Making your Home More Energy Efficient

Solar energy vs fossil fuels, which one is more important and valuable? When it comes to saving energy in the house both come into play, and both offer easy and simple ways to help the environment and save on bills. A lot of people think that you need to buy expensive products and programs in order to save money and energy, but the truth is there's so many simple ways you can save energy. You can take shorter showers, you can turn your lights off when you aren't using them, or hang dry your clothes instead of putting them in the dryer. In addition to this, reducing energy consumption is quite simple, and sometimes just a simple change to your daily behaviors can make a difference. Here are 3 ways you can start saving energy in your home right now!

1. Replace your traditional light bulbs with energy efficient ones

Unfortunately, using modern day light bulbs can eat away at your electric bill. To top that off, you need to replace them monthly. If you make the switch to halogen incandescent light bulbs, compact fluorescent light bulbs, or light emitting diode bulbs you'll use 25-80 percent less electricity. That's much more than traditional bulbs. Even though energy saving bulbs save more money, they are a little bit more expensive to buy than traditional bulbs. But they last longer and save you more money in the long run, so at the end of the day they are completely worth it.

2. Reduce your water usage

Water is the most overlooked resource in the world. Water powers almost everything we do, it makes up over half of our body, it helps us create things, it helps us find new cures for diseases, and it helps us process our thoughts better. In short, without water we'd all die out in a week. Despite this, we still waste gallons of water a year without thinking twice. Simple things like not letting the water run when you don't need it, taking shorter showers, and even washing your clothes with larger loads in cold water will make a huge difference in the environment, and your water bill. You can also buy slow running shower heads.

3. Use solar panels

A great way to reduce the use of energy is to buy solar panels. If you live in a sunny state such as Texas, Nevada, and Arizona, this will be perfect for you. The only problem with this is that you can't use solar panels at night, on rainy days, or during the late evening. If you live in a colder area, or in an area that doesn't bring in much sunlight, this won't work.

4. Change your windows

Did you know your windows can waste energy? That's right! Open Windows are a huge source of energy waste, and can use up to 10-25% percent of your total heating bill. That's why it's good to keep your windows closed when the air conditioner, or heat is running. You can also replace your traditional windows with double-pane ones.

Which strategy do you plan on using first to help reduce energy consumption in your home?