How Greener Can The Other Side Be?

Are you one of those who constantly think of ways to conserve energy and save more in the process? Here are a few options you can use to save more on your power bills. Heat or cool your home less. Drive or fly fewer miles. Run electrical equipment less and run less water since pumping water takes lots of electricity. Buy more locally grown food and goods that are manufactured nearby; they’re typically made with cleaner U.S. manufacturing processes, and companies use less fuel to transport them. For appliances buy the most energy-efficient devices you can afford. Look for appliances with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Label. Since 1992 the EPA says that is has help save Americans an estimated 14 Billion dollars on energy bills. The EPA has over four dozen types of products in its program. That includes everything from a DVD player to an air conditioner. The EPA also allows you to monitor your savings with the use of its website calculator so you can create a customize plan for reducing your environmental impact. The biggest annual energy impact in your household comes from climate-control systems (45%), Water heating (13%) and followed by your refrigerator (8%). By using a 25-watt compact fluorescent light bulb vs. using a conventional 100-watt bulb is the equivalent of saving 100 pounds of carbon dioxide. Moving your thermostat 2 degrees either up or down can reduce your energy usage by 1%. Houses that are well sealed and insulated, including heat ducts, use less energy because the furnace does not have work as hard. The easiest way to cut emission from your car is to drive less and use more public transportation and if you must drive consider car pooling. I know that saving money is on everyone’s mind. Discipline and having a plan in place can play a vital role in reducing your energy usage.