Earth Day is around the corner. What are you doing to celebrate Earth Day to make a difference? If you are like me, you do a little or maybe you are extremely conscious about conversing energy for the next generation.
I think most of us fall into the doing a little to make a difference. That’s okay. It’s the small changes that your family can adopt to reduce their carbon footprint and have a greener, earth-friendly home.
Five Energy Conservation Tips
1. Thermostat
- Setting the thermostat to the highest setting will not make the house warm up faster; rather, it will just keep the furnace running longer.
- During the summer, a 5°F higher setting on the air conditioning thermostat will save about 10% on cooling costs; in the winter, lowering the temperature 3 to 5°F can save up to 20% on heating costs.
2. Appliances and Electronics
- Use Power strips. They let you easily turn off multiple products with just one button to push. Appliances account for about 20% of household energy consumption (taken together, these small items can use as much power as your refrigerator.)
3. Refrigerator
- Check your refrigerator temperature. A 10° increase in temperature around your fridge can trigger 20% higher energy consumption. The refrigerator should be kept at 37 and 40° and the freezer between 0 and 5° degrees.
4. Landscaping (suburbanites only)
- Plant trees that lose leaves in the fall as they will protect your home from the summer sun and then allow winter sunlight and warmth to get inside.
- For shade from the hot summer sun, plant trees on the south, east and west sides of the home and to stop cold winter winds, create a windbreak with evergreen trees and shrubs.
5. Cooking
- If your food needs to cook for more than an hour, there’s no need to preheat your oven.
- Use an electric burner that is the right size, a 6” pot on 8” burner wastes 40% of the energy.
Do you a have conservation tip?
Disclosure: NYC Single Mom was not compensated for this post.
