Maximizing the Use of Your Home Energy

With the technological advancements we have today, it is hard to resist the temptation of having each electronic device available on the market. And why not grab the latest if you can afford it? However, with the increasing fuel cost and electric rate, there are things that need to be done. You may simply grab the latest plasma television or the most advanced heating system today but the thing is, you have to pay the price not only on these items but the electricity that they will consume. And chances are, if you have all the high tech stuffs at home, your electric bill does not come cheap.

So, as was mentioned earlier, something must be done in order to make sure that your are getting the most out of what you are paying each month energy. And the very first place to do some changes is right at your very home.

A typical household would spend about $1600 per year on electric consumption. You might fall under this figure. This is big enough right? But this is not the end of the story. Don’t you know that a big portion of what you are paying for electric bill is never been used? Let us put it in other words: Energy is wasted month after month right at your very home. Thus, you are spending on something that you never even use.

To make up for this, here are the changes you can do in order to get the most out of every cent you pay for your electric bill:

Turn off unnecessary devices. If you are not watching your television, never leave it on. This also goes with your stereo. Learn how to turn them off if you don’t need them. Turn off the lights if you are leaving the room as well. Also switch off the air conditioning system if you don’t plan to return for a while. If you don’t use the computer monitor, turn them off. Like the television, it consumes electricity when you are not using it.

Keep the sockets free. Unplug all your chargers. Yes, they consume small electric current but if you leave them plugged in day in and day out for months, you will feel their effects on your electric bills. Remember that these little things, when pile up can be big.

If you plan to leave the house, never let the heating system run at the temperature as if you are at home. Keep them low; better yet, turn it off. You are not using them anyway. Heating system consumes a large portion of your electric bill so you might as well do some necessary changes with them. If for instance you do not want to enter cold home, you can set up remote control heating system or a programmable heating system. In this way, you do not have to leave the heating system running all day. All you have to do is to set the time when you want your heating system to work and you will save a lot of money.

During the day, use the sun to warn up the house. The sun is free so open your drapes and windows and let your heating system rest for a while. Close the windows and drapes at night.

Instead of incandescent lights, use fluorescent. They produce more light but consume less electricity.

If you don’t want to turn the lights on and off every time you go in and out of the room, you might want to get some timers, dimmers and motion sensors to do the job for you. They are worth investing for.

Refrain from using hot water when washing your clothes. Also, it will give you much savings if you prefer washing on full loads. On your dishwasher, make sure you also full load them. If there are few clothes or dishes to wash, prefer using your hands. Air-dry them so that you do not consume more electricity.

Doing these things doesn’t mean you deprive yourself from freely using the electricity you need. It only means that you are wisely spending every cent you pay for electric bills.

How Can Brick or Stone Make Your Home Energy Efficient

A house that is energy-efficient is always healthier and cost effective. Energy efficiency alterationsin your house can eliminate or at least lessen the poor quality of air that’s brought in by various weather conditions. A way to make your home energy efficient is to pay attention to the construction materials and to the house design.

In Australia, bricks have long been recognized as a commonly chosen constructionmaterial. In fact, almost 90% of the built homes in Australia are constructed using bricks. Because of the campaign to decrease energy use in its entire forms, there are construction laws today that require the newly built homes to be more energy efficient. Well there are some things you need to know in order to come up with an informed decision.

Think about the amount of energy that’s usually used in your house. Maybe, you will be surprised to discover out that a large portion of the home energy is used up in cooling and heating. Cooking and lighting, even when combined, comprise only a few percent. Hence, anything which can help lessen the cooling and heating costs of your home will be a good investment, right? But the question is, do you think it is possible to cut down cooling and heating energy consumption while maintaining a practical thermal comfort inside your home? It is in this circumstance that passive design comes into play.

Passive design controls the energy coming from the sun to improve the home's cooling and heating in a natural way. There are actually four major principles in passive design. These are orientation, insulation and thermal mass.

· Orientation. The large glass portion in the north part allows the low winter sun in. And to repel the high summer sun, simple shading like eaves is applied.

· Ventilation. When the crest of summer time has gone, air is permitted to get in and go out of the house in order to make it cool in a natural manner. To optimize cross ventilation, the either side of the building or the home have generous openings with almost negligible internal obstructions.

· Insulation. The insulation in the wall and ceiling serves as the obstacle to heat transportation. Insulation efficiency is calculated by way of its R-value but it doesn’t present the whole issue. Various walls may have the same R-value but may not work the same.

· Thermal Mass. Wall materials that are thick and heavy, like bricks, absorb heat and hamper its conveyance through the walls. Through these, temperature changes become moderate and the heat absorption during summer is significantly hampered. In comparision to brick walls, the lightweight materials have very low thermal mass. And because of this thermal mass, brick walls are more capable of moderating house temperature even if they have comparable R-values.

Now come to think of thermal mass and consider brick stone. The first two techniques in the passive design, which are orientation and ventilation, have to be set up into the house. And your home material choice has a major effect on the quantity of thermal mass in a home or a building. One of the simplest and most economical ways to put up thermal mass is by using bricks. Those bricks that are constructed from clay contain very high thermal mass. They are available to make your home well ventilated, comfortable and more energy efficient.

There is research proving the idea that Brick stone houses are energy efficient. The said research has revealed that a large part of the heat is bounced back to the outside environment by way of the brick’s exterior panel. Another conclusion that resulted is that in summertime, the temperature inside a home that’s built from bricks stayed favorable and comfortable in spite of the changing temperature outside.

The US Department of Energy stated that thermal mass stores up heat by way of converting its temperature. It can be obtained by storing heat coming from a warm room or by way of changing direct solar radiation into heat. And since brick stone has more thermal mass than other construction lightweight materials, it is a very useful element that can be used up in making your home more energy efficient.

To sum up, brick is a very simple and inexpensive technique in putting up thermal mass in your next home. Therefore a brick stone house is more energy efficient than those that are made from other materials.

Renewable Energy Sources

There are several practical ways that you can harness alternative energy resources for your home and vehicle which will reduce your monthly household budget while helping to save and restore our planet:

Solar Energy can be used for heating water and generating electricity for your home as well as concentrating the Solar Energy to create fuel for your vehicles.

In addition to the financial savings by reducing your consumption of traditional electricity, there are rebates and tax credits offered through the government for using Solar Energy . These rebates can be used to offset the cost of the installation when you implement solar energy as a source of power. You could receive as high as a 50% rebate for the solar panels while increasing your property value.

Biomass Energy is created when you use corn, corn stalks, wheat, pine cones, twigs,or bark to generate fuel to heat your home or drive your vehicle. This technology has existed for over 100 years but unfortunately has not been used on a large scale.

Basically, anything that decomposes or burns can be used to generate energy for your house or car. You can drive on Ethanol or produce your own bio-diesel fuel or methane, or you could run a vehicle on all three.

Wind Energy is another source of alternative energy and is one of the more popular alternative energy resources. Though not a reliable resource for every household, it is a viable option for many depending on your location. If you have at least one acre with an open area consisting of a 500 feet radius, this source could work well for you. You will need to compare the advantages and disadvantages of wind energy to see if it will be an asset for your energy needs.

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. H2O. It is possible to create HHO in your own electrolysis unit for your vehicle and increase your gas mileage 20 - 50% or more. This could be done for less than $100?

Other Alternative Energy Sources are Hydro-power Energy and Geothermal Energy.



Solar Energy