Tag - energy conservation
21Jan

6 Best Ways to Save Energy and Money on Your Air Conditioner During the Summer

Summertime has a lot of exciting and fun activities. It includes pool parties, baseball games, backyard cookouts, and more. However, one thing that’s not so good about this season is the scorching heat. With that, it can be tempting to stay at home during the hot summer days.

Running your air conditioning system can account for a significant cost during the summer. Nearly half of your average electric bill is spent on cooling your space. It’s also one of the biggest energy consumers in your home. It uses about 3,500 watts or 3.5 kilowatt-hours for every hour of running the system.

Fortunately, there are a lot of ways to help your air conditioner run better and save money during the summer months. To get more idea, here are six cost-effective ways to save energy and money on your air conditioner during this season.

Use a Smart Thermostat

Upgrading into a smart thermostat is an excellent way to reduce your heating and cooling costs during the summer. This high-quality device can help regulate your cooling system from time to time and save money. You may also adjust its settings automatically using an app on your mobile device.

Utilizing a smart thermostat will help increase your home’s temperature when you’re asleep or out of your house. With the help of this tool, you can set your AC unit at a high temperature as possible and make your space more comfortable. Hence, you can reduce your cooling bill by about 10 percent.

The smart thermostat allows you to turn on or off your AC unit automatically. It can also help automatically keep the temperature on your house at a steady level during the day and at night. Just like a reliable electric company like Astral Energy, using this tool will also help you save up to 10 percent of your annual cooling and heating costs.

Use a Ceiling Fan

The use of a ceiling fan is a cost-effective way to make your space feel up to 10 degrees cooler. It uses only about 10 percent of energy than running a central air conditioning unit. It also allows you to raise your smart thermostat setting up to 4 degrees Celcius without reducing comfort.

A ceiling fan can help effectively circulate the air in your room and help create a draft throughout the area. It can also make your space more comfortable via its wind-chill effect. However, you also need to turn off the fan when you’re not using it, which helps promote global energy conservation initiatives.

Apart from that, you can also install a high-tech smart ceiling fan that can connect into an app. It allows you to automatically turn on and off your fan as well as controlling its speed remotely. It also has built-in radios and sensors that can help regulate the temperature in your room more efficiently.

Insulate and Seal Your Doors and Windows

Adding insulation to your home is a great way to reduce the heat that can pass through your walls. It can help keep your space cool during the summer and warm during the winter. Insulating your attic can also help prevent the sun from heating your room into oven-like temperatures.

Insulating your attic will help keep the stored heat from spreading throughout your house. Doing so can help you save up to 40 percent of your cooling bill. You can install blown-in cellulose insulation for your attic. It’s the most practical and cost-effective option to save energy on your cooling and heating costs.

Sealing your doors and windows is also a great way to help keep your house cool during the summer. It’s essential to seal the gaps around your windows and doors to avoid air from escaping, which is one of the causes of energy loss. You can utilize caulk or weatherstripping to help lower your energy use by about 10 percent.

Shade Your Windows

The direct sunlight can heat your house by entering through your windows. It may increase the temperature in your room by up to 10 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit. It may also cause your AC system to work harder to cool your space. Thus, incorporating window treatments such as shutters, roll-up shades, and curtains can help reduce solar heat gain.

You can close your blinds or curtains on the windows that face toward the direct sunlight. You may do it throughout your house if you’re out during the day. If you’re at home, you may close your curtains on windows that face in the east in the morning. You can open them in the afternoon, and close the ones that are facing in the west.

Avoid Heat Buildup During the Day

The heat in the summer can increase the temperature inside your home. With that in mind, you need to avoid activities that can generate a lot of heat, especially during the day. It includes using the dishwasher or clothes dryer and cooking on the stovetop.

Instead, you can microwave your food or grill it on the outside, hang your clothes on a clothesline, and wash your dishes by hand and let them air-dry. You may also try to do them during the night when temperatures had dropped. The use of a bathroom exhaust fan will also help remove excess heat and humidity when you bathe during the day.

Maintain Your Cooling System

Sometimes, it’s not enough to install a programmable thermostat and use an energy efficient AC unit. If you don’t properly care for your appliance, then you won’t reduce energy costs from your cooling bills. Dirty air conditioning filters may block airflow, which makes it work harder to cool your home during the summer.

Regularly cleaning your AC system and replacing its filters once a month can help lower its energy consumption by about 5 to 15 percent. For your central cooling system, make sure that your floor isn’t blocked with dust or furniture. Its evaporator and condenser coils must also be clear of debris and dirt to help keep them work at their highest efficiency level.

Takeaway

Running your air conditioner in the summer can significantly increase your electricity bill. But there are a few ways to save on energy and money on your cooling costs. You can do the cost-effective ways listed above to help your air conditioner run better while saving energy as the summer months progress.

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19Jan

A Smart Lifestyle: 6 Best Online Tools to Save Energy in Your Home

As a homeowner, there are a lot of options you can make when it comes to improving your home’s energy efficiency. One of them is to invest in green appliances and hybrid cars to save energy effectively. Doing so can provide various impacts for conserving energy in your home while helping protect the environment.

Apart from that, there are also other green options you can choose that are suitable for your budget. The use of online tools is a convenient and affordable way to help you save energy at home while making your area more comfortable. To know more of them, here are six best online tools to save on energy and money in your home cost-effectively.

Energy Made Easy

Energy made easy is a  government website that allows you to compare electricity and gas retailers from other markets. It can help you understand and analyze your electricity usage by comparing it with other households in your area. It can also help you learn about energy topics like your rights and obligations, bills, contracts, and the energy market.

The use of energy made easy online tool can provide you with a benchmark that helps you know whether you use more or less electricity compared to those around you. Just like a clean and reliable energy company like Astral Energy LLC, using it will also help you save money by providing you with a suitable energy plan.

This online tool is a free government website that can assess you on estimating your annual bill for each plan you choose effectively. This free tool is also accurate in helping you decide on which of these plans can help you save energy the most. You may also switch into another energy plan without any cost.

Home Energy Checklist

Simple changes can make a lot of difference when it comes to saving your energy at home. With that in mind, the use of this home energy checklist is a great way to reduce your home’s energy use. It can also provide you with an online list that includes actions you can take to conserve energy in your home cost-effectively.

Running through this online checklist allows you to save a significant amount of energy in your home. Most points on the home energy checklist won’t require you with much effort. Some of them is turning off the lights in an unoccupied area or when not using them and unplugging your equipment that may drain energy when not using them.

The checklist will provide you with outlined actions that can help you conserve energy daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. Applying them at home will help make the area more sustainable and energy efficient while helping reduce your carbon footprint.

Energy Tracker

Energy Tracker is one of the best tools you can use to help manage your energy consumption at home. Using it online or on your mobile device will help set up your home’s energy profile quickly. You may also update it while making energy efficient improvements for your home using energy tracker.

You may also conduct your energy audit using this online tool. The tool can help you determine which areas in your home lose energy. Using it will also help you identify which problem areas you need to prioritize to help make your home more comfortable and energy efficient. Hence, you can quickly determine how much electricity your home uses.

A home energy audit is your first step before making energy efficient improvements for your home with the help of energy tracker. You can use the table it provides to help calculate your home appliances’ energy costs effectively. It can also identify how the energy in your home is being used.

This online tool is also great for pinpointing which appliances consume the most energy in your home which you need to upgrade first. Energy tracker can also help you find the best recommendations and the steps to help save energy and how much you can save for every action.

Sustainability Victoria

A safe and energy efficient transport guide from Sustainability Victoria is a way to help you achieve sustainability and multiple health goals. Utilizing its methods is one of the best ways to commute while helping save on energy. Incorporating the simple changes to your daily commute can also help you save a significant amount of energy and money.

Transportation is one of the largest energy consuming sectors nowadays. Sustainability Victoria can provide you with a transport guide that offers information on how to use sustainable transport. This guide can also help reduce the demand for energy which can benefit your wallet in the long run.

Commuting has been a part of everyone’s life, especially when you travel far distances when going to work. With that, the use of this energy efficient transport guide is a great way to save energy and reduce your carbon dioxide emissions that are harmful to the environment.

Green Vehicle Calculator

A green vehicle or a hybrid is a road motor vehicle that can produce less harmful impacts to the environment. Compared to other cars that utilize gasoline or diesel, using it is an excellent way to conserve energy since it uses alternative fuels. It can also help reduce carbon dioxide emissions that are harmful to the environment.

A green vehicle calculator is an online tool you can use to find out your total monthly fuel cost as well as your carbon dioxide emissions. It can also provide you with data on air and noise pollution and your daily fuel consumption. Thus, the use of a green vehicle is a great way to reduce your fuel consumption while helping protect the environment.

Energy Rating Calculator

When you shop for a new home appliance, consider how much it may cost to run. The use of an energy rating calculator is one of the best ways to save money on your electricity bills by helping you on choosing energy efficient appliances. The tool also allows you to compare models that can help you save on energy and money more effectively.

This calculator can also help you determine which appliances consume the most energy in your home. It can also provide you with the energy rating label so that you can make a smart choice and save money when buying your appliances. Thus, you can now shop a high-quality dishwasher, fridge, and TV with confidence.

Takeaway

Saving energy in your home doesn’t need to be expensive. The use of online tools such as those listed above is a convenient and cost-effective option you can take to help conserve energy at home. They won’t only help reduce your energy bills, but they can also help protect the environment for future generations.

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14Jan

6 Window Treatment Ideas that Can Help Lower Your Energy Bills at Home

Windows are an essential home feature that can help you connect with the outdoors. They can help control your home's temperature while allowing the fresh air and light to go in. However, they can also allow air to escape which can cause excessive consumption of energy from your home’s cooling and heating systems.

Air leakage in your windows can cause about 25 percent of your annual cooling and heating costs. The percentage may also increase to as much as 40 percent for those who have older homes. Windows that are not adequately insulated is also one of the primary causes of electricity loss.

One way to help avoid this expense is to incorporate energy efficient window treatments. Doing so will help lower your home's monthly energy bills. To give you more idea, explore these few window treatment ideas to help you save energy at home.

Drapes

When it comes to window treatments, drapes are an excellent option for your home. They are a decorating design with fabric that's heavy enough to help insulate your home. They can help prevent heat loss in the winter and solar heat gain in the summer. They are also long enough to reach from the top of your window down to your floor.

Drapes come in various styles and colors. You can opt for medium-colored ones with white plastic on their back. You can leave them closed during hot months which can help reduce solar heat gain by about 33 percent. To get maximum performance, you also need to seal them tightly just like the other window treatments.

Like curtains, you may also need to hang them to your cornice or your ceiling down to your floor. You must position them as close to your windows as possible to help get maximum efficiency. Hence, they can be one of the most flexible window treatments you can use for your home.

Shades

The use of window shades is the most effective and easiest way to save energy in your home. Mounting them closer to your glass windows and your adjacent wall will create a tight seal that can help minimize both heat loss and heat gain. Thus, the proper installment will be the key to help increase your home's energy efficiency.

You can opt for shades that have dual layers of fabric. They have a dark color on one side and a lighter color on the other that can help add more functionality. It's also essential to try reversing the shades based on the season. The dark color can absorb the heat during the winter, while light color can reflect the sun’s heat in the summer.

Shades are flexible so they can be suitable for any window orientation. They also come in a wide range of colors, materials, lengths, and widths that can fit perfectly within your window frame. With that, utilizing them will help reduce both solar heat gain and heat loss which can help lower your energy bills.

Awnings

Most buildings already utilized awnings even before the advent of air conditioning. They are a necessary passive heat-blocking window treatment that can help lower your energy bills at home. They won't only add personality to your home, but they can also be an excellent defense against the sunlight especially during the summer.

Utilizing awnings can help reduce solar heat gain by about 65 percent for your windows that are facing in the south, and 77 percent for those who are facing in the west. They can work by blocking the sunlight from your windows during the summer. They can also allow the winter sun to shine through and provide warmth to your house.

Awnings can work even without making adjustments as the season changes. They can be retractable or stationary and made of materials like wood, vinyl, cloth, or aluminum. They are also an ideal window treatment you can choose to help reduce your home's energy costs by decreasing the need for a cooling system.

Blinds

The use of blinds is necessary to help lower your energy bills at home. Installing them to your exterior and interior windows can help reduce solar heat gain while maintaining a suitable light, privacy, and ventilation. Using them will also help reduce heat gain by 45 percent when you lower or close them during the sunny days.

Blinds are best to put on the south and west-facing windows. Putting them on the outside area can also be more effective compared to the inside. They can effectively block the heat before it's transmitted through your windows and warms your room. However, they can be tricky to add to your existing windows, but they can surely help save your energy at home.

High Reflectivity Window Film

High-reflective window film is one of the famous home decors nowadays. It’s a safety film that can help keep your room cooler by reflecting the heat from the sun's light. It’s also an ideal window treatment can be best used in climates with short winter seasons. Hence, using it can help you save a significant amount of energy and money.

This window film acts like a radiator that can be beneficial for your home, especially during the summer. It’s also capable of blocking the incoming ultraviolet light that may damage your furnishings and fabrics. It can also help keep your carpets and wooden furniture in good condition for an extended period.

High-reflective films may work well with large windows such as on your garage where cold temperatures are necessary. Apart from that, utilizing silver and mirror-like film can also work better compared to transparent films.

Roof Overhangs

The use of roof overhangs is beneficial for your house. They can help shade your windows from the sunlight while reducing the amount of rain that could hit your windows, siding, and doors. Just like connecting into a clean and reliable energy company like Astral Energy, installing roof overhangs can also help you save on energy and electricity costs.

Roof overhangs will help keep your home cool during the summer and warm during the winter. Depending on its placement and depth, installing them can help shade your house in the summer while still allowing warm light in during the winter. Thus, you'll need to use less cooling and heating system which enables you to save money and energy.

Takeaway

As a homeowner, you often dress up your windows for beauty rather than functionality. However, you must know that utilizing window treatments such as those listed above can also help you save on energy and money. Using them will also help improve your home's energy efficiency in an eco-friendly way.

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29Dec

6 Helpful Ways to Save on Energy Costs in Your Office

Conserving energy in your office is beneficial for your business. It can help your business run smoothly and improve its sustainability. One of the best ways to reduce energy costs in your office is to implement energy-efficient practices in the workplace. Doing so can help save energy and save money by reducing your company’s monthly energy bill. Running a business can be expensive from your employees’ salaries to maintaining your office building. Thus, conserving energy is a great way to reduce your company’s operating costs. It’s also an ideal way to help reduce your carbon footprint and other harmful greenhouse gas emissions. You can save electricity in your office in many ways. You can update your office equipment to more energy efficient tools or adjust your office environment. To give you further insights, here are six simple ways to help save on energy costs in your office and lower your business’s operational costs.

Consider the Renewable Energy Resources

Utilizing solar power and other renewable energy resources are one of the best ways to conserve energy in your office. The renewables are an excellent option to replace your local energy provider with a clean and energy efficient power resource. These renewable resources can provide your company with sustainable power that’s energy efficient. The use of renewables is an excellent energy alternative to help power your business more efficiently. You can invest in these renewables and get paid for every kilowatt-hour of clean energy they can generate. Utilizing these renewables can also help save about half a tonne of greenhouse gases per year. Utilizing wind energy, geothermal heat pumps, solar power, and other renewable power resources can help reduce your reliance on traditional energy. These renewables can make your company more sustainable. Going green can also help your company’s bottom line and help attract new customers or clients.

Upgrade Your Equipment Into Energy Efficient Models

Your heating and cooling systems, exhaust fans in your bathroom, refrigerator, and other old equipment might work inefficiently and require more energy to operate. So, it’s necessary to upgrade your office equipment into energy efficient models and help conserve energy in your workplace. Switching into more energy efficient equipment can help boost your company’s sustainability. These energy saving appliances can help save energy in your office by as much as 75 percent compared to similar products. Doing so can help save money by reducing the electricity bill in your office. Moreover, it’s also necessary to unplug these appliances when not in use or use a power strip to help reduce your power consumption. It can help avoid vampire loads and prevent your office equipment from consuming an amount of power continuously even when they’re switched off. Apart from switching into energy-efficient equipment, it’s also necessary to carefully manage them to help reduce the amount of energy they consume. Saving energy can provide significant benefits to your company such as greater mobility, longer working life for your devices, and lower temperature levels in your office.

Upgrade Into Energy Efficient Lights

The old versions of lights you use in your office might tend to be less energy efficient. As a businessman, upgrading into more energy efficient lights is necessary to help conserve power in your office. Energy efficient bulbs such as LEDs and CFLs can be better lighting options that can help you save money on your electricity bills. The energy efficient CFL or compact fluorescent lamp and LED or light emitting diode bulbs can help make your business more energy efficient. The LED bulbs can produce light that’s 90 percent more efficient compared to incandescent light bulbs. LED lighting can also last up to 50,000 hours which makes it a worthy investment for your business. On the other hand, CFLs are energy saving fluorescent lamp that can only consume up to 25 to 35 percent of the energy compared to incandescent bulbs. CFLs can help reduce your office’s energy consumption and help save a significant amount of your money. Utilizing CFL lighting is also an ideal way to help reduce the impact on the environment.

Make Your Faucets and toilets Energy Efficient

Leaking faucets, toilets, and other fixtures in your office can result in additional water bills every year. With that in mind, you can upgrade into energy efficient fixtures in your office building and help conserve water and reduce your utility bills. You can utilize touchless faucet that doesn’t have handles to turn them on and off. Instead, the product can sense when you place your hands underneath, and the water will automatically start to flow. The water flow would also automatically stops when you took your hands away and help reduce water waste. On the other hand, you can utilize HETs or high-efficiency toilets that allow you to use less water and help remove waste more effectively. The product can eliminate waste in just one flush to clear the toilet. Hence, it can be an excellent upgrade for your office’s bathroom and make the area more energy efficient.

Control the Sun’s Heat Through Solar Window Film

Your office might tend to have a lot of windows which require your air conditioning system to work extra harder. These windows can add more load on your cooling bills as well. To solve this problem, you can use a solar window film and help keep your office cool all the time. The solar window film is an effective alternative to help reduce your office rooms’ temperature cost effectively. It can help guard against 80 percent of solar heat and make your office more energy efficient.

Fix the Leaks on Your Doors and Windows

The drafts and air leaks from your windows and doors can lower the energy efficiency in your office. Your area might lose up to 30 percent of cooling and heating energy through air leaks. Hence, sealing the leaks around these areas is necessary. Doing so can help prevent wasting your office’s heating and cooling power that can cost you money. You can fix air leaks in your office’s doors and windows through caulking or weatherstripping. They are cost-effective ways to reduce air that leaks in these areas. They can also help reduce your company’s energy costs while increasing comfort, improve durability, and create a healthier workplace.

Takeaway

You can improve your office’s energy efficiency to help reduce your business’s operating costs. As a business owner, saving energy can make your business more sustainable and help increase its market value. You can also create significant energy conservation in your office such as those mentioned above and get higher profit in the future.
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24Dec

Flick the Switch: 5 Essential Facts About Turning Off Your Lights to Save Energy

Turning the lights off when you leave your room is necessary to help save electricity and lower your utility bills. As a homeowner, turning the lights off when you’re not using them can help save money by reducing your electricity bills, extend the life of your light bulbs, and buy bulbs less often. Turning your lights off is essential when you go out of your room for a few minutes. Doing so can make your home more energy-efficient. Turning your lights off is also more energy efficient when you choose lighting options that are high-quality and cost-effective. On the other hand, check out these six essential facts about turning off the lights in your home.

Saving Depends on the Type of Bulbs You Use

Not all light bulbs in the market are created equally. The energy you can save by turning off the lights would depend on the type of bulbs you’re using. One of the least energy-efficient types of lighting is an incandescent light bulb. These lights tend to produce heat as their primary electrical conversion before they can generate light. Ninety percent of incandescent light bulbs’ energy use is given off as heat while only ten percent results into lights. Therefore, turning off your incandescent light bulbs can help you save more energy in your home. Turning off halogen lights when not in use can also help reduce energy bill since they use the same technology as incandescent light bulbs. You also need to follow the general rule of thumb when you turn off Compact Fluorescent Lights or CFLs. You can leave the lights on if you’ll return to your room within 15 minutes. But if you go out of your house for more than 15 minutes, then it’s more energy saving to turn them off. The strategy will also help extend the life of your CFL bulbs. However, Light Emitting Diodes or LED bulbs will not be affected whether you turn them on or off. It’s one of the essential characteristics of LED bulbs that makes them ideal for your energy conservation at home. You can also utilize sensors that can help switch them on and off automatically and turn their full brightness instantly.

It Can Help Save Energy and Money

Turning your lights off can help save energy and money. You can calculate how much power you can save for each light bulb you switched off per hour. You need first to check the watt rating printed on each bulb. If you have a 60-watt bulb and you turned it off for one hour, then you can save .06 kilowatt hours. You can also calculate how much money you can save on turning off your light bulbs. You need first to get your recent electric bill and check out how much per kilowatt hour you’re charged. Then, you have to multiply the amount of kilowatt per hour by its given price. The number of changes with how much energy and money you save depends on the place where you live. It might also depend on the time of the day or the season in which you use your lights. If you have an electric rate of 20 cents per kilowatt-hour, then you can save about 1.2 cents when you turned off a light bulb per hour.

There’s a Snowball Effect

Turning the lights in your home can help save a significant amount of money per kilowatt hours and reduce your electricity bill every month. However, your savings would grow more rapidly when many people will do the same movement. One of the best examples is to have energy-saving and sustainability movements. One of the energy-saving and sustainability movements is the Lights Off Cornell. As a project run by a committee of students from Cornell University, it’s a movement that aims to help conserve energy by turning off the unused lights inside the campus. It’s an energy conservation initiative that helps reduce wasted electricity and save money. Cornell also helps encourage the students and the young ones to reduce their power consumption. In 2010, the university calculated an estimated amount of 60,000 dollars that they could’ve saved every year if those lights that aren’t in use are turned off.

The Lighting Controls are Efficient

You can save more energy in your house by turning off the lights using lighting controls. The lighting controls such as motion detectors or timers and dimmers can help reduce your energy consumption by automatically controlling your lights efficiently. One of the technological innovations you can utilize is the motion sensor lights. These lights have sensors that can automatically recognize when there’s someone, or something is coming in your room. Hence, you won’t need to worry about turning on and off your lights when you leave your room. On the other hand, you can utilize dimmers as an ideal lighting control that allows you to reduce wattage and power output that can help you save energy. They’re also inexpensive to install which enables you to bring an adequate amount of light in your room. The motion sensors are also an ideal lighting control that can automatically turn your lights on when they can detect motion or movement. They can also automatically turn your lights off when the activity stopped. Hence, employing lighting controls will ensure that you can reduce wasted energy without checking each of your lights personally.

It Can Help the Environment

Turning off the lights when you leave your room can help save energy. It can also help reduce carbon emission and other harmful greenhouse gases. Hence, turning off your lights is a simple way to help protect the environment and save the planet. It is essential to follow the general rules of thumb when it comes to turning off your lights. If you use incandescent bulbs, it’s vital to turn off the lights if you go out of your room for one minute or more. For fluorescent bulbs, you can leave the lights on if you’re out of your home for 15 minutes or less, and turn them off when you leave for more than 15 minutes. Turning off your lights will also help reduce the use of non-renewable resources that are harmful to the environment. You can turn off the lights during the day especially if you don’t need them. You can also turn off your appliances to help reduce your carbon footprint and help save the planet.

Takeaway

Turning off the lights when you leave your home is a cost-effective way to reduce your wasted energy. You need to choose high-quality light bulbs to make your home more energy efficient. Moreover, it’s also helpful to know essential things such as those mentioned above to help keep your energy bills low, save money, and preserve the Earth.
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