The Four Smart Cs in Energy Efficient Homes
In today's day and age, people are getting more and more conscious about their energy consumption. Besides, who wouldn’t be? With the current state of the economy and the continuing rise of energy costs, you would want to save as much money as you can in order to live a comfortable and easier life.
An energy efficient home is just isn't made up of solar power panels. The people living inside the home should also know how to save energy in order to save more money. Although these tips can just save you little amounts of money, you have to try and consider the fact that if you combine it all together, you can save hundreds or even thousands of dollars in your monthly utility bills. So, here are the four smart Cs in making your home more energy efficient than it already is.
The first smart C is called smart cooking. You have to consider that you have to use gas or electricity to cook your food and you do this everyday in your kitchen. Also, your gas range and your oven are two of the most used energy guzzlers in your home. If you are just going to eat leftovers, try to reheat it using your microwave instead of your stovetop. This will save you 40 percent in electricity cost and it will take less time to heat your food.
If you are planning to prepare a meal for just one or two people, try to use the smaller burners on your stovetop. It uses less energy than the larger burners and there will be no significant difference on the amount of time needed to prepare the meal. Also, if you plan on cooking more than one meal, try to cook it together. If you cook it one by one, it will use up more energy and it will use up more time for the meal preparation.
The second smart C is called smart climate control. Try to set your thermostat or your climate control device one or two degrees lower in the winter and two degrees higher in the summer. Try to remember that even a degree lower will save you hundreds of dollars on your annual expenses on your heating and cooling systems. Turning off your climate control device whenever you leave home is also a great energy saver.
The third smart C is called the smart computer and smart mobile phone use. Always remember to turn off your monitor when your computer is not in use. This will save you more than 20 dollars a month. It is also recommended that you unplug your mobile phone charger after you finish charging your mobile phone batteries. Leaving your mobile phone chargers plugged in when it is not in use will still consume electricity that can cost you at least 2 dollars a month. It may seem little but when you combine all the four smart Cs, it will make a big difference on your monthly utility bills.
The fourth and last smart C is called the smart clothes washing. You may not know it but you can still save money on using your washing machine. In the past, you need hot water to wash your clothes in order to clean it and kill the bacteria attached to your clothes. However, modern detergents have made it possible for you to clean your clothes and get it bacteria-free even if you use cold water to wash it. So, instead of heating large quantities of water that can cost a lot of money, try buying a detergent that has germ killing features. By doing this, you will be able to save a lot on your heating bills.
As you can see, there are more to Energy Star labels. Even if you have high efficiency appliances in your home, it doesn’t mean that you have to neglect saving energy.
