Be involved

How YOU Can Save Energy

By admin ⋅ August 9, 2007 ⋅  Email This Post ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ 275 views

Most likely you, like many people are wasting energy. There are many simple things the you can do to effectively reduce the energy you use around the house. Act now and make our planet a friendlier and cleaner environment!

• On average a traditional cathode ray tube (CRT) television set uses 100 watts of power and 2 when in standby. New monitors like LCD or plasma use 4 times more energy when in use and 4 watts when in standby. The Energy Saving Trust suggests turning the monitor off when not in use. Peripherals like printers and scanners should also be turned off when not in use. Doing this can save a household an average of £37 a year.
• Use compact fluorescent light bulbs. They produce same amount of light by using 1/4 of the electricity. Plus, they last for years and years without burning out.

• Reduce the time you spend in the shower with a few minutes so that you can take dollars off your energy bill and help the environment.
• Washing clothes at 30C as opposed to 40C, uses 40% less energy. Modern cleaning powders are designed to work better at lower temperatures.
• Turning the thermostat down by 1C can cut more than 10% from the average central heating bill. High efficiency condensing boilers can save a third on heating bills.
• Keep your curtains or blinds closed in the hottest part of warm days. When it’s winter, open them and let the sun into your house.
• Plant trees around your yard. Trees help to clean pollution from our air and make your house cooler in the hot summer days.
• Turn off what appliances you are not using. Most of them use “standby power” when they’re switched off.
• Don’t keep the refrigerator door open any longer than you need to.
• Batteries thrown away account for some dangerous substances that are found in household trash and that can be harmful to humans and wildlife. Buy rechargeable batteries and a recharger!
• Use a broom instead of a hose to clean off the driveway. Less water means less energy!
• Recycle your newspapers. If every American would do so, we would save about 36 million trees a year. You save a tree for every four feet of paper you recycle.