The Top 5 Ways to Save Household Energy

  1. Adjust day to day habits

This doesn’t sound as complicated as it may seem. Basically you have to adjust the time or amount that you use some everyday items to save energy. It is as simple as turning off the lights when you no longer need them. Performing household tasks manually like washing the dishes by hand and hang-drying your clothes.   

Possibly the most effective way to save the energy bill is the Air Conditioning system. By reducing the heat in the winter and cool in the summer, you can save almost half of your utility bills.

It is up to you to determine what appliances are absolutely necessary and what can be cut down. 

  1.  Replace your light bulbs

Traditional lights bulbs consume a large amount of your house’s electricity. Halogen incandescent bulbs, compact fluorescent lights (CFLs), and light-emitting diode bulbs (LEDs) are some energy saving light bulb replacements. They use about 25-80 percent less electricity than the traditional bulbs and last 3 to 25 times longer than them.  

Though the energy saving bulbs are more expensive, in time they will save you more on your electricity bill.

Where to buy:

Halogen incandescent bulbs: https://www.amazon.com/Halogen+incandescent+bulbs

CLF: https://www.amazon.com/compact+fluorescent+lights

LED: https://www.amazon.com/led+lights+bulbs

  1. Use smart power strips

“Phantom loads,” or the electricity used by electronics when they are turned off or in standby mode, are a substantial source of energy waste. In fact, it is estimated that 75% of the energy used to power household electronics is consumed when they are switched off, which can cost you about $200. 

Smart power strips can detect when a device is in standby mode so they can cut off power and save energy. Using a smart power strip can drastically reduce your overall energy usage, which will decrease your utility bills.

Where to buy:

https://www.amazon.com/Kasa-Smart-Power-Strip

https://www.amazon.com/smart+power+strip

  1.  Install a programmable or smart thermostat

A programmable thermostat can be set to automatically adjust the temperature during the times when you are asleep or away. When you install a programmable thermostat, you eliminate wasteful energy use from heating and cooling without changing your AC system.

A programmable thermostat can save you about $180 per year. Programmable thermostats come in different models that can fit to your schedule. 

Where to buy: 

Most Popular

Google Nest: https://www.amazon.com/Google-Nest-Thermostat-Smart-Programmable

Other Option

Plugin Controller: https://www.amazon.com/DIGITEN-Thermostat-Temperature-Controller

  1. Purchase energy efficient appliances

Appliances are responsible for roughly 13% of household energy use. When purchasing an appliance, you should look at 2 things: the initial price and the annual cost. Although energy efficient appliances might have higher purchase prices, their annual costs are often 9-25% lower than standard models.

When purchasing the appliance, you should look for appliances with the ENERGY STAR label, which is a federal guarantee that the appliance will consume less energy during use and when on standby than standard models. Energy savings change based on the appliance. For example, ENERGY STAR certified clothes washers consume 25% less energy and 45% less water than standard ones, whereas ENERGY STAR refrigerators use 9% less energy.

Where to buy:

https://www.energystar.gov/

Windmills/Turbines and Solar Panel Solutions

One way to solve this problem is to make more wind farms. Windmills or wind turbines are a perfect solution to create clean and renewable energy because they use the wind to make energy, not burning fossil fuels, which is very bad for the environment. https://www.energy.gov/eere/wind/how-do-wind-turbines-work explains the following information:

First the wind makes the blades of the mill turn around a rotor. This will spin the generator and that will create electricity. Now you may be asking, what if there isn’t any or very little wind? Well, if that’s the case, then the turbine of the windmill creates power. It slowly grows as the wind speed increases. Most types of windmills fall into two categories: Horizontal-Axis and Vertical-Axis turbines. The biggest difference between the two is that in the Horizontal-Axis, which is the most common one with three blades, the blades face into the direction of the wind. However with the Vertical-Axis turbines, they have a more circular shape, the blades don’t need to be pointed towards the wind for the mill to function. Furthermore, wind turbines that are located on the land range in size from 100 kilowatts to several megawatts. Offshore wind turbines are very vast in size and capture ocean winds. When turbines are located near to where their electricity will be used, they are called Distributed wind turbines. These are small turbines, under 100 kilowatts. Lastly, as of the end of 2016, CNBC found that there were over 341,000 wind turbines in the world, and in the same year, the GWEC recorded that the wind turbines helped the earth avoid more than 637 million tonnes of CO2 emissions. In fact, from IEA.org, the US, as of 2018, has produced 2172.52 gigawatts of clean energy, a 31.46% increase from 1990 and in Australia, they have recorded, also as of 2018, 411.55 gigawatts of clean energy, a 161.25% increase from 1990.

Wind turbine blades
“Wind turbine blades” by vaxomatic is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Vertical axis wind turbine
“Vertical axis wind turbine” by Arenamontanus is licensed under CC BY 2.0

The next solution is to get more solar panels. Just like wind turbines, solar panels are a great solution in order to get clean and renewable energy because they use the sun to create energy, not by burning fossil fuels. Solar panels are a great solution too because an average home has more than enough roof space to put enough solar panels so the house gets enough electricity. During the day, the solar panels create power and then are used in the home at night. Some benefits of solar panels are that they are cheaper in terms of getting electricity. If one doesn’t have solar panels, they most likely live in a place that is serviced by a main electric utility grid. As a result, they have to pay for the power lines, poles, etc. However, with the solar panels, they only pay for the panels one time, even if they run for a very long time. Keep in mind, installation of solar panels should most likely be done in a place that is not serviced by a main electric utility grid. Also, solar panels can produce power for over three decades if maintained well. The price for solar panels vary however they have been going down in the last few years. Some can go for around $30.00 while others can go for over $1000.00. There are 92.7 billion solar panels and in 2017, the world used about 23,696 TWh of electricity according to the IEA .

solar panels
My grandpa wanted to put a wind turbine in the hay field behind here, but he was told that the area wasn’t windy enough for them to be worthwhile. So, not to be deterred from his alternative energy aspirations, he bought some solar panels instead. “solar panels” by spanginator is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Video on how solar panels work/about them:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKxrkht7CpY

Information from:

Here is a 3D printed model of a house that has solar panels and windmills around it. These two solutions are the best ways to achieve clean and renewable energy.