Reducing the electricity consumption is important not only to your family's budget, but also to the natural environment. The less energy we use, the better for the mother nature. However, most of us don't feel like sitting in cold darkness and prefer to save energy without significantly altering our lifestyles. We want to help, but we prefer keep our current lifestyle intact. Is it some vicious circle? Fortunately not - we can do quite a lot without getting back to the stone age.
Start reducing your bills from looking closely into your heating and cooling systems. Replace them if they are old or in poor condition, or perform regular maintenance if not. Especially, make sure that the air conditioning filters are clean - this is the top one reason for energy loss.
Once you make sure that your heating and cooling systems are in top condition, make sure that their job is not wasted. Do your best to seal all drafts and leaks inside your house. You have to minimize the amount of fresh air entering your house - this will make keeping a stable temperature much easier.
Your thermostat is the brain of your whole energy-saving operation. Make sure it is a good one and that its sensors are installed properly. It is also a good idea to play with its settings a bit - usually keeping your house a bit warmer during hot months and cooler during the winter is good both for your health and energy bills.
Remember to purchase only Energy Star-certified appliances. They require much less energy than their less energy-efficient brothers. In most cases the difference may be as high as 70%, so there's a lot to gain! Just make sure you dispose the old ones properly.
When you do the laundry, make sure that you use cold water whenever possible. This will reduce the energy consumption by 90%. Also, avoid using your dryer - clothesline or racks can do the same for free.
Keeping your electronic devices turned on all the time do not make them last longer, but eat up a lot of electricity instead. Switch them off when you don't need them. Remember that pressing the "power" button on your remote does not turn them off! It only puts your TV or DVD player into a sleep mode. You have to power them down manually by unplugging them.
You can also save a lot of money by installing fluorescent bulbs. They cost a bit more than the standard ones, but they use much less energy and they last twice as long as the old bulbs. In short, they pay off very quickly and can help you reduce your electricity bills by a few hundred dollars.
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