Ten Ways Your Home Can Be More Eco-Friendly
Changing your lifestyle to reflect a more eco-sensitive mindset is both helpful to the environment and your wallet. Eco-friendly products are much more energy efficient, which results in an abundance of savings on your monthly expenses.
Here are 10 ways you can be more eco-conscious:
1. Power Company
Because of energy deregulation in Texas and other states, residents have the option to choose which company provides their energy services. Be sure to research which companies are environmentally safe, less expensive, and appreciate you as their customer by providing quality customer service and care.
2. Washing Machine
Nearly 90 percent of the energy used for washing clothes is for heating the water. If you wash your loads in cold instead of hot, you could cut your energy use by 50 percent.
3. Dryer
Instead of using an electric dryer, stick to air-drying your clothes. The US Department of Energy estimates that people could save at least 10 percent on their electric bill by air drying clothes. If you do dry your clothes, dry them during non-peak hours in order to save the maximum amount of money.
4. Replace Appliances
Updated appliances might be an expensive upgrade, but their new energy-efficient technology makes them a wise investment. Old appliances guzzle energy that could easily be saved with a new appliance. The two best appliances to replace are the dishwasher and refrigerator, for they can save anywhere from 20 to 40 percent on your utility bill.
5. Programmable Thermostat and Water Heater
Just as you would turn off the lights before heading out of the house, you should turn the thermostat off or up while you are away. New programmable thermostats automatically change the temperature for you once you have programmed it properly.
Likewise, there is no point to heat your water if you are not there to use it. Purchase a water heater timer so you can have hot water only when you need it, which can save up to $10 dollars a month.
6. Solar Paneling
Investing in solar paneling can cut down significantly on the heat inside of your house. They are especially handy in homes that have single-paned windows, or in homes in a climate with extreme heat.
7. Attic Fan
Relatively inexpensive, these fans can make an extreme difference in the temperature of the whole house, which keeps your air conditioner from working so hard and expending so much energy.
8. Energy-Efficient Windows
Old windows that are single-paned tend to let the outside air into the house. Modern energy-efficient windows are usually double paned, which keeps the outside air out and the inside air in.
9. Compact Fluorescent Bulbs
By changing the bulbs in your home from incandescent to energy0efficient bulbs, you could save hundreds of dollars each year.
10. Skip Bottled Water
Not only is bottled water bad for the environment, it’s also costly when an H20 reverse osmosis spout can be purchased and installed for next to nothing.
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