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Programmable Thermostats: How They Save Money

admin — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

All over the country people are searching for ways to save money. We’re clipping coupons like crazy, re-evaluating our car insurance policies, and cutting back our cable plans. While these are all great ideas, make sure you are also looking at ways to reduce your energy bill. Programmable thermostats make it easy to raise or lower the temperature of your home when you aren’t there. You program the thermostat to change the temperature a few minutes after you usually leave and to go back to your preferred temperature shortly before you come home. You only have to program it once and it does the rest of the work for you. People commonly think that changing the temperature doesn’t matter, because the heater/air conditioner has to work harder to get it back to the right temperature. This isn’t true, because as the temperature of your home gets closer to the natural temperature outside, heating/cooling system doesn’t have to work as hard to maintain the indoor temperature. You can find programmable thermostats online or at your local hardware store for as little as 20. This solution pays for itself by reducing your energy bills up to 1 per degree raised/lowered over any 8 hour period.

Source: http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/space_heating_cooling/index.cfm/mytopic=12720

Programmable Water Heaters: How They Save Money

admin — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

A programmable water heater is good for the environment and your wallet. A traditional water heater wastes costly energy because the tank is designed to always keep the stored water at a certain temperature. Even if there is no demand for hot water, the heating element in a traditional tank still uses up energy you pay for by turning on and off throughout the day to keep the water at the set temperature. The cycling process wastes electricity and gas and is more wear on the unit.

A water heater than you can program has a timer installed that allows you to set the times of the day when you want hot water. You can program the tank to stop heating water at times when hot water isn’t needed, such as when you’re away at work or sleeping at night, reducing the waste of energy. Utility companies also charge more for gas and electricity at the times of the day when the energy is in more demand, known as the “peak” times. You can use the timer on a programmable water heater to stop the unit from using energy during the more costly peak times, saving you money on your utility bills.

Save Energy and Money With Ceiling Fans

admin — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Everyone knows it-s important to save energy and everyone wants to save money, but when it comes to cooling down a room people are willing to sacrifice both for comfort. Air conditioners suck up a lot of energy and that all adds up on your power bill.

Ceiling fans use less energy than air conditioners and can still manage to keep you cool. They circulate the air in the room and create a gentle, nice breeze on anyone within a fair distance of the fan.This/tag helps explain it more. Though ceiling fans just circulate the air within the room and really don-t lower the temperature of them room, you can still stay comfortable with a ceiling fan.

Ceiling fans also have another advantage over air conditioners in that they are useful both in hot and cold weather. Most ceiling fans come with a reverse switch that changes the direction the blades turn when activated. This forces any warm air trapped between the blades and the ceiling, which happens when the heat in the room rises to the ceiling, to circulate and warm the room.

Ceiling fans pay for themselves all year and is a purchase that is both good for you and your wallet.

Teaching Your Kids About Conservation

admin — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Trying to figure out how to teach your kids about energy conservation? We’ve got a few suggestions to get the conversation started and get your family on its way to becoming better global citizens. It all starts with the next generation.
Watch Some Shows Together: Get out the Direct TV and tune into some of the great new shows featuring green technology. Try HGTV and even Nickelodeon for socially responsible options.
Go Local: One of the best ways to impart life long habits on your kids is to lead by example. Take them to the farmer’s market and show them the health and earth benefits of eating locally – it’s better for the environment and for your waistline.
Take a Field Trip: If the opportunity is available, take your kids to a power plant or dam to show them firsthand how energy works. There’s a lot of value in showing your kids how a windmill works or what it takes to light up a lightbulb. Sure beats the potato run clocks of years ago, right?

We’re Cooking With Gas: How Gas Ranges Save Energy

admin — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Gas stoves are more energy efficient than electric ranges and cost less to operate. This is true if the gas range is equipped with electronic ignition rather than a pilot light because a pilot light constantly burns.

On average electric stoves, cost about 56 a year to operate and gas ranges cost about 28 operate which is half the cost. Gas ranges also offer a variety of features such as precise cook-top burners, smokeless broiling and easy to clean sealed burners which all help save energy.

Gas ranges also turn off and on instantly and distributes heat evenly which allows for faster cooking and baking time.

To save even more energy, the following tips are recommended. Always keep oven doors closed when cooking. This helps save energy by keeping heat from escaping. Every time an oven door is opened heat escapes which lowers the temperature and wastes up to 50 of energy.

Another tip to consider when cooking is to use pots and pans that fit the burner. This helps keep heat from escaping and prevents the loss of energy. Keeping burners and ovens clean is another helpful tip to remember when operating a range because dirty burners and ovens use more energy.

5 Energy Efficient Appliances For The Kitchen

admin — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

You should consider your monthly electric bill when planning to remodel your kitchen. Replace your old appliances with new models that are energy efficient. Listed below are the top five energy efficient kitchen appliances that can reduce your energy usage and save money on your electric bill each month.

1. Cook stove

Replace your traditional electric cook stove with a model that requires no oven preheating. Also, choose a modern cook stove with induction elements, which use less energy than coil elements.

2. Cordless Kettle If you frequently boil water for cooking, consider purchasing an energy efficient cordless kettle. This appliance heats water faster than a cook stove, which helps to reduce your electric bill.

3. Dishwasher

An energy efficient dishwasher uses less energy than the traditional model. It also uses less water than washing dishes by hand. This will help reduce both your electric and water bill.

4. Microwave

A microwave is a more economical and energy efficient appliance because it uses less power and heats faster than a cook stove.

5. Refrigerator

To save on energy, choose a 16-20 cubic feet refrigerator with top freezer. For additional savings on your electric bill, avoid models with icemakers and auto-defrost.More info here: Up the Energy Efficiency of Your Fridge

Tennis Balls Save Money And Improve Dryer Efficiency

admin — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

With energy costs as high as they are, one habit we all have a hard time breaking is using the clothes dryer after we wash our clothes. Line drying is ideal, but many of us don’t have the time to line dry consistently. Not to mention, the space it requires to hang line outside. For those of us that live in an apartment, this is not usually even an option. We must work on improving the efficiency of our dryers.Additional information can be found at http://news.instyle.com/2011/06/24/bethanie-mattek-sands-tennis-ball-jacket-alex-noble/. One way to do this is with tennis balls.
Tennis balls? Yes, tennis balls. Just make sure they are brand new, so they don’t make your clothes dirty again. They won’t harm the dryer one bit, and have long been known to add some extra fluffing to comforters and pillows. Very few know that tennis balls placed in any ordinary dryer load of clothes can actually speed up the drying process, leading to less energy used, and money saved for you. Just throw in two or three with each load, and they will move the clothes around more than the dryer does alone. They also prevent your clothing from sticking to the dryer barrel. This extra movement allows the hot air to circulate better in the dryer, knocking 10-20 minutes off of your drying time.

Using Clothes’ Lines Saves Energy And Makes Whites Whiter

admin — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Although clothes dryers are getting more energy efficient over the years, it is still expensive to do all of the laundry in one. There is actually a free way to dry clothes that helps stop wrinkles and makes whites whiter, using the sun. A clothes line may be slower than a dryer but this method has many Eco-friendly benefits.

Many things can be used for a clothes line. A rope or plastic covered wire is ideal. What you need to do it tie your line between two points as taught as possible, this will keep it from sagging as much while it is weighed down by heavy wet clothes.Never heard of this before? Get up to speed here.

The sun plays a factor in getting your clothes dry as fast as possible. White clothes will actually get whiter, due to the suns bleaching abilities. Just remember to get your clothes back inside quickly if it starts raining.

Thinking about all of the money spent every year on running a clothes dryer makes me think that is is worth it to wait a little longer for my dry clothes. If everyone would use their dryer sparingly, such as only in bad weather, we would save a lot of energy every year, as well as a lot of money.