As more and more people talk about “going green,” you’ve probably already been encouraged to do your part and save electricity. Conserving energy is one thing that everyone can do to help our country work its way out of this energy crisis we’ve found ourselves in.
Besides being the environmentally-correct thing to do, however, saving electricity also makes sense to your family’s budget. Cutting down on your energy use is sure to result in very real savings on your monthly utility bills. To help you get started towards your own conservation effort I’ve come up with a few easy ways to save electricity.
Turn off lights that aren’t needed. I know it sounds simple, but I can’t count how many times I see someone in our house leave a room with the light on. Even if you’re heading right back to that room, it doesn’t take any real effort to turn the light off and on as you leave and return. If you work on this for a while, you’ll find that it quickly becomes a habit.
Unplug things that aren’t in use. Did you know that many appliances still use electricity when they’re turned off? Many electronics items are notorious for this type of “vampire” usage. If you unplug the electrical things you aren’t using, there is no chance for them to suck up electricity. Some of my friends even unplug the VCR when they’re not using it. (I hate re-setting the clock, so my family isn’t quite that committed to this idea.)
Set your computer to use an energy-saving mode. I’m horrible about leaving my computer on when I’m interrupted in the middle of a project. However, I’ve also set it to go to “sleep” if I’m away for very long. Although I’m not saving as much energy as I could by turning it off before I walk away, I can at least take comfort in the knowledge that I’m not using as much as I could be.
Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs. Although these newer styles of light bulbs are a little more expensive than traditional incandescent bulbs, they will last much longer and use less electricity. My favorite part, though, is not having to climb the step-stool to replace them as often.
Wash full loads of laundry. One way to use a ton of electricity is to wash and dry one or two articles of clothing at a time. Make every effort to only run full loads of laundry through your washer and dryer. You’ll save time and electricity.
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I just got finished measuring the ‘vampire’ use of electricity in my home. I also measured the energy use of my computer in standby mode. Both were much higher than expected and were contributing about 15% to my electric bill. Here are the full results: http://www.richerbytheday.com/2009/03/energy-audit-testing-and-results.html