4 Simple Ways to Go Green at Home

Whether you’re concerned about the environment or simply want to save money on your energy bills, there has never been a better time to go green around the house. As technology improves your capabilities as a home-liver (whether owner or renter), you’ll have more and better options that will save you money and help save the planet as well! Let’s take a look at some of those options:

Switch to Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs

While compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) might be a little more expensive in the store, they use 75% less electricity and last ten times longer than incandescent bulbs. CFLs are able to give the same amount of light, last longer, and still use less electricity because they convert most of their energy into light rather than heat, as incandescent bulbs do. According to Better Homes and Gardens, changing a single 75-watt incandescent bulb for an equivalent CFL saves you $83 over the life of the bulb.

Here’s the bottom line: Switching to CFLs will save you money. So if you switch and your energy bill doesn’t go down in any tangible way, you might want to shop around for an energy provider with affordable electricity rates that take your usage into account.

Unplug Appliances

Many appliances like TVs and computers have small LED lights that stay on even when the appliance is in the off position. These lights still use electricity and they aren’t the only culprits, just the most noticeable. According to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the average house has 40 products that drain power even when they aren’t in use. This waste is sometimes called “phantom power” or “vampire power.” If your home is in line with the national average, by unplugging your appliances, you could save $100 per year.

An easy way to unplug these power-sucking appliances is to attach them to a power strip, which you can put in a convenient location. That way you can just switch off the power strip when the appliance you need is not in use instead of having to unplug it from the wall every time. Or if you know you’re not going to remember to switch the outlets off, you can invest in a Smart Strip (or similar product). Smart Strips automatically shut off power when they sense that the appliance is not in use. This way you can be absent-minded and still save money!

Use Climate Control Consciously

By simply turning your thermostat down at night — or at least by setting it a few degrees cooler in the winter or warmer in the summer — you can make a huge difference in your energy consumption. According to energy.gov, you can save as much as 1% per year on your heating bill for every degree you set your thermostat back during the night. So, if you normally keep your house at 70 degrees and you set it to 60 at night, then you’re saving about 10% a year on your heating bill.

Invest in a programmable thermostat to make your adjustments easier and more consistent. Just like with the automatic power strips, programmable thermostats allow you to save money and use less energy without conscious thought or effort. Simply program it once, and then that’s it! As an added bonus, you can program it to start raising the temperature before you wake up, which means you’ll be saving money without sacrificing comfort.

Low Flow Shower Heads

Thirty-six states are expected to experience water shortages in the next six years. One possible solution to this problem? Low-flow shower heads. According to neo.ne.gov, low-flow shower heads use about 2 gallons of water per minute, while traditional shower heads use 3.5 gallons per minute.

If the average person takes a 10 minute shower, a low-flow shower head will save you 43% on your hot water bill. This translates to a savings of $23.80 to $32.50 per year per person using the shower or 5,475 gallons of water per year. For a family of four that would be $95.20 to $130.

As you can see, taking these simple steps can really make a big difference both for your utility bill and for our resources. What other simple ways of going green do you know?

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