Using clean energy helps the environment and saves money. This article has lots of simple tips that can help you start without spending a lot of money. Continue reading to find out what you need to get started. Take care of your furnace to use less energy. Change filters every year and wash them once a month. You should put filters on the warm air registers that come with your furnace. This will stop trash or dirt from blocking vents and making them work less well.
Let your clothes air dry instead of using a machine. Your dryer uses a lot of energy at home. It’s easy to save energy by hanging your clothes to dry instead. If you have to use the dryer, make sure to clean out the lint so it can work better. Using sunlight to heat water is a good idea. Change your hot water system to one that uses solar power. You can choose between two types of circulation options: direct and indirect. If you worry about pipes freezing where you live, the indirect option is likely a better choice.
Heating vents, radiators, and baseboard heaters should be cleaned once a year. It’s a good idea to clean these things at the start of the cold season so they can work really well when it gets cold. When the heating units are clean, they will spread the heat evenly. Make sure to close the gaps under your doors and windows in both summer and winter. This can stop the hot or cold air from outside from coming into your house, which will help to keep your house at a nice temperature all year round. You can try adding rugs to keep your floor warm.
In some places, people can choose to get their electricity from wind and geothermal power. This might cost a little extra, but it’s energy from clean sources that you don’t have to make yourself. This helps reduce the burden on fossil fuels used by your energy company, which can help decrease stress on the environment. If you love to bake, a solar oven is a good thing to think about getting. You only need ordinary things like a strong cardboard box, shiny foil, and an old window. This oven uses sunlight to cook food and can get very hot, over 300 degrees.
There are many things you can do to save energy. You don’t need to spend a lot of time or money. Just clean your furnace filters and adjust your thermostat before you leave. You can save money by setting your water heater to a maximum of 120 degrees. Every small effort makes a difference. When you decorate a tree or the outside of your house for the holidays, pick LED lights instead of regular ones. We can save a lot of electricity. The Department of Energy wants everyone to help. That amount of electricity can supply 200,000 homes with power for one year. You will save money on your electricity bill.
We should use green energy while also recycling and reducing pollution. You can reuse cans, glass, paper, and electronics. Do not use products with chemicals and don’t buy from a brand that wastes resources in packaging. If all customers start thinking this way, big companies will eventually start doing things differently. If you want to save energy and be more eco-friendly, consider getting a folding metal drying rack for your laundry room. A lot of things we put in the dryer are big and use a lot of energy to dry. Instead, if we put them on a rack to dry, it doesn’t cost anything and saves money.
Check your air filters every month to see if they need to be cleaned or replaced. This can help your team to work better. You can also buy a filter that you can wash and use again and again. These can help you save money in the future and reduce the amount of garbage in landfills. Not everyone thinks green energy is important. Moving to a town nearby or to a different state could be a good idea. If you have a tank water heater and can’t replace it yet, save energy by turning down the temperature. By turning down the thermostat to 120 degrees from the factory setting of 140 degrees, the heater needs 6 to 10 percent less energy to keep your water hot. If you didn’t like the light from compact fluorescent lightbulbs before, try a newer model. The new bulbs are much better and use less energy than the old ones. The designs are better now. They are smaller and don’t twist. This is good for fixtures where you can see the bulbs.
Switch plates and outlets are important but somewhat annoying because they can create holes that let energy or heat escape. You can stop air from escaping through openings by putting foam gaskets behind the face plates and sealing the edges with caulk. This will help save energy. Consider using the sun’s heat to warm the water in your house. Around 25% of the money spent on energy each year is used to heat water. Using solar water panels is a great way to lower these expenses. The sun heats the water, so your home uses less energy.
Changing your home to use green energy is easy and affordable. Now it’s your turn to use what you have learned and get started.