Posted by Savneet Singh on Mar.09, 2009

©iStockphoto.com - Raffaelo

Consider an average American family: two adults, commuting 20-30 miles each per day in separate cars with average fuel efficiency, driving an additional 5,500 miles running errands and taking their child to basketball games and piano practice. The family takes one vacation trip per year, flying to visit friends and grandparents 1,450 miles away. Can you guess how much CO₂ their house and cars produce? Around 60,000 pounds, or 10 tons for each family member! Isn’t it too much??!!

Today the world is in greater need to shift from electricity-gulping ignorance to power-sipping sophisticated practices. The high-voltage diet can be chopped if people think more about their energy usage at their homes,offices, institutes etc. The time has come when we must cut our electricity consumption and, therefore, its production and our dependency on the electricity grid.

Switching to power saving practices will not only cut homeowners’ heavy electric bills but also save the energy. This will further reduce the pollution, greenhouse gases and global warming.

Here are a few ways you can save energy at home and outside:

• Switch electronic devices off when you’re not using them.

• Use a timer for your air conditioner that is automatically programmed according to your schedule. Rather than running it all day, the air conditioner can turn on just before you come home.

• If you own a clothes dryer, try to use it only when you are pressed for time. If you have the time, dry your clothes in the ‘old fashioned’ way: by hanging them up either indoors or outdoors. You can purchase a drying rack or simply hang your clothes around your home. This can be one of the best energy cutting decisions, as dryers consume more energy than any other appliance.

• Always clean full loads when using washing machines, tumble dryers, washer-dryers or dishwashers. The fuller the load, the more energy efficient the cycle is.

• Look for eco -cycles on your domestic appliances. Most modern washing machines and dishwashers have them.  They are designed to use less water and electricity than traditional daily programs.

• Boil water in a hot pot, or kettle. uses only a third as much electricity as a saucepan on an electric hob.

• Position a fridge or freezer out of direct sunlight and away from an oven or other heat source.
  

• Set the proper temperature in the fridge and freezer.  A change of one degree can effect energy consumption by 5%. Freezers should operate at -15°C while fresh food compartments should be held at around 4°C to 6°C.

• Turn off, empty and clean the refrigerator and leave the door ajar when away for long periods.
  

• Vacuum the condenser coils at the back or underneath your fridge or freezer. Thick dust can reduce their efficiency by up to 25% if left unchecked.

• Check energy consumption before buying a new TV.  The bigger your TV, the more power it consumes. But some technologies are more power hungry than others, whatever the size.
  

• Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs, or the newer LED bulbs which use dramatically less power. Keep in mind that low-energy light bulbs can last ten years or more. The average for a traditional bulb is one year.

• Try using your car one less day per week. With a little planning, we can all use our cars less and save both money and carbon emissions.

• Shut off your engine if you will be idling the car longer than two minutes.

• Consider the lifetime energy costs as well as upfront price when buying new appliances. In most cases you will find that the energy efficient model will be cheaper when you take the up front cost and the operating cost together to form the overall life cycle cost of the appliance. This will only become more apparent as the price of energy continues to escalate.

• Consider combo air and heat units in each room, as in hotel rooms.

Share

Posted under Alternative Energy and Energy Efficiency, Living, Money Savers.