrical appliances in a normal US household account for approximately 20% of the power bills. Try to place refrigerators far from the stove, heat vents, dish-washer, and direct exposure from sun as extra warmth will compel them to utilize more power to stay cool.
Turn off the computers when you leave the room. Even if you don’t shut it off, at least their monitors can be shut down to conserve energy. From home theatres, DVD players, receivers to television, everything should be purchased under ENERGY STAR Program. Using energy-efficient appliances will not just help you in energy saving but will also cut down your carbon footprint.
Remove chargers of laptops and phones when there’s no need of charging and try to substitute desktops with laptops as they eat up less energy.
8. Switch to smart cooking:
A dramatic amount of energy is used up during cooking and therefore it is important to cook smart.
Replace conventional ovens with convection ovens as latter utilizes fans to compel heated air to rotate more uniformly, hence allowing food to be prepared at a lesser temperature. As a result, convention ovens consume 20% less energy than old, traditional ovens. You can also switch to microwave ovens that take up 80% less electricity than conventional ones.
Ensure that your pans match the size of heating flame or element. Cook food in vessels with lids rather than cooking in open pans and pots. Use a pressure cooker to promote renewable energy saving. In case you want to use a conventional oven, always place the food on its top rack as it is the hottest area, so the food will cook speedily.
9. Install high performance windows:
Upgrade your windows to energy efficient, double-pane windows with heat rejecting properties. Windows are the most important elements in your home when it comes to saving heating and cooling energy. High performance windows can save anywhere from 10% to 25% of your heating and air conditioning bill.
If you are using clear, single pane windows, replace them with shaded, double-pane windows. If there are no cold winters in your city, then it is not necessary for your windows to have two panes of glass. However, it is necessary to install windows with some type of shading or film that will block solar radiation from entering your home.
10. Generate electricity from solar energy:
Installing solar power systems can completely eliminate your electricity bills if you follow some of the energy conservation measures mentioned here. On top of saving hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year in electricity bills, the extra electricity produced during peak solar-heat hours can be sold back to the utility company.
How can Energy Remodeling help?
With rising costs of energy, there has never been a better time to implement these measures to conserve energy and save money in utility costs. Since 2009, Energy Remodeling has helped consumers save energy and money on their utility bills. We will walk you through every step of the process – from financing and installation to obtaining proper permits and installing your home upgrade.
Our commitment to saving you energy and money extends beyond the roof. If you want to learn more about installing a solar power system, high performance windows, or a tankless water heater, contact us today!