Energy conservation is something you just have to invest in. If you do not do so, you are harming the environment and you are keeping the cost of fuel very high. Any of us can benefit by using a few of these tips to help us to shave the costs of energy within our homes and even in the business. Which will you do first?
1. Check windows and repair as needed. As one of the largest energy losses, it is necessary to consider this need as one the first priorities on your list.
2. Check your water heater. Is it set at the lowest possible comfortable and sanitary setting? It is insulated for optimum benefit? Doing these things will insure that your water heater is working at its best for energy savings.
3. As your light bulbs burn out, switch to florescent Energy Star light bulbs. These will last you quite a long while. They will also use less than half of the amount of energy to light your room. Don’t do this all at once, but slowly as needed.
4. Turn off anything that you can. Lower the settings on ceiling fans. Keep the lights off and the LED lights throughout your home off as well. These things may seem little but they do add up quickly.
5. Plant a few trees and shrubs outdoors to help break the wind and keep your home cool during the summer. During the winter, shrubs help to insulate your home by keeping the cold air out.
These are just a few of the things that you can use to conserve energy. The best thing to do to make this happen is to involve your whole family. Once habits are learned about these things, you all can save a good deal of money on energy.
The end result is that you get more money in your pocket and the Earth stays a bit healthier as a result of energy conservation.
By: Alex Fir
Posts Tagged ‘Light Bulbs’
Energy Conservation Tips For People
April 24th, 2010Energy Conservation – Simple Tips that Will Reduce Your Energy Bill
April 16th, 2010
There are many good reasons to conserve energy. If we use less gas, oil and electricity we will save money, and the pollution associated with extracting and using fossil fuels will decrease. Reducing greenhouse gas production may help to reverse global warming. In a nutshell – conservation of energy has both personal and societal benefits.
Most people are concerned with making their money last longer and energy conservation can help by reducing our energy costs. Homeowners can do many things to cut down on their energy needs. Perhaps the best thing they can do to is to install better insulation to retain warm and cool air.
Heating and air conditioning are the biggest energy consumers of the average household. Much of the heat and cool air escapes because of poorly insulated roofs, walls, doors, and windows. In fact in a lot of cases heating and cooling is responsible for around 50% of your energy costs. Improving insulation will result in greater conservation of energy and lesser energy costs. Small changes in this area can result in dramatic reduction in your monthly payment to your utility company.
Old cooling and heating appliances should be replaced with newer models which are more energy efficient. Other large appliances like refrigerators can also be replaced with newer models that are designed to conserve energy. Always make sure you read the energy label, if you do, you will often find that a cheap product in fact can be expensive in its every day use because of its energy consumption.
Traditional light bulbs are inefficient because much of the energy they consume is converted to heat. Replacing all your incandescent bulbs with compact florescent bulbs will provide the same level at light with less energy consumption. Even though the cost of these bulbs is greater than traditional bulbs, they last up to 20 times longer, resulting in significant overall savings.
Using alternative energy sources such as solar panels or wind turbines can greatly reduce the amount of energy needed from traditional sources. The electricity produced by these devices can be fed back into the local power grid if it is not immediately used by the household. This reduces the power bill even further (the power meter runs backwards) while supplying clean power to your community.
Conservation of energy is not just for homes, cars and trucks are available with more energy efficient engines and some can run on alternate power sources such as hydrogen or electricity.
Conservation of energy is something that everyone can contribute to. By being careful in how we use our resources we are building a society for our children and grandchildren.
By: Hans Dekker
Simple Energy Conservation Strategies For Apartments and Condominiums
March 10th, 2010
As a water and energy conservation expert I have travelled around the U.S. to develop strategies for cutting utility expenses for apartment owners. The question I have been asked the most goes something like this. We have changed out the light bulbs, replaced the windows and installed low-flow fixtures, now what do we do?
One of the challenges I face when I hear this question is that in 95% of the buildings I look at, the residents are separately metered for electrical usage. Even though there are a number of options to save inside the living space owners and property managers have no economic interest in reducing in-unit consumption (this is not universally true as some ownership groups are interested in the total cost of living in the unit which includes the cost of utilities).
With these constraints, the opportunities that are left fall in 3 categories: heat, water and gas.
Heat refers to how do you heat the living and common areas? Water refers to landscaping, swimming pools and low-flow fixtures. And gas refers to the central hot water system (boilers or commercial hot water heaters and recirculating hot water).
Observation of residents habits is one method I use to determine what my recommendations are for a specific property. For instance, at one property I worked at in Tucson, near the University of Arizona, we were on site and the property owner and his design team was working on color schemes for the facelift that the property was undergoing.
When it comes to color I have two recommendations. First, ask someone else because selection of colors is not one of my strengths. Second, if your building is in a hot climate zone like Tucson, either paint your roof white or use white (or light) colored roofing material. White reflects the suns rays better than any other color, so if you are repairing or replacing your roof, use white.
As I wondered about the property I looked for opportunities for conservation. Were they over watering? What was the building water pressure? What types of windows were installed? Were they sealed properly? What about window treatments? Were trees (or cacti, in this case) properly placed to provide shade from afternoon sun?
I stopped in the office area which had a large atrium (vaulted ceilings – an air-conditioning nightmare) with a sizeable sitting area surrounding a gas fireplace. I sat down on one of the couches to cool off and grab a bottle of water (did I mention it was 105
