Green Energy

Archive for the ‘Saving Money on Electricity’ Category

A lot of people fail to realize they can seriously cut energy costs by going to solar power

Tax Incentives

Federal and State governments know the best way to initiate change is to provide an economic benefit. When it comes to energy, governments try to make the use of solar energy as economically attractive as possible to everyone. This is done through granting tax incentives in the form of tax credits and deductions. Depending upon which government agency is involved, federal or a particular state, people can get tax credits and deductions ranging from 10 to as high as 35 percent of the cost of purchasing and installing solar energy systems.

Net Metering

On top of the tax incentives for going solar, a majority of states now offer incredible cost savings through net metering. Net metering refers to state laws that require utilities to purchase power generated from solar systems used at the same price the utilities would otherwise charge . If you produce energy in excess of what it is using, the energy is sent into the utility grid and the building power meter actually runs backwards. This effectively means the utility is buying the power on said days. Net metering is an incredibly effective means of slashing utility costs.

Solar Loans

Poeple can gain further benefits through going solar by taking advantage of government solar financing programs. These loan programs offer incredible terms in an effort to promote the use of renewable energy and make sense for both new construction and renovations. Typically created as state programs, these ‘solar loans’ offer financing for the purchase and installation of the equipment. The loans typically have seven to 10 year terms, and are offered as no interest or extremely low interest financing. Combined with the economic benefits of net metering, such loans make the decision to go solar a slam dunk.

Each state tends to handle the promotion of alternative energy in different ways and with different benefits. When combined with federal programs, you can reap a financial benefit from using solar energy sources.

If you want to exploit this opportunity, see how to build solar power or how to make your own electricity.

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Hello,

Watch this nice presentation on how to cut your electricity cost by doing very simple steps.

take another look at more things that you can do to slash your electricity bill by 80%.

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Want to learn how to cut your electricity bill in half? Check out these useful tips and tricks to get you saving money and do you part in going green.

Be Aware of your Surroundings: I all comes down to basic steps of correcting your nasty power using habits. If you are in a room in the house and you going to the dining room for dinner, shut off all the electricity or appliances in the room that you don’t need, besides things that need to be one like alarm clocks and such, but turn off the lights and ceiling fan if you have it on. You will be surprised what a habit like just shutting off the lights before you leave a room will have on your bill.
ng it to keep the house just cool enough, not and ice cube or just warm enough and not a f
Invest in Money Saving Products that Use Electricity: Replace old light bulbs with CFL bulbs or Compact Fluorescent Light. It can save you a bundle, believe me.

Keep an Eye on your Appliances: Many people believe the more appliances they have results in the size of the electricity bill, but that is false. It is the way you use those appliances. Here are a few examples of this:

Try and use the washing machine when you have a full load, opposed to several tiny loads.

Keep your AC usage to a minimum, make sure you are furnaced.

When using your computer (desktop) turn off the monitor when you take a break or just when you are not using it in case you like to keep on all day which is another thing you should stop doing.

Using these few tips is a great way to start saving some money on your astronomical electricity bills, just put them into affect and I guarantee you will be thanking me at the end of the month.

check this electricity saving tips page for much more ideas.

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This post focus on how to use smart your home appliances. energy rating is an essential component of it. see all advice below. There are plenty of other electricity saving tips but this post is a good starting point

If you are in the market for a new fridge or freezer, dishwasher or oven or any other appliance for your home, now is the time to make some quality decisions. It’s not all about looks you know, these days it is just as important to select a model that will perform not only in the cooling/washing/looks department but also in the energy use department.

Look for a model that has the top energy rating. A model with a high energy rating can save you a lot of money over the lifetime of the appliance. Plus, you can know that you have made a choice that is a better deal for the environment too. Now let’s get into some useful detail.

Fridges and Freezers:

Did you know that your fridge and freezer account for a large proportion of the energy you use in your house? The reason for this is they usually run all day and all night, every day of the year. Learning how to use your fridge and freezer efficiently can make a big difference to how much energy you use. This is all good news for the environment and for your electricity bill. Most people are not in the market for a new fridge and there are some important things you can do to improve the performance of your current fridge and freezer.

The first is to give it a bit of a tune-up in terms of it’s seals.

Are they airtight?

• You can check that by putting a piece of paper between the body of the fridge and the door. Shut the door and then tug gently on the paper. If it comes out easily then your seal is not tight enough and that is costing you money 24/7! It may be that the door hinges can be adjusted to improve the seal or perhaps it’s time to get the seals replaced.
• I read recently on an energy company website that an old inefficient refrigerator can use three times as much energy as a new one! That means it costs you three times as much to run. If you can check the seal and make that better or replace it, you will certainly benefit.

Many homes have an extra fridge in the garage, basement or even in the shed.

The party fridge, the beer fridge, the Christmas overflow fridge – whatever it’s name at your place, it is costing you money. Up to $200 a year! So ask yourself a couple of questions:

• Is it necessary for this fridge to be turned on all the time or could you just turn it on when it is actually needed? This will cut your energy consumption and save you a stack of money.
• Do your really need the second fridge at all? I mean, how bad is the refrigeration situation? Was it a good idea once upon a time and now circumstances have changed?
• Perhaps the solution is to sell it to someone who really needs it.

Now we can look at some behavioural changes that can really cut into your energy consumption where the fridge is concerned.

First there is size.

• Is your fridge the right size for your needs? We usually have our fridges for a long time, and often we are using a fridge that is no longer optimum for our needs. I used to own a really big fridge because there were five of us in the house and we needed the room. Now there are only three of us and we have a medium size fridge however, most of the time we could probably get away with one that was even a little bit smaller.

Apparently fridges operate most efficiently when they are quite full.

• That’s the way they like it best. So if you are looking in the door of your fridge and there isn’t much in there and that is the way it usually looks – I can suggest that you are over capacity in the fridge department and it might be worth considering downsizing!

A couple of other tips to help your fridge keep more money in your wallet and create fewer greenhouse gases for the environment.

• It’s best not to locate your fridge or freezer near your oven, or even if it gets sun on it. Just makes it work harder and you know what that means!

• Fridges need space – make sure there is a gap at the back near the ventilation coils so that it can work efficiently. Around 80mm is recommended.
• And last but not least, give the back of the fridge a bit of a dust now and then, this helps the ventilation system too – and you’ll be amazed at what makes it way around the back of the fridge when you are not looking.

Dishwashers:

Mine is my husband and my son and I think they both have a 50 star energy rating! Seriously though, washing dishes in the sink is a good thing and personally I think it’s underrated as a family activity.

Still if you must use a dishwasher think about it’s energy rating when you buy it and see how many of these tips you can adopt in it’s use.

• Only run the dishwasher with a full load – it uses the same amount of energy (and water!) whether it’s full or half full so it just makes sense to wait until it’s full right?

• Then don’t let the machine dry the dishes for you – program it to stop before the drying cycle and just open the door – the dishes will dry themselves without any extra energy needed at all.

Your stove or oven:

Once again if you are buying new, go for the highest energy rated appliance you can afford – it will keep saving you money for the whole of its life.

One big tip is to only use your oven when you actually need to.

• Frying pans, pressure cookers and crock pots and even microwave ovens are more energy efficient if what you are cooking can be created in them.
• If you are going to use your oven, check that the door closes fully and that there is a good seal when it is closed. No point in paying for all that energy to warm it up if it is just going to escape out around the door.
• This applies equally to electric or gas ovens.

Now to the cook top.

• Did you know that just putting the lid on the pot will substantially lessen the amount of energy required to cook what is in it?
• Plus, if you ensure that the right pot goes on the right hotplate or burner (not too big, or small) then you will also save substantially in both energy and time. Not to mention the money!

So how can you save energy in the laundry?

That washing machine now gets the energy efficiency treatment. You know the deal by now with the energy rating if you are in the market for new appliances right? I know you have a good idea of what to look for now.

The first tip is to wash in cold water.

• I’ve not washed in hot or warm water for decades and I’d love to know how much energy and money that has saved me. I also recently had to buy a new machine and went for one of those front loading varieties. I have to say, I like it very much and it uses less water and less energy than an equivalent top loading machine so it appears I have made a good decision with that one.
• As with the dishwasher, you will discover that your washing machine will use the same amount of energy whether or not there are a few items or a whole load so it makes sense really to wait until you have a full load of washing if you are trying to save energy and thus have more money in your pocket at the end of the month.

Now, the bane of my life, clothes dryers.

I was given one as a wedding gift and I had it for about 15 years before it finally coughed it’s last load of soft fluffy clothes at me. However, I had used it less and less as I realised just how much money it cost me each time I used it. Eventually for the last three or four years it only got used in emergencies of weather or bad management on my part.

• If it is a sunny day, hang your washing outside. I have a clothes line but I know others who use clothes airers and they work well too. The sun dries them perfectly, the breeze softens the fabrics and they smell fantastic when you bring them back inside.

• If you do use your dryer, never put dripping clothes in, always spin them first and make sure the lint filter is cleaned really regularly so that the machine can weave its magic for you as efficiently as possible.

• Maybe you could trial drying your clothes and just finishing them off in the dryer as an interim measure on a wonderfully sunny day.

There are many other energy using appliances in our home that you may not have thought of.

Things like your iron, your microwave, your television, computer, dvd/video machine, stereo,gaming consoles….. How on earth did we come to rely on energy so much for our daily lives.

Most of these appliances now contain digital clocks and also standby lights. Now this is all very well but how many clocks does one room need? In my home, in the kitchen I have a clock on the wall, one on the stove and another on the microwave. In the living room I think at last count there were four clocks in the TV cabinet! What is this obsession with clocks on appliances?

Now to get to the point. I’ll give you an everyday example as a means to make it – the microwave oven. Most if not all homes now possess such an appliance. They almost all come with a digital display that tells you all sorts of useful information like temperature and duration of cooking time while you are using them and that is great but once their job is done, they just sit there with their little display telling you the time. And using energy.

• I use my microwave for less than 30 minutes a day and yet I allow it to use energy (and cost me money) for 24 hours per day. That just does not make sense.
• Turn it off at the switch when you are not using it.
• It will not mind, it will not stop working.
• Nothing terrible will happen.

The same goes for your stereo.

• If you are not listening to it, turn it of.
• Not just on the front, that will just let it sit there on standby mode, using power.
• Turn it off at the switch.

And when you go to bed at night, all those things in the entertainment cabinet with their little red and green lights just begging you to turn them back on, are costing you money. Don’t listen, reach behind the cabinet and flick that switch!

Now here is the big sell for me about this one.

All those clocks, all those little red and green standby lights (including the ones on your computer!) add around 10% to your energy bill. That means by creating the habit of turning them off when they are not being used, you could save up to 10% on each and every energy account you receive from this day forward. Over your lifetime, that can add up to a lot of energy and a nice amount of money left in your bank account for something much more fun than paying the energy bill.

Find much more about electricity saving tips

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Home insulation is key component for home electricity saving.

good insulated home will keep the right temperature in the house. during winter time, when you heat your place, the hot air will remain in the house and cold air will not flow in. during summer time, when you use your air conditioner, hot air will stay outside and the cold air will remain in your home.

Proper insulation is easy to do. watch this short video and take another step in saving energy at home and by that saving money on your monthly electricity bill

enjoy

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Here is a nice and short vieow on how to save money on electricity and save a lot of money in your monthly electricity bills.

 take action now and go to www.freepower4home.com and see how much you can save

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Hi,

one of the important steps in slashing your monthly electricity bill is to know how much you spend today and from that how much you can save.

Here are some great money saving calcultors you can use to calculate that. For much more information take a look at http://www.freepower4home.com/money-saving-calculators-energy-saving-tips-electricity-saving-tips.php

1. Business.Gov  – this is the official site of US government. In it you’ll find useful tips, some calculators, and links to home builders.
2. Home Energy Saver (HES) – This is the first and best web based DIY Energy audit site. In the first page, you’ll find small link to the calculator that is based on your address. Based on your address, you will get the annual energy costs of an average home in your area and the potential savings. After answering few more questions, the potential saving and the current expenditures will be fine tuned. You’ll also be able to find some suggestions on how to make the potential savings a reality.
3. HandyMath.com – This site have various calculators for plenty of purposes. With this electricity cost calculator you’ll need to insert the cost per hour, the appliance type, usage time and the watt/Hour (you can find it with the appliance manufacturer). It will total for you as well as provide you with breakdown per appliance and by that enable you to focus on the most energy eater items.
4. WebMatch.com – works in the same principal as HandyMath.com.
5. Saving Electricity – this is probably one of the best sites for that purpose. It also contains information per appliance, interesting articles and statistics that can help you to save money.
6. Generic Electrical Energy Cost Calculator – it is another calculator that takes the information per appliance and calculate the cost based on an average cost of kW/Hr. here is the link – Generic Electrical Energy Cost Calculator

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Best Tips To Save Money on Home Electricity

Using less electricity to help to fight the global warming  but it can also provide you with more money in your pocket.

Here are some immidiate steps to save on electricity:

1. Price comparison
Check your local energy supliers and make sure you are paying the best price for your electricity. you should also check with them optional tarif plans based on your consumption habits.
2. Draughts
Make sure that there are no gaps with your windows and doors and that they are properly sealed. In case you have draughts the heat or cold air might escape and the result of this means you will set higher the heating temperature and on for longer and by that using more power.
3. Light bulbs
Use bulbs that are energy saving. think if you need a strong light or you can work with lower wattage.
4. Appliances
Don’t keep appliances on standby. a good example is a television left on standby, this will consume around 60% of the electricity as if it was left on. Think how much you can save just from this simple step
5. Heavy load appliances
Your washing machine or dishwasher must be full. small amount of clothes or dishes to was can be done manually.
6. Habit changes
If your family include young children or your energy consumption habits in your familiy are not aligned with saving energy, start monitor their electricity usage very close and encourage them adopt new energy saving habits

These  steps are reallt easy and it is very simple to follow. You can have much more saving by taking look at more tips
You can even move to the next step and eliminate your expenditure on electricity bylearning how to how to build home power system .

Now all that is left is to think how will you spend all the money you saved on electricity in the next vacation you will take with this money

Watch this nice video about electricity saving tips 

And read some interesting posts about electricity saving tips :

Energy Saving Investments That Are Worth It
Bill Lutz, an electrician with Generation 3 Electric in Philadelphia, shares some simple upgrades that can be done to any home by a licensed electrician that will save energy   Read more…

Greenversations Pick 5: Save Electricity!
Today we cover action #3: save electricity.   Read more…

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