Whether you are planning to live “off the grid” and free yourself from energy bills or just “kick back” and enjoy lower energy bills, the first step is always to understand your home's energy usage and employ good old fashioned energy conservation techniques. The reason for this is simple – you can not be charged for what you don't use (in terms of energy...well this is strictly untrue if you are on a utility company's budget payment system...but we'll pretend for a moment that is not the case.) So, if you use less energy, your energy bill will go down. Makes sense. So...how do you conserve energy? It all starts with understanding your home, and more to the point, understand how you and your family use energy. Simple everyday activities, like turning off the lights when you leave a room really can add up to make a difference. Now that the holidays are here, not going overboard with the lighted decorations (and those inflatable, light up decorations) can help. Of course, if you do go overboard (like many of us tend to) just mind the usage. There is no need to run them every night. If you must, run them a couple of hours at the most. Every hour those machines are being run, energy is being used – sometimes in mass quantity. And since you pay per kw/hour, this could really add up. Energy conservation doesn't stop there, though. Only running the appliances such as the dishwasher and washing machine when full saves on both electricity and hot water. (Hot water is a double whammy – you incur a water cost, plus the cost to heat the water...and keep it heated.) And promptly removing clothes from the dryer avoids running the dryer again to remove the wrinkles from clothes that have sat too long. (Dryers can be another double whammy...the electricity to run the motor, plus the cost of energy to heat the unit.) By intelligently regulating the heating and cooling of your house, you can also conserve energy and keep your bills low throughout the year. For example, lowering your thermostat to 68 degrees F when you're home can save you as much as 5-10% during the cold season. And letting your thermostat go as high as in the mid 70's during the warm summer months will save you on air conditioning costs. You can realize even more savings by avoiding overuse of the heat as well. For example, at night, it isn't necessary to keep the thermostat at 68. Try lowering it even more, and just doubling up on the blankets or cuddling up to your loved one to keep warm. Keep in mind that all these tips might help you save money on energy...but when it comes to saving on your energy bills there aren't any guarantees. Why? Because every single home is different. Every single situation is different, just as every family uses energy differently. A family of 5 will use energy much differently than a family of 2. This isn't a bad thing at all – it is just a fact of life. The Home Energy Audit Kit accounts for this, and will let you see exactly where your energy dollar is going, and how much energy you might be wasting. In fact, 90% of homes are wasting energy right now. You can get a copy of the home energy audit kit right now and stop the energy loss of your home by going to http://www.energyaudits.net . You'll also be happy to know that this is the first kit that is guaranteed to help you find energy problems with your home!
There's No Substitute for Smart Energy Conservation
