Create an Energy Efficient House Today

There are several actions that can be done to significantly make a more energy efficient house. Basically all you really need is common sense and you can cut down your electric bills without buying energy. Here are a few tips:

· Turn off stereos, televisions, and lights when you leave the room and in general when they are not being used. Large amounts of energy is wasted and alot of money is spent when this is not practiced. Most of us are aware that turning off appliances when not using them is important but many still neglect the practice thinking that it would only cost them a few dollars. Yes, it may be few dollars but if you are doing this your entire life – multiply that to the number of appliances you have in your home, this is a terrible waste of energy not to mention the thousands of dollars spent.

· Turn off your computer monitor when not in use. Just like your television, your computer monitor consumes energy. Turn it off while away from your computer.

· Maximize the use of your washing machine or dishwasher. Fully load your washing machine and dishwashers. Take note that you consume the same power regardless of the quantity of your wash loads. If you only have a few dishes you need to wash, you can always wash and dry them by hand or wait until the next meal and load those dishes into machine so it is fully loaded. This way, you have saved not only energy but also water and dishwashing soap. The same also applies to washing your clothes, if you only have a few pieces to wash, wait until you have more clothes so you can wash them all together, this again will also save on water and clothes washing powder. Another energy saver is the front load washing machine. Using this will save you 50% on water and 50% on energy.

· Use cold water when washing your clothes. Washing machines consume most of their energy heating the water that will be used.

· Refrain from using your microwave to thaw frozen meat. If you practice removing frozen meat from the fridge and thawing it in your microwave, you are wasting a lot of money. In order for you to save money and energy, remove frozen meat hours before you plan to cook it. You can immerse it in warm water do speed up the process.

· Do not put hot or warm food on the fridge. Let them cool down first. The fridge will consume a lot of power in order to cool down these hot foods.

· Do not use a second fridge unless necessary. If you can squeeze all your “fridgeable” stuff inside one fridge, do so. A second fridge doubles your energy consumption.

· Ensure that your House is sealed. If you are using a heating system or air conditioning to heat up or cool down your house, make sure you that your house is completely sealed. This will ensure that the devices are used efficiently. Leaks will keep the heat away from your house pushing the heating system to work even more and consume more energy. Also turn down the thermostat by as much as 7 degrees centigrade while not at home or while sleeping. You don’t need super cool air or an extremely hot room while you are away or while you are sleeping.

The use of energy efficient devices will greatly reduce your power consumption and lower your over all power bill.

Of all the electronic devices you have in your house, the heating/cooling system and the water heating system are the biggest contributors why you receive big electric bills. Focusing on the energy efficiency of these two first would significantly reduce the figures of your electric bill.

Centralized Heating & Cooling – These devices lets you set your desired room temperature in each room. The central control will let you adjust the temperature even if you are not on that specific room.

Programmable Thermostat – Installing this device would let you set specific room temperatures even if you are not home. You can program the device before you leave home to set the temperature minutes before you arrive home, just set the temperature and a specific time and it will automatically adjust for you.

Remote Control Heating System – Even if you are away or if you are just arriving or if you forget to change the thermostat before leaving, the remote controlled heating system works by a simple phone call, the thermostat will automatically change.

Reducing water consumption would yield good advantages. It would definitely reduce the cost of your electric bills, It is the second biggest reason why we receive a large electric bill. Try using one of these water saving devices:

Low-Flow Showerhead – This device would let you save as much as 40% on your water consumption. And since you are using less water, your water heating system is less used.

Toilet Flush Water Saver – This device would let you save as much as 25% of your water consumption.

Just by following a few of these tips you will have a great start to having an Energy Efficient House.