Environmental Protection – First Steps to Environmental Sustainability Explained!

Some people are taking small steps in their energy usage at home to help to reduce the emission of green house gases, while others are doing it primarily to cut back on their electricity bills. Energy saving house can save you hundreds of dollars each year. Either way, it is beneficial to the environment and to you. Having an energy efficient house could save up 20-30 percent on their household energy bills by following simple energy efficiency improvements. All it takes is patience, perseverance and the will to change your old habits in using the energy.

Energy saving house is affordable to operate, more convenient, more valuable and more environmentally-friendly. To get an energy saving house, you should check your should enhance insulation, ventilation, landscaping, day-lighting, appliance efficiency, or seal air-leakage. Our day-to-day tasks – driving a car, using the computer, heating or cooling our homes, cooking, watching television – have great impact on our planet thus it can cause global warming and climate change. But there are some ways of keeping our homes comfortable while reducing the amount of energy consumption; less energy consumption is nice on your wallet because it can lower your monthly bill.

Just an example: using CFLs can help reduce energy consumption for lighting by 80 percent… With a little trouble and investment in your homes you can obtain energy savings and lower your energy bills with a smaller carbon footprint. The use of compact fluorescent bulbs instead of incandescent ones can save up to $1 per bulb changed out and their durability is undeniable, they can last 10,000 hours without burning out compared to an incandescent light which can only last about 1,000 hours.

Another simple way to save energy is to use water wisely. A most-efficient energy saving house have no-leak faucets and pipes, it is because most places use electricity to supply water into your homes. An energy saving house using a low flush toilet can save up to 20,000 galloons of water a year.

When replacing windows, always look for the NFRC label, the U-factor measures the window's ability to insulate- the lower the U-factor, the more efficient the window. The NFRC label serves as a guide to the consumer on its energy performance. If you are living in an area where storm is frequent, it is best to invest in durable storm windows.

Every time you lower your water heater thermostat you reduce your energy consumption. Normally, Thermostats are set to 140 degrees F when setting it to 120 degrees Fahrenheit is usually fine. Each 10 degree reduction saves 600 pounds of CO2 each year for an electric water heater. An energy saving house that turns its water heater thermostat down 20 degrees can save up to 10-15% of its total monthly energy bill and could prevent more than 45 tons of annual CO2 emissions. Wrap your water heater in an insulating jacket, which you can buy in any hardware store for only $10 to $20 such small amount save 1100 lbs. of CO2 per year for an electric water heater.

Creating an energy-saving house is easy if you use saving energy devices to automate the process for you. Granted lifestyle changes are also required to realize significant energy money savings, but energy-saving devices can take away the headache of a large majority of the changes you need to make.

5 Saving Energy Devices that can automate saving household energy:

1. Saving Energy Bulbs

Making improvements to your home lighting by switching to energy-efficient light bulbs such as fluorescent compact bulbs, LED lights and outdoor solar lighting is one of the fastest and easiest ways to save home energy. Once new efficient energy lighting technologies are in place, you can move on to the next project because your saving energy bulbs are on auto-pilot working to increase your energy light savings by 50-75 percent.

2. Programmable Heating Thermostat

If your house has central air conditioning, installing a programmable heating thermostat is something you really need to do. There’s absolutely no reason to pay for air conditioning or heating you don’t need. You can save up to 50% on your heating and cooling bill by programming the thermostat to automatically lower your home energy use when you are at work, away on vacation or asleep.

3. Energy Saving Surge Protectors

Vampire or phantom loads are appliances and devices that continue to use electricity after they power down. According to the Department of Energy, vampire energy loss is responsible for up to 15% of a home’s annual energy costs. The best way to get rid of these vampire loads, save home energy and have the devices available for use is to put them on energy-saving surge protectors. This is one of the most cost-effective saving electricity tips you can do as it can save you as much as $400 annually.

4. Star Energy Appliances

Adding these kinds of energy-saving devices throughout your home usually take some planning and budgeting. The important thing to remember though is that when you are in the market for a new refrigerator or dishwasher, purchase star energy appliances that carry the Energy Star logo on them. When you see this logo on appliances it means they qualify as saving energy devices.

5. Motion Sensor Lights and Light Timers

Using saving energy devices such as motion sensor lights and light timers can really help increase your energy light savings with little or no effort on your part except to install the devices. The way motion sensor lights work is the lights will come on automatically when you enter an area, or they go off after you leave. You can use motion sensor lights both inside and outside your home. In the case of light timers, you program them to automatically turn your lights on or off at predetermined times.

Using saving energy devices as much as you can throughout your home can practically automate saving household energy. There’s nothing like saving money without having to try.