Little Things You Can Do To Save On Electricity At Home
We’ve all heard about light pollution and what it does to the environment. In addition, electricity itself can be damaging to the environment. However, we can’t completely stop using it since it’s such a necessary part of our lives. What we can do is work on using less electricity on a regular basis to reduce to amount of fuel produced on a daily basis. Naturally, this isn’t a permanent fix, but it’s definitely a start. On top of helping the environment, using less electricity will lower your bills too, allowing you to save some money. That’s never a bad thing. So, let’s discuss some ways we can all reduce our use of electricity at home.
Unplug Devices
When you aren’t using a device at home, be sure to unplug it from the wall. You might not know this, but having unnecessary devices plugged in burns a lot of excess electricity. Things like a TV, a charger, and a computer use a small amount of electricity even when they’re off waiting to be used. This might seem like a small amount of electricity, but it will add up over time.
Turn Off The Lights
If you haven’t already, switch out the lightbulbs in your house to LED ones. They save energy in themselves. When you leave a room, turn off the lights! It’s such a small thing but it makes more of a difference than you realize. However, if you have LED or CFL lights and you’re leaving a room for 10 minutes or less, leave them on. Turning them off and on again will actually use more energy than simply leaving them on for that time.
Keep Your Fridge And Freezer Full
Having a full fridge and freezer will use less energy. Why? Because the items inside will help maintain the temperature, ensuring the fridge or freezer doesn’t need to use as much in itself. Don’t worry, though, you don’t have to do a big food shop every week. You can simply fill up a jug with water for the fridge.
Wash Clothes At A Lower Temperature
For the most part, your washing can be done at a lower temperature, like 30 degrees, while still providing the same results. Doing this will help reduce your electricity consumption since your washing machine won’t have to heat the water to such a high temperature.
Air Dry When You Can
Dryers use a lot of electricity. A lot. If it’s a nice day out, hang up your laundry outside to dry. If the weather isn’t ideal, hang up your washing indoors and crack a window to keep the air flowing in the room. Just be careful not to dry clothes directly on a radiator – this will prevent the hear from spreading through the room. Meaning that it will have to work even harder to bring the room to the right temperature.
Use The Microwave
All those times you need to heat something small, opt for the microwave rather than the oven if you can. Microwaves use a lot less electricity than traditional ovens do. Not to mention, this will also take you less time to heat your food.
Use Natural Light
In the summer months, it’s most likely you’ll be getting plenty of sunlight in your home, making it unnecessary to turn on any lights during the day. Utilize that!