Tips for Energy Efficient Home or Apartment

A home or apartment is the first place where you can save energy and minimize wastage of energy. Many efforts are being made by various nations to cut down the rate of global warming. If you look at your daily routine you will find many small things that you can do to save energy. An old saying indicates “The earth, water and the air are not a gift to us from our parents but a loan from our children”.

The Department of Energy says heating or cooling your house or apartment typically eats up 56% of your utility bill. By saving energy you’re helping to save the world’s energy resources like gas, oil and water and saving money on your utility bills. What we do as individuals may only make a small impact, but if everyone takes steps to save energy, the combined effect will make a real difference. It is our duty to conserve today for tomorrow’s use.

Energy saving tips at Home

Every time your electricity bill reaches home, you realize there is no need for so many lights and fans around you. Think about what would happen if there wasn’t enough energy, so there are lots of reasons we should save energy. Here are some tips that will help you conserve energy.

Switch off Lights: Begin by switching off the lights and the fans in the rooms that are not occupied. Make sure that everyone in the family does the same.

Replace ordinary incandescent lamps: Use CFL (compact fluorescent lamps) instead of ordinary incandescent lamps. They last longer than the ordinary bulbs and are very energy efficient as they consume much less power.

Open the curtains and use the sunlight: Don’t leave windows or doors open when the heat or air conditioning is on. This makes the furnace and AC have to work harder to heat and cool a room. In the winter, opening curtains and shades in the day can let in sunshine and heat up your home. Closing curtains at night will prevent some heat from escaping and will reduce the chill from windows. In the summer, keep curtains and shades closed in the day to prevent unnecessary heat gain (especially if you are not at home).

Best utilize energy in kitchen: Pressure cookers used with separators lead to substantial fuel saving. Reduce flame by bringing the burner knob to the simmer position as soon as the water starts boiling. Try to eat together to avoid repeated warming of food. This not only saves fuel but also preserves the nutritional value of food. Don’t leave the water dripping in the faucet. Turn off the dishwasher right before the drying cycle and let the dishes air dry. Don’t leave the refrigerator door open. Decide what you want before you open the door.

Hang the clothes outside: When you have a sunny day, help hang the clothes outside instead of using the dryer.

Alternative energy: Biomass power is still better than burning coal, oil or gas, however, because it releases less CO2 overall than burning fossil fuels

Plant trees and shrubs: Deciduous trees (trees that lose their leaves) are best to block the sun in the summer and, when the leaves fall, they let the sun shine through in the winter helping to warm your house.

Common area lighting: Solar Lighting is a useful source of reusable energy which used properly for common area lighting will save a lot of Energy (Power). Automating the Lighting system will further save more energy enabling us to contribute to resolve issue of global warming.

Close vents and the door of the unused room: Close all the air vents and the door in the unused room. By doing this, heating and cooling systems in your home or apartment will not have to work harder to regulate extra space that just goes unused anyway.

Read the Energy Guide label before buying: Before you buy, read the Energy Guide label on that new furnace to find out how energy efficient it is. Then compare it to the label on another model and brand. Energy Guide labels show how much energy one model uses in comparison with others. When you are buying new appliances, go for Energy Star. They’re up to 40% more efficient than other models.

There are a lot many ways to save energy.  Leave your car at home and consider walking, bicycling, or public transportation whenever you can. Less burning of fossil fuels means lower emissions of carbon dioxide, the major contributor to global warming and other harmful gases. When we save one unit of energy, it is equivalent to two units of energy produced.

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