Energy Efficient
Whether a home develops some or all of its own electricity supply from solar or wind power, or remains fully dependent on the grid, Your Home Solar Energy believes that it still makes sense to be as energy efficient as possible. Working towards a goal of maximum practical energy efficiency will save money, as well as contribute to saving the environment.
Reducing energy consumption is obviously particularly important for those generating some or all of their energy needs from solar panels or wind energy turbines, as the less demand on the batteries and/or available solar or wind strength at any given time means that more value the system has.
There are several fairly basic options that should be considered to maximize a home’s energy efficiency.
Turn Off At The Wall
So many of our appliances today, especially with regards to home entertainment systems, have a ‘standby’ mode that makes them quick and easy to turn on (usually with remote control). Unfortunately there is a price to pay for this convenience – ongoing power consumption.
In fact, the International Energy Agency (an intergovernmental agency under the OECD) recently estimated that the energy required every year by all of the electrical items left on standby, worldwide, requires 60 coal fired power stations. In the US, the IEA estimates that there are 150 million ‘set top boxes’ that require the energy of 6 supertankers of oil to keep on standby every year. This is a huge amount of energy required for items that are otherwise considered to be turned off!
If possible, check the standby energy use of the appliances in your home. Some items draw nearly as much energy on standby as when they are being used, so turning these off can make a surprising difference to your power bills!
Where possible, turn these items off at the wall to prevent energy waste. Likewise, so many of us leave phone chargers, mp3 chargers etc plugged in all the time, even when not required. These items are also burning energy so taking simple steps such as unplugging them will help to make a home more energy efficient. To make it easier to switch appliances off and on as required, take a look at the ‘Bye Bye Standby’ remote controlled switches from Amazon.com and read the glowing reviews.
For even more advice about what a huge difference this simple strategy can make, check out this website!
Passive Solar Energy
Making use of the natural energy of the sun is the first place to start. Setting windows to use the heat and light from the sun to naturally heat and light a home is easy and free, although obviously it is a factor that should be considered at the design stage if possible. However, there are sometimes opportunities to install skylights to help light rooms to reduce the need for electric lighting during the day. Use window coverings that can allow heat from the low sun into rooms during the winter, but can shade the rooms during the summer so the room stays cool.
Insulation
A key part of an energy efficient house is preventing waste of energy use – especially important if relying on a limited capacity from solar panels and batteries. A huge amount of energy is lost either through heat escaping to outdoors in winter, or in trying to cool a house in summer. Proper insulation in the ceilings and walls (and floors) is essential to reducing those losses. However, more energy is lost through window glass than almost anywhere else and the ideal answer to this is with double or triple glazing, and ensuring that all windows seal properly when closed. Double glazing, especially if it needs to be retrofitted, may seem to be a large cost but the energy benefits (plus the reduction in noise from outside) soon pay for this feature.
However, there are simple and inexpensive solutions available that are ideal for use over the winter season. These products use clear plastic film fitted to the inside of your window frames to temporarily replicate the benefits of double glazing, but without the cost. Check out the popular high quality product from 3M – just click on the link to learn more about it and to read the many 5 star user reviews.
As with ensuring that windows seal properly, also make sure that doors throughout the house, especially those that open to outside, seal as well as possible to reduce heat loss, and thereby reduce demand for heating energy. People who upgrade their home insulation with these features are usually amazed at the difference and how much more comfortable their home has become – and of course it doesn’t take long for the savings to pay for the upgrade.
Energy Efficient Lighting
Modern compact flourescent light bulbs are energy efficient light bulbs that use only a third of the power that regular incandescent bulbs use for the same light output, and they last up to ten times longer. Also consider the problem of lights being left on unnecessarily; in some room it may be worthwhile installing sensors so that those lights switch on and off automatically when people enter and leave those rooms.
Energy Star Rated Appliances
Manufacturers of energy intensive home appliances such as ovens, refrigerators, dishwashers, televisions etc, now provide energy use guides for consumers. The energy Star rating is an easy to use indication of the energy efficiency of any particular appliance, and this factor can be taken into consideration when purchasing new items. An area of particular concern is the seals on older ovens and refrigerators, as these deteriorate over time and allow energy to be wasted (replacement of the seals is possible).
All of these steps should be considered essential to implementing an energy efficiency program. Some are easy to introduce immediately, while others will take more planning and will obviously cost more. However, the benefits of becoming energy efficient are incredibly worthwhile.
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