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Home Energy Use: Where does it go and how can I save?

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Where Does Your Electricity Go?

Did you ever wonder where does your electric consumption go? And did you ever wonder how are you going to save on your electric bill? Well, you need not to ask these questions without getting the right answers anymore. This article will tell you the answers to these 2 questions.

The largest portion of your electric consumption goes to space heating, 47% to be exact. This is almost half of the cost of our electric bill. The other half is shared by lighting and appliance with 24%, water heating with 17%, air conditioning with 6%, and refrigeration with 5%.

With this information at hand, we can easily determine when to start our move to keep the our electric consumption low.

The largest part of our electric consumption goes to space heating and/or cooling

This is where the your major effort should be, This is where you can save the most and usually where the biggest problems lie.

Insulating your home particularly the ceiling and walls can save you as much as 30% on heating expenses that equates to 15% savings on total electric cost. Doing this will of course require you to invest in materials that will be placed around your home but it is worth the money. Imagine a $150 savings per year just by insulating your home. Also, you can further save on heating expenses if you superinsulate your home in a colder environment.

Landscaping and some other changes around your home will certainly make a difference on your electric bill. If you live on warm climate, a shade of a deciduous tree will cool down your area and will save you on air conditioning. In a cooler climate using trees or bushes as a wind break can save on the heating bill. Appropriate roof and wall painting will give you further savings.

Covering your windows with plastic sheets will provide extra insulation. This will help to keep the heat from escaping outside as well as the cold air from sneaking inside the house.

Sealing all the air leaks around your home will ensure that the heat will stay inside. Leaks will often come from windows, doors, sills, joints and walls.

A regular maintenance check on the furnace will keep it running efficiently, thus, ensuring you get space heat equal to the electricity consumed. A clean air filter will also ensure that you get efficient air recycling as well as clean air. Leaking ducts will make your heating system work 30% more, thus, you are using power and spending more on wasted energy. Air conditioners should be checked regularly also.

A quarter of our electric bill goes to the lighting and appliances.

Here, we would concentrate on the control and responsible use of lights and electronic devices.

Turn the lightsand appliances off when not in use. Turn off the lights when you leave the room even for a few minutes. Turn off the stereo and television if you are not using them.

Reduce the thermostat of your refrigerator. It constitutes 20% of your household electric consumption.

Wash your clothes with cold water. You can save as much as 90% on washing machine’s electric consumption if you do not use hot water. You do not need warn water to kill the germs on your clothes. The detergent will do this.

Only use the dishwasher with a full load. Dishwashers use the same amount of power and water whether you have a full load or not. Also, prefer air-drying your dishes instead of heating them inside the dishwasher.

Reducing the temperature of your water heater will also help you to further reduce the cost of your home energy bill. If the thermostat of your water heater is set on 140 degrees Fahrenheit, lower it down to 120. It will be enough to give you warn water. Invest on water heater jacket. It is cheap but will certainly yield to bigger savings.

When replacing your appliances, make sure you select energy efficient ones. Energy guide details can be seen on the label of each new appliance.

Compact energy bulbs are cheaper and more energy efficient than incandescent lights. Compact lights also last 8-10 times longer than incandescent bulbs so you will also save yourself from buying incandescent bulbs 8-10 times.

Replace your regular showerheads with low-flow ones. This will reduce your water consumption by as much as 40%.

Energy saving can be done with a small amount of effort and a keen eye for trouble spots. By checking the the areas outlined above a significant reduction in electric consumption can be acheived by anyone.

Hiring an energy audit will show you specific trouble areas and is another way cutting your energy costs (See Home Energy Audit)