If your energy bills are anything like mine you more than
likely would like to be able to reduce them. The equation
is relatively easy ' the less we use the less we pay.
There are ways to reduce our energy consumption using small
easy to do steps. For me reducing my energy consumption
will also reduce my energy storage needs when I finally go
off grid. This article main aim is to provide you with
easy to do steps to reduce some of your energy use.
The world is faced with an energy crisis now and none of us
remain unaffected anymore. I personally think that this
crisis is artificial in order to force up the prices of
energy and to exert control over us.
I don't think that we can expect anything from governments
expect lip service. Government is more often than not part
of the problem; for instance to tax component for a liter
of diesel in the UK is 65%. The higher the price per liter
of fuel the more money enters government coffers.
In the end it up to each of us to resolve to decrease our
energy requirements and ultimately produce our own
electricity to power our homes.
It costs me on average £45.00 to fill up my car on a
weekly basis. This means that my weekly contribution to
government coffers is £29.25, which comes to
£351.00. With three cars at home, as a family we
contribute around £1053.00 to government coffers to
get to work.
I will definitely get an electric car once they no longer
cost the earth and have become more effective by being able
to travel greater distances than they are currently able to
without the frequent need for recharging the batteries.
Who knows we may even have cars that recharge themselves
with solar cells incorporated in the body of the car.
But what happens to our energy tax contribution to
government coffers if this were the case. It probably
explains their plan to try to charge us for every mile we
drive instead of charging us road tax.
So what can we do, if anything, to reduce our current level
of energy requirements?
There are some relatively easy steps can be taken to reduce
our energy needs. However, we do need to consider the
benefit of carrying out such energy saving measures. After
all what good are they to you if you land up paying more
than what you are already paying.
The cost to benefit for each component of your power
reduction program has to be considered.
Quite a few cost saving measures mentioned below are
associated to standby power. Standby power is also known
as vampire power, vampire draw, phantom load, or leaking
electricity, and refers to electric power consumed by
electronic appliances while they are switched off or in a
standby mode.
Let us consider ways in which you can reduce your energy
use at home.
Computers:
At the very least you should set the power settings on your
computer to automatically go into Sleep or Standby mode
after 15 minutes or so of inactivity. I adjust the power
setting according to what I am doing after all if I am
watching a movie I don't want the computer to decide that
it should go into sleep mode just because I haven't touched
my mouse or keyboard for 15 minutes.
Turn your computer and its monitor off when you're done for
the day.
If you use a desktop, use an LCD monitor. They use lots
less energy than CRT's.
You could always use a power strip so that you can easily
turn off all your computer accessories at once.
I personally turn off my laptop along with all accessories
off at the wall switch when I'm done for the day. I know
that, because everything is connected through the power
strip, it will all be switched off at the same time.
Air Conditioner:
Set the temperature at the maximum or minimum you are
comfortable with, depending on the season. The operative
word here is comfortable.
Try not to set it at too high or too low temperatures.
Setting the air conditioner at reasonable temperatures will
help you save quite a bit of energy.
Unfortunately for me, in our house, I've got to keep
checking our thermostat as our teenagers keep changing the
temperature levels to what they feel is right for them.
Washing Machines:
Minimize the number of washes by washing full load of
clothes every time. Also, if washing machine packs up you
could buy a new machine with a better energy rating than
your old one had.
You could also try to wash your clothing at a lower
temperature setting or on a reduced wash cycle.
Television:
Switch off your television at the wall plug when not in
use. This may not sound a big deal but this tiny step will
help save power.
Power adapters:
Power adapters are very common "electricity vampires" as
they have no power-off switches. These include mobile
telephone chargers, electric toothbrush chargers and the
like. I am positive that you have touched an adapter that,
while not in use was nevertheless plugged in at the wall
socket, and found that it was warm to the touch. Switch
them off at the wall plug. Better yet, keep them
unplugged until you need them.
Geysers:
Keep the geyser thermostat at the minimum heat. You do not
need to heat the water at a very high temperature or for
too long.
Refrigerators and freezers:
Bring hot food to room temperatures before putting it into
the refrigerator. You can also save power by taking cold or
frozen food out of the refrigerator much before the
mealtime, thereby saving power in heating it.
Car:
For an air-conditioner equipped car, pull up the windows of
your car before switching on the air-conditioner.
And finally:
You could save on your energy bills by generating your own
power at home through the use of solar and wind energy or
zero point magnetic power generator to reduce or eliminate
your power bill. Get yourself a good guide to build your
own home micro power plant.
----------------------------------------------------
Alain Prudhomme writes about the issues surrounding the
micro-generation of renewable energy for homes as well as
on the contentious and controversial issues surrounding
global warming and climate change. You can find more
resources at http://www.renewablehomeenergysolutions.com
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