These days everyone is trying to make their daily life a little greener. What is green energy? In simplistic terms, renewable energy and technology that is energy efficient are both considered to be green energy. You can use this energy for any home, and the tips are located in this article.
There are government grants available to help people invest in green energy. Talk to your local government and figure out what programs are in the area. Who knows, you may qualify for low or no-cost wind or solar installation. Even if you don’t qualify for a grant, you can still use these items as a tax deduction.
Replace or clean your furnace filters yearly, and recheck them monthly. It is also recommended to put filters on every register in your home. This not only helps keep debris (and kids’ toys) from entering heating ducts, which reduces efficiency.
Try solar water heaters instead of traditional ones. If you live in a sunny climate, you can use a solar water heater year-round. Make sure you own traditional water heaters for backup during cold days.
Dry clothes outdoors instead of in the dryer during the summer. As well as drying your clothes, the sun can also help your clothes smell nice. Sun-drying clothes gives them a fresh smell. Additionally, you will end up saving lots of money each month on utility bills.
Solar energy is a great way to get hot water at a low cost. You can go shopping for a solar system that will heat your water. You have a choice between both an indirect or direct circulation system. The indirect system is best if you don’t want to worry about your pipes freezing in the winter.
Homes with storm doors and windows have better airflow than homes without these upgrades. They will help prevent cold air drafts in your home. Your home’s energy efficiency will increase by as much as 45% if you install storm windows and doors!
Dress in warm clothes to cut costs! A sweater that is light can provide 2 degrees of extra warmth, while a heavy one provides 4. You do not have to dress lightly at home, so save money by putting on a sweater and turning down the heat!
Try to communicate more via email. In other words, choose paperless options anytime you can. This doesn’t only help you communicate and save electricity, it will lower your bills as well. Most importantly, it helps to protect the environment.
Watch watt usage carefully. Devices like Watt Minder and Kill-A-Watt can help you determine the highest energy-usage culprits in your home. All you have to do is plug the appliance directly into the device so that it can calculate how much energy is being used per hour, month, or year. This will make you realize what a given appliance costs you over the long run.
Instead of using standard lights for your next holiday season, make sure to use LED lights to decorate your tree and home. According to one study done by the DOE, the United States could save more than 2 billion hours of power, simply by having everyone make this change. Department of Energy stated that Americans could collectively reduce their energy consumption by over 2 billion kW/h if they all changed over to LED lights. That much electricity could power at least 200,000 home for a whole year. You can at least look forward to saving money on your energy bills!
A good tip is to always microwave when cooking in order to save energy. When cooking on, or within, the stove, a lot of energy is used. When you can cook food in your microwave, do it and cut down on your energy usage.
Use a toilet designed to conserve water. It has been estimated that as much as 50 percent of the water which is used in one’s home is flushed down the toilet. With the older model of toilets, the amount of water consumed each time they are flushed is 5 gallons; however, the newer, water-saving models consume only 1.6 gallons per flush, which will yield a saving of approximately 70 percent in your annual water consumption.
Spending a little more on green appliances and electronics generally pays off over time. Green tech products are a bit more pricey than conventional products, but you will save money long term through greater energy efficiency and lower utility bills. It also pays off as far as the environment is concerned.
Green Energy
In summary, green energy is a hot topic right now. By using renewable energy sources and making your home more energy efficient, you’ll be helping the environment one day at a time. It’s not hard to join the green energy trend as long as you remember this article’s contents.
It’s time to start using all this great blue widget advice. While learning about new things is often daunting, you should now be well educated on the subject at hand. You’ll be a pro in no time with this great info.
