There are so many little things we can do to save energy and save money at the same time! One simple thing we do is use natural light. The photo above was taken in the bathroom under a skylight. Instead of automatically reaching for that light switch when we enter a room, we acknowledge that there is often enough natural light in the room already.
Get Smart About Energy Use: Do Your Thing™
As a mom to a California Girl, I’ve made a point of teaching her from a young age, to be energy conscious. I want her to not only be a California Energy Steward, but also lead by example wherever she goes. A few more of the things we do on a daily basis to save energy:
Go cold: We use cold water for our laundry. About 90% of the energy used for washing clothes goes to heating the water. This also makes our clothing last longer because the heat causes shrinking and fading. We hang most of our clothing to dry for the same reason. We also use a laundry ball instead of detergent which doesn’t save energy, but does prevent more detergent going down the drain.
We also turned down our hot water heater. We don’t need to heat the water so hot that little hands can be burned.
Unplug: If we’re not charging something, we unplug it. Did you know that 23% of the electricity used to power home electronics is consumed while the products are turned off? It costs the average U.S. household $100 per year to power devices while they are off or in standby mode.
Upgrade to LED: Whenever a bulb burns out we switch it to an LED. While it would seem like a huge expense to pull out all of the bulbs at once and upgrade them, the sticker shock isn’t as bad if you do them as the old bulbs burn out. Upgrading to LED lightbulbs will use at least 75% less energy, and last 25 times longer. If all Californians upgraded to LED light bulbs, we’d reduce CO2 emissions equivalent to those produced by a coal-fired power plant in one year. (average household savings: $70 annually)
Energy Upgrade California is a statewide marketing, education, and outreach initiative to promote energy management concepts, energy efficiency actions, and clean energy opportunities for the state’s residents and small businesses. Created by the California Public Utilities Commission, Energy Upgrade California believes we all have the power to create a better California. They’re inviting you to Do Your Thing™ to use energy more efficiently.
What do you do to save energy?
Definitely unfortunately some electronics waste a huge amount of energy even when off. I remember having a Charter cable TV box that was always very warm, which indicates it was wasting several watts of power at a minimum. It was ridiculous.
I just bought a digital programmable on/off power outlet so I can control a small heater or lamp(s) for limited amounts of time. Those are actually pretty cheap now, and I highly recommend them for having a light come on or starting to warm your home in the winter before you arrive home!
I definitely agree about LED lighting. And fortunately the quality has still gotten better, but you have to be very particular about the brand, quality, color quality, etc. Don’t get the absolute cheapest. You have to regularly research the latest models since they seem to change fairly often.
Creed and a few other brands seem to nearly always have good lighting quality and ratings.
Thanks.
We should teach our children how to save energy. It a must!
We need to be conservative when it comes to the environment.
Thank you for sharing this very informative article. Cheers!
So, I live by myself now and saving energy is one of my top priorities right now because of my past bills. Adulting is hard but now I’m trying my best to conserved energy. Anyways, thank you for sharing such an informative article. Just what I need to know and add to my daily stand-ups. Cheers!
I think growing up in California we all learn to conserve. Especially water, of course, since we usually are in the middle of a drought, but energy too. I turn up my thermostat in the summer. It not only saves energy, it saves money too.
I agree – especially in the desert! I feel like more people would get on board with kicking the thermostat up a notch if they could see a calculation of how much they would save. I can always think of something I’d rather spend on! #travel
Gah! Hubs is super energy concsious – he’s changed all our light bulbs and got us an internet thermostat. We’re apparently in the top 15% of energy savers in our neighborhood.
Bravo! My parents just built a big extension on their house and put in 165 LED pot lights. There’s a ton of natural light though so they’re not on much.