3 Ways to Save Energy at Home Plus Contribute A Great Deal To The Environment

In a big-picture sense, it might seem like a person’s energy use would have a negligible impact on the environment. However when you multiply those choices by the planet’s 7.5 billion inhabitants, the effects seem considerably more severe on how to save energy. 

How you save energy at home can have a major impact on local and global environmental factors. 

Reducing your consumption will help you reduce your ecological footprint, which will help improve the health of our air, plant life, and even food. 

Take a look at three easy ways to use less energy at home. 

1. Time Your Showers

How long do you and your family members typically spend in the shower each day? You might be using more water than you think. 

The standard shower uses 2.1 gallons of water per minute. The average length for a shower in America is 8.2 minutes. 

That means that, every day, most of us are showering with enough water to fill a medium-sized aquarium. 

To remind you to shorten your showers, bring an egg timer into the bathroom (or your phone, if you dare). 

Set the timer to the appropriate amount of time, which many sustainability experts believe to be five minutes or fewer.

You could up the ante even more by taking Navy Showers. 

A Navy Shower entails using just enough water to get wet, covering yourself with soap and shampoo while the tap is off, and turning it back for about a minute to wash it off. 

Using less water to bathe or shower will conserve precious drinking water, while also reducing your monthly bill. 

2. Replace Your Light bulbs

Standard incandescent light bulbs can use up to 80-90 percent more electricity than energy-efficient LED bulbs. Especially when you think about how many light bulbs are typically in the average home. You will save energy in multiple amounts. So therefore the total amount is even more staggering. 

Fortunately, light bulbs are inexpensive and easy to install. Some utility companies even give them out for free in outreach initiatives or by request. 

If you’re looking for a simple and fast way to cut back on your energy use, take a look around and see if you can swap out any of the light bulbs in your home. 

3. Install a Programmable Thermostat

Unless you live in a climate that doesn’t require you to use heating or cooling appliances, you could be wasting hundreds of dollars a year if you’re using a manual thermostat. 

Leaving the air or heat on while you’re asleep or out of the room can make up a considerable chunk of your power bill.

Programmable or smart thermostats allow you to set certain times for the system to be on or off. 

With a standard thermostat, you risk falling asleep and leaving the air conditioner on all night. 

A smart thermostat would let you set a sleep timer or other shut-off command. All to prevent using and save energy when it isn’t necessary. 

Additionally, swapping out your thermostat can help you save energy at home of $180 a year. 

This small change will drastically reduce your household’s carbon footprint, while also helping your budget.

No matter what type of home you have, it’s easy to find ways to use less and save energy at home. With just a few small changes, your family could greatly reduce their environmental impact.