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Easy, Practical and Inexpensive Energy-Saving Measures for Your Home
By Phil | July 25, 2008
Here are some easy, practical and inexpensive energy-saving measures for your home, none requiring more than a few hours and some just a few minutes. If you have more easy ways to save, please post in a comment!
- Wash Your Clothes in Cold Water: Ninety percent of the energy used to wash clothes goes to heating the water, not to running the machine, so cold water washes reduce your costs and environmental impacts.
- Install Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs: For each compact fluorescent you install, you’ll probably save between $3 and $15 per year. If you tried compact fluorescents ten years ago and weren’t satisfied, give them another shot, since they now have more appealing light quality and come in more shapes and light strengths.
- Use the Microwave : A microwave uses much less energy than a conventional oven.
- Weatherstrip and Caulk: Few people get excited by the prospect of spending a Saturday afternoon weatherstripping and caulking their home, but several hours devoted to this task will likely yield considerable energy savings.
- Pull the Plug: Even when they are not in use, many appliances like televisions continue to use small amounts of electricity for things like their clocks and instant-on features. If you have a rarely used appliance, such as a TV or clock radio in a guest room, pull its plug and then only plug it in on those rare occasions when it is going to be used.
- Switch the Showerhead: If you live in a household where four people each take a seven-minute daily shower, an old-fashioned showerhead that uses five gallons of water a minute will require 51,000 gallons of water each year. New showerheads use less than half as much water.
- Adjust the Thermostat: It makes good economic and environmental sense to try to keep your home slightly colder in winter and slightly warmer in summer. You may not even notice a small adjustment in your home’s temperature settings and the result is a more energy efficient home.
- Turn Off the Computer: Some people have gotten into the habit of leaving their computer and other home office equipment on all the time. This wastes energy and money.
- Choose Energy Efficient Appliances: If you need to buy a dishwasher, television, or other appliance, look for a highly-efficient one. As a minimum, you should always choose one with the federal government’s Energy Star label, which means it is significantly more efficient than minimum government standards.
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