Save your penny and earn it too- Home energy conservation tips that will make you smile!

Why save energy?
Let there be light! But let there be no squandering of it, especially not in today’s day and age. No wastage- That’s the mantra, considering that we are almost entirely dependent on fossil fuels for energy production. Given that fossil fuels are fast depleting besides being a non-renewable source, mankind will be in a doldrums if energy conservation is not taken seriously by one and all.

But what is all this energy conservation brouhaha about? In simple terms, it is a clever method of expending electricity with a slight change in the consumption methods; a means of preventing future resource depletion with a lessening pressure on precious fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas. Conversely, burning less of fossil fuels also means lower carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, the number one cause of global warming. And of course, who can ignore the fact that besides easing pressure on fossil fuels there is the added benefit of saving on energy bills and making some added income on the side.

Here’s some innovative ways and means of conserving the mega watts-

Energy saving in the building
Most architects and builders prefer to make buildings complaint with energy saving methods from the blueprint phases itself. Smart homes now come with pre-fit motion sensor lightings and solar panels that reduce wastage and make way for optimum saving on electricity. Older buildings conduct energy audits, a tried and tested method for improving the utilization of energy. Essentially, the audit suggests ways and means of reducing the consumption of energy without creating any unnecessary interferences or disruptions. Audits can be done in commercial and residential buildings alike.

Conservation begins at home
There are innumerable ways of making a neat saving by employing handy energy conservation guidelines that ensure you can turning on the savings by choosing to turn off that button-

Make it two–

The oven uses many kilowatts of energy and its truly a criminal waste to utilise it for just one thing. Ideally, it is suggested to prep in advance and prepare two-three things that can be placed on multiple baking trays and placed in one go itself.

Scrape it off-
It may sound easy and less of a tedious process, however, pre-rinsing the dishes in hot water in the dishwasher does use a lot of energy. It is better to scrape the dishes beforehand and toss the leftover scraps in the bin. Pop the dishes into the dishwasher and you’ll find that it’ll save precious water and electricity. Additionally, it is important to start the dishwasher on full load capacity besides turning on the energy saving setting. This will allow the dishes to air dry conveniently or you can turn off the drying cycle yourself. You’ll find that the heat for the drying cycle utilises nearly 20 percent of energy of the total dishwasher’s electricity consumption.

Laundry-
Did you know that nearly 90% of a washing machine’s energy is exhausted on heating up water? Ideally, one must set the clothes washer to either warm or cold water setting, rarely hot. Wash your clothes at 30-40 °C and you’ll save a good amount of money.

It is also advisable to hang the clothes out to dry, rather than using the tumble drying setting. Even better, take your clothes out of the dryer just before they’ve completely dried off. The slight remnant dampness will help to iron clothes quicker. Besides, you’ll also have used less energy on the drier.

Blow hot. Blow cold
The trick is to set it right and then sit tight. Don’t keep the heater going on for too long, just set the thermostat to an ideal temperature and leave it be. Using hot blasts for unnecessarily heating the room will lead to wasteful consumption of energy and put additional load on the heater.

Similarly, in the summer, keep the air conditioners on an accurate setting keeping into account the number of people and the temperatures outside. Ensure that you use the sleep timer at nighttimes. Additionally, clean or replace air filters from time to time. Air conditioners get overloaded when it requires drawing air through dirty filters. Replacing the filter in time can save upto 5 percent of energy.