8 Ways to Reduce Energy Consumption on Your Day Off

by DoItYourself Staff

There are plenty of ways to reduce energy consumption, even while you're just hanging around the hosue. Doing so will not only be beneficial to the environment, but it will also save you quite a bit of money on utility bills. While you may turn off household lights and appliances while you are at work, the situation is different when you are at home. Follow these easy steps to reduce energy consumption on your day off.

1. Unplug Unused Appliances

Appliances that are not being used still use energy if they are plugged in. By simply unplugging these unused appliances, a lot of energy-and money-can be saved. Appliances such as ovens, blenders and toaster ovens can be easily unplugged when not in use. Smaller gadgets and appliances such as cell phone chargers, hair dryers and cordless tools can also add to an energy bill when plugged in.

Using power strips to turn of televisions, stereos, DVD players and other home theater products will make it easier to turn this equipment off.

2. Control the Temperature

Replace dial thermostats with programmable thermostats. This will allow the consumer to set the thermostat to various temperatures throughout the day based on when the home is occupied or not. Doing so can save hundreds of pounds of emissions per year.

The thermostat in the house should be set to approximately 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit before going to bed, or when going out for the day. Doing so can save quite a bit of energy. By lowering the temperature by just two degrees Fahrenheit, 353 lbs. of carbon dioxide can be saved per year. Using sunlight wisely can manipulate the temperature in the house without having to turn up the thermostat. Leaving shades open on sunny days can warm up a home, but these shades should be closed at night to prevent heat loss through the windows.

3. Change Furnace and Air Conditioning Filters Often

Dirty filters can reduce proper airflow and waste energy. Air conditioners must work harder if its filter is dirty, which in turn wastes energy. Changing it regularly can help.

4. Set Computers to Sleep or Hibernate

Setting home computers to sleep mode when not in use reduces energy during periods of inactivity. In addition, setting the computer to hibernate after a certain amount of time of inactivity will turn the computer off, and therefore save energy.

5. Turn Off Lights

A simple action such as turning out the lights when leaving a particular room can save great amounts of energy.

6. Replace Wasteful Lightbulbs

Replacing incandescent lightbulbs with more energy-efficient fluorescent light bulbs can reduce energy consumption by 75 percent. In addition, these fluorescent lightbulbs last longer.

7. Use Cold Water When Washing Clothes

When using a laundry machine, keep the water temperature setting to cold. Washing clothes in cold water instead of hot water can reduce the washer's energy usage by almost 75%, and can save almost 500 pounds of carbon dioxide per year. In addition, hanging the clothes to dry instead of using a dryer can also have great impact on energy savings.