Chapter 7: Energy Saving Habits to Develop
Do you remember as a child being asked by your mother if you were “born in a barn?” There are plenty of reasons why this is important. The fact is that there are small things, even simple things, to incorporate into your every day life to see improvements in your energy usage without really having to do much of anything.
In fact, all you really need to do is to insure that you get yourself into some habits and within a month you will notice changes.
While switching one light off isn’t going to make a huge deal on your bill, combining this with other features will show you some real signs of improvement and quickly too.
To help you, here are some of the best habits that you can form to gain great energy saving benefits from the beginning.
Shake the Shower
You probably do not realize how this affects your energy bills, but it does. Unless you take a very long shower, you may not realize that it is more effective and uses less hot water than a bath does.
Instead of filling up the tub with water, you save a great deal by using the shower. To make it even a better option, install a water saving shower head. These are inexpensive (although they do cost more than a standard shower head) but will reduce the amount of water that comes through and is wasted. You simply will use less water and reap the benefits of lower consumption.
Because you do not need to use as much hot water, you are reducing the work load of your hot water heater and saving energy in the process.
Appliance Use
Next, take a look at your appliances usage. There are certain appliances that generate heat more so than others. The washer and dryer as well as your oven are prime candidates.
Therefore, whenever possible, use these during the cooler parts of the day such as the morning and in the evening, to keep your air conditioning from having to kick on. If it is already hot and you are using them, the air conditioning units have to work harder using more energy to do so and costing you more.
During the winter, doing this will help you to keep your home warmer in the coldest times of the day, therefore keeping your furnace from having to work as hard and using less energy.
Washing Clothing
When washing clothing, there are some great tools to use here too for energy savings. First off, only run full loads of laundry. If you run just a few items, you are simply wasting the energy that is needed.
In addition, make sure that the weight of the object is taken into consideration. Keeping like weights together can help to reduce the amount of time that some items are needed in the dryer. For example, if you wash towels together, which require longer periods of time to dry, you can save energy when you wash light weight t-shirts.
Another tool that has been put onto the market is cold water detergent for your washer. These chemicals claim to work well if cold water, meaning that you do not need to use as much hot water in your laundry. Without using hot water, you lessen the demand on your hot water heater and therefore lower your costs significantly.
Keep the units working at their best. That means cleaning out the dryer filter too. There are two things to consider here. First, keep the interior filter clean by cleaning it after every load. This allows the clothing to dry faster with each load. Second, clean the tubing that runs from the dryer to the wall clean as well. This should be cleaned out every six months for optimal use.
Cook Tops
Cook tops that are electric can pose a problem for those that are looking to save energy. These pull quite a bit of electricity to be used effectively. To help to keep this to a minimum, make sure that you select the right size burner for the pot that you are using.
Another trick with these units is to insure that the bottom of your pan is flat. Those that are rounded have less surface area actually touching the cook top, causing it to take longer to heat and therefore requiring more energy use for the same meal.
Keep the surfaces cleaned and wiped down after each use. If you have a gas stove, in this case, keep the carbon build up around the actual pilots clean as well. They will work better and use less gas in the process lowering your costs while doing so.
Lights
Throughout your home you will find various lights on and off at all times of the day, right? Make it a habit to turn them off each time you leave a room. In addition, you will want to make sure that the smallest comfortable light is in use at all times, not necessarily the light that is going to fill the room.
In addition, as you go throughout your home replacing bulbs (as they burn out of course) begin replacing them with compact fluorescent bulbs. These are becoming more and more readily available even at the supermarket and department stores. Although they will cost more to put them into your home, they will benefit you.
These light bulbs put out as much as four times as many lumens per watt. So, if you purchase a 25 watt fluorescent bulb, you are going to have as much light as if you were using a 100 watt bulb of the standard, incandescent bulb. Therefore, with lower wattage use, you will use less electricity and save money.
In addition, these light bulbs will last you almost ten times as long as a standard light bulb will. In some case, you won’t have to replace them for years! This is definitely worth the investment. Doing this slowly as the others die out will allow it to be less of a cost shock.
Exhaust
Your home needs exhaust systems in it. Some older homes may not have them though. This is one system you will want to consider adding if that is the case.
You can benefit from an exhaust fan in your kitchen area to pull out the heat and humidity from the area as you are cooking. In the summer, their use is outstanding in these areas to keep your air conditioning working less.
In addition, the bathroom is another area of your home for an exhaust system. Here, the humidity can be pulled out before causing the air conditioning to kick on.
But, be careful. During the winter months, do not use these systems as often. They can pull the heat from your furnace that is trying to keep your home warm out, causing your furnace to work harder and losing money with energy costs.
Window Tips
While we have already talked about how windows affect the heat and air conditioning in your home, it also is important to mention them as in habit usage.
If you will be using your windows during the summer months to bring in air, do so! This is a great way to bring in free, fresh air to your home. But, do not turn off the air and open the windows. Instead, open them once the effects of the air conditioning have worn off and the home has started to heat up. This way, you do not lose the benefits of all the work your air has used.
In addition, during winter months, keeping the drapes and blinds closed can significantly lower the energy need for heat throughout your home especially during dark hours and colder periods. But, you can benefit from opening up those drapes when the sun is shining and allowing the home to get some free heat from that sunshine.
During the night, the drapes will act as insulation to the windows keeping heat in during the winter and cool air in during the summer.
In summer months, if there is a breeze or if there is a temperature drop to a comfortable level, ease off the air conditioning and let the cool air from night cool down the home.
In addition, make sure that you lock your windows when they are closed. That little extra push can help to keep the right temperature maintained.