Tips to save energy and money
1. Recycle aluminum and glass.
2. Buy energy efficient appliances
3. Run clothes washers only when fully loaded, but don't overload
4. Plant a tree
5. Do all ironing at one time
6. Buy recycled paper
7. Buy low wattage or compact fluorescent light bulbs
8. Turn off lights that don't need to be on
9. Use cold water instead of hot
10. Use small ovens or stove-top cooking methods instead of your large oven
11. Bring your own reusable bags to the grocery store
12. Write companies urging them to use paper rather than plastics and styrofoam
13. Buy products that will last
14. Support environmentally conscious businesses.
15. Don't drive when air pollution is bad
16. Teach your children about these ideas
17. Avoid buying rainforest products
18. Take the bus, walk or ride your bike to meetings
19. Buy locally produced foods; avoid buying goods that must be trucked in
20. Support or start local tree planting programs
21. Recycle aluminum and glass
22. Recycle newspapers
23. Reuse glass containers
24. Buy a house plant
25. Plant a tree
26. Copy this list and send it to ten friends
27. Defrost your freezer
28. Do all ironing at one time
29. Buy environmentally safe products
30. Run dishwashers only when fully loaded
31. Request paper instead of styrofoam whenever possible
32. Hang your laundry to dry
33. Start a garden
34. Carpool to go shopping
35. Install water-efficient showerheads and faucets
36. Turn down your water heater to 121 degrees
37. Start a recycling program in your neighborhood
38. Defrost your freezer
39. Buy recycled paper
40. Cook with quick-heating, copper-bottom pans to conserve energy
41. Teach your children about these ideas
42. Use your microwave instead of the oven
43. Limit or eliminate using disposable items
44. Bring your own reusable bags to the grocery store
45. Reuse your paper and plastic bags
46. Write companies urging them to use paper rather than plastics and styrofoam
47. Request paper instead of styrofoam whenever possible
48. Use water-based paints whenever possible
49. Buy products that will last
50. Don't buy fire extinguishers containing halon
51. Support environmentally conscious businesses
52. Buy environmentally safe products
53. Buy products that minimize packaging
54. Avoid buying rainforest products
55. Buy locally produced foods; avoid buying goods that must be trucked in
56. Start a garden
57. Support or start local tree planting programs
Urge local and state government to buy recycled paper
At the Office . . .
58.
59. Schedule deliveries together
60. Subsidize and sell employee bus passes in the office
61. Encourage employees to phone first rather than driving
62. Use teleconferencing instead of driving to meetings
63. Take the bus, walk or ride your bike to meetings
64. Offer employees incentives for not driving
65. Buy gas-efficient or alternatively fueled vehicles for your fleet
66. Put a carpool matching map in the office
67. Buy a bike rack for your employees
68. Buy an office bike for employee use
69. Buy recycled paper for office use
70. Start a paper recycling program
71. Make two-sided copies whenever possible
72. Put an aluminum can recycling bin next to the pop machine
73. Bus, carpool, walk or bike to work
74. Ask if you can work at home one or more days a week
With Your Car . . .
75. Recycle motor oil and batteries
76. Don't drive when air pollution is bad
77. Call your local transit system for bus schedules
78. Call your local carpool program or start one in your town
79. Carpool the kids to their school events
80. Carpool to the ski slopes
81. Carpool to go shopping
82. Eat lunch at the office instead of going out
83. Call stores first to see if they have what you want
84. Combine several small trips into one
85. Shop by mail and catalogs
86. Plan an evening at home with your kids
87. Do errands on the way home from work
88. Encourage your teens to walk or ride their bikes rather than taking the car, and do the same yourself
89. Shop for a neighbor when going to the grocery store or form a neighborhood co-op
90. Have your car's emissions tested regularly
91. Tune-up your car, especially before winter
92. Check for proper tire inflation when gassing up
93. Don't repair your car's air conditioning yourself, have it serviced at a station that recycles CFC's
94. Don't buy a car with air conditioning
95. When buying a new car, let dealers know that fuel efficiency is important
96. Park and go inside instead of idling at a drive-up window
97. Remove unnecessary articles from your car; each 100 lbs. of weight decreases fuel efficiency by 1%
98. Enjoy sports and activities that don't require gas or electricity
99. Avoid accelerated starts to save gas
100. Copy this list and send it to ten friends
101. Think often about the future and how you would like the earth to be 100 years from now for your grandchildren and their grandchildren
Sound good? If not, here are some
1) If you can switch to having a shower instead of a bath, you could save about 40 litres of water each time - that's a lot of hot water. But make sure if you have a power shower that you turn the pressure right down as they can use even more water than a bath. And if you're putting in a new sink, consider fitting spray taps - they use far less water.
ReplyDelete2) I know I harp on about this a lot, but energy-saving lightbulbs really can save you money. They do cost a bit more, but according to the Energy Saving Trust, each bulb can save you £9 over the course of a year (or £100 over the lifetime of the bulb as they last up to 12x longer too). In fact, if we all fitted just one of these lightbulbs, Scottish Power reckons we could save enough electricity to power lighting in three million homes for a year! Cheap energy saving lightbulbs can often be found in Wilkinson's and Lidl.
3) If you can turn down your thermostat by one degree Celsius you could save up to £40 per year. Go on, put another jumper on! And don't forget to ensure radiators aren't being blocked by furniture or curtains.
4) And while you're at it, turn down the thermostat on your hot water tank to 60°C. The water will be more than hot enough and it'll save you an extra tenner a year.
5) It's not rocket science: washing clothes at 30°C can save 40% more energy than washing at 40°C.
6) As we all know, heat rises, so make sure that loft is well insulated or you'll be literally pouring money through the roof!
7) Do as I do and switch off and unplug all appliances that aren't being used. According to Friends of the Earth, 85% of the energy used by a DVD player is wasted when it is on standby. And don't forget that equipment when fully charged continues to draw electricity - so unplug that mobile phone/camera/electric toothbrush etc.
8) Don't do as I do and spend ages pondering the contents of the fridge with the door wide open (each minute a fridge door is left open takes three minutes to cool back down again). And remember to let food cool before putting into the fridge. Freezers also benefit from being kept in a cool room, such as a garage.
9) Try and match the ring size on your cooker to the size of pan it is heating - you'll waste less energy. If you need to simmer something for a while, most cookers have small ring for this purpose. And don't forget that by putting a lid on saucepans the contents will heat faster and save energy.
10) And don't forget the biggie - there can be major savings to be made by switching gas and electricity supplier if you haven't done so for a while. Get some recent bills together and compare gas and electricity suppliers to see how much you could save.
11 easy ways to save energy (and money)
ReplyDelete1. Always switch off the TV, VCR, microwave and stereo at the power point instead of leaving them in stand-by power mode.
2. Purchase appliances with the highest Energy Star rating.
3. Set your fridge temperature to 5°C. Leave sufficient room around the top and back of the fridge (around the coils) to allow hot air to escape.
4. Defrost the freezer regularly and set the temperature to -18°C.
5. If you own a dishwasher, run it only when it is full.
6. Consider solar lighting for your porch and garden. Decorative solar garden lights are now available in inexpensive kits.
7. Dry washing on a clothesline. Your clothes will smell fresh, look better and wear longer.
8. Replace incandescent light globes with compact fluorescents. They provide just as much light and use 75 per cent less power.
9. Install time switches on your lights or movement and light sensors that provide security while saving money and energy.
10. Turn off your hot water system when you go on holidays.
11. Switch off the light when you leave the room.
Cut Water Heating Costs
ReplyDeleteNearly 20 percent of the energy used in the average home each year goes towards heating water according to the EPA. To reduce energy used for water heating, take showers instead of baths, and only run your dishwasher when it's full. Wash clothes in cool water, and look for detergents that are designed for use with cold water. Turn down the thermostat on your water heater to 120 to stay comfortable and save energy all year long.
Switch to CFLs
Compact fluorescent bulbs, or CFLs, use only 25 percent as much energy as a standard incandescent bulb according to CNN. If everyone in the U.S. switched one existing bulb for a CFL, the country would save enough energy to shut-down one coal-burning power plant. These bulbs are affordable, and easy to replace, and can be found in almost any major store today.
Save on Heating and Cooling
Adjust your blinds or curtains to control sunlight and reduce the amount of energy used for heating and cooling. In the summer, keep blinds closed tightly to keep sun out and keep the house cool. In winter, open blinds wide to maximize passive solar heating.
Add a programmable thermostat to automatically regulate heating and air conditioning use. CNN estimates that most homeowners can save $180 a year with one of these simple devices, along with the associated energy savings.
Zap Vampire Power
When you leave appliances plugged in, they continuously drain electrical energy, even when not in use. In fact, "PC World" estimates that this "vampire power" accounts for 5 to 10 percent of a family's annual energy consumption. To eliminate this effect, unplug phone and camera chargers when you're not using them. Plug your computer, TV and other major appliances into a power strip, then turn the strip off when these devices are not in use. When the power strip is turned off, the appliances can no longer drain energy from your electrical outlets.
Turn Off Lights
Lighting accounts for up to 10 percent of the energy used in the average home according to the EPA. Reduce your energy use by turning off the lights when you leave a room, or switching to motion sensors to operate your lights only when needed. Save even more energy by skipping the electric lights all together and relying more on natural daylighting from windows, doors and skylights.