Posted by Green Diva Mom on Jun.20, 2008

There are several easy ways to reduce energy use in your home. We put together a few quick and inexpensive ideas that you can easily complete in a weekend!

Appliances
Refrigerator check. Carefully vacuum coils twice a year. Dusty coils will make your fridge work harder and may harbor allergens. Then, close the fridge door on a piece of paper and pull the paper out. If it comes out easily, check to see if the door hinges need to be tightened or if the door seal needs to be replaced. Ensuring that your refrigerator is running properly and not leaking cold air will prevent energy waste and will likely lengthen the life of your appliance.

To keep your air conditioner and heater from over working, replace air filters as recommended by the manufacturer. On that same note, make sure to clean the dryer lint screen after each use. This will probably lengthen the life of your appliances, reduce fire hazard and will definitely cut down on energy and money waste. Also be sure to check your dryer’s exhaust tubing twice a year. A clogged exhaust is one of the major causes of fires in the home and will also affect the operation of your dryer. Just pull out the dryer, disconnect and inspect the inside of the tubing.

Water
To conserve water: install faucet aerators if you do not have one already. If your commode is not low flow, consider a Toilet Tummy. You can find a Toilet Tummy online for less than $4.

Check for constantly running commodes. If so, the flapper or valve may need to be adjusted or replaced. Check for dripping faucets and replace washers if needed. A slow drip can gradually get worse and water loss can really add up.

General Ideas
Replace outside, bathroom and kitchen ceiling lights with CFLs. With mercury in CFLs, at this time we only recommend using CFLs in non-carpeted areas that are out of reach of children. Pregnant and nursing mothers should let someone else replace CFLs since they can break easily.

Check to see if you need to weather strip electrical outlets and light switches by placing your hand over the plates. If you feel a draft in winter, then unscrew the plates and add a pre-cut weather strip from a hardware store. A further precaution would be to add a weather strip to any outdoor outlets as well.

Check door and window seals. Replace damaged seals and caulk any cracks. Caulk where plumbing and wiring comes into your home. This is relatively quick and easy.

Check attic insulation. According to The U.S. Department of Energy, “to find out if you have enough attic insulation, measure the thickness of the insulation. If it is less than R-22 (7 inches of fiber glass or rock wool or 6 inches of cellulose), you could probably benefit by adding more.” Adding insulation is inexpensive and fairly easy to do. For more information see www1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/insulation.html

Attach audio, video, and computer equipment on an easily accessible power strip so that you can disconnect them from power when not in use. These types of electronics consume power even when you are not actively using them.

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Posted under Alternative Energy and Energy Efficiency, Living.