Read through this article for great tips to learn how you can use less energy technology in your own home.Switch to solar heating systems for water to lower your cost of indoor water. Solar water heaters are much more energy efficient than electric or gas-driven water heating systems. Solar systems use the sun’s energy to stabilize water temperature. These upgrades may cost more, but qualify for tax deductions, too.Using less energy daily means large energy and energy. Unplug your electrical appliances from outlets when you’re not in use. Turn off lights and televisions when you are finished using them. This simple tip can save you a lot of saving yourself some money.Start paying attention to your energy consumption. Unplug the charger for your iPod and XBox when they are not in use. Chargers for your electronics, such as an iPod or cell phone, are always using electricity, even when they’re not in use, so unplug them when you can.Shading your windows from sunlight can help you use less energy. You can do this by putting blinds or curtains in. You will save money and energy throughout the process.Do you have your own farm? If you have a lot of land, energy companies will pay you for the right to set up a wind turbine on it. The wind turbine will provide free energy without taking up much room. Your neighbors will also benefit from this energy source.There are government grants that can help you invest in green energy. Check with the local government and see what programs are available in your area. You may qualify for installation of solar power at little to no cost.Check your furnace and air conditioning filters monthly. Clean or replace them as needed. Also, put filters on vents that dispense warm air. These filters keep debris or toys from entering the duct-work, which could reduce the efficiency of your HVAC system.Be socially responsible, and cut your home energy usage by unplugging your electronic chargers when they are not in use. Chargers for devices like phones, mp3 players, computers and others use small amounts of power any time they are in an outlet, even if you aren’t charging anything.Whenever possible, use cold water to wash your clothing. Nearly 90% of the energy that is consumed when you wash your clothes is taken up heating the water. If you are using good quality washing detergent, cold water is effective. Be sure to always do a full load of clothes when you wash.Warm-air registers can also have filters installed on them.This will help keep debris or dirt from clogging up heating ducts and reducing their overall efficiency.Only run your dishwasher when it is completely full. It is wasteful to run the dishwasher with just a few items inside. The dishwasher can actually fit a lot of dishes when loaded correctly. Just make sure to align the dishes in an orderly manner to maximize the available space.Wash your clothes with cold water. Almost 90 percent of the energy while washing machine comes from heating up the water for a warm or hot cycle. If your detergent is of good quality, the use of cold water won’t affect the cleanliness of your clothing.When planning a home solar system, calculate the potential energy generation of the system using hours of sunshine in the winter. That way you won’t run out of energy during winter months, and you will have more than enough in the summer. If your plan is contingent on net usage, you will even get money back from your utility company because of the excess energy you are creating!Many heating systems will take a switch to some level of biodiesel without any extra parts or modifications.It is beneficial to maintain your refrigerator to keep it working efficiently. Since refrigerators tend to eat up a great amount of power, it is crucial you keep it in perfect working order. Make certain to clean the dust that surrounds heating coils periodically. Check the door seal for dirt, debris and leaks.Use window treatments to shade the inside of your windows for when you aren’t home. This cools down your house cool and cuts energy costs. Try to cover the windows using coverings like roman shades, such as shades or darker, and dark curtains.Take the time to learn about active, and passive solar power. Passive solar power doesn’t require the costly power-storage cells that active power does. Active power needs solar panels installed, cells, and mechanical systems. While when you use passive they use the thermal energy from the sun in order to store energy inside the walls of your house and heat your household with it.Consider switching to solar-powered water heaters for your home more energy efficient. If you live where freezing temperatures aren’t prevalent, consider a system that circulates water through solar heaters before sending it into your house. However, consider that you may still need a traditional heater if you will be using a great deal of hot water, or if the sun does not come out.Watch your watt usage. Try using gadgets like the Kill-A-Watt and the Watt Minder to see what in your home uses too much energy. Plus an appliance into the gadget and it will tell you how much energy it is using. This way, you will know how much that appliance costs you, and you can adjust your usage or settings accordingly.Only run your dishwasher when it is full will save you money and energy. Don’t run it with only two or three dishes there.You may be shocked to learn the number of dishes that you can fit in your dishwasher.Use LED holiday lights to help with green energy use. There are many studies from the U.S. to back this up. The United States Department of Energy states over 2 billion hours of kilowatt power could by saved by a nationwide change. This amount could actually power around 200,000 homes for a whole year. At least, you can save money on your electricity!
Electrical Items
Swap your old appliances for newer ones that have an Energy Star rating. ENERGY STAR ratings mean that the appliance has met standards of the EPA and is especially crafted to use less energy than older models. You will find that Energy Star rated refrigerators use about 20% less energy, and clothes washing machines use about 50% less.
Turn you appliances off electrical items whenever you are not using them. When you are ready to leave a room, go around and turn off appliances such as computers, stereos, and most importantly, and other electrical items you are not going to be using. A power strip offers a handy way to shut down multiple devices at once, since the standby mode is still utilizing power.If you are not in a room, do not keep the lights on. Just turning off lights helps to conserve quite a bit of energy. You also will be saving money when it comes to your power bill.Use a laptop rather than a desktop computer. Laptops use only about one quarter of the power consumption of a full desktop, especially during non-demanding tasks like surfing the web or word processing. The laptop has the added benefit of being portable, so it can be taken anywhere!A good green energy technology tip is to use a water heater that is on-demand. Old fashioned heaters run constantly, heating the water even when not needed, therefore wasting energy. An on-demand water heater instantly heats water as it is needed resulting in tremendous savings.Consider replacing your wooden products with bamboo items when making a wood purchase. This saves energy via recycling and less manufacturing of parts.Ask the electric company to help you figure out how to increase the energy efficiency in your home. Some of the websites of these companies contain tools to show you the amount of energy you use. They may also provide you with advice on how to cut your energy costs and electricity usage. You may want to see if some of their programs can provide you with energy-efficient light bulbs and appliances.You will decrease energy used and save money.Weatherizing your home will help your home be more energy efficient. Seal the ducts, add insulation and install energy-efficient windows, and you will consume much less energy. Also, with these changes, your monthly energy bill will be significantly reduced!You can greatly reduce your home’s energy by sealing ducts, add in insulation, and put in new windows and cooling systems that are energy efficient so that you can reduce the energy it takes to operate your home. You may also help reduce the cost of your energy bill in the process.Get your home greener by being more responsible with how much light you are using. During months that are brighter, do not have lights on after a particular time. Try using dimmers to reduce the usage of lights.Check your freezer and fridge seals to avoid wasted energy. A broken seal can cause your refrigerator to run unnecessarily, which is a waste of energy as well as money.Try using renewable energy for only part of your home, when you know that you cannot use renewable energy to supplement the entire house. For instance, you can install just enough solar panels to heat your hot water.Make better use of ceiling fans even in the winter. Switch them to rotate clockwise, reducing demands on your heating fixture.Set your water heater’s temperature to about 120 degrees if you would like to go green and lower your bills. This way, you can save up to ten percent on your energy bill for a four-person family. You will still get enough hot water and it will be safer for children as well.You may save up to 10 percent of your energy costs without sacrificing the temperature of your needs.Try using rainwater for items in your home, such as your toilet. This will save you money on your water bill and have a positive impact on the environment. Collecting rainwater is easy; just place some glass jars outdoors when it rains, and close then once they’re filled.As demand increases for green products, the availability of these products will increase.This will also encourage companies to align their practices.A front-loading washing machine is a great green choice. These types of washers use a lot less water than the traditional top-loading machines, plus they are better at getting your clothes clean. You’ll be saving money while consuming less energy.Turn off the lights when you’re not using them. For example, turn the lights on at night time and if you are not in the room, turn them off. Don’t forget to also turn off your porch lights or other unnecessary lights on when not using them. This simple step will cut down on the amount of energy you use.If you are serious about installing solar panels be sure to take an inventory of your home’s appliances, how much you use them and the energy they require to operate before you meet with people to get quotes. Getting a quote will be simpler, and they will know how much power you need.Make sure solar panels are oriented toward the sun.For example, panels in Northern Hemisphere locations need to face south at a 15 degree angle. This results in the amount of power you receive from your solar panels.Make use of lighter and/or brighter wallpapers or paints and cut electric costs. Darker wall colors require more light–and therefore more electricity–to feel bright, so a home full of dark-colored walls is not at its greenest. If you choose lighter colors instead, your home will naturally feel brighter, and save you money in energy expenses as well.As mentioned, it doesn’t have to cost a lot or take a lot of time to go green! A few minor changes can help you save a lot of money on your bills. Keep the advice that was presented to you in mind and make a difference in our world. Take the time to also share it with others.An uncommon option for those consumers who see themselves as very green is to have a home made from straw bales. Straw is very cheap, and is a fantastic type of insulation. If you’re unwilling to commit to building a straw home, make a small straw building on your property.