With global warming, rising sea levels, ozone depletion the time has come for all of us to think of little contributions we can make to reduce the pollution, the waste, the load that we levy on the environment. The most wonderful thing about saving energy is that it also results in saving money. With the help of experts and organizations who work in this field, I have short listed a few steps we all can take right now, with no investment, in our homes:
Air conditioning
1)Room air conditioners work best when kept cool and out of direct sunlight. Install them on the north-facing side of your home or in a shaded area.
2) Clean or change air filters. When dust blocks airflow, fans have to work harder which, in turn, drives up energy.
3) -Plug the small gaps around doors and windows because they allow considerable air to leak out. This needlessly put pressure on the air conditioner.
Refrigeration
1) Cover liquids and wrap foods stored in the refrigerator. Uncovered foods release moisture and make the compressor work harder.
2) Let foods cool down to room temperature before putting them into the refrigerator or the freezer. Hot foods end up consuming a lot more electricity.
3) To reduce cooking time, defrost frozen foods in the refrigerator before cooking.
Cooking
1) Full-size ovens are not very efficient when cooking small quantities of food. When cooking small- to medium-sized meals, it generally pays to use smaller microwave ovens or toaster ovens which use one third the energy.
2) Use the smallest pan necessary to do the job. Smaller pans require less energy. Keep the burner pans (the metal pans under the burners that catch grease) clean and shiny so they will reflect more heat up to the cookware. Blackened burner pans absorb a lot of heat, reducing burner efficiency.
Lighting
1) Re-arrange the furniture to maximize the daylight used for activities like reading, cooking, etc…
1) Clean the luminaries that you are using. Dust absorbs a significant part of the light emitted.
2) It takes more energy to run two small watt bulbs than one with higher wattage, so use one higher wattage bulb than two small ones.
3) Replace incandescent lights (conventional filament bulbs) with Compact Fluorescents Lights (CFL). They can save up to three-quarters of the electricity used.
Electronics
1) Pull the plug. Appliances like television and VCRs continue to use small amounts of electricity for things like their clocks and remote controls.
2) In computers screen savers are not a form of sleep-mode and they do not save any energy. Thus, you should select a short screensaver time so that the sleep mode kicks in more quickly.
Water
1) Fix the taps, use when necessary. A running a tap can use 10-14litres of water a minute.
2) Reuse water. Water used to wash vegetables can easily be used to water plants.
These are some of the sources from which this information is derived. Click online for more information:
(www.eere.energy.gov/consumerinfo/factsheets.html)
(www.consumerenergycenter.org).
(www.fsec.ucf.edu)
