With all of the energy-efficient and “green” products out there in the marketplace, a lot of people have become confused about what they are really doing to save energy. According to an article from HouseLogic, there is a surprising decline in energy-saving habits despite all of the new eco-friendly products that have come about in the past decade or so. This may be caused by people feeling overwhelmed by choices and not knowing how we alone can make a difference. So to inspire people to be aware and make that extra effort to save our environment, HouseLogic has come up with simple ways to be successful at saving energy no matter what your lifestyle:
For those of you who don’t have much time during the day but still want to make a difference, choose things that do the work for you! Check out programmable thermostats where you can have home devices turn off and on when it makes sense (i.e. if no one is home it will shut off the A/C or heater). Or you can have more control by making adjustments remotely from your smart phone. So if you forgot to turn off any lights in your home before you left, you can still take care of it from your phone. Another handy device is a timer switch that can be set to a schedule. No more forgetting to turn things off – the timer takes care of it for you.
For those that don’t have the money to buy the latest technology and their priority is to pinch pennies, they advise getting a digital programmable thermostat. These have less of the bells and whistles of the ones you can control with your smart phone, but you can still input a schedule that reflects your needs. Another tip is to use a home energy monitor that tracks your usage costs each hour. It can let you know about costs you didn’t know you were using. While investing in these products does cost some money, the payoff in the long run makes it worthwhile, as you can save on your monthly energy costs year after year after the relatively small investment.
If you are tech-savvy and love to have all of the latest devices, then try out a home monitoring system where you have control over everything from lighting to security to locking doors. This gives you complete control of your energy usage, and companies are getting on board with this concept by offering subscription packages, so there are many options out there to choose from.
All in all, being aware of what you are using, energy-wise, is extremely beneficial. And in the end, who doesn’t like saving money in the long run? These ideas will help you to do just that, all while lessening your carbon footprint and helping out the environment.