One of the major concerns in the world today is the world economy and what it is doing to our jobs. We are unsure if we are going to have a job tomorrow and if we don’t how are we going to pay the bills. This is especially true of our energy bills and the cost of energy (oil, gas, natural gas and electricity). As concerned citizens we all must make a concerted effort to be conscientious citizens and save energy.

Electricity has become integral to life; just imagine having to live without power. Gas, not many of us live without a car and some of us have one per family member. Live without one, impossible. Oil and natural gas for heating our houses, live without it, no way, not where I live this has been the coldest winter in years.

Conservation of energy benefits us all and you personally as you will pay lower bills. Consider:

1. Doing an energy audit. In Canada a government run program will come in and do this for you. This will tell you how and when you use energy and where the wastage lies. It will help you be able to make an “energy savings plan”. This plan will pinpoint exactly how you can cut back on your energy consumption. Some ideas may be quite simple such as don’t leave the lights on all the time.

2. Think about resetting your thermostat a few degrees lower during the night. If you can do this for say approximately eight hours a day you could save maybe 10% on heating without sacrificing comfort. This can be done very conveniently today with programmable thermostats. This also can be done during the day if everyone is out of the house.

3. Check the insulation in your home to see if it is up to code. If you increase attic insulation to around 12 inches the heating energy consumption could maybe, be reduced by 20 percent. You can also help insulate your home in winter by simply drawing shut the drapes.

4. Plant some trees around your house. These will cool the house in the summer and insulate your house in the winter. Studies show that a green cover benefits your house, yard and life in many other ways as well.

5. Have all electricity wires and outlets checked for voltage leakage. This kind of leakage costs you money. You should also check your fuses and appliances.

6. The new fluorescent light bulbs are very energy efficient. They use 75% less energy than ordinary light bulbs. They cost more to buy but have a longer life and contribute to great savings.

7. Use energy efficient appliances. These use less energy and believe it or not a high efficiency refrigerator uses less electricity than a light bulb. In Canada as well there are some rebates available for turning in your old appliances and buying new high efficiency ones.

8. When you are away even for a few hours or days you should turn things off or unplug every possible that is electrical. Turn down the water heater, turn off lights as already said turn down the furnace turn off or unplug computers etc. This will make a big difference; even making the effort to switch off lights and fans when leaving a room will make a difference.

9. Ensure that you use a water-saving shower head. Water heating costs for a family can be lowered by at least $ 250 a year.

10. Weatherize your home. This means use materials that are not good conductors of heat and cold. This can help reduce heating bills by 20% and cooling by at least 10 percent. So when building a home or renovating it choose to use these weather friendly materials. Install windows called skylights in the roof in such away that you use the sunlight to light up the rooms during day light hours. Ensure that the filters in air conditioners and heaters are always cleaned and free from being clogged by dust.

If you make these changes and live an energy efficient lifestyle you will see the numbers on the energy bill actually reducing. The ability to cut energy costs is well within your control. Some final ideas are simply
- Only washing full loads of laundry or in your dishwasher and that in cold water.
- Use the hot wash option only for very dirty clothes.
- Cook food only just before you are ready to eat that way you can save reheating costs as well as refrigerating costs of storing the food.
- Turn the thermostat of the refrigerator to minimum in cold or cool weather.
- Switch off freezers if they are not in use.

Small contributions can all add up to significant amounts of energy saved. And, energy saved means money in the bank.

Posted by Dave McIntosh on Saturday, February 7th, 2009 at 10:03 pm.