In our modern world, there are a lot of neat electronics that we are able to use to make life easier. But when we take a look at our electric bill at the end of the month, we may be a little surprised at how high the numbers have jumped. Those electronics, while nice, can often use a good deal of energy in the process.
Finding ways to reduce how much electricity you are using is not only good on your wallet, but also good for the environment. Saving money can increase your energy performance rating, according to EPC NI. Some of the easy tips that you can use to help reduce your home electronic energy use include:
Turn Off the Computer
You may be surprised to find out that computers can be some of the biggest users of energy, whether it is your home computer or the office building. You should make sure to turn off the monitor when you are done using the computer and do not let it rely on the energy sucking screensaver when it is not in use.
Many of the computers that you are able to find today can be turned on and off over 40,000 times, meaning there isn’t going to be a lot of harm in doing this compared to the past. And opting to shut down the computer, especially if it is a bulky desktop computer, to conserve energy will not affect the lifespan of the computer.
Choose the Right Lights
The next thing that you can consider doing is to choose the right types of lights. You can choose to do this when the light bulbs start burning out in your home or make it a weekend project and change them all out anyway. And when you are making a switch with the lights in your home, make sure to pick out LED lights. LED bulbs are going to be your most energy efficient lighting option on the market. For example, these bulbs are going to use up 75% less electricity compared to the Energy Start bulbs. They also contain no mercury and tend to last up to 25 times longer than the regular light bulbs you have in your home.
Unplug Unused Electronics
It is tempting to just leave everything plugged in all the time, even when it is not in use. You don’t have to remember to do the work or plug them all back in when you would like to use them again. But even when the item is not being used, it could suck out a lot of electricity just being plugged into the outlet. Devices like your printers, scanners, microwaves, and televisions are going to use something known as standby power, even when you have them turned off. Some chargers will continue to pull out small bits of energy, even when they are plugged in. You will be able to tell if this is happening by touching the charger to see if it feels warm. In the United States, the total electricity consumed by electronics that are idle is equal to the annual output of 12 power plants. And even though it may seem like you are not using that much electricity in the process, it could save a lot of money if you would just unplug the item instead.
Keeping Your Energy Usage Down
If you are uncertain about how much energy your home uses during the month, it is time to track of your energy usage through a home power usage calculator. You can type in the estimated amount of time that each electrical component is on in your home to come up with an idea of how much energy you use. This can help you see your current usage and then determine whether the steps you are taking are successful at reducing your energy consumption.
Use a Power Strip
To help avoid paying this vampire power and not overloading the system around your home, you should use a power strip. When it is time to unplug, you would just need to pull out the one thing and all of those vampire power users would be turned off and you would not have to worry about it. Depending on your home, you could also set it up to have a switch attached. You could flip the switch to the power strip and then have everything turned off. This can prevent the problems with the phantom energy loss and help you to save a lot of money on your utility bill over the next few months.
Turn Off Your Lights
Do not get into the habit of leaving lights on around the home when you are not using a room. These can use up a good deal of electricity, especially if you are not going to come back to the room soon. When you leave the majority of the lights on around your home most of the day, you are effectively wasting all of that energy. Get into the habit of turning the lights off when you leave the room. It only takes a few seconds to turn them back on if you go back into the room. But if you get busy and don’t end up back in that location again, you will save a lot of energy knowing that the lights are turned off and not wasting electricity.
Keep Thermostat at Right Temperature
Choosing the right temperature for your home can help to conserve energy as well. If you let the air conditioner go too much in the summer or the heater too much in the winter, you will pay through the nose to keep the home at that temperature.
You can use a smart programmable thermostat to help you get the most in energy savings and to ensure you don’t use too much. Consider turning the air conditioner up a few degrees and heater down a few degrees for the best results.
