Low Impact Living: 10 Ways to Cut Home Energy Consumption
Editor’s note: Our friends at Low Impact Living point out 10 ways you can save energy this summer. This post was originally published on June 10th, 2008.
The heat of summer is coming, and that means many of us are about to crank up the AC, make an extra batch of ice, and generally burn energy like it’s our job. But we need all need to continue to try to conserve as much energy as possible to conserve resources and slow the march of global warming. And we get to save money at the same time–woo hoo to that!
Here are the ten things we can all do at home to cut our energy consumption. We start out nice and easy, then ramp up to some extra-credit methods at the end of the list for you Climate Crusaders.
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1. Resist the urge to live in a refrigerator.
78 degrees is plenty cool in the house. Turn down the AC and get a programmable thermostat so you’re only cooling the house when you really need to.
2. Air dry your dishes and clothes.
The dryer and dish washer use a lot of energy– and the air does the drying job just as well. See some great clothes-drying racks here.
3. Take shorter showers and do not take baths.
Hot water heating is one of the major uses of energy in any home. Showers are the way to go– and keep ‘em short. Baths use much more water and heat than do baths (unless you’re taking 30 minute showers!).
4. Make sure you have energy-efficient lighting throughout your home.
Everyone has heard about compact fluorescent lights by now– but are you up to date on LED lights? Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have come a long way, baby, and they are often 10 times more efficient than compact fluorescents.
5. Ditch the beer fridge.
It’s amazing how many homes have two refrigerators. Please do not use more than one fridge. And if you have an old model, get a newer Energy Star model.
6. Use ceiling fans rather than AC.
They are much more energy-efficient and you can get very reasonably priced Energy Star models.
7. Get solar screens for your windows.
These screens cut 75% of the heat coming through your windows, but don’t impact your visibility. They are really great energy savers. See them here.
8. Plant trees!
Placing deciduous trees on the South side of your home is a great way to block summer heat, but keep the sun shining on your home in the winter when you need the warmth.
9. Spend one night each week in candlelight.
It’s romantic, fun and inspires new conversation. If you’ve got kids, how about turning off the TV one night and playing a board game by candlelight? Clue would be particularly spooky!
10. Use a solar oven for some cooking.
They really work! You don’t want that hot oven on in your house anyway. You can either buy a solar oven, or you can learn to make one yourself. It’s another fun summer activity to do with your kids.
** #11: For the truly hard core, here’s a great tip I learned in Africa.
If you don’t have or don’t use AC, at night you can wet a scarf or towel or sheet and lay it on your chest. The evaporative cooling effect will really do the trick for you. Sleep tight!
Photo Credit: m.gifford’s photostream via Flicker, Under Creative Commons License
The best way to keep your house cool, especially if you live out west where humidity is low, is to open all your windows at night and let the cool air in. First thing in the morning, close the windows and trap the cool air in your house. Our house stays up to 20 degrees cooler than the outside temperatures using this method. On days when it is 90 to 100 degrees, around 5:00 pm our house gets warmer, and we will turn on the AC for two to three hours, then reopen the windows for the late evening breeze.
About #7, solar screens are good in the summer when you’re trying to lower the temperature, but don’t forget to take them off in the winter when you want to let that heat from the sun in! After all, we use way more energy heating buildings than we do cooling buildings.
You forgot a big one: Don’t forget to turn things off when you aren’t using them. This goes for lights, computers, tv, dvd players, etc. Many appliances will also still pull electricity when they are off so either unplug them or use a power strip with an off switch.
Great (easy) tips on cutting home energy use.
Thank You so much for these tips.
Do you have any for people who live in apartments?
Where I live, we are not allowed to hang clothes lines or cook on our patios.
Thank you in advance for your response.
We are in the process of remodeling an older home. Living in the humid southeast, we have found many builders here fail to employ de-humidifiers in the construction of homes.
While the house is in the demolition phase, we are making room for several throughout our home. By building in permanent drains that connect to the plumbing we will never need to empty them manually. They will kick in at 50% humidity, and by lowering the amount of water in the air, our home will cool quicker , and our cooling bill will decrease by 35 to 40%.
You’d be amazed at just how much water is in the air in your home. At this point, we are running the units, but the plumbing isn’t ready yet, so we are having to empty them by hand.
Our home is just over 6,000 sq. ft. & we have 4 units running 24/7, each unit holds 17 quarts of water & will fill 2-3 times a day.
Do the math, it’s astounding.
As soon as I read the tip about evaporative cooling from a wet sheet doing the job, I knew you didn’t live anywhere near me. I lived without air conditioning for about 5 years. On the worst nights, I put wet washcloths on my head and neck. They helped a little, but when you’re already covered in sweat that’s not evaporating, it doesn’t do much.
Enjoy the West Coast- Philly is a whole different ball game.
Great article… I am planning on doing most if not all of them to be able to spend less on energy here in So Cal.
On a side note, does anyone have any info regarding swamp coolers??? There’s a probably more up-to-date name for them, but I knew of friends that lived in Las Vegas that used them and they claimed they used a fraction of the energy and they cooled very well.
love these! Linked this on my blog today..
thanks for the awesome tips! i do almost all of these but had never heard of solar screens, i will have to check them out today.
living by candlelight gives you a whole new perspective, and also two-fold appreciation for both old-fashioned living and modern technology (reading by candlelight can hurt the eyes a bit..)