You are constantly running in and out of your home every day - leaving for work, school, or weekend plans. Usually, your energy use is not the first thing on your mind, but this energy use is a huge burden on your house and wallet.
Here are 10 simple ways you can save energy without thinking twice.
Keep your oven door closed
We know it is tempting to look at the deliciousness - but patience is much more than a virtue here. If you keep your oven door closed you can save a large amount of energy in such a simple way. The oven already takes a large amount of time to heat up, so imagine the amount of energy you release when opening up the oven even once - let alone the five times you already do when baked good are inside.
Plastic-Seal your windows in the winter
This is a cheap, simple way to keep all of your heating and cooling trapped inside your house. You can buy this shrink film for less than $20 at most hardware stores - which is much cheaper than the cost of the energy that you would be losing otherwise.
Redecorate with more carpeting
More carpet means more heat insulation - and also an opportunity for more homey decor. The rugs are made of heat-absorption material that collects the heat that is normally lost on hardwood floors.
Re-paint in lighter hues
Using lighter colors of paint both brightens your home and reflects heat from the outside. So when it is sunny and hot, your house looks and feels cooler.
Use CFL or LED light bulbs
Buying CFL or LED bulbs has always been a more efficient energy choice for your home. They now come in cheaper versions of the original model, which is saving you cash too.
Time your lighting
Have you ever seen those “fancy” clap-on clap-off lights? Well, now, most lights actually come with a timer. Start programming your appliances to shut off during the daytime or when you are not home.
Move around some furniture
Utilize your efforts to save energy to also change the feng-shui of your house. Start putting lamps in corners so the light reflects on two walls rather than one. Purchase a lighter lampshade - and maybe even one made of natural materials to be even more sustainable.
Unplug your phone charger
Whether you knew this or not, even your idle phone charger in the wall is using energy. Another simple fix is to take it out of the wall. You can even take the charger with you on the go - but just make sure that if you phone is completely charged or not attached to the charger at all, remove it from the wall.
Wash everything with cold water
By using cold water during a wash cycle, you save an extreme amount of energy … and your white shirts.
Take shorter showers
In reality, our long showers are used as an escape from responsibilities. So why not take a shorter shower, save water, but still be able to waste time afterwards? By cutting your shower shorter by only four minutes means you can save over 3,000 gallons of water per year. Now you’ll have time to watch one more video on YouTube or even switch to 100% clean energy with Arcadia!
