Home Energy Use: Where does it go and how can I save?

Did you ever wonder where does your electric consumption go? And did you ever wonder how are you going to save on your electric bill? Well, you need not to ask these questions without getting the right answers anymore. This article will tell you the answers to these 2 questions.

The largest portion of your electric consumption goes to space heating, 47% to be exact. This is almost half of the cost of our electric bill. The other half is shared by lighting and appliance with 24%, water heating with 17%, air conditioning with 6%, and refrigeration with 5%.

With this information at hand, we can easily determine when to start our move to keep the our electric consumption low.

Since the largest part of our electric consumption goes to space heating, we will start here.

Insulating the parts of your home particularly the ceiling and walls save you as much as 30% on heating expenses that equates to 15% savings on total electric cost. Doing this will of course require you to invest on materials that will be placed around your home but it is worth the money. Imagine a $150 savings per year just by insulating your home.

Also, you can further save on heating expenses if you superinsulate your home if you are living in cooler environment.

Doing some changes around your home will certainly make a difference on your electric bill. If you live on warm climate, a shade of a deciduous tree will cool down your area that will save you on air conditioning. An appropriate roof and wall painting will further give you extra savings.

Covering your window with plastic coating will provide extra insulation. This will help to keep the heat from going outside as well as the cold air from going inside the house.

Sealing all the leaks around your home will ensure that the heat will stay inside. Leaks will often come from windows, doors, sills, joints and walls.

A regular maintenance check on the furnace will keep it running efficiently, thus, ensuring you get space heat equals the electricity consumed. A clean air filter will also ensure that you get efficient air recycling as well as clean air. Leaking ducts will make your heating system work 30% more, thus, you are using power and spending more on wasted energy.

A quarter of our electric bill goes to the lighting and appliances. Here, we would concentrate on the control and responsible use of lights and electronic devices.

Make sure that you turn the lights off when not in use. Turn off the lights when you leave the room even for a few minutes. Turn off the stereo and television if you are not using them.

Reduce the thermostat of your refrigerator. It constitutes 20% of your household electric consumption.

Wash your clothes with cold water. You can save as much as 90% on washing machine’s electric consumption if you will not use the heating. You do not need warn water so kill the germs on your clothes. The detergent will do.

Only use the dishwasher if you intend a full load dishwashing. Dishwasher uses the same amount of power and water whether you full load them or not. Also, prefer air-drying your dishes instead of heating them inside the dishwasher.

Reducing the temperature of your water heater will also help you to further reduce the cost of your home energy bill.  If the thermostat of your water heater is set on 140 degrees Fahrenheit, lower it down to 120. It will be enough to give you warn water. Invest on water heater jacket. It is cheap but will certainly yield to bigger savings.

If you are going to replace your appliance, make sure you select energy efficient ones. Energy guide details can be seen on the label of each new appliance.

Compact energy bulbs are cheaper and more energy efficient than incandescent lights. Compact lights also last 8-10 times longer than incandescent bulbs so you will also save yourself from buying incandescent bulbs 8-10 times.

Replace your regular showerheads with low-flow ones. This will reduce your water consumption by as much as 40%.

How to Make Your House Energy Efficient

One requirement of a house is that it should be comfortable to live in. Of course, many people will say that a house cannot be called that if it cannot be inhabited. In order to make a house comfortable, certain aspects of civilization are required. We need to have the benefits of technology within the house in order for us to live in it.

Let’s face it: few of us can live without the benefits of technology. Only by having the conveniences of our times available do we stand a chance at actually having comfortable lives. However, comfort does have a price. In order to have these technological conveniences we need to consume energy. Energy costs money and, as people will tell you, money is not easy to come by.

People try to find ways to save money when possible (at least, the smart ones do). An evidence of this is the way a sale can make a product immensely popular. If you take a look around you, you will probably notice that even millionaires try to save as much money as they possibly can at their level of lifestyle.

In order to save money we, of course, try not to waste any of it. Most people would rather not spend on anything that they do not need. Electricity bills have a way of making you feel cheated out of your money. People feel that electricity bills cannot be controlled, hence, they should just be paid. This is because people feel that electricity is a necessary part of life and thus, the costs of electricity cannot be reduced, only paid.

However, if you really try to look into your situation, you might be surprised to see that there are, in fact, many ways in order to make your house energy efficient. By having an energy efficient house, you can cut back on the cost of electricity and only pay for what you are really consuming.

There are many ways to make a house more energy efficient. These methods are often found by other people to be time-consuming and expensive. However, those who have chosen to employ these methods find that the savings you get by having an energy efficient house is definitely worth the effort.

One thing to consider in making an energy efficient house is material. The materials you use in building a house significantly affect the cost of heating and cooling. By choosing your materials wisely, you can have a house that does not consume much energy to maintain a comfortable temperature level.

Another thing to consider is the design. In order to make a house more energy efficient you’ll need the help of an architect. Some architects actually specialize in designing energy-efficient buildings. By going to these people, you can maximize your energy efficiency.

Of course, energy efficient houses may not look like a conventional home. In fact, these houses may even seem a little strange to those who do not realize the purpose of energy efficient designs. However, the technology today has made it possible for architects to incorporate both forma and function in their house designs. This means that you may be able to have a very aesthetically pleasing, energy efficient home.

Also, in order to have energy efficient home, you’ll need to take a look at your surroundings and see if there are any alternative energy sources available for you to use. By making use of alternative energy sources, you can significantly lower your electricity bill.

Alternative energy is also known as “free energy” to some people. This is because of the fact that these energy sources are constantly being produced through the earth’s natural processes and are thus, available for harnessing.

In order to harness those alternative energy sources for your home use, you’ll need to have some sort of mechanism or conversion device. Thankfully enough, many home alternative energy devices are now available in the market for those who want their homes to be energy efficient.

Energy efficient homes are possible, thanks to the ever evolving technology. Energy efficient homes show us that it is possible to have all the comforts offered by modern civilization without paying a very high price.