With climbing fuel costs, massive unemployment, and pollution problems faced by many large cities, most Americans have more than one reason to save electricity. Contrary to most beliefs, homeowners don’t need to invest in expensive solar energy systems or residential wind turbines to save significantly on electricity costs. Most people can reduce their electricity bill dramatically by implementing these simple energy conservation techniques.
* Heating and cooling are by far the highest users of electricity in the average household. This should be your first line of defense when tackling high energy bills. Installing a programmable thermostat to control the temperature of your home can be a great low cost method to reduce your energy consumption dramatically.A programmable thermostat will allow you to automatically raise your home’s temperature in the summer by a few extra degrees while everyone is scheduled to be away. By the same token, you can use a programmable thermostat to lower the temperature a few extra degrees while everyone is away in the winter. The great thing about a programmable thermostat is you can set it to bring your home back to the normal temperature just before everyone is scheduled to be back home.
* The washer and dryer are two other large energy consumers in the average American home. Remember to wash and dry full loads to minimize the use of these appliances. You should also consider swapping to the latest low energy models if your current set is more than a decade old. The latest models have all sorts of new features that not only reduce electricity consumption, but also reduce the water consumption as well.
* The kitchen is another room that uses a lot of electricity. Purchase a small toaster oven and use it as much as possible. Cooking meals in a toaster oven uses significantly less electricity than a full size oven.Let your dishes air dry in the dish washer instead of using the dry cycle, and always run this appliance with full loads only.
* Compact fluorescent lights are another low cost method of saving significant amounts of electricity. Most CFL bulbs are reasonably priced, have a long life span, and give an equivalent amount of life as a traditional incandescent bulb. Yet they use only a fraction of the electricity as a standard bulb. For less than the cost of a dinner for two, most people can outfit their entire home with these low energy light bulbs and save a bundle.
* The washer and dryer are two other large energy consumers in the average American home. Remember to wash and dry full loads to minimize the use of these appliances. You should also consider swapping to the latest low energy models if your current set is more than a decade old. The latest models have all sorts of new features that not only reduce electricity consumption, but also reduce the water consumption as well.
* The kitchen is another room that uses a lot of electricity. Purchase a small toaster oven and use it as much as possible. Cooking meals in a toaster oven uses significantly less electricity than a full size oven.Let your dishes air dry in the dish washer instead of using the dry cycle, and always run this appliance with full loads only.
* Compact fluorescent lights are another low cost method of saving significant amounts of electricity. Most CFL bulbs are reasonably priced, have a long life span, and give an equivalent amount of life as a traditional incandescent bulb. Yet they use only a fraction of the electricity as a standard bulb. For less than the cost of a dinner for two, most people can outfit their entire home with these low energy light bulbs and save a bundle.
You should implement all of these low cost techniques before considering more expensive strategies that involve turbines and solar panels. Most people will find they can reach their energy goals without the need of these more expensive and complex alternatives. Lower your electricity costs with these easy to implement low cost techniques.
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