Home | Technology | Alternate Energy Resources

Great Energy Saving Tips When Switching To Solar

By: michealastonish


Read More About Alternate Energy Resources

Home Energy Saving Tips

Energy Saving Tips

Insulation and Sealing Air Leaks

Checking your home's insulation is one of the fastest and most cost-efficient ways to use a whole house approach to reduce energy waste and make the most of your energy dollars. A good insulating system includes a combination of products and construction techniques that protect a home from outside temperatures—hot and cold, protect it against air leaks, and control moisture. You can increase the comfort of your home while reducing your heating and cooling needs by up to 10% by investing in proper insulation and sealing air leaks.
Heating and Cooling Tips

* Set your thermostat as low as is comfortable in the winter and as high as is comfortable in the summer.
* Clean or replace filters on furnaces once a month or as needed
* Install a Solar Powered Attic Fan it will lower the temperature in your attic up to 20 degrees which means your AC has to work less to cool your home. Contact Smartworld Energy Inc to find out how to get one installed in your house.

Water Heating

Water heating is the third largest energy expense in your home. It typically accounts for about 20% of your utility bill. There are four ways to cut your water heating bills: use less hot water, turn down the thermostat on your water heater, insulate your water heater, or buy a new, more efficient water heater.

* Install aerating, low-flow faucets and showerheads.
* Repair leaky faucets promptly; a leaky faucet wastes gallons of water in a short period of time.
* Install a Solar Hot Water System you will never pay for hot water again! Call Smartworld Energy Inc for a free home consultation.

Lighting

* Compact Fluorescent Bulbs—A Bright Idea! Compact fluorescent bulbs are four times more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs and provide the same light levels.
* Halogen lamps generate excessive heat that can create fire hazards. Use compact fluorescent lights in your lamps or better yet, buy lamps designed for compact fluorescent bulbs.
* Making improvements to your lighting is one of the fastest ways to cut your energy bills. An average household dedicates 11% of its energy budget to lighting. Using new lighting technologies can reduce lighting energy use in your home by 50% to 75%. Advances in lighting controls offer further energy savings by reducing the amount of time lights are on but not being used.
* Turn off the lights in any room you're not using, or consider installing timers, photo cells, or occupancy sensors to reduce the amount of time your lights are on.
* Install motion detector lights or timers outdoors when security lights at night are needed, so you don’t have to keep you lights on all night, they will only turn on when someone is approaching your home or for pre determined periods of time.
* Take advantage of daylight by using light-colored, loose-weave curtains on your windows to allow daylight to penetrate the room while preserving privacy. Also, decorate with lighter colors that reflect daylight. Call Smartworld Energy Inc and inquire about skylight installations for those dark rooms that require flipping that switch on during the day.

Appliances

* What's the Real Cost? Every appliance has two price tags—the purchase price and the operating cost. Consider both when buying a new appliance.
* Appliances account for about 20% of your household's energy consumption with refrigerators, clothes washers, and clothes dryers at the top of the consumption list.
* When you're shopping for appliances, think of two price tags. The first one covers the purchase price—think of it as a down payment. The second price tag is the cost of operating the appliance during its lifetime. You'll be paying on that second price tag every month with your utility bill for the next 10 to 20 years, depending on the appliance. Refrigerators last an average of 13 years; room air conditioners and dishwashers, about 11 years each; clothes washers, about 9 years.

Driving and Car Maintenance

Transportation accounts for 66% of U.S. oil use — mainly in the form of gasoline. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to improve gas mileage.

* Idling gets you 0 miles per gallon. The best way to warm up a vehicle is to drive it. No more than 30 seconds of idling on winter days is needed. Anything more simply wastes fuel and increases emissions.
* Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration, and hard braking) wastes gas. It can lower your highway gas mileage 33% and city mileage 5%.
* Avoid high speeds. Above 60 mph, gas mileage drops rapidly. The fueleconomy.gov Web site shows how driving speed affects gas mileage.
* Use the grade of motor oil recommended by your car's manufacturer. Using different motor oil can lower your gasoline mileage by 1%-2%.
* Keep tires properly inflated and aligned to improve your gasoline mileage by around 3.3%.
* Get regular engine tune-ups and car maintenance checks to avoid fuel economy problems due to worn spark plugs, dragging brakes, low transmission fluid, or transmission problems.

Renewable Energy

* You have many options for using renewable energy at home—from solar-powered outdoor lights to buying renewable energy from your utility to even producing solar electricity at home with photovoltaic (PV) cells.
* If you've made your home as energy efficient as possible, and you have very high electricity bills and a good solar resource, you might want to consider generating your own electricity using PV cells. New products are available that integrate PV cells with the roof, making them much less visible than older systems.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

For more information on san antonio solar energy or solar energy systems pleace visit www.smartworldenergy.com

Please Rate this Article

 

Not yet Rated

Click the XML Icon Above to Receive Alternate Energy Resources Articles Via RSS!

counter easy hit

Powered by Article Dashboard