Follow these energy conservation tips and save your money!

Aside from the obvious benefit of saving money, running an energy efficient home benefits us all in the greater community. We reduce global warming and help keep our dollars in the country as supposed to sending them to often unsavoury regimes overseas. Even if we implement just a few of the listed tips, the savings will be substantial and one's satisfaction even greater. 

Temperature Control  of Your Home

Heating and cooling accounts for approximately about 2/3 of your energy costs.  Implementing just a few energy saving tips in this area will have a big impact on your energy bill.

1.Install ceiling fans.
They effectively supplement or may even serve as an alternative to air conditioning. They generally use very little electricity. To make them more effective, adjust your fan so that it is blowing air downwards.

2. Install a programmable thermostat.
Set it to lower the heat by a few degrees at night and when you are away. Raise the temperature of the AC when you have left for the day. You can save even more money if during your absence you switch off your AC altogether. Make sure that you turn the AC back on well ahead before your return. It may take a while to return the temperature in your home to a comfortable level. Your investment in a good thermostat - around $50 - will be easily recouped in a few months. After that period, it is just pure savings into your pocket.  

3. Enlist the help of your window coverings to help control the inside temperature: keep them closed during the hot days in the summer. Open them especially on the south facing windows in the winter.

4. Take off your socks and see how your feet feel on a bare floor. If your feet are cold, the floor likely cools the air in the house as well so lay down a few area rugs.

5. In many countries, people are dressed quite warmly inside their homes.  If you feel cool, don't simply run to the thermostat as the first resort. Put on a sweater and warm slippers and keep your temperature low.

6. Make the job easier for your furnace. Replacing the air filter on your furnace every month will improve its efficiency and thereby save you more money.

7. When you are out of the room, turn off unnecessary lights.  Most electric light fixtures produce heat which works against the AC.

8. Here is one measure which will take a few years before you can reap its benefits. Plant a few leafy trees on the side of your house with the most sun. During the summer the trees provide shade and in the winter after they shed their leaves, they let the warming sun rays through.

9. This energy saving tip may not affect the temperature control of your house but definitely affects your total energy consumption. When not in use, unplug your electrical appliances, TV sets and DVD players and so on. These electrical home gadgets, even if they are switched off but still plugged in, consume considerable amount of energy. In the state of California, the total amount of electricity required to power the switched off appliances, when they are showing  just the time of day and perhaps fancy display screens, consume the equivalent output of one coal powered station. That's a lot of energy we can all save and help clean the environment.