Posts Tagged ‘Saving Energy’

Saving Energy with Proper House Insulation

April 15th, 2010

Why is efficient home insulation good for saving energy?

Almost half of your electric bill goes to regulating the temperature of your home. Thus if you want to save on your electric bills, the best place to start is your home’s insulation system.

Insulation is important to minimize or eliminate the heat exchange/loss inside your house. Good insulation keeps the interior warm during winter and cold during hot summer days. A well-insulated house allows your heating and cooling systems to effectively work as needed. Proper insulation can save as much as 10% of your monthly electric bill.

Meanwhile, if your house has leaks or if it has insufficient insulation, air will pass through; and heat exchange will occur on areas where insulation is inadequate. This results to heat loss. And because a house with leaks and insufficient insulation requires more power to regulate its temperature, energy consumption will likely increase.

Where to insulate?

Areas of the house including the switches, power outlets, plumbing fixtures, walls, windows, doors, ceilings, floors, basement, crawl spaces and attic should be properly insulated.

Insulation Tips

Make sure that you consider factors such as building design, budget and climate when selecting the R-values of the insulation materials. Use the proper R-values insulating materials for particular parts of the house.

Consider parts of your house such as the attic, floors, kitchen, bathroom, windows, walls, door and other parts where heat loss are more likely to happen. Use the required insulation materials on these parts to effectively control the temperature. » Read more: Saving Energy with Proper House Insulation

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Saving Energy – Solutions That Will Not Change Your Lifestyle

April 9th, 2010

The rise and drop in temperatures in the coming years, place intense pressures on consumers around the world as this means only one thing, more energy and fuel are needed to control the environment and make homes more comfortable.

Over the years, new technology has been invented to improve the manner of living – energy saving devices are not excluded. However new technology, as always, is a bit expensive at first. And the prices will go down after some time. But instead of waiting for a more affordable energy saving devices, let us apply our common sense today and do some effort in saving energy.

• Avoid “phantom” energy users.

Electrical appliances that are plugged in to sockets even when not in use consume energy. It is like a turning on the engine of your car and idling for a very long time. A single appliance that remains plugged in may not give a significant increase in your electric bill but letting every appliance on “standby” can be a real money spender. Make sure to pull the plugs of every appliance from their sockets whenever you don’t use them. » Read more: Saving Energy – Solutions That Will Not Change Your Lifestyle

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Saving Energy – Using CFLs Gets You 66% Less in Energy Cost

March 30th, 2010

For most homes in the developed countries, lighting alone accounts for 9% of the total energy requirement. For other parts of the world, it is far more than that. Thus, using cost-efficient lights can be a real life-saver, or should we say, energy-saver.

Compact fluorescent light bulbs are made to be very efficient; it uses 66% less energy than the conventional light bulbs. Just by changing from the incandescent to the CFLs could already reduce electrical consumption to 7%.

When compared to the regular light bulbs, CFLs give the same amount of luminescence for less power and while it has a higher purchase price than the incandescent, CFLs have longer lifespan (approximately 12 times than the incandescent light bulbs, about 11,000 hours), enough to save $US30 in electrical costs during the bulbs lifetime.

A US published article claimed that if a household changes 30 fixtures in their home, investing $90, the money saved in the span of five years could be anywhere from $500 to $1,500 depending on the areas electrical costs. For commercial buildings and other bigger establishments, the savings are even greater. An average CFL at 75 watts could save $22 dollars in direct energy savings per year. If that is multiplied by the number of light bulbs in a building, and include the cost of labor that could be saved from changing light bulbs, the savings could rise exponentially. True, there is a capital investment of about $2 USD per fixture; however that could be recovered in a month from money saved.

Other manufacturers of CFLs also apply titanium dioxide coating. This is because titanium dioxide is claimed to neutralize bacteria, odors and molds. Still many manufacturers of CFLs apply a luminous coating to the bulb for the purpose of luminescence after the CFL is turned off. The idea behind is that a little light could still remain, even for a short while, in cases of power failure and accidents.

Because Carbon Fluorescent lamps do not emit as much heat as the incandescent light bulbs, there is also less work for air conditioners in cooling up the space.

Surely there must be a downside.

If this could be called a downside, CFLs behave differently from the ordinary incandescent bulbs. For one, it takes longer to attain its full brightness depending on the temperature. The colder the climate is, the longer it will take for the bulb to give off full brightness. CFL also gives off the brightest light during its first use and begins to dull gradually, giving off less light as it nears the end of its life; a CFLs is expected to reduce its brightness by 20% from its original brightness on first installation. But that is just about it.

Saving energy, in almost all conceivable phases of production, is in focus today. The fuel that is currently in use, as we are all aware, is non renewable. This is why even in the field of lighting, continuous research is being done to further reduce the coefficient of energy that has to be saved.

Solid state lighting, for example, is widely used in traffic lights; although for now, using this technology to be an energy saving method for domestic consumption is still being developed as the current cost is still high. For now, saving energy through the CFLs remains to spell a definite advantage compared with incandescent light bulbs.

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Saving Energy – Learning from Californians

March 3rd, 2010

The recent electricity problems that happened in California made them rethink the manner in which energy is used and saved. The effort conducted at conserving this resource made many people to reevaluate their choices on energy consumption. The truth is there is really not that much energy to waste. The examples made by Californians about thoughtful ways where less should suffice. The following energy saving suggestions were part of smart choices that was made.

1.Refrigerators that were manufactured 20 or 30 years ago gives off 1,100 lbs. of CO2 emissions per year. Keeping an old model refrigerator increases your monthly energy bill by as much as $80. The newer models are energy efficient.

Manufacturers print this on the fridge. But even the newer ones could not save you as much energy as it should if it is positioned near heat radiating appliances like the dishwasher or ovens and stoves. This is why, to allow for saving energy, interior designers and architects make it a point to have separate areas for cooling and heating appliances.

If you maintain the temperature of the refrigerator at the right level, you can save as much as 25% on energy consumption than when the temperature higher than what is required.

2.Air drying your dishes will save energy instead of putting them inside the dishwasher.

3.Clothes dyers spend much energy that whenever possible, air or sun drying should be done. Washing in cold water also saves energy by 75%. This could also prevent the dryer from emitting 500 lbs. a year in carbon gasses.

4.More than 50 degrees of heat is lost whenever you open the oven during cooking, Study the cooking instructions and preheat the oven as required. Open the oven only when needed.

5.While shades and curtains are good practices to regulate the temperature and let the light in a room, adding e-films gets you far in saving energy during heating and air-conditioning the space. Storm windows are good energy saving devices so are high performance double paned windows.

6.Extra work will be required from your heater or air-conditioner when you have air leaks and drafts around your house. Sealing the home is one of the cheapest ways to conserve energy. Limiting the use of ventilating fans and closing the damper in the fireplace when not in use keep the desired temperature inside the home.

7.In many parts of the country, ceiling fans are enough to cool home that is well insulated. If using air-conditioners is a must, planting shrubs and trees on the surrounding areas of the room to be cooled will you give you as much as 10% savings on energy consumption.

8.Trellises, overhangs and especially trees help so much in cooling the home during the summer months. It also serves as a good wind breaker during winter.

9.Unplug appliances that are not in use. Keeping appliances plugged in and keeping them on standby modes consume about 10% of the power it requires when in operation.

Buy only stuffs that are really necessary. The seemingly innocent stuffs that fills our home was manufactured using energy that translates to greenhouse gas emissions from the sorting of raw materials to manufacture and the freight it required to be delivered to the stores and eventually to the end user.

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Saving Energy for Kids: Teaching Your Kids to be Energy Efficient

February 28th, 2010

Saving energy and saving money should not be your sole responsibility as parents. Your kids must also learn to contribute in keeping the electric bills down. This way, your effort will not get wasted and at the same time, your kids will learn good values while growing up.

Because teaching your kids to be energy efficient requires some effort, here are easy to follow suggestions you can do:

Education

Teaching your kids the importance of saving energy should be your first goal. Take note that making them understand the value of being energy efficient is more effective than enumerating the ways to save energy and leaving it at that. Teach them how conserving energy helps the environment. Tell them stories or read educational books about the importance of energy.

Lead by example

You know very well that kids tend to follow what elders do. Practice what you preach. You may have listed and posted a litany of things-to-do to conserve energy but if you don’t follow them yourself, you cannot expect your kids to follow it too. Do not just tell them to turn the lights off before leaving their room; show them by always turning the lights off every time you leave a room in your house. Education and leading by example are a good combination if you want to make good habits stick.

Make it fun

Find educational materials where your kids will learn the value of conserving energy as well as the ways on how to save it. Computer software, educational websites, books and television shows that educate and entertain kids would really make a difference on how well they will respond. This is especially applicable to kids from 5 to 10 years old.

Get your kids involved

Family activities should not limit to eating, playing and entertainment. Chores can also be a good way to bond with your kids. Manually wash the car, water the plants, clean the table, wash the dishes, clean the house etc. These are some of the things you can do with your kids while conserving energy.

Teach your kids according to their age

Kids of different ages have different attitude on things around them. If your 5-year son doesn’t know how to turn off the lights before leaving the room, all you need to do is to talk to him well about its importance and showing him that you practice what you teach.

Your 10-year old daughter may require different approach like showing her your electric bill and explaining to her that it will greatly help if she will change her bad habits. You are teaching your 5-year old good habits while you are teaching and emphasizing your 10-year old good habits and responsibility.

Same thing applies to kids of different ages. The point is, make sure that you teach your kids proper ways to conserve energy using an approach suited to their ages.

Energy saving tips for kids:

1-Turn off the water while brushing your teeth.

2-Always turn the lights off before leaving the room.

3-Turn the computer off after use.

4-Do not hold the refrigerator open.

5-Unplug unnecessary appliance.

6-Use natural light if possible.

Saving energy is not so hard if your kids are involved. And just like any family activities you do, energy conservation should be fun, educational and driven by good motivation.

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