Save Energy Room by Room
With environmental issues becoming top of mind and the rising cost of living in Canada, Calgary homeowners look for ways to save energy at home. Those who are conscience about energy consumption already know the obvious ways they can cut down on energy use and trim down the energy bills. Installing a high efficiency furnace, turning down the thermostat at night, turning off lights when leaving a room, and switching to a low flow toilet are on among some of the energy savings tips on that list.
Upon some research, I discovered a few other interesting tips to save energy at home that I had not heard before. In some cases, I thought that some of my green-habits were the most energy efficient and have learned that they actually were not. Some things that I learned I had never even heard of before.
In this article we will move through your house, room by room, and share a few tips on how you can save energy at home. I hope that you find them helpful.
Save Energy in the Kitchen
Cook with a lid on the pot. Simply putting a lid on your pots can decrease energy consumption by 14%.
Use the microwave to heat up leftovers instead of the oven. Microwaves use 50% less electricity than stoves.
Open the door of your dishwasher before it gets to the ‘dry’ setting. This setting uses a heat-dry method that consumes a lot of energy. Opening the door allows your dishes to air dry instead.
Use an electric kettle instead of heating up a kettle on the stove. When the water is boiled the kettle shuts off. It’s an easy way to save energy at home.
Save Energy in the Living Room
If you have a fireplace in your living room, make sure it is sealed properly. If it was leaking you could be losing a lot of heat. Sealing it can reduce your household heating and cooling needs and help you save energy.
Phantom power is what is used when electronics remained plugged into the outlet even when they are not in use. Plug your electronics into a power bar that has a timer or auto-shutoff and make sure the power bar is switched off when you’re not using it. Phantom power can account for up to 20% of household energy use.
Consider switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs in your living room lamps. They use up to 75% less electricity and last up to 8 times longer than regular incandescent light bulbs.
Save Energy in the Bathroom
If you prefer baths over showers, consider replacing a few of your bath times with a shower. A 5 minute shower uses a lot less water than filling the tub every time!
Replace your shower head with an efficient shower head. With the latest technology, you won’t have to give up water pressure to save water consumption.
Don’t leave the tap running when you’re brushing your teeth, washing your face, or shaving and use cold water if you don’t need to use hot.
Save Energy in the Bedroom
Small reading lamps on your bedside table can easy use LED bulbs. They last up to 30 times longer than regular incandescent bulbs and are great for focused activities like reading.
Open your curtains during the day to let in natural light and heat. Draw your bedroom curtains at night to save energy and keep the heat in.
Do you charge your mobile phone near the bed over night? Consider charging it in the evening while you are awake instead of overnight. It only needs a few hours to charge completely.
Save Energy in the Basement
Homeowners in Calgary can have an Action Furnace technician inspect and tune up your furnace every year. A furnace that receives regular service will improve performance and efficiency by up to 20%. Ask Action Furnace about our Wow! Furnace Tune Up, on special for just $79.
Save energy at home by keeping your freezer at -18 degrees Celsius. A deep freeze set 5-6% colder can use up to 25% more energy.
Replace your old hot water heater with a new tankless hot water system. Tankless systems don’t keep water on ‘stand by’ until it is needed like regular heaters, they heat as you need it which means you will lower your energy loss and the cost of heating water.
Wash your clothes on a cold cycle whenever possible.
It may seem trivial, but changing a few habits room by room will help you save energy at home and reduce your energy costs. It’s good for your home, your bank account, and your environment too.
Source: www.saveonenergy.ca
Save Energy at Home is a post from: Action Furnace – Calgary, Edmonton. Web design by Canada Marketing Company.