Stop Wasting Electricity ? 5 Effective Home Energy Saving Tips to Save Money on Electric Bill

 

If there's one challenge every homeowner is forced to deal with on a monthly basis, it's how to save money on their electric bill. So, if you're one of them, these simple yet practical home energy saving tips may very well keep you from wasting electricity, and paying for it dearly, in your home.

Based on the figures presented by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the average monthly utility bill in the United States is about $ 99.70, with some states (such as Hawaii) paying a lot more. It's okay if you're really using that much energy in your home, but the truth is that you're most probably not. Instead, you're paying for wasted electricity – energy that you didn't use. How annoying can that be?

One thing's for sure - you don't need to pay that much to power your home.

Fortunately, there are a lot of ways that can help you save on electricity. Here are some practical suggestions on how you can see a positive difference in your monthly electrical bill without having to break the bank.

 

The first logical step in reducing your utility bills is to make sure that your home is not leaking energy. So, check for leaks on your doors, sills, windows, cracks on the walls, and joints. A home that is not properly insulated uses up more energy than necessary. Unfortunately, most houses built before the 1980's belong to this category.

To make sure your house does not leak energy, you need to insulate it properly. Seal your doors and the cracks on your walls with quality sealants. Cover your windows with plastic coating so that the heat will be contained inside your home. These simple steps can reduce the load on your heater and air conditioning system, and help you get you great savings on your next electric bill!

 

Here's a smart tip in using your thermostat. When you want to cool your room because the heat is getting unbearable, don't just turn the thermostat to its lowest setting. You can't instantly cool your room that way but it's a great way to consume more energy than you really need!

Remember, your thermostat will not adjust as quickly as you want to. So, whether you gradually switch it or instantly set it on its lowest, you will basically get the same result. The only difference is that you'll spend more energy in doing so.

Setting the thermostat several degrees lower when you are out or when you are sleeping is another great energy saving idea that can make a great difference in your utility bills.

 

Let's admit it - it's easy enough to overlook a lot of seemingly small things. It's easy to forget that you've left your night lights turned on for days. It's easy to overlook that you've left your iPod charger, your cellphone charger, and other similar electronic gadgets plugged in 24/7. After all, they don't consume as much energy as your other appliances, right?

But hey, remember that these small things do add up. And these small things can add as much as 5% on your electric bill.

 

Do you know that your water heater contributes about 12% on your monthly utility bill? And do you realize that you are heating water for your shower or your washing machine only to bring that temperature down by mixing it with cold water so you can actually use it? If you're like most people who cannot use straight hot water, you can definitely get great savings on your next electric bill just by following this simple tip.

 

Remember how often your mom told you to keep the refrigerator door shut? Well, there's a good reason for that - leaving the refrigerator door open increases your home energy consumption. Every time you open your refrigerator door, heat rushes in so it has to consume more electricity to maintain its internal temperature.

Keeping these practical home energy saving tips in mind can keep you from wasting electricity and paying for energy that you haven't used. Think of all the things you can do with the savings you're about to get. Aren't they reasons enough to start being more conscious on how you use energy in your home? Think about it.

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Renewable energy sources

Across the world energy is being used at an alarmingly higher rate. This is due to rapid industrialization and increased awareness in the consumers. However, all this is taking toll on the fossil fuel reserves as they are depleting fast and their usage becomes expensive. Due to the depletion of non-renewable sources from the earth, people are exploring more ways to employ natural and renewable energy sources. Let us take a close look at the advantages and disadvantages of green energy.

The biggest advantage is that the renewable energy sources are unlimited and they can be used for millions of years. On the other hand the non-renewable sources are limited as they are contained in a reserved quantity below earth’s surface.

There are certain countries which are employing renewable sources to generate electricity. This has brought development and employment has increased. Apart from the economic benefit is great. There can be a boost in the tourism industry if the area which is benefitting from the green energy is continuously getting supplied by electricity.

As natural energy relies on weather condition, it is difficult to predict how much will be generated on a given day. But you can always store the excess energy in the batteries when the weather is favourable, so that you use it when the weather is not suitable.

Did you know that wind power is one of the oldest energy sources? Its conversion was used to propel the boats in ancient times. Presently wind is used mostly to generate electricity and is one of the most potent renewable energy sourcesWind energy will never pollute the environment and will not have any impact on the climatic changes. To add to this, 1 MW wind turbine will save approximately 2,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year. The wind energy is available abundantly and it is 5 times more than the world’s energy consumption.

Yet another advantage of wind and solar energy is that almost anyone can make equipment that will generate electricity using these sources. You can make enough energy to meet the demand of your home. It doesn’t require having a genius mind to make a wind turbine or a solar panel. There is a lot of information provided on the web to guide you to make your own facility. If you have your own wind turbine, you won’t have to worry about the power cuts. The wind power sector and solar power sector are becoming extremely cost effective with numerous researches being done so as to cut the installation cost and enhance the efficiency of the facility.

There are several countries which have wind power farms or solar power farms. They not only generate good amount of electricity, but they are off the grid. As a matter of fact some of them are supplying electricity to their local grids.

You can construct your own wind turbine or a solar panel in less than $ 200. There are many guides which can help you easily.

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Home Wind Energy - Advantages of Wind Power

Sustainable Living

Nowadays sustainable living is becoming high priority, low impact on the environment is essential. Therefore with a small amount of investigation you can decide if the advantages of wind power as an alternative energy, would work for both your budget and your lifestyle.

Fossil fuels have been proven to have a hugely negative impact on pollution of land, air and sea, instead of subsiding this is increasing at an alarming rate. One note of interest is that, if the entire universe were to implement the use of alternate energy sources, (such as wind power), then the affect on the environment in producing materials to support these energy providers, would be only marginal.

Viability

Although the cost of wind energy installation is high, a big advantage of such an energy source is the ability to save money in the long term. Factors affecting personal advantages of wind power vary but include 
1) Your wind resource 
2) The size of turbine itself. 
3) Your tower height

Do- It-Yourself

If you are into home-improvements, installation of a wind turbine can be a fun and challenging project. There is no experience more exhilarating than personal satisfaction seeing your turbine generating power for your home. The first time I constructed a wind turbine it took me ages, but compared with the satisfaction I gained when it was completed, if it had taken twice as long it would have been worth it!

The internet has hundreds of sites which describe the process of what you need, and how to construct your own wind generator. Have confidence and self-belief and before long you will be building your own functional and money-saving machine yourself.

What If It's Not Windy?

A genuine concern for many people considering the installation of wind power. If you live somewhere which is not windy for 365 days of the year, how can you generate enough energy to completely power your home? It is possible to incorporate a battery back-up for days when there is not enough wind. Further advantages of wind power include your self-reliance, no longer affected by mains power cuts, you will not have to use electricity generated by a pollutant such as a power station ever again.

Money Back Guarantee

With the installation and functioning of wind power, other advantages are reaped. Increase in property value for example. Because wind power is becoming more popular by the day, people are recognising the value of having it in their house. If you talk to any estate agent they will say that a home with built in energy increases the value the property.

Following the explanation of the advantages of installing a wind energy system, it is possible to see how choosing this as an energy provider could be an excellent decision. For whatever reason you use to justify your choice; whether it be for reduction in energy costs, environmental concerns, to add value to your property or to become self- reliant, the process is straight forward and achievable. For the correct advice contact your local wind power specialist about the options you have, and within a short time you will see your ideas and visions turning into reality.

To learn more about how to cut your energy bill investing in green energy to power all or part of your house, download my free 23-page guide here: http://renewableenergyforyourhome.co.uk/house-renewable-energy-alternative-renewable-energy-resources "Renewable Energy And Other Money Saving Secrets For Your Home".

"Agree? Disagree? Please just tell me what you think by commenting below....

 

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Your home is wasting energy! You need a Home Energy Audit now!

Welcome to the Home Energy Guide series of articles on how to make your home more Green and Energy Efficient.  With each article we highlight an important topic in making your home more energy efficient.

This article's topic is Home Energy Audits.  Your home is an energy hog!  New homes, old homes, refurbished homes…all are losing energy!  They typical American home loses a minimum of 30% of the energy used to heat and cool it.  Home Energy Audits are the exact place to start when beginning to make your home more energy efficient.  These will highlight all the key areas that affect your home energy performance and most importantly you and your family's comfort! 

Symptoms of a home that is not energy efficient are drafty rooms, moisture around the windows, inconsistent home temperature between rooms, excessive dust and of course high energy bills.  A Home Energy Audit can find the source of these issues.  This takes out the guess work and allows you to fix what is wrong the first time rather than through trial and error.  It's kinda one of those things where you don't want to really know how bad it is and it will just make you depressed.  But one piece of advice, don't waste your time or money on an audit if you aren't prepared to do or get the work done. 

So you are ready for a Home Energy Audit?  These audits come in two forms: Self Assessment and In Home Audits.  A self assessment is one that you, the homeowner, do usually through an online site.  You can usually find these on your local utility's website or through local, state and local government energy websites.  The Pros of these types of tools are that they are free and quick to administer.  Cons are that the information provided by these home audits is very general (they cannot give specific details about where you are losing energy) and only as accurate as the homeowner enters.  In Home Audits are administered by a professional where he uses tools such as a Blower Door, Duct Blaster and possibly an Infrared Camera (an absolute must in my opionion).  They will do a series of diagnostics and enter the information into specific software used for Energy Audits that give you accurate information on how leaky your home is and exactly where those leaks are located. 

An Energy Auditor should be sanctioned by either RESNET (Residential Energy Service Network) or BPI (Building Performance Institute).  These agencies directly partner with the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency.  Trust me, you do not want a "weekend" home improvement specialist performing these tests.  And you never should take bids to fix the problems from your energy auditor, as that is probably a bit of a conflict of interest, don't you think?  Okay, so pros of this type of audit are that you will get a complete understanding of where your home is inefficient and you will get a detailed report showing you such.  The sole con is that these audits usually range from $ 300 to $ 500 depending on the size of your home and the exact type of information you are looking to find.  But you will usually get this money back after you make the energy saving improvements to your home.

In conclusion, I cannot recommend any more highly the value of a professional home energy audit.  You will find out where and how to make your home more energy efficient as well make the world a bit greener as your home will be using less energy.

Stop Wasting – Start Saving!

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