Your home is your castle, but have you ever considered what is powering it? Green energy is a great solution that you can implement in your own home, in order to clean up the environment and lower your bills. Read on for some simple strategies that you can start using right now.
Air dry your laundry. If the weather allows you to, after you wash your laundry, instead of running it through the dryer, dry it on a clothesline outside. Let the sun and wind dry your clothes for you. Using an electric dryer will only use up energy, and if the weather is nice, you can save energy easily. In addition, your clothes will last longer.
Think about getting solar powered lamps for outdoor lighting. Solar lamps are relatively inexpensive and can save you a great deal on wiring and electricity expenses. This doesn’t merely save energy. It means you don’t have to wire up outdoor lights.
If your home has a pool or hot tub, look into a solar water heating system. Installing a solar water heating system costs about the same as a conventional system, but operating costs for the system will be much lower. Repair costs for solar heating systems are often lower as well.
Use curtains to assist you in keeping green. If it is summer and you want the room to stay cool, draw the curtains during the day so that the sun doesn’t shine in. If it’s winter, and you want the room to stay warm, open the curtains and let the sun into your room.
Check out all the different resources your community has available for energy. Determine which energy source is cheapest for your home. Don’t forget to account for any government incentives that might be in effect. For instance, it might be worth it to switch to gas heat instead of electric, or switch to well water instead of municipal water.
Are you currently using a wood-burning fireplace to decrease your dependence upon fossil fuels? If so, remember to shut the flue damper very tightly when your fireplace is not being used. If you forget to do this, both warmed or cooled air will easily escape from your house through the chimney.
Don’t throw away that coffee grinds- use them to fertilize your plants. Coffee grinds are rich in nitrogen so these make great, healthy plant food. Using coffee grinds as fertilizer keeps them out of the landfill, makes it unnecessary for you to purchase and use chemical plant food, and make your plants grow nicely, adding oxygen to the atmosphere.
Making changes to an existing home is very costly. If you want to start using green energies, you should think about moving or getting a new house built. Look for certain features such as running water or good exposure to the sun and wind when buying a new property or home.
Purchase solar lights for your garden and outdoor walkways. These decorative lights are relatively inexpensive, and do not add to your electricity bill. During the day, these lights absorb power from the sun. At night, they light the area with the stored energy. These are a fantastic way to reduce your energy consumption while beautifying your yard.
Take shorter showers to get greater advantage of green energy in your home! Heating hot water accounts for nearly 14% of the average household’s energy use and that can really add up. Cutting down on the time you spend in the shower will be better on the environment and your energy bills!
A clean environment is key to ensuring that we continue to have the food and water that we need to survive. It’s up to each individual to play their part and a great start to that part is to use the ideas in this article to “green” your energy use. Start implementing what you’ve learned and reap the rewards!
