Green Energy Info Store.

Energy bills are soaring and family budgets are being squeezed the world over. Saving energy has never been more important to every family. The average home uses power hungry appliances and inefficient lighting and heating systems. Below we list our top 10 tips in reducing your energy consumption and thereby saving energy use and cutting those massive bills.

Saving Energy by Reducing Your Energy Needs.

The best solution to saving energy is to change your bad habits and look at the inefficiencies in your current systems that are contributing massively to your electricity costs.   Consider all of the below points and you will make a noticeable difference in saving energy use around your home.

1. Get out of the habit of leaving lights on when not in use and more importantly replace all of your lighting with energy efficient led or fluorescent bulbs. This simple move alone can cut electricity use for lighting by 50%.

2. Stop being idle: Always switch off and unplug your appliances. Never use the standby function. This wastes too much energy. It is now possible to buy energy saving gadgets which will do this for you, but break that  bad habit and make it part of your daily routine and you will be saving energy.

3.Older,inefficient and power hungry appliances, like your cooker, washer or fridge/freezer, although there is an upfront cost involved, should be replaced with modern energy efficient models .This move alone can cut your entire energy bill by 30% This in itself makes a major contribution to saving energy.

4. Try cooking meals, using a pressure cooker. The food tastes better and they use much less power. While you’re at it, why not cook extra, Cook once and eat twice should be your motto. Or even cook  for the whole week at the same time. Then you really are saving energy.

5 Consider your current water heating. That inefficient electric hot water storage system can easily be replaced by a modern tank less heater, which only heats the water on demand. Further savings can be made by installing the same type of shower in the bathroom as well. Lowering the water heater thermostat from 140 degrees to 120 degrees will also result in a 10% reduction in energy used.

6. Americans especially, love their air conditioning, but modern day heat exchangers are more efficient and make a real contribution to saving energy.

7. Ensure that the timer/ programmer on your heating only operates when the house is occupied and turn down both room and radiator thermostats at least one degree. You really will not notice the difference except in the amount of energy used. This alone can save 10% of your heating costs.

8 Wherever possible, use the cold or warm water cycle on your washing machine. Some 90% of the energy used on a single hot wash is wasted heating up the water. Modern day detergents will still give you the same wash standards on a cold wash.

9 Don’t be afraid of using your dishwater. Used correctly, it is more energy efficient than manual washing up. Always wash a full load at the lowest heat setting possible, but don’t rinse and let the dishes dry naturally. Invest in a Energy Star Rated model as these use at least 40% less energy.

10 Home insulation is an important, but often ignored factor in saving energy in your home. Double glazing and cavity wall insulation are the biggest savers of course but your loft should be fully insulated to at least a depth of 6 inches, and don’t forget weather stripping around doors and windows to reduce draughts. Implementing these measures can reduce your heating bills by at least 50%.

Implement all or any combination of these top tips and you will certainly be well on the way to saving energy in your home and seeing those electricity bills tumble. A further consideration for you to consider, while not directly an energy saver in itself, is to install your own renewable energy system.

Installing solar panels or a wind generator, is not only “greener” and obviously less polluting, but with the introduction of net metering around the world, they can even earn you money, by selling back any excess electricity produced to the utility company.

 Read more on installing Renewable Energy Systems here.