There’s a few simple, easy-to-do changes you can make to your daily living that will help reduce your energy usage, thereby lowering energy costs, and are helpful to the environment.
Besides buying energy-efficient/Energy-Star approved appliances, Arcadia energy has detailed a couple other ways to improve your home energy efficiency, eco-friendliness, and reduce your carbon footprint.
- Do your Laundry Correctly and Efficiently
Don’t Use Hot Water Settings, Use Tap/Cold water settings
Using cold water helps in extending your clothing’s life by preventing shrinkage and doesn’t fade the colors, especially anything delicate, as warmer temperatures wear down fabrics and can damage more sensitive fabrics. You’ll save on the energy required to heat the water, and your laundry will come out just as clean since modern washers and detergents don’t require hot water to be effective anymore. [For more info: Consumer Reports]
Some washers have a setting for 'cold water’ and a separate ‘tap cold water’ setting. Use the ‘Tap Cold’ water setting, as the ‘cold water’ setting will heat the water to a certain temperature designated by the manufacturer. Use ‘cold water’ if you live in an area where the temperatures are below average (it’s snowing/frozen conditions outside).
It’s not necessary to sanitize your laundry unless there’s a contagion in your household or you’re cleaning cloth diapers, especially since the high sanitation heat levels will wear down fabrics/laundry of any type. However, should you want to sanitize your laundry: Using cold water doesn’t sanitize laundry, but neither does the hot water setting; you would need to use the washers ‘sanitize’ setting or add bleach (or a non-bleach laundry sanitizer additive) to your laundry. Additional reasons to use cold water settings instead of hot.
Do Laundry At Night
Minimize your energy demand during peak hours of the day. This means that your local power generation facilities can run at a more efficient capacity, thus minimizing their environmental impact, and you may pay less for off-peak energy (depending on where you live and the type of electric meter your home is outfitted with)
Keep your Dryer’s Exhaust Clean
Clean your dryer's exhaust chute with a lint removal kit every couple of months to improve the airflow through the exhaust duct. Smoother airflow means your dryer doesn't have to work as hard to blow the warm, wet air out, so your clothes will dry faster!
Use Dryer Balls
Using dryer balls can increase your dryer's efficiency and life span and reduce the time required to dry your clothes. As the dryer spins, these balls tumble between the clothes, maximizing the wet clothes' contact with the warm air pockets they create. Effectively, dryer balls 'fluff' your clothes as they spin, speeding up the drying process and eliminating the need for fabric softening dryer sheets.
A 6-pack of reusable, XL, organic dryer balls by Ecoigy costs $9, and replaces dryer sheets as they naturally soften laundry, as well as reduces static and wrinkles. On top of that, they’re eco-friendly, biodegradable, hypoallergenic, and fragrance free.
- Install Faucet Aerators
Heating water for homes is one of the most energy intensive processes. Equipping your kitchen and bathroom sinks with easy-to-install aerators that will minimize wasted water, and boost water pressure.
Replacing any bathroom faucet aerators that use 2.2 or more gallons per minute (GPM) with 0.5-1.0 GPM aerators can reduce a sink's water flow by 30 percent or more. This will significantly reduce the amount of water wasted while brushing your teeth or washing your hands. You'll also save energy whenever you use warm water!
- Run your Dishwasher Overnight
Running the dishwasher overnight is a great way to minimize energy demand during peak hours during the day. This means that your local power generation facilities can run at a more efficient capacity, thus minimizing their environmental impact. Depending on where you live and the type of electric meter your home is outfitted with, you may pay less for off-peak energy.
- Install Efficient Shower Heads
Energy and water efficient shower heads that use 5 gallons per minute (GPM) less than older models are available. Many reduced flow shower heads feature multiple spray settings, use just 1.5 GPM or less, and you'll significantly reduce the amount of energy your household uses to heat water. Even if heat and hot water are included in your rent, you're still helping the planet by reducing your energy demand.
- Lower your Home Hot Water Temperature
Heating water accounts for up to 15% of home energy use. Lowering the hot water temperature to 120 degrees is a no cost measure to help cut costs. (Don’t worry, you’ll still have plenty of hot water.)
Wrap Hot Water Pipes
Insulating your hot water pipes reduces heat loss. It can also raise your water temperature 2-4 degrees Fahrenheit compared to uninsulated pipes. That means you won't have to wait for hot water when you turn on a sink or your shower and you'll be saving water and energy.
Install a Hot Water Heater Timer
If you don't usually find yourself showering regularly between midnight and 4AM (or any other set period during the day or night), you can cut your energy costs significantly by setting your hot water heater to shut down automatically for set periods with a hot water heater timer.
- Switch to High-Efficiency Toilets
Toilets account for nearly 30% of an average household’s water consumption (even more if they’re leaky), but High Efficiency Toilets (HETs) can help you reduce the amount of water - and money - that goes down the drain! HETs combine high efficiency with high performance, using 20% less water than standard 1.6 gallon-per-flush toilets while maintaining full flushing power. That means that they clear the bowl, leave it clean, and do not stop-up easily. Most local water utilities offer rebate programs for HET purchases, so be sure to check what incentives are available to make this easy upgrade even more affordable!
- Use Solar-Powered Lighting Outdoors
Solar powered accent lighting for walkways, gardens, and driveways are a reliable and affordable alternative to installing fully wired systems that will only add to your energy bills. Available in a wide variety of styles, these lights are highly weather resistant, feature a photosensitive element automatically turns them off when ambient lighting conditions no longer warrant artificial lighting, and in most cases the high-capacity rechargeable batteries they come equipped with will last for a full 12 hours of darkness!
- Adjust Temperature without using the Temp. Thermostat
Use Window Shades
Keep shades drawn in south-facing rooms that aren't occupied on days when you're trying to keep your home cool. If you're trying to keep your home warm on cold days, be sure to keep your shades drawn in unoccupied north-facing rooms. They may be thin, but they minimize energy transfer between your home and the outdoors pretty well!
Use Ceiling Fans
Ceiling fans effectively circulate the air in a room to create a "wind chill effect." If you use air conditioning, a ceiling fan will allow you to raise the thermostat setting about 4°F with no reduction in comfort. During moderately hot weather climates, ceiling fans may allow you to avoid using the AC altogether. Be sure to turn off ceiling fans when you leave a room.
Use Door Draft Guards
If you have doors that have more than a 1/4" gap with the floor, draft guards are a cheap and practical way to keep heat from escaping rooms where you want it, and from getting in when you don't! Keeping a tight seal around doors and windows is one of the best ways to improve the energy efficiency of your home.
Keep your home Tightly Sealed
Poorly sealed windows and doors can drastically decrease your home's energy efficiency. A small investment in caulking/weather stripping to fill in even the slightest gaps can make a huge difference; It also keeps out unwanted pests/bugs.
