Reducing your electric usage is not only beneficial to the environment, but it will also save you money! Follow these 6 steps, and I guarantee your electric usage and spendings will start to drop.
#1: Replace any old incandescent bulbs with LEDs, or if LEDs aren’t possible for the type of light fixture, use compact fluorescent bulbs. LEDs not only last longer and are cheaper, but they also use a whopping 75% less energy than incandescents. Compact fluorescents aren’t quite as energy efficient or long-lasting as LEDs, but they still use roughly 70% less energy than incandescents. Most LED and CFL bulbs are under $20, a worthy investment for the energy payoff.
#2: Make sure to unplug your devices such as computers, printers, and phones when you aren’t using them or once they are fully charged. Even when they aren’t being used, electricity will continue to flow to these devices when they are plugged in.
“LEDs not only last longer and are cheaper, but they also use a whopping 75% less energy than incandescents.”
#3: Turn off your heating on warmer days, when you leave the house, or at night and reduce the temperature that your heating turns on at. Same goes for air conditioning. Keep it off as much as possible and increase the temperature that activates it.
#4: When your heating is on, make sure all doors and windows in your building are closed to keep as little heat from escaping!
#5: Turn off your lights and use natural lighting instead from windows and skylights!
#6: Consider buying some advanced power strips for your home, school, business, or office. As previously mentioned, many electronics continue to draw power even when they are shut off or not in use. Advanced power strips solve this problem by shutting power off to devices when they aren’t in use (master-controlled power strip,) when no motion is detected in the room (activity monitor power strip,) based on a preset time schedule (timer power strip,) or when power is cut using a remote switch (remote switch power strip.)
Sources:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory. n.d. "Saving Energy Through Advanced Power Strips." Accessed May 5, 2020. https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy14osti/60461.pdf
March 16, 2020. "LED vs. Regular Lightbulbs: Do They Really Make a Difference?" Arcadia Blog. https://blog.arcadia.com/led-vs-regular-lightbulbs-do-they-really-make-a-difference/