Five Ways to Reduce the Amount of Electricity We Use in Our Home

There are five actions that my family and I can take every day to reduce the amount of electricity we use in our home.  We can use a water heater blanket, solar lights, a programmable thermostat, air filters, and fluorescent light bulbs to save energy in the home.

Water heaters run all year long.  Their constant energy use makes them the second largest energy user in the home – after the furnace.  More than 20% of a water heater’s energy is used while it’s on “standby,” keeping water hot for the next time it is used.  Adding a blanket of insulation around a water heater can help reduce its standby energy use.

Solar powered lights produce an intense glow and emit beautiful shadowing around the home.  Solar powered lights are perfect for those places where a regular power source is unavailable and where accent lighting is required.  The specially designed solar panel collects natural sunlight and converts it into electrical power that is stored in highly efficient rechargeable batteries.  With fully charged batteries and 8 hours of sunlight, solar powered lights will provide many hours of nighttime illumination.

Programmable thermostats automatically adjust the home’s temperature settings, allowing energy to be saved while people are away or sleeping.  They are more convenient and accurate than manual thermostats and improve a home’s comfort.  Programmable thermostats save energy and money on utility bills – when used properly, about $100.00 per year.  They are better for the environment, since using less energy helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with energy production.  Programmable thermostats earn the ENERGY STAR by meeting strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the government.  These units save energy by offering 4 pre-programmed temperature settings that try to anticipate when it’s convenient for you to scale back on heating and cooling.

The fourth way to save energy is with the use of air filters.  Using an air filter helps to breathe cleaner, healthier air and will help people suffer less from allergies and asthma. Also, use of air filters makes the air conditioning system work more efficiently which helps to save energy in the home.

A fifth way to conserve energy is with the use of fluorescent light bulbs.

Energy saving bulbs last 8,000 hours or as long as 10 regular light bulbs.  That means if you replace a bulb with an energy saving one, you’ll be changing out the bulb ten times less often!

In conclusion, we can save our environment by saving energy everyday at home.  The ozone is not going to last forever.  We must make these changes now.