How to Conserve Energy
Page Updated on October 13, 2007
Where does energy come from?
- Coal, which produces greenhouse gases, acid rain, soot, and toxins and requires mining which damages the ecosystem.
- Oil, which is better than coal but produces greenhouse gases, acid rain, and toxins, and can end up in oil spills and requires drilling which damages the ecosystem.
- Natural gas, which is better than oil but produces greenhouse gases and toxins and requires drilling which can damage the ecosystem.
- Nuclear energy, which involves extreme radiation, can result in catastrophes large enough to cause the permanent evacuation and abandonment of entire cities and requires long term storage, so it can go on to contaminate the soil, water, and air with radiation for generations to come.
- Hydrogen, which is rocket fuel and requires natural gas to produce, and it's very expensive as well as explosive. Biomass energy, which is plant material that is burned, is renewable but still produces toxic chemicals and greenhouse gases.
- Geothermal energy, which is only available in limited areas, and even though it is pollution free, it does have some environmental impact.
- Hydropower, which is available anywhere there is a river or even waves, but it impacts the environment by disrupting wildlife and changing the ecosystem by creating a lake where there wasn't one before (when a dam is used).
- Wind energy, which is only available in windy locations, can affect the ecosystem, and really isn't very pretty compared to the natural landscape, but it doesn't produce any pollution.
- Solar power, which is very expensive and very inefficient with our current methods when used as a mass supply of electricity, but it's great on a small scale, such as on your own roof, and on a small scale can pay for itself over several years.
Electricity and fuels are wonderful for helping us live comfortably, but making electricity and using fossil fuels aren't quite harmless. Conserving energy will help us protect our air, water, soil, wildlife, and pocketbook.
Cut down on your cooling bill
- Adjust your air conditioner thermostat to 75 degrees or higher.
- Use portable fans and ceiling fans to circulate air. (Use ceiling fans whenever possible.)
- Open your windows early in the morning to let cool air in the shut them later in the day when the temperature begins to go up.
- Close your blinds and curtains in the afternoon to cut back on the amount of sunlight that heats up your home.
- Use light colored blinds that reflect the sunlight away from your house.
- Use microwaves or fix cold meals on hot days to keep your appliances from warming up your home.
- Hang your laundry on a clothesline to avoid warming up your home with a clothes dryer.
- Run your dishwasher, clothes dryer, etc. in the evening when it's cooler.
- Plant deciduous trees (trees that have leaves that fall off in autumn) in your yard to provide shade during the summer to cool your home and yard.
- Make sure your home is well insulated.
- Make sure your attic vents are not blocked. (If you don't have attic vents, install some.)
- Seal any cracks that lead to the exterior of the house with calking. Especially check around doors, windows, electrical outlets and switches, and plumbing fixtures for cracks.
- Take your shower during the middle of the day. Use cool water to help cool yourself off.
- Replace your air conditioner filters every three months.
- Clean your air conditioner filters and vents every month.
- Close vents to rooms you don't use often.
- Make sure vents are not blocked by furniture, carpeting, etc.
- Turn kitchen and bath exhaust fans off when there is no need for them to keep cool air in your home.
- Don't put lights or heat producing appliances or electronics near your air conditioner's thermostat.
- Use window treatments that filter the sunlight during the day.
- If you are building / remodeling your home, use a passive solar design.
- Install the most efficient cooling system you can afford.
Cut down on your heating bill
- Set your heater's thermostat to 65 degrees or less during the day.
- Set your heater's thermostat to 55 degrees or less during the night.
- Wear extra layers of clothing to keep you warm in cool weather.
- Open your curtains and blinds during the day to let light in to heat up your home.
- Close your curtains and blinds as soon as the sun begins to set to keep heat from escaping through the windows.
- Use thick curtains in addition to your blinds to keep the heat in at night.
- Keep your east, south, and west windows sparkling clean to allow more light to get in.
- Cook hot meals so your oven and stove can help heat up your home.
- Plant deciduous trees (trees that have leaves that fall off in autumn) in your yard so that their leaves won't block the sunlight in winter.
- Replace your heating system filters every three months.
- Clean your heating system filters and vents every month.
- Make sure your home is well insulated.
- Seal any cracks that lead to the exterior of the house with calking. Especially check around doors, windows, electrical outlets and switches, and plumbing fixtures for cracks.
- Close your fireplace and wood stove dampers to keep heat from escaping when you're not using them.
- Close vents to rooms you don't use often (unless you use a heat pump) and close the doors to keep the rooms from drawing heat from the rest of the house.
- Make sure vents are not blocked by furniture, carpeting, etc.
- Turn kitchen and bath exhaust fans off when there is no need for them to keep them from sucking out the heat.
- If you are building / remodeling your home, use a passive solar design.
- Purchase the most efficient heating system you can afford.
Save electricity in your kitchen
- Use microwaves or fix cold meals to cut back on using electric stoves or ovens.
- Set your refrigerator thermostat to 40 degrees and use a thermometer to verify that the temperature is correct.
- Keep your refrigerator door closed as much as possible (keep food in the same place so you won't have to hunt for it with the door open).
- Set your freezer thermostat to 5 degrees and use a thermometer to verify that the temperature is correct.
- Keep your freezer full. Cold foods keep each other cool.
- Defrost your freezer before ice builds up to 1/4 inch.
- Buy EnergyStar compliant refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, microwave ovens, stoves, ovens, etc. They use less electricity.
- Run your dishwasher wish a full load.
- Air dry dishes instead of using the drying setting on your dishwasher.
- Use toasters or toaster ovens instead of your oven whenever possible.
- Don't open your oven door to check on food. Look through the window.
- Use lids when heating food on the stove. The lids keep the heat in.
- Keep reflector bowls under burners on your stove clean so they reflect heat toward your food.
- Don't use a large burner to heat up food in a small pan. Match the burner size with the pan size.
- Use a microwave to cook whenever possible.
Cut down your lighting bill
- Use compact florescent bulbs. They use less energy and last longer.
- Turn your lights off whenever you leave the room.
- Use task lighting instead of lighting up the whole room.
- Use a dimmer switch or candles for a romantic evening.
- Use lower watt light bulbs.
- Use solar powered exterior lights. They store the sun's energy during the day and use it to light up your yard at night.
- Use exterior security lights with motion sensors instead of leaving your exterior light on all night.
- Use motion sensor switches for interior lights. The lights will automatically turn on and off when you enter or exit a room, so you don't forget to turn off your light. This also makes entering your home at night safer.
- Use photosensitive switches for lights that you do leave all night. They will automatically turn on when it gets dark and turn off when it gets light. (This is also great for protecting your home when you're on vacation.)
- Use window treatments that let in lots of light.
- Install skylights.
Cut down your water heating bill
- Take showers instead of baths.
- Take showers in the middle of the day on warm days using cooler water. You'll use less hot water, reducing your hot water heater costs.
- Don't let the hot water run while you're shaving or brushing your teeth.
- Purchase the most energy efficient water heater you can afford.
- Turn down your water heater thermostat to 120 degrees to cut your water heating bill. (It will also prevent accidental scalding.)
- Insulate your hot water heater tank.
- Replace your hot water tank with a tankless water heater. (You'll never run out of hot water either.)
- Install a solar hot water heating system. Some just add a boost to your hot water heater while others don't require a hot water heater at all.
- Fix leaky hot water faucets.
- Install water-saving shower heads.
- Wash and rinse your clothes in cold water.
Saving electricity with your laundry
- Always wash full loads with your clothes washer
- Presoak your laundry for 15 minutes then let them agitate in the washer for 5 minutes instead of using longer cycles. (It actually can get your clothes cleaner than using longer washer cycles.)
- Hang your laundry on a clothesline instead of using the dryer
- Clean your dryers lint trap between every use.
- Remove clothes promptly from your dryer and hang them up immediately to avoid ironing.
- Buy clothes that don't need to be ironed.
- Buy EnergyStar compliant front load washers and dryers. (They save on electricity and water. Plus they require less detergent, softener, etc. so your detergent will last at least 4 times as long, reducing your shopping bill.)
Saving electricity in the bathroom
- Let your hair air dry instead of using your blow dryer
Saving electricity in your office/ living room / family room / etc.
- Use a laptop instead of a desktop. You can even use solar power to charge up the battery.
- Set your computer to automatically go into sleep mode or even better to hibernate when it hasn't been used for 5 or 10 minutes.
- Plug all of your electronics into outlets that can be turned on and off with the flip of a switch when they're not in use (most electronics still use energy when they are turned off, so cut off their electricity supply). You can buy wireless adapters to convert your traditional outlets into switch controlled outlets, or you can plug your electronics into power surge strips and switch off the whole strip.
Make your own electricity
- If you can afford it, buy solar panels for your home. If you can only afford 1 solar panel, it will still make a difference and can even help give you the minimum amount of electricity you need during an emergency; just make sure that you set it up so that you can add more later if you wish. If you hook up rechargeable battery system to your solar panels, you can use your stored electricity even when it's dark out. If you purchase enough solar panels, you can take yourself off of the electric company's grid completely. In many states, if you are hooked up to the electric company, and you produce more electricity with your solar panels than you use, your meter may run backwards and the electric company may have to pay you every month. Plus, most areas have tax breaks for homes or businesses using solar energy.
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