Electricity has evolved into a pretty readily available economy for everyone. As a result, we are used to consuming power, at times, more than needed, through consumables and electronics. As power hasn’t been a huge issue for us to date, we don’t tend to focus on saving electricity and why it is so important for us and our future generations as well. It’s time that we think outside the box and understand it shouldn’t be taken for granted and we need to take necessary actions to save energy.
So as an individual, what actions can you take to save electricity? How can you alone make a difference?
The reality is that every little bit counts, no matter how small it is. Also, no, you don’t need to sit in the dark at home or do without those calming hot showers. Get ready to go green, even just a little bit.
Here are some tips to save electricity and feel good about it:
- Turn off unnecessary lights when they’re not in use. If you don’t know, Lighting accounts for about 12% of a typical residential utility bill.
- Use natural light as much as possible.
- Use task lighting and under-counter lights in work and hobby areas.
- Try to take shorter showers.
- Turn water off when shaving, washing hands, brushing teeth.
- Fix that leaky faucet as soon as possible.
- Unplug unused electronics. Don’t leave your electronics turned on all day long. Turn on your computer, monitor, printer, or fax machine when you use them.
- Ditch the old desktop computer that consumes more energy.
- Turn off the air conditioner while leaving your home.
- Recycle or donate the old television set.
- Manage or lower your thermostat.
- Reduce heat in the kitchen by reducing use of appliances such as the electric oven.
- Run full loads of clothes, try cutting one load of wash per week.
- Try to wash laundry in cold water.
- Hang dry your laundry in the sunlight.
- Use your ceiling fan. It will permit you to raise the thermostat setting about 4°F with no reduction in comfort.
- Be efficient with refrigeration. It operates most efficiently when it’s full, so try to keep your refrigerator and freezer as full as possible. Always be careful about overfilling, reducing the airflow and causing the appliance to work harder.
- Set your refrigerator temperature to the manufacturer’s suggestion to refrain from excessive cooling and wasting energy
- Unplug your second fridge when not needed
- Try to use dishwashers and clothes washers/dryers at night. It will keep the house cooler, reduce strain on the power grid during the peak usage hours and reduce the chance of an emergency.
- Skip the heat-dry setting for the dishwasher and air dry instead.
- Don’t leave bathroom or kitchen ventilation fans running longer than necessary. They replace inside air with outside.
- Don’t leave your mobile phone plugged in overnight when it takes only a couple of hours to charge.
- Watch your appliance placement. Avoid placing appliances that give off heat, such as lamps or TVs, near a thermostat.
- Dress for the weather. When you’re at home, dress in warm clothing in the winter and cooler clothing in the summer to stay comfortable without making your heater and AC work harder.
- During warmer months, close blinds, shades and drapes on the sunny side of your home to help keep your home’s temperature cooler and reduce the work for your AC. Make the use of shades during cooler months to let the sun warm your home.
- Clean or replace all filters in your home regularly. Dirty filters make your system work harder and run longer than necessary.
- Shift from light bulbs to LEDs.
- Air seal your home. Sealing cracks, gaps, and leaks and adding insulation can save a lot of energy.
- Replace your windows. If your home has single-pane windows, try to replace them with more energy efficient windows, or adding solar shades or tinting film.
There are plenty of small tasks we can do to consume less electricity over time and above listed are some of them. It’s mostly the actions you take to avoid consumption that eventually provide the most amount of benefit.
