May 7, 2010
Saving Energy
Energy conservation efforts will benefit everyone and even if you feel that you can’t do much to conserve energy on a planet wide scale, then think about saving some of your hard-eared money each month. When you look at the different areas in the home that consume huge amounts of energy and make changes, there will be a significant drop In your monthly energy bill.
Lights
You immediately conserve energy by changing from incandescent lights to florescent lights. Florescent lights are not only much brighter than incandescent ones, but they also last up to ten times longer. Florescent lights bring about huge energy conservation as it only uses ¼ of the electricity that is consumed by incandescent lights. Florescent lights are great for hallways, bathrooms, stairways and kitchens and will bring about a drastic reduction in your electricity bill.
Heating and hot water
Two energy guzzlers in all homes are the heating system and the hot water heater and you can address both of these together in your energy conservation efforts. The answer to conserve energy is to install timers for both your heating system and your hot water heater. You do not need the heat turned up when you sleep and neither do you need hot water. By installing timers that will shut these down a certain time after bedtime and switch them back on just before everyone gets up in the morning saves tons of money. Do the same for when everyone has left for the day; the timers switch the heat and hot water off and back on just before everyone returns home. This is a double-barrel energy conservation effort that has a truly huge impact on your energy bill.
Latent consumption
A staggering 73% of the electricity consumption of typical households goes on what is termed latent consumption. This is when you are not using appliances and have switched them off, but have left them plugged into the wall sockets. The typical list of appliances where you can hugely conserve energy by unplugging them are those that have digital displays such as microwave ovens clock radios and coffee makers. Also appliances that use remote controls such as DVD players, TVs and stereo equipment and all LED power indicators such as hand-held game chargers, cell phone chargers and battery chargers. For convenience, use power strips where you can flip a single switch to shut off several appliances and then unplug only one plug.
Energy vampires
The appliances that literally suck up electricity the fastest are clothes dryers, vacuum cleaners and irons. So restrict the dryer use to the minimum, use a broom on hardwood floors and only vacuum carpets. Look at clothes labels for fabric blends that need less ironing, you save elbow grease and electricity at the same time.
March 16, 2010
Many people today find time to recycle bottles and make use of other environmentally friendly practices in order to reduce their impact on the planet. On the other hand, achieving energy independence can be difficult when you don’t have a plan in place that enables you to achieve your goal within budgetary and time limits. Rather than simply assume that renewable or conserved energy resources will never fit into you life, you can at least try a few simple things and then look for ways to expand your efforts.
Solar Cooking Picnics
Regardless of whether you want to go on a day long date, or you want to spend some time with your children, there is nothing quite like a picnic. While many people make use of cold foods, you might just decide to bring along a solar cooker. Even if you construct a device from cardboard, you are sure to enjoy letting the sun prepare your food while you are enjoying other activities.
Using Solar Power for Your Laptop
There is no question that laptops and netbooks have become a normal item to carry from one place to another. Chances are, you also realize that a laptop takes a good bit less current than a conventional desktop computer. In fact, a pocket sized solar power recharging kit can provide all of the electricity you will need to keep your laptop battery charged up. No matter whether you want to sit in the park or near a sunny window, you can enjoy knowing that your laptop isn’t relying on commercial energy sources.
In a sense, our society has been programmed to believe that commercial energy resources are the most reliable and convenient way to meet daily energy needs. On the other hand, it is very important to realize that a few simple changes now can easily grow into bigger changes later on. For example, while you may not think that using a solar power battery for your laptop represents a big step, it does symbolize a fundamental shift in how you think about energy and your electric bill. In a similar way, once you begin using a solar cooker for special occasions, eventually you will look forward to using it on a daily basis. Before you know it, your conserved energy options will expand to a point where relying on commercial energy will look like the worst, and most wasteful thing in the world. At that point, when you look at others trapped by high electric bills and other problems, you will truly be glad that you have achieved energy independence.
Regardless of whether you own your own home or rent an apartment, a number of gadgets in your bathroom waste water. If you follow these simple tips, you can save well over 100 gallons of water each week without sacrificing personal comfort. Aside from lowering water and electric bills, you are also sure to enjoy knowing that you are making some progress when it comes to water conservation.
Multi-setting and Water Saving Shower Heads
Even though you may already turn the water off during soaping and shampooing, non-aerating shower heads still waste hundreds of gallons of water each time you shower. Today, you can find inexpensive shower heads that have multiple spray settings. Aside from helping you save water, you can easily enjoy using just the right amount of water for your personal needs. When shopping for this type of shower head, you should make sure that you know how much water is dispensed each minute for each stetting. This will make it easier to compare the amount of water used by a shower head that has only one setting.
Saving Water When You Shave
If your morning hygiene routine involves shaving, then you can save a good bit of water by placing rinse water in a bowl instead of simply running the razor under the faucet. Alternatively, it may be to your advantage to purchase an electric shaver. When combined with a solar powered recharger, you will be able to save electricity as well as reduce the amount of water required for your daily shave.
Conserved Water and Your Toilet
Interestingly enough, there are dozens of ways to reduce the amount of water used by the toilet. Some of the most popular include:
- Use a bin to wash dishes, and then transfer the water to a pail for use in the toilet. This is ideal for individuals that are trying to save water by not flushing after urination.
- Collect cold water in the shower in a pail, and then set it aside for flushing the toilet, or watering plants.
- Add food coloring tablets to the water tank and then see if the water in the bowl changes color. If you notice a color change, then there is most likely a leak in the tank. Fixing that leak can save hundreds of gallons of water each month.
- Liquids such as water are easily displaced by solids. Therefore, when you place a plastic bag filled with gravel in the tank, it will hold less water. This, in turn, means that less water will be released during each flush. In most cases, you can save as much as 2 – 3 gallons per flush without sacrificing cleanliness.
No matter whether you want to save money on your utility bills, or you are concerned about vanishing potable water supplies, there are plenty of things you can do to achieve your goal. In fact if you start out by targeting the bathroom, you will notice a significant savings in a very short period of time. Once you start working with these suggestions, you are sure to come up with dozens of other ways to further your water conservation efforts.
