Green Energy Appliances
There are several ways to make your home and life more green and energy efficient. This ranges from the kinds of materials you use for house cleaning to the items you throw away or recycle. However, the biggest sources of energy consumption in our day-to-day routines comes from the appliances we use around the house. Here are a few tips about electrical appliances, whether you're on the market for new ones or looking to make your current items more energy efficient.
Water Heaters
Water heaters account for about 1/5 of your total monthly energy consumption, so anyway that you can lower the amount of energy it uses is helpful. Less hot water is the key. A few ways you can do this are by simply conserving the amount of hot water you use by doing things like taking shorter showers, or you can install new shower heads that limit the amount of water that comes through. Another useful home remedy is to turn down the thermostat on your hot water heater down to 120-130 degrees, lowering the overall temperature.
Refrigerator/Freezer
Your refrigeration and freezer units are two big culprits in the energy consumption game. Why is that? Well, mostly because they're always on. After the AC and the water heater, the refrigerator is the largest energy hog in your house.
With that in mind, make sure to get an ENERGY STAR product, to know that what you have ranks well for energy efficiency. In addition, a top-and-bottom refrigerator/freezer combo is much more tame with energy use than a side-by-side unit. On average, side-by-side units consume a good bit more electricity.
Washer and Dryer
Once again, an ENERGY STAR washer is definitely the way to go. Beyond that, though, front loading washers and dryers can cut your energy use for those machines by as much as half. Washing with cold water can further cut down on what it takes to clean your clothes.
When it comes to drying, however, finding a machine with moisture sensors can really cut down on your unnecessary drying time, as the machine will shut off when it senses that the clothes are already dry. In the end, though, the most energy efficient way to dry your clothes is a good old fashioned clothesline in the backyard.
Air Conditioning
This is the number one energy consumer in the household. The best way to conserve energy when dealing with an air conditioner is to use ceiling fans regularly, as well as regularly replacing air filters.
Many times, it's the amount of off/on usage that the air conditioner unit has that drives up the dollars. Turning the AC off when you're not at home can do wonders on the monthly bill. In addition, during the winter, switching ceiling fans to reverse so they pull up cold air can save some money.
Hopefully these tips can help any of you out there looking for new appliances for your household, or just looking to shave some cash off of each bill. For more detailed information about home appliances and their energy consumption, be sure to check out Green Living Ideas and Mother Earth News.
