Some energy-saving strategies involve spending money; other measures
don't require any expenditure at all. Below is a top-ten list of easy,
no-cost ways to reduce your energy use. These ideas may all be familiar, but since it's time for
New Year's resolutions maybe a quick review will give you the needed
nudge to step up your efforts.
1. Drive less. For most of us, the single most effective
way to reduce our energy consumption is to drive less. Walk more or ride a
bike-you'll benefit by spending less and keeping in better shape. Coordinate
your travel with colleagues, sharing rides. Combine trips to town. Use public
transit.
2. Turn off the lights. The least efficient lighting is a
light that's turned on when no one's in the room. Get in the habit of turning
lights off when leaving a room.
3. Turn down the heat. Use a programmable thermostat to
lower your temperature settings at night or when you head off to work; or you
can do that manually with a simple thermostat.
4. Take shorter showers. Water heating is often the
second-largest energy consumer in a northern-climate home, so reducing hot
water use is an easy way to save energy. One of those strategies is to shorten
your shower down the flow to a trickle while shampooing or soaping up to reduce
hot water use.
5. Wash clothes with cold water. Clothes washers,
especially older top-loading models, use up to about 50 gallons per load.
Washing clothes in cold water can dramatically reduce your energy consumption.
6. Hang your clothes outdoors or use an indoor drying rack.
Instead of using your electric or gas dryer, hang clothes outdoors. In the
winter, you can hang clothes indoors and benefit from the humidity those drying
clothes will provide.
7. Use your dishwasher efficiently. Run the machine with
full loads. Scrape off food scraps, but with a relatively new dishwasher it's
usually not necessary to pre-rinse dishes before putting them in the
dishwasher. If you must rinse (sometimes it's necessary, especially with older
dishwashers), use cold water.
8. Block drafts under doors. If your door doesn't seal
tightly at the threshold, use a "snake" or towel to block the cool air.
9. Eliminate "phantom loads." Most of us have lots of
hidden electrical loads in our homes: cell phone and tool chargers that are
always plugged in, televisions that are never totally "off," and wireless
routers that draw electricity 24-7, for example. Unplug these devices when not
in use, or plug them into power strips that can easily be switched off.
10. Extend your energy savings to your workplace. If you've
succeeded at doing the easy stuff at home, don't stop there. Carry your
energy-savings practices to work!
All of these measures are free. But they do require a little more awareness and
forethought.
Posted December 30, 2010 by Alex Wilson at
Green Building Advisor.com
