Save on Utility Bills – Home Energy Saving Tips
Electronics, Computers and Various Appliances offer us good opportunity to save on Utility Bills, since most of the time they consume more electricity than needed.
Here are some general Home Energy Saving Tips:
Use Dishwasher for Full LoadsTry using the dishwasher only for full loads.
If you must use small loads, use the half load function (if you have one), and save both water and electricity.
Try a Shorter CycleRead the manual, and try using a shorter cycle (sometimes called ECO cycle). I’ve recently switched from a 70 minutes cycle to 32 minutes cycle (which uses about half water), and the dishes come out clean all the same.
As most of the power is used for heating up the water, a shorter cycle will give you big saving on utility bills. As a side effect it also saves water.
Use the Other Off SwitchIn most modern appliances, especially those equipped with remote controls, using the Off function will put the device in standby mode instead of shutting it off.
Most of these devices have in addition a real On/Off switch at the back or front.
We got used to put all our appliances to standby, thinking they are not working. But they are working all right, and consuming between them selves large amount of electricity.
Some of them will consume up to 85% of the energy they would use if fully switched on!
All this wasted electricity gets transformed into heat, and when you return home you will need to waste even more electricity
to cool it down again.
As it is not always easy to use this On/Off switch, I set myself the following rule: When ever I go away for the weekend or for a trip I go the extra mile and shut off all my equipment using the real On/Off switch. Otherwise – I just put them on standby.
Unplug it!Some of the appliances don’t even have an On/Off switch.
I’m talking about TVs, Set-Top boxes, Receivers, Amplifiers, Audio equipment & Home Theater, Cordless Phones, Chargers of any kind etc.
If
you want to save on utility bills, all of these devices has to be unplugged entirely in order to stop them sucking juice from the outlet. As unplugging and re-plugging all of them back is inconvenient,
I use the same previous rule: When ever I go away for the weekend or for a trip I go the extra mile and unplug all my equipment. Otherwise – I just put it on standby.
To make the task of unplugging easier I try to put all my appliances on a power strip with a master switch. This way I don’t have to actually unplug them all. A flip of the master switch and I’m done!
Amazon caries a wide selection of Power Strips and Smart Power Strips, and
so does eBay
.
Turn Off Computers at Nightor at least put them to sleep.
Turn Off the Set-Top-BoxWhen your done watching TV, don’t just shut down the TV – turn off the cable box as well. Unless turned off, the cable box continues to work hard, use electricity and produce heat for no reason.
Save on utility bills with a flip of a switch!
Use Black Screen SaverComputer screens (as well as TVs) consumes plenty of energy, especially when the image is brighter or white. A black or dark screen saver will consume a fraction of electricity than an animated one will.
Optimize your PC Power ConsumptionMake use of the power options your computer or laptop offers you.
Program the computer to turn of the screen, hard-drive and other components after a period of no user activity. Put the entire computer to sleep or turn it off after a longer period of inactivity.
Do a Maintenance Run On All Your AppliancesCheck the air passages and vents for dust which clogs them, and vacuum if necessary.
Do this once, preferably twice a year, on all appliances with air-filters or air-blowers such as
Refrigerator, Freezer, Air-Conditioners, Computers, Dryers, TVs, Ovens etc.
Last but not least in my energy saving tips for the home comes Cooking. Although not a very big energy consumer by itself, similar to Refrigeration and Lighting it offers a chance for double savings. Here is how to Lower Electric Bill by saving electricity on Cooking.