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Although you may not think it, but 21% of the green house gas emissions produced in the united states come from everyday household energy usage. By implementing cost efficient energy saving techniques, you can help reduce these emissions while saving money at the same time.
And Save Some Dough Improving your homes efficiency Compact fluorescent light bulbs last up to 10 times longer, produce 75 percent less heat, and still produce the same amount of light as an incandescent bulb with only 25 percent as much energy usage. By simply swapping your old lights out for these new ones, you can see a drastic reduction on your monthly energy bills. If you want to take it to the extreme, you can easily make the switch to solar power. Solar panels are getting cheaper to purchase, easier to install, and will last for around 20 years. In addition to cutting your energy bills, the federal government also offers a tax credit of up to 30 percent of your installation cost. Reducing Heat Loss By making your home almost air tight, you can improve your homes energy efficiency by 20%. Add/replace old weather-stripping to your windows and doors as well as plugging any other leaks in your home can stop/reduce heating and air conditioning losses. You may also want to consider adding insulation where it's missing or has a minimal amount. this will reduce heating/cooling expenses as well as reduce moisture buildup in your ceilings and walls.
Electronics and Appliances 75% of a homes electricity is consumed by electronics and appliances while they are turned off according to the U.S. department of Energy. This can be reduced by unplugging devices when their are not in use. You can also reduce this amount by swapping out your old appliances with new energy-saving models. Hot Water For every 10 degrees in temperature you increase your water heater, you use an additional 5 percent of energy. By reducing the temperature you can be saving yourself unnecessary expenses as well as lengthening the lifespan of your water heater. If you wanted to eliminate this problem all together, Tankless water heaters only warm your water when you need it. Instead of constantly heating your water to maintain a set temperature, these devices use up to 60% less energy than your traditional water heater. http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Joshua_Talayka
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