In my quest to save money in 2011, I thought I’d turn my focus on some ways to save energy. I thought I’d organize the tips according to room, although many of these energy saving tips can of course be used in more than one room.
Bedrooms
- Consider using LED energy saving nightlights to avoid turning on room lights when moving around in the night.
- Use ceiling fans, blankets and warm night clothes to keep the thermostat lower while sleeping, thus saving heating fuel.
- Switch any lightbulbs to CFLs.
- Unplug cell phone chargers when not in use.
- Keep any TVs and such on a power strip that can be shut off when not in use to prevent energy vampires.
- Take shorter showers to save on water heating energy.
- Reduce or eliminate blow drying.
- Switch from electric to manual toothbrushes and razors, or at least unplug them when they are done charging (most only need to charge every few days).
- Keep the refrigerator closed as much as possible. Try to plan to get everything you need for dinner out at once, and organize the fridge so you can find things quickly.
- Check fridge and freezer temperatures. You might be able to set them a bit higher and still maintain safe conditions.
- Use smaller appliances when possible. Microwaves and toaster ovens use much less energy than stoves and ovens.
- Use appropriately sized pans and burners. Don’t waste energy and money boiling more water or heat more surface than you need.
- Bake more than one thing at a time, or back to back if the temperatures are slightly different. The oven uses most of its energy preheating.
- Don’t preheat the oven to roast or heat something, only if you are doing fussy baking.
- Run only full loads in your dishwasher.
- Set the dishwasher to air dry, not heat dry.
- Turn off the TV when it is not actively being watched (and in our house, actively watch it less).
- Turn off computers from the power strips when not being used, and unplug laptop chargers when not charging.
- Use appropriate window treatments to keep rooms light in the day and dark at night, and warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.
- Run only full loads of laundry.
- Wash everything in cold water, unless there’s an allergy issue forcing you to use hot for sheets and towels.
- Experiment with dryer times to hit the minimum that does the job.
- Sort clothes by weight so dryer times are similar for everything in a load.
- Hang at least a few of your heavier things to dry. You can throw them in the dryer briefly to soften them.
