Many of my day-to-day decisions are driven by conserving resources. There is simply no reason to waste energy. Not only is it unnecessary but it’s expensive. Why would I want to throw away money on purpose?
Most people try their best at:
- Turning off the lights when not using them
- Turning down the thermostat when leaving the house or going on vacation
- Keeping the refrigerator and freezer doors shut when not in use
- Fixing leaky faucets and running toilets
- Replacing incandescent light bulbs with energy efficient ones
- Replacing broken appliances with energy efficient ones
These are all excellent ways to save energy. Nonetheless, what I found made a huge difference in our energy bill was to unplug appliances that were not being used. Many appliances have clocks and draw energy needlessly. When we got our new gas stove, it had an electric ignition, which also powered a clock. At that point, our kitchen would have had three clocks; another clock was totally unnecessary. Luckily, we were able to program the stove to not illuminate the clock.
This action started us to think and look at all the other appliances that were needlessly drawing energy. The microwave, VCR, television, stereo, computer, printer, and calculator – they all draw some energy while plugged in– vampire energy. Most of them are already on a power strip, so it was pretty easy to remember to simply turn them off. The others we unplugged or put on a power strip. Our first bi-monthly electric bill went down $20, and continued to remain low. It was quite amazing how easy and cost effective it was when we did this.
Most cost saving methods take a bit of time and effort but after awhile they become part of our daily routine and are not a big deal. Besides, why do you want to simply give away your hard earned money? Most of all, conserving our valuable resources is better for you, your family and our planet.
What do you do to save energy in your home? Please share and I will continue to share.
You still own a VCR? :):) One thing I added years ago and love are motion sensor light switches to turn the lights on and they have a timer to automatically turn them off. They are great for places like hallways, laundry rooms, garages and closets. Motion sensor light switches are not expensive and were easy to swap out with the “normal” switches. I love the ease and safety of not having to actually turn on the lights and the timer function insures they never get left on by accident. While I’ve not tracked the savings on my power bill, I have really noticed that the light bulbs are burning out significantly less often saving money and the annoyance of replacing them.
Yes, we are old school and still have a VCR 🙂
I think the automatic switches are great for ease and safety but don’t they draw energy all the time waiting for the moment to turn on and off? I wonder what the economics of the trade-off are between forgetting and leaving lights on vs. the energy used for the device?