Tips for Conserving Energy in the Home

With energy costs on the rise and environmental concerns gaining more attention, many people are looking for ways to use less energy. Here are a few tips that can decrease your energy usage substantially.

By far, the biggest energy hog is your air-conditioner. Some home AC units can use up to 6 kilowatts per hour! Set the thermostat to a setting of 78°F, or to the highest temperature you feel comfortable with. Using a ceiling fan or oscillating fan can keep you feeling cool and they only use about 60 watts, the same as a standard light bulb. Installation of a whole-house fan is another inexpensive way to reduce consumption. The whole house fan is very energy efficient and can be used anytime the outdoor temperature is cooler than the inside of your house. It works by drawing in the cool outdoor air through your windows and blowing the warm indoor air into the attic and out its vents. This great alternative can save you thousands of dollars a year in energy costs, and it will pay for itself over a very short time.

The performance of your windows, doors and insulation are also very important in how often your air-conditioner runs. Many tract homes use low quality materials that were never meant to be energy efficient. Windows are very expensive to replace, so if you are on a tight budget, thick curtains can be surprisingly effective. Also make sure that your windows and doors are properly insulated and that weatherstripping is in proper order.

Replace your incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) or LED bulbs. CFLs use approximately 75% less energy than their incandescent equivalents and lasts 10 times longer. LED light bulbs use even less energy and are becoming increasingly more practical for standard use. The typical LED bulb uses less than 6 watts and boasts a lifespan that can reach up to 100,000 hours.

Disconnect appliances that have a standby mode. Many electrical appliances like TVs, VCRs, and Computers still draw energy when they are off. A typical TV, VCR, and gaming system together can use up to 25 watts just in standby mode. That adds up to 600 watts per day, 18kWh per month, and 219kWh per year. Plug these sorts of devices into a power outlet surge protector that has a built in on/off switch. It is much more convenient to turn them all on and off at the same time, with the flip of a switch, than it is to plug or unplug them each and every time.

And don't forget that even simple habits like turning the lights off when you leave a room and shutting the refrigerator door every time you take something in or out can add up to savings.

In order to know what you can conserve on, you need to know how much you are using. P3 International makes a wonderful device called the Kill A Watt which allows you to see exactly how much electricity your appliances are using. You can find these on Amazon.com and other online stores. Simply plug the Kill A Watt into an outlet and connect the desired appliances to it. The built-in display will show consumption by the Kilowatt-hour (kWh) allowing you to calculate just how much that appliance is costing you. Simply multiply the kWh by your billing rate to get the cost per hour.

In situations where appliances and lighting are hardwired into your house's electrical system, Blue Line Innovations makes a nice PowerCost Monitor that attaches to your electric meter outside and shows real-time energy usage and cost for your whole home. This is a great way to get a birds-eye view of your total energy consumption.

Increasing your awareness of how much energy your appliances use will go a long way toward reducing your energy consumption. And being energy conscious will do more than just conserve energy, it will save you money and help the environment.