Tag - save electricity
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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12Jan

6 Ways to Make Your Household Chores More Energy Efficient

Household chores are a necessary part of your everyday life. Doing them will help ensure that your home continues to run efficiently and make your living environments clean and organized. It’s also the best way to help increase your sense of responsibility. In that way, you’ll promote safety and good overall health for your family at home.

However, it’s also essential to keep your energy costs low while you do your daily household chores. You need to make sure that you can conserve energy in the process and save money on your utility bills. To give you further insights, here are a few simple and smart ways to make your household chores more energy efficient.

Reduce Your Ironing

A flat iron is an essential household appliance that you can use to help remove the wrinkles or lines in your clothes. It is a high-quality device that you can use by pressing it against your clothes to straighten them. However, it’s also one of the appliances that consume a significant amount of energy in your home.

Ironing your clothes can use about 800 to 2,000 watts with an average of 1,100 watts when the heat is high. So, just like connecting into a clean and reliable energy company such as Astral Energy, hanging your clothes after the washing cycle can help you save energy and money. It can also help reduce their wrinkles and the use of the appliance as well.

When you use your flat iron, make sure to avoid the use of the low heat setting and the steam function to help save on energy. If you have clothes made from delicate fabrics, you may try ironing them after switching it off. Your appliance will be hot enough to help reduce the wrinkles or lines in your clothes without damaging them.

Consider the Low-Energy Vacuuming

Vacuuming your carpets is an essential way to help increase its lifespan. It’s also one of the best ways to care and maintain your carpet at home and get the most out of your investment. Regularly doing the job can help remove dirt and soil that can damage its fiber and may reduce its useful life.

Vacuuming can also consume a vast amount of energy at home. Thus, it’s necessary to do your job in a more energy efficient way by utilizing a carpet sweeper instead of a vacuum. The use of manual carpet sweeper doesn’t use electricity, so it’s a more energy efficient option to help you conserve energy at home.

Utilizing carpet sweepers can help clean small messes like crumbs and pet hair, and surface dirt in your floors and low-pile carpeting. However, when you need to do vacuum, make sure to empty the dust collector regularly to ensure that it’s running efficiently. If it’s full, your appliance may work harder to pick up the dirt and use more electricity.

You may also upgrade your vacuum into an energy-efficient model. Make sure to choose a product that can help reduce the number of allergens while doing the job. It’s also essential to opt for a durable model that won’t only help you save money and energy, but could last for a few years as well.

Make Your Laundering Energy Efficient

One of the best ways to make your daily chores more energy efficient is to incorporate changes to your laundry routine. One of them is to ensure that each load of your laundry is full to help you save water. You can also wash your clothes in cold water to help save energy while keeping the stains from setting in and prevent the colors from bleeding.

After washing your clothes, you may also try the line drying instead of using the dryer. Doing so can help you save energy while benefiting the antibacterial effects of the sunlight. You can also dry your clothes on the inside, but make sure that it’s warm and dry or cold and dry.

However, if you need to use a dryer, make sure to keep it well maintained. Some small cloth fibers may pass through the lint trap and to the dryer hose. As a result, it may restrict the airflow and forces the appliances to run longer. Hence, keeping your machine well maintained can help improve its energy efficiency while helping reduce the risk of fire.

Utilize the Smart Dishwasher

The smart dishwasher is one of the best appliances you can use at home. It’s a connected smart home tool that can provide enhanced features to your standard machine. Some of its features include the Wi-Fi connectivity and flexibility options like voice controls via enabled smartphone control and virtual home assistant.

Utilizing the smart dishwasher will help you conserve water and energy. The appliance has essential features that can make it more flexible and more efficient in addressing common issues like redepositing food particles on your dishes. It also has smart technology feature that can help incorporate your appliance into your smart home design.

Save on Your Steam Mop

A steam mop is a handy device you can use for cleaning your floors at home. It’s an innovative floor mop that helps you to save time by quickly absorbing the dirt in your area. This high-quality product will also help kill the dust mites and bacteria through the heat from its steam.

However, it isn’t always necessary to use the steam mop when you’re cleaning your floors. Instead, you may use a regular mop and help efficiently save your appliance for your quarterly cleaning job. Doing so is an ideal way to save on your energy bills while helping improve your home’s energy efficiency as well.

Use the Green Cleaning Solutions

The use of green cleaning solutions is an ideal way to help you save money and energy. It’s also an excellent way to help protect the environment by avoiding water contamination. Most of the cleaning solutions you get from the local markets contain pollutants like nitrogen, ammonia, and phosphorus that are harmful to the environment.

Instead, you can consider the use of DIY green cleaning solutions that are more eco-friendly. You can make an effective surface cleaner by using water and vinegar. The vinegar is acidic enough to help kill about 99 percent of mold spores and other bacterias in your home. You may also add scents like citrus, lavender, or rosemary to your spray bottle.

Takeaway

Utilizing the simple ways to help reduce your energy expenditures is beneficial when you do your household chores. You can incorporate a few eco-friendly ways to make them more energy efficient such as those listed above. They won’t only help you save money and power, but they can also make your living environments more clean and organized.

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07Jan

Nifty and Practical: 5 Smart Gadgets for Monitoring Your Home’s Energy Use

The use of smart gadgets is beneficial for your home. They can provide your house with more convenience and better security. They’re also necessary for monitoring your home’s energy consumption. Hence, utilizing smart home gadgets can help you save money by reducing your energy costs while helping protect the environment.

Utilizing smart monitors can provide you with energy usage reports from time to time. They can also help you become more aware of your energy use using your mobile phone. They can also give you a better illustration of how much you spend on energy. Utilizing them is an eco-friendly way to help reduce your home’s energy use.

The energy monitoring devices can help improve your home’s energy efficiency. It can also help you save money by reducing your home’s energy consumption. To give you more idea, catch a few of these smart home gadgets below for monitoring your energy use at home.

WiOn Smart Surge Protector

The WiOn Smart Surge Protector is an excellent tool you can use at home. It has six outlets on one power strip which enables you to plug in your home devices while allowing you to control them using the WiOn mobile app. You can utilize the smart surge protector to help provide you with more control over your plugged-in home devices.

The use of a smart surge protector is an ideal way to help protect your plugged in devices such as your laptop and mobile device. One of its primary jobs is to detect excess voltage and divert it into the grounding wire with the help of its grounding pin. You also need to properly plug it into a grounded outlet to make it work more efficiently.

The use of surge protector is necessary for your home devices that have intricate microprocessors such as televisions, stereo systems, computers, and media centers. Just like connecting into a clean and reliable energy provider such as  Astral Energy, using the device can also help reduce your energy consumption effectively.

CURB Energy Monitoring System

The CURB energy monitor allows you to measure your home’s energy use by connecting the smart system to your breaker panel. The product can act as your finance tracker that can help pinpoint your home’s wasted energy. It can also help remotely control your electricity use and help set up your energy budgets at home.

The CURB energy monitor can automatically measure each of your devices’ energy use with the help of a mobile app. The system can also monitor your home using the sensors installed in your circuit breaker. Thus, utilizing the product allows you to control the energy consumed by your clothes dryer and all the other outlets and lights in your home.

The system requires a licensed electrician to install a sensor on each of your breakers. It can monitor each of them from time to time. It can also display consumption information as well as how much your energy costs using a smartphone or iOS app. Hence, using the smart system will help improve your energy efficiency and save energy bills as well.

WeMo Insight Smart Plug

The WeMo Insight Smart Plug is a portable outlet that you can plug into a regular outlet. You can use the product by plugging in your home devices such as coffee maker, lamps, space heater, and TV. Utilizing the product can help track and measure how much energy your appliances use.

This smart tool can provide you with real-time energy usage reports with the help of WeMo mobile app. You may also control the product using the mobile app and automatically turn it on or off anywhere you are. Utilizing it can help you get more insights into your home’s energy use while helping you monitor them from time to time.

The smart tool also lets you set automatic schedules for any home device you plugged in like your fans, lamps, and space heaters. You can use the free WeMo app and keep your home comfortable by automatically turn on your fan at noon. You may also schedule your lamp to turn on when the sun sets so you’ll never come home with a dark house.

Sense Energy Monitor

Using the Sense Energy Monitor helps you automatically track which area in your  house has the largest energy consumption. You can connect it to your home’s breaker panel and help detect all the devices that use energy in your home. It can also track watts for each of your appliance which you can view its power usage using the Sense mobile app.

The tool can help detect your home’s devices while helping improve their energy use over time. If you use solar energy, you may also utilize the product to measure your home’s solar energy production efficiently. Hence, monitoring your electrical usage by using the product can help you save money by reducing your energy cost.

The smart product can also analyze the data it collects and sends it to Sense.com. The data is matched to the other information collected from the other devices with the help of machine learning algorithms. Apart from that, the sense app will also alert you regarding the statistics about your devices’ energy use.

Brultech GreenEye Monitor

The Brultech GreenEye Monitor is an ideal home device you can use to measure your home’s energy consumption up to 32 electrical circuits. It connects to your breaker panel and provides you with usage stats using a mobile app. The smart tool can also measure your water and gas consumption, and even your wind and solar power generation.

The use of Brultech GreenEye Monitor can also help monitor multiple dwelling establishments. One of its unique aspects is it can provide inputs for reading pulse outputs that you can tap into your gas, water, and motion detection systems. It can also provide data that can help you understand different kinds of temperature sensors.

Utilizing the product is a great way to enhance your home’s energy efficiency. It has a built-in self-contained website that has a breakdown of your home’s energy use. You may access its real-time data online via ZigBee hub, Ethernet, or WiFi. Hence, utilizing the product is an ideal way to help improve your home’s energy efficiency over time.

Takeaway

The use of smart monitors is a practical way to control your home’s energy use automatically. Utilizing tools such as those listed above can help improve your home’s energy efficiency over time. They can also help you save money by reducing your energy costs. Thus, using them can make your house more convenient and more comfortable.

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05Jan

Energy-Hungry Devices: 5 Appliances That Consume the Most Energy at Home

Not all of your home’s appliances have the same functions. Utilizing each of them can have a significant impact on your monthly energy bills. It’s also essential to keep your home energy efficient to help prevent high electric bills. Hence, it’s necessary to know which of these devices use the most power in your home.

Home appliances can aid in your everyday household chores. However, when their temperature rises, your energy bills can be at their highest level since producing heat would take a lot of energy. While they can consume a considerable amount of power, some of these appliances may also consume more than the rest of them.

Making your home more energy efficient will help control your power usage more effectively. But aside from that, you also first need to understand which of them consume the most electricity in your house. As such, take a look at these five of the most energy-hungry appliances in your home.

Heating System

The use of a heating system is necessary to help regulate and maintain the level of temperature in your home. However, it’s also one of the appliances that consume the most energy in your home. It uses about 27 percent of your home’s electricity.

The kWh range for running a heating device in your home can be broad. It can consume about 100 kWh up to 3,500 kWh per month. Your heating system would also increase especially during the winter. Moreover, its range would depend on the type of heating system you use and how efficient it operates as well.

On the other hand, you can utilize a programmable thermostat to help reduce your heating bills more effectively. It’s also a great way to upgrade into a more efficient heating unit and save money on your heat-related power use. The high-quality heating appliance can operate up to 97 percent efficiency compared to the other models.

It’s also essential to have the best deal with your energy provider. You may switch to a reliable energy company like Astral Energy that can provide clean and suitable power for your home. In that way, you can lower your kWh and get more savings on your monthly heating bills.

Cooling System

The air conditioning unit in your home uses high-watt machines for an extended time. Apart from controlling the temperature in your area, it can also account for one of the biggest energy users in your home. Hence, utilizing your cooling system can significantly affect your monthly energy bills especially during the summer.

The number of watts consumed in your cooling system depends on the operating time, the capacity, the type of unit and it’s efficiency rating. Your air conditioning unit can use about 200 to 1,800 kWh per month.

You can take simple steps to help improve the efficiency of your cooling system. Since the insulation and coolant charge are vital to keeping your device working efficiently, you can have a pro check for your unit every year. Apart from that, make sure also to close the vents in your area that you hardly ever use.

You can also upgrade to a timed thermostat and turn off your cooling system automatically when the temperature from the outside gets cooler. Make sure that you also have at least 16 inches or 41 centimeters of insulation in your attic. It can help keep more of the sun’s heat out of your area so that your unit doesn’t have to work as hard.

Water Heater

Water heating can account for about 12 percent of your home’s energy use. As a homeowner, you can use a water heater to clean your clothes, wash the dishes, shower, and other home applications. Hence, it can be an essential part of your daily routine.

Water heating is a power-intensive household appliance because it consumes about 400 kWh per month. However, the amount of energy you can spend on it may depend on a lot of factors. These include the type of water heaters such as tankless, solar, or standard water heater and its size as well.

Other factors include the temperature settings, washing your clothes either in cold or hot water and how long you shower in a day. On the other hand, you can also take simple ways to conserve energy to help your water heater perform more efficient and save power on your energy bills.

You can also reduce the electricity used in your water heater by checking its temperature. You don’t need it to be hotter than 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Instead, you can drop its temperature up to twenty degrees and get the same heating efficiency while consuming less energy.

Dehumidifier

Utilizing dehumidifier is necessary to keep your home’s humidity levels in check from time to time. It’s an ideal appliance that can remove moisture from the air. The use of the product can also help prevent the growth of mildew by extracting the water from the air in your space. It can help eliminate odor and help make your area more comfortable.

If you live in a humid, wet area, you can leave dehumidifiers to run all the time. It’s a high-wattage household appliance that can consume a vast amount of power. The product comes at 60 to 1,000 watts depending on its capacity. Hence, it may consume about 160 kWh per month depending on how long it runs.

Moreover, you can also ensure that your dehumidifier is not wasting energy. You need to close off the room where it’s working. You can also set the humidistat at a reasonable number that can remove moisture more effectively. Instead of a dial, you can go for an upgrade and get a digital humidistat for greater precision.

Refrigerator or Freezer

Your fridge or freezer is necessary to keep your food and other perishable goods safe and intact. It’s also one of the top-consuming appliances in your home since it’s running on electricity all the time. It can account for a range of 30-200 kWh per month.

There are a lot of factors to consider a high-efficiency unit. These include the model size, freezer or fridge orientation, device placement, temperature settings, refrigeration habits and the energy-saving mode available.

On the other hand, there are also steps you can take to reduce the energy that your fridge or freezer can use. Some of these are checking for its power saver switch, thermostat, and seals. You also need to defrost your unit and don’t forget to use good refrigeration habits to help conserve energy effectively.

Takeaway

Utilizing home appliances can aid in your household chores. However, household tools such as those mentioned above can be power-intensive and affect your monthly energy bills. Hence, making your home more energy efficient is ideal energy conservation at home to help save money by lowering your monthly energy bills.

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31Dec

6 Reasons Why Solar Power is an Excellent Alternative Energy Resource

Solar energy is one of the most abundant energy resources on Earth. It is a renewable energy resource that can provide suitable power for your home’s needs. It’s also continuously growing in popularity nowadays since it can provide significant benefits to human and environment. As a homeowner, the use of solar energy is a great way to contribute to a cleaner future. This renewable resource is a clean and safe alternative energy solution that can help reduce the production of harmful pollution. Hence, utilizing solar power can be an excellent way to fight climate change and help reduce your home’s carbon footprint. Apart from financial benefits, there are also other pertinent reasons why you can switch into utilizing renewables such as solar power. To give you more idea, here are a few reasons why solar power is an excellent alternative energy resource for your home.

It’s a Free Source of Energy

The sun is the largest source of free energy you can utilize on this planet. It can provide enough power in just one minute that can supply the world’s electricity needs for a year. The renewable energy resource like the sun is also a sustainable and inexhaustible resource. Just like biomass, wind, hydro, and other renewable resources, solar energy is also an alternative energy resource that occurs naturally. It can provide your home with clean electricity and help power the place efficiently. Your photovoltaic cells can also help save money right from the moment you turn them on. The benefits you can get from utilizing solar power are best visible during the long run. The longer you use your solar power system, the more you can save money by reducing your utility bills. Just like Astral Energy and other alternative energy providers, utilizing solar energy can also help make your place more energy efficient cost-effectively. Apart from electricity, you can also use solar energy for your home’s heating purposes. You can do the process by installing solar thermal systems and provide your house with free heated water. The system is also low maintenance which makes it an excellent investment for your home.

It Can Make Use of the Underutilized Land

With the increasing needs for solar power nowadays, the use of this renewable power resource can become more accessible for every homeowner. Apart from providing suitable power for your home, solar energy can also make use of the underutilized land and generate substantial value for the area. There are vast land areas from various countries across the globe that are far away from big capitals or cities. Most of these areas might not be used for anything at all. However, solar energy can make use of these underutilized land more conveniently by installing photovoltaic solar panels on the area. Also referred to as a photovoltaic power station, solar farms are a vast, decentralized solar array that supplies energy to the power grid. The primary idea of having solar farms is providing suitable electricity for every homeowner even without installing these solar panels on their roof.

It Can Cause Less Electricity Loss

Electricity is transported from big power plants to consumers via extensive networks. It also travels through the power lines where a proportion of energy may be lost due to these lines’ resistance. Hence, long-distance electric transmissions would result in power losses. However, utilizing solar energy as an alternative power resource can help reduce electricity loss. You can install photovoltaic panels on your roof to help generate suitable energy from the sun. Your rooftop solar power can also help increase electricity efficiency, especially on short distances. The energy generated from your panels can become domestic which helps you control your home’s utility bills and power usage effectively. Solar power systems are also durable, and reliable, so you can assure that they can provide enough energy to help power your home’s needs more conveniently.

It Can Make Your Home Go Off-the-Grid

Traditional electricity might rely heavily on fossil fuels such as coal. The power that they generate can be harmful to the environment since burning fossil fuels would emit the harmful greenhouse gases and other air pollutants. They also have limited resources which could result in a volatile market where energy prices become unpredictable. However, utilizing solar energy can help boost your electricity independence. You can invest in solar power systems to help make your home go off the grid. The sun can provide your home with enough electricity that doesn’t increase in rate. It can also help protect yourself against the unpredictability of the utility price increase. You can install solar panels on your roof and technically reach an energy-independent status. You can also invest in solar battery storage systems to help store extra solar energy for later use. These solar batteries can provide your home with enough power especially during nighttime and rainy days.

It’s Good for the Environment

One of the primary benefits of utilizing solar energy for your home is that it can provide a clean, green source of power. The use of solar power is an excellent way to help reduce your carbon footprint that’s harmful to the environment. It also doesn’t release any greenhouse gases and other toxic chemicals. Solar power is a self-sufficient renewable energy resource. Installing solar panels on your roof is a clean and safe way to help make the future more sustainable. Solar energy is also an excellent alternative energy solution that can efficiently power your home and help preserve the environment cost-effectively.

It Helps Improve Your Grid Security

The solar cells installed in your roof functioned as a small power plant that can generate enough energy for your home. As a homeowner, installing these panels can help provide your place with efficient electricity and improve your grid security as well. Moreover, utilizing renewables can help you save money by lowering your utility bills. It can also help avoid natural or human-caused disasters due to climate change. Since much of today’s energy providers can cause air pollution, then the use of solar power can be an ideal way to fight climate change and contribute to a more sustainable future.

Takeaway

Solar power is a powerful energy resource that can provide suitable electricity for your home. It’s the cleanest and most abundant renewable resource that can efficiently power your place cost-effectively. Hence, utilizing solar energy can provide you benefits such as those mentioned above and help preserve the Earth for the next generations to come.
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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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22Dec

Obstacles Beyond Success: 5 Barriers Towards Renewable Energy Technologies

The development of renewable energy technologies is growing significantly nowadays. Renewable energy is a natural resource that helps provide suitable electricity in your home. As a homeowner, utilizing these natural resources that can create power from hydropower, wind, and solar is viable for your home’s energy needs. The wind and solar energy are producing about ten percent of electricity in the US. It is considered as an achievement for these technologies which have overcome several barriers against their competitors. To know more of them, here are five barriers towards renewable energy technologies focusing on wind and solar.

The Market Entry

Market entry is one of the significant barriers toward wind and solar technologies. The natural resources need to compete with other energy resources like gas, coal, and fossil fuels. The low-cost solar and wind technologies also need to prove their worth by showing investors and homeowners that they can also generate a large quantity of energy. The nuclear, coal and natural gas are providing most of the energy for the United States. Other countries also invested in these resources which shows that they can hold enormous market power over wind and solar. Hence, it becomes a tough situation for wind and solar energy technologies to enter the market compared to more traditional sectors. The wind, solar, and other renewable resources might also need to compete with companies that are benefiting from existing expertise, infrastructure, and policy. It can be a difficult market to enter, and it presents a formidable barrier for these renewables. However, an increase in government investment in clean energy like Astral Energy in the form of research and development, loan assistance, and subsidies would help wind and solar technologies enter the market. Doing so can help provide electricity for households while reducing greenhouse gases and other forms of pollution.

The Capital Costs

The capital costs are the expenses for installing the wind and solar farms. It is one of the barriers to renewable energy technologies. Although wind and solar and other renewables are cheap to operate, their maintenance is minimal, and their fuel is also free. Hence, the expense would primarily come from building these technologies. Installing solar systems would range from 2,000 to 3,700 dollars per kilowatt. The wind technologies also cost from 1,200 to 1,700 dollars per kilowatt to install. However, fossil fuels like the natural gas plant might only cost about 1,000 dollars per kilowatt. Installing wind and solar technologies would need a higher cost which makes the government as well as financial institutions more likely to find renewables risky. They can lend money into higher rates which makes it difficult for developers or utilities to sustain the investment. However, investors should realize that the wind and the utility-scale solar can become least expensed renewables if the costs over the lifespan for installing them are taken into account. Besides, their energy capital cost might also continue to lower down for the next years to come.

The Misconceptions Regarding Their Reliability

The misconceptions with the reliability of renewable energy can be one of the barriers to adopting wind and solar power. The renewable energy competitors would highlight that the solar and wind generation would always need government assistance to produce electricity grid which means they’re unreliable. They can also stress that renewable energy generators would need fossil fuels as a backup when the sun doesn't shine, or the wind stops blowing. But they must consider that the wind and solar are clean energy. They become highly reliable when wind and solar are spread into a large area and paired with compatible generation sources. Smart appliances, real-time pricing, advanced batteries, and other modern grid technologies would also help wind and solar to have a well-performing grid. These technologies can help California, United States, and other countries to reliably and safely operate the modern grid and generate energy using high levels of renewables. For many utilities, it can be ideal to consider the value of solar, wind, and other renewable resources. These renewables can provide energy planners with narrowcast parameters and long-term opportunities.

The Siting and Transmission

The solar and wind systems are decentralized renewable energy. They are smaller generating systems that are spread across a large area that work together to produce power. One of the advantages of decentralization is grid resilience. However, they can still present two primary barriers to renewables namely siting and transmission. The site is the place where you need to locate the solar farms and wind turbines on the land. Selecting an appropriate location can be challenging, making it one of the barriers to renewable energy. Doing it also requires permits, contracts, community relations, and negotiations that lead to increased costs for the project. On the other hand, transmission is the infrastructure and power lines needed to control and move the electricity from the area generated to its consumption. But since the solar and wind are newcomers, then most transmissions that exist nowadays was built to contain nuclear plants and fossil fuels.

There’s an Unequal Playing Field

The unequal playing field brought by other energy industries is one of the barriers to renewables. It means that you can’t see multi-billion dollar industries without any political influence. Some countries spend almost 38 billion dollars on subsidies for fossil fuels annually. The government incentives like subsidies will help taxpayers to fund the mining, electricity generation, drilling, and the industry’s research and development that can help increase domestic production. The other companies also diverted their capital for more productive projects like energy efficiency that might affect the growth of renewable energy. Moreover, wind and solar will get fewer subsidies and receive less political treatment. The disconnection between policy and science expresses that the price that you pay to energy solutions like fossil fuels might not represent its real cost. It also means that there would be no equal playing field for renewables. They’re competing with industries that directly get subsidies and indirectly unable to punish polluters.

Takeaway

The renewable energy technologies are a clean power generating systems. They help provide suitable power for every homeowner. However, despite their success in the industry, there would still be barriers or obstacles that wind, solar, and other renewables need to overcome against competitors such as those mentioned above.
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