Twenty One Ways To Save Energy This Summer
Want to save energy this summer when the temperatures and energy costs rise? You can stay cool, go green and save some green. Follow these tips to take the pressure off your budget and the power grids during the hot summer months.
1. Work The Cooler Temps
Do cooking, laundry and bathing in the early morning or late evenings. All of these things raise the humidity in your home and make it tougher for your air conditioner to cool things down. The same goes for other appliances that use heat, such as your irons and blow dryers.
2. Forget The Stove Altogether
Use a solar oven instead to bake your bread, cakes and cookies. You might as well use that heat for something, and a solar oven will slow cook your food, making it moist and delicious.
3. Use Ceiling Fans
Install ceiling fans in every room in your home and use them on a regular basis to save energy. Ceiling fans use only about a tenth of the power an air conditioner does and by constantly circulating the air, they make the room feel cooler and more comfortable.
4. Don't Let The Sun Shine In
Close your drapes and blinds before you leave for work. If you are home during the day, close them during the mid-morning. They'll keep the hot sun out and the cooler temps in.
5. Seal Them Up
Use weather stripping and caulk your windows and door frames. Windows can be notorious for leaking the cool air out and the hot air in during the summer months. Also, remember what your mother said. You can't afford to air condition the whole outdoors, so shut those door and windows.
6. Replace Them
Replace your windows altogether with double- or triple-paned windows to save energy costs. If you can't afford to replace your windows, you can install clear plastic film across the inside of your windows and frames. Use a blow dryer to heat the plastic until it becomes almost invisible. The plastic film will provide a pocket of air that acts as an insulator that will keep the cool air in and the hot air out.
7. Dishwashing By Night
Run your dishwasher at night and make sure it's fully loaded before you do run it. If you choose to run your dishwasher in the morning, then allow your dishes to air dry, rather than using the dishwasher's drying unit.
8. Size Up Your Unit
Make sure you have the right sized air conditioning unit for your home. The wrong-sized unit can be a terrible energy waster. If you have a unit that is too large, it will cool the area down too quickly, and your unit won't have a chance to reduce the humidity in your house, making you feel uncomfortable despite the cooler temperature. On the other hand, if your air conditioning unit is too small, it will run constantly on really hot days without cooling things down at all.
9. Location, Location, Location
Save energy by changing the location of your air conditioning unit. Granted, not everyone can do this, but if you are planning to have a new unit installed, make sure it won't be sitting in direct sunlight. It will have to work harder to cool things down. A northern or eastern location or shady spot is always best. Also, keep plants and shrubs away from the unit as they can block the vents and reduce your unit's ability to exhaust air.
10. Check The Filter
Check your air conditioning filter once a month. Hold it up to a bright light and try to look through it. If you can't, then it's time to replace the filter.
11. Close Off Empty Rooms
If you have an empty room you're not using, don't cool it. Close the vents instead.
12. Make It Automatic
If you aren't home during the day, there's no point in cooling it while you're gone. Save energy by setting automatic timers on your thermostat to turn your unit on half an hour or so before you come home.
13. Just A Bit Higher, Please
Set that thermostat just a bit higher. Raise your thermostat from 73 to 78 degrees, and you can save up to 15% in cooling costs.
14. Vent That Heat
If you have an attic, install an attic fan to vent out the heat that collects during the day. Get rid of that hot air and your unit will have a much easier job of cooling down your home. Also add a layer of insulation to your attic.
15. Turn Off That PC
Earlier this summer I couldn't stand to sit outside with my laptop " it generated so much warmth, it felt like I was carrying around a miniature furnace. Your computer generates a fair amount of heat, so when you are not using it, turn it off and save energy.
16. Use Power Strips
Your television sets and DVD players will still use power even when they are off. So plug them and other electronic equipment into power strips instead and turn the power strips off when they are not in use.
17. Cool Down That Water Heater
Set the thermostat on your water heater to 125 degrees Fahrenheit. At this temperature it will still kill the bacteria in your tank and provide sufficient hot water. Manufacturers set most water heaters at 140 degrees, more heat than most of us need.
18. Time Those Showers
You can save energy by keeping a timer in your bathroom and limiting your shower to six minutes. Most people can get the job done in this amount of time and your water heater won't have to work as hard.
19. Insulate Your Heater
Put an insulation blanket on your water heater. Special insulators are available that are made out of fiberglass and are easy to install.
20. Repainting Soon?
If you plan to repaint the walls in your home anytime soon, choose a light color. Dark colors tend to absorb the light, and you'll need more lights (and more energy) to brighten your room.
21. Save While Laundering
If you are thinking about buying a washing machine in the near future, consider a front-loading machine to save energy. They use 25 percent less energy than the standard models. Also switch from a hot/warm cycle to a warm/cold cycle when washing clothes and line dry your clothes instead of using a clothes dryer.
1. Work The Cooler Temps
Do cooking, laundry and bathing in the early morning or late evenings. All of these things raise the humidity in your home and make it tougher for your air conditioner to cool things down. The same goes for other appliances that use heat, such as your irons and blow dryers.
2. Forget The Stove Altogether
Use a solar oven instead to bake your bread, cakes and cookies. You might as well use that heat for something, and a solar oven will slow cook your food, making it moist and delicious.
3. Use Ceiling Fans
Install ceiling fans in every room in your home and use them on a regular basis to save energy. Ceiling fans use only about a tenth of the power an air conditioner does and by constantly circulating the air, they make the room feel cooler and more comfortable.
4. Don't Let The Sun Shine In
Close your drapes and blinds before you leave for work. If you are home during the day, close them during the mid-morning. They'll keep the hot sun out and the cooler temps in.
5. Seal Them Up
Use weather stripping and caulk your windows and door frames. Windows can be notorious for leaking the cool air out and the hot air in during the summer months. Also, remember what your mother said. You can't afford to air condition the whole outdoors, so shut those door and windows.
6. Replace Them
Replace your windows altogether with double- or triple-paned windows to save energy costs. If you can't afford to replace your windows, you can install clear plastic film across the inside of your windows and frames. Use a blow dryer to heat the plastic until it becomes almost invisible. The plastic film will provide a pocket of air that acts as an insulator that will keep the cool air in and the hot air out.
7. Dishwashing By Night
Run your dishwasher at night and make sure it's fully loaded before you do run it. If you choose to run your dishwasher in the morning, then allow your dishes to air dry, rather than using the dishwasher's drying unit.
8. Size Up Your Unit
Make sure you have the right sized air conditioning unit for your home. The wrong-sized unit can be a terrible energy waster. If you have a unit that is too large, it will cool the area down too quickly, and your unit won't have a chance to reduce the humidity in your house, making you feel uncomfortable despite the cooler temperature. On the other hand, if your air conditioning unit is too small, it will run constantly on really hot days without cooling things down at all.
9. Location, Location, Location
Save energy by changing the location of your air conditioning unit. Granted, not everyone can do this, but if you are planning to have a new unit installed, make sure it won't be sitting in direct sunlight. It will have to work harder to cool things down. A northern or eastern location or shady spot is always best. Also, keep plants and shrubs away from the unit as they can block the vents and reduce your unit's ability to exhaust air.
10. Check The Filter
Check your air conditioning filter once a month. Hold it up to a bright light and try to look through it. If you can't, then it's time to replace the filter.
11. Close Off Empty Rooms
If you have an empty room you're not using, don't cool it. Close the vents instead.
12. Make It Automatic
If you aren't home during the day, there's no point in cooling it while you're gone. Save energy by setting automatic timers on your thermostat to turn your unit on half an hour or so before you come home.
13. Just A Bit Higher, Please
Set that thermostat just a bit higher. Raise your thermostat from 73 to 78 degrees, and you can save up to 15% in cooling costs.
14. Vent That Heat
If you have an attic, install an attic fan to vent out the heat that collects during the day. Get rid of that hot air and your unit will have a much easier job of cooling down your home. Also add a layer of insulation to your attic.
15. Turn Off That PC
Earlier this summer I couldn't stand to sit outside with my laptop " it generated so much warmth, it felt like I was carrying around a miniature furnace. Your computer generates a fair amount of heat, so when you are not using it, turn it off and save energy.
16. Use Power Strips
Your television sets and DVD players will still use power even when they are off. So plug them and other electronic equipment into power strips instead and turn the power strips off when they are not in use.
17. Cool Down That Water Heater
Set the thermostat on your water heater to 125 degrees Fahrenheit. At this temperature it will still kill the bacteria in your tank and provide sufficient hot water. Manufacturers set most water heaters at 140 degrees, more heat than most of us need.
18. Time Those Showers
You can save energy by keeping a timer in your bathroom and limiting your shower to six minutes. Most people can get the job done in this amount of time and your water heater won't have to work as hard.
19. Insulate Your Heater
Put an insulation blanket on your water heater. Special insulators are available that are made out of fiberglass and are easy to install.
20. Repainting Soon?
If you plan to repaint the walls in your home anytime soon, choose a light color. Dark colors tend to absorb the light, and you'll need more lights (and more energy) to brighten your room.
21. Save While Laundering
If you are thinking about buying a washing machine in the near future, consider a front-loading machine to save energy. They use 25 percent less energy than the standard models. Also switch from a hot/warm cycle to a warm/cold cycle when washing clothes and line dry your clothes instead of using a clothes dryer.
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