Keeping an Energy-Efficient Home
Posted by TribalVision Admin on Thu, Dec 01, 2011
Recently, we’ve been discussing ways to winterize your home in preparation for the coming snows. Not only does this preparation help ensure that your home and family will fare better in severe weather, but it also helps reduce energy consumption and costs. However, simply because home heating costs make winter energy bills among the hardest to swallow, that doesn’t mean winter is the only time to think about energy efficiency.
Year-Round Tactics f
or Year-Round Savings
People often associate energy-efficient home options with big-ticket items such as HE (high efficiency) washers and dryers, or ENERGY STAR-rated appliances. But the truth is that you don’t have to wait until it’s time to replace that old dishwasher in order to make your home more energy efficient. There are simple, affordable steps you can take that will decrease your energy consumption and ultimately save you money.
First up: Lighting. This coming year, the US standards for lighting will become more stringent with regulations for light bulbs that produce less heat and using less energy. According to the US Department of Energy, “The new energy-saving light bulbs—incandescents, CFLs, and LEDs—are available today and could save you about $50 per year when you replace 15 traditional incandescent bulbs in your home.” Additionally, because most of these newer, more efficient light bulbs actually last longer than traditional bulbs, the savings increase over time due to less frequent replacement needs.
This doesn’t mean you have to go out and replace all of your light bulbs tomorrow. Instead, the next time you head out to buy light bulbs, consider buying CFLs or LEDs, which use 75-80% less energy, and use them to replace your old bulbs as they burn out. You’re not just reducing your energy consumption with this effort. You’re also making an environmentally conscious decision, lowering your carbon footprint, and reducing waste. A side benefit: in the summer months, you’ll use less energy to keep your home cool, as these bulbs give off far less heat than traditional models.
Next on the list: Computers and Appliances. Most people leave their computers turned on, even when not in use, anticipating that they’ll need to use their electronics again throughout the day. However, this isn’t actually good for your computer, nor is it an energy-efficient choice. If you use your computer sporadically each day, be sure to adjust your settings so that your monitor and CPU will go into “sleep” mode after a short period of inactivity. When you replace your computer, keep in mind that, “ENERGY STAR® computers power down to a sleep mode that consume 15 Watts or less power, which is around 70% less electricity than a computer without power management features.” Another side benefit: turning off your computer when it’s not in use will decrease the heat it produces, helping your device last longer and keeping your home’s temperature more stable.
With other appliances, the best way to maintain energy efficiency is by making conscious choices about their usage. Instead of running multiple, small loads of laundry each day, consider doing larger loads less frequently. Rather than turning on your oven to warm that leftover pizza, consider using your toaster, which uses far less energy to heat up.
Turn off ceiling fans and lights in empty rooms, and unplug appliances and electronics you don’t intend to use in the near future. That DVD player in the guest room that no one uses? The stereo you haven’t used since you got your iPod? Those devices take just seconds to plug in when you do want to use them, yet they constantly drain energy if left plugged in all the time. Unplug what you’re not using, and you’ll not only save energy, but you’ll also save money and protect the environment by extending the life of your appliances and electronics, thus reducing the need to discard and replace them.
What do you do in your home to save energy? Consider adding just one energy-efficient task to your New Year’s resolution list, and see how good it feels to be a conscious consumer.
