Do you feel the chill in the air? Now that we’re coming out of our Indian Summer…. that familiar cool breeze is coming through and has us reaching for our warm coats and adding extra blankets to our beds at night. I know our first response is to turn on our heater to get the house toasty warm, but that does no favors for the environment or our wallets.
‘Tis the season to start our annual shopping. And I don’t know about you, but I could use every dollar this year! So here are some ways to help conserve energy. Not only to help our planet, but to add to our bank accounts (that seem to be always be too short of what you need to take that awesome vacation you keep thinking about!):
- Turn off Lights– How something so simple is the one thing most people seem to forget. Turning off the lights when you’re not in the room saves money!
- Use LED Bulbs– I know, I know I just said I had ideas to help save money and these cost more than your average light bulb, but since these last longer you’ll be saving over time! LED also uses less energy to produce light instead of heat and contains no mercury.
- Shut Down Computers– Make sure to turn your computers off when not in use. The idea of sitting at our computers and it automatically turning on is convenient and nice BUT so does some extra green in the wallet!
- Unplug Appliances– I’m guilty of leaving my blender and coffee pot plugged in, but even small appliances kept plugged in still adds to our energy bill each month. Unplugging these appliance takes a second and will help lower energy consumption.
- Natural Light– Now that we are coming into our colder weather months, letting in the natural light on a sunny day will help heat up your home and offer light to avoid using electricity – without costing a dime!
- Take Shorter Showers– I confess this is my biggest challenge since standing under a hot shower is AWESOME. But water heaters take a lot energy to heat up. By taking shorter showers you are not only saving energy, but also conserving water and saving money. Also, lowering the hot water heater temperature uses less energy.
Side Note: Since California always seems to be in a drought, this is helpful for us all!
- Open Windows– When the weather starts warming up outside, open windows to allow natural light in (saving electricity) and letting a nice breeze freshen up stale air inside our home. You won’t need a fan as Mother Nature will do the work.
I know there are many more ways to help save you money by conserving energy, but these are a few to help jump start on your path to saving energy and money in your home!