By 2050, global energy use will have tripled from 1980.
This is not sustainable and that means we all need to cut down on the energy we use.
The good news is that we’ve got loads of very easy ways to save energy in your home.
That doesn’t mean you have to spend a lot of money, either, in fact, you may save money doing this.
Pets Don’t Need Fans
Most pets don’t require a fan. Keep your home at 78-80 degrees and close the blinds/drapes to keep it cool inside and switch off the fan.
Use Energy Efficient Appliances
ENERGY STAR exists to help you save energy. Switch to energy-efficient appliances they can save up to 50% of your electricity bill.
Boost Energy Efficiency By Going Green
Install solar panels, invest in wind generators, consider ground source heat pumps and get free energy and save a small fortune as you do.
Unblocking Air Vents Helps To Save Energy
If your air vents are blocked, your air conditioner has to work harder and that means energy waste. Move any furniture in the way.
Use Quiet Mode On Your AC
Even if your AC is not ENERGY STAR compliant – you can reduce energy consumption by setting the unit to “Quiet Guard” or “Power Save”.
Use Smart Tech
You can save more energy by using smart technology around the home as it’s much more energy-efficient. You can even find a SMART BeeHome if you’re a beekeeper!
Change Your Day-To-Day Behaviors
Something as simple as learning to switch off the lightswhen you don’t need them or air drying your clothes can lead to saving energy in significant amounts all year long.
Change Your Light Bulbs
LED-style light bulbs will save energy when compared to older less energy-efficient light bulbs. In fact, they can save 80% of your electricity bill and last up to 25 times longer too!
Kill The Phantom Loads!
A Phantom Load is electricity that your home uses even when your electronic items are switched off. You can save up to $200 a year by replacing all your power strips with smart power strips.
Use An Energy Supply Plan
It’s not energy efficient per se, but switching to an energy supply plan (there are lots of different plans) that uses a standard rate all year round for your electricity units makes budgeting easier and as you adopt things like renewable energy, you can see the savings mount up.
Always Fill The Dishwasher Before You Use It
The most energy-efficient way to use your dishwasher is to fill it. You’re throwing out energy and water for every gap in the tray. Load it right and save energy.
Install A Smart Thermostat
A smart thermostat can take control of the temperature of your home at all times and eliminate waste energy from your HVAC system.
They say you can reduce your heating/cooling bill by up to 15% with one!
Use Less Hot Water
One of the biggest energy drains in your home is the amount of hot water you use.
The less you use, the more you save. Work out where you don’t need hot water to get the job done and eliminate it.
Fix Your Water Pipes
One super-easy way to save energy and hot water is simply to fix your pipes and prevent any leakages.
Repair or replace? It’s up to you.
Keep Outside Doors Closed
Your HVAC system will save energy every time you keep the door closed and don’t allow airflow in or out of the home.
RILA says you save up to 10% of your energy bill in fact.
Spend Time Disconnected
Not only will you save energy but disconnecting from all your electronic devices and spending time as a family will hugely benefit your relationships with each other.
There are many other benefits too.
Check Your Energy Supplier’s Customer Service
This won’t save energy directly but if you have a billing issue – it might save you money on your energy consumption in the long run.
If they’re not helpful? It might be time to check out other suppliers.
Go For A Low-Flow Showerhead
You can, literally, halve the hot water usage in your home by swapping a high flow rate showerhead for a low flow rate showerhead.
Wear More Clothes
We’re not prudish about how much skin you show at home but heating your house drives energy consumption and most people heat when they’re cold.
Put on a sweater and feel warmer, without spending money. Maybe even get some thermal underwear.
Use Heavy Drapes
Drapes keep cool/warm air in and insulate your home better from heat.
If you run the air conditioner all the time, this can lead to really saving energy.
They can also reduce heat loss at night by up to 17%.
Change The Aerator In Your Faucets
Rather like showerheads, a faucet can use twice as much water (and hot water) as it needs to.
You can swap the aerators for low flow models and double the energy efficiency of a faucet.
Switch Off Your Burners Before You Finish Cooking
If you’ve had a pan over a hot burner for 15 minutes? Turn the burner off for the last 3 minutes or so, you save energy because the pan is already hot and will keep cooking without any more heat.
Broiling Is A Bad Choice
If you want to save energy opt for a cooking method that isn’t broiling. Broiling uses the most energy – so go with the microwave or whatever else takes your fancy.
Wash Clothes In Cold Water
This is one of the best ways to save energy at home – you don’t need to wash clothes in hot water. They’ll be fine with you saving energy and using cold water. Learn how to wash in cold water.
Keep Your Refrigerator Out Of The Sun
Your refrigerator will save energy on cooling if it’s not left in direct sunlight. Keep it in the shade.
Unplug The TV
The TV keeps using energy even when it’s switched off, learn to unplug it when you’re done. This can also help you watch less TV which is definitely a good thing.
Opt For A Tankless Water Heater
Much of the energy consumption when heating water is spent on re-heating that water. A tankless water heater system doesn’t store water and thus, you don’t reheat any water.
Reduce The Brightness Of Your TV
Saving energy doesn’t have to be done in huge amounts. Even doing simple things like reducing the brightness of your TV reduces your overall energy consumption level.
Check The Vents On Centralized A/C
Air conditioning that runs on a centralized basis is more energy efficient when you close the vents in rooms that you’re not using.
Switch Off Exhaust Fans
If you’re in the kitchen or bathroom and you don’t need that exhaust fan? Switch it off. Small changes mean less energy consumption overall.
Switch To Ceiling Fans
Simply put, according to Energy.gov air conditioning uses more energy than ceiling fans. So, switch to ceiling fans if you can.
Showers Are Better Than Baths
No, we wouldn’t take a bath in cold water but you use so much more hot water with a bath than a shower, that you should try to take showers whenever you can.
Close Windows In The Winter
Even if you use renewable energy, you’re just wasting it if you’re letting hot air pour out of the window.
Use Chimney Balloons
Of course, you need a house with a chimney for this but if you do have one – chimney balloons prevent cold air from being drawn down the chimney and into your home. They also help prevent heat loss.
Go Double (or Triple) Glazed
There are distinct energy-saving benefits to changing the windows in your home if they’re not already double (or even triple) glazed.
Reverse Ceiling Fans In Winter
This helps to move hot air from above the fan (remember that hot air rises) and distribute it in the colder parts of the room.
Turn The Temperature Up On Your Refrigerator
Most of us don’t need our food and drink as cold as we keep it. Even changing the temperature by a couple of degrees can save a significant amount of energy.
Get Free Renewable Energy
No solar generators are needed to open the drapes or blinds in the winter and take advantage of “solar gain”. The sun’s rays are warming even on cold days.
Use Energy Saving Modes On Appliances
This is one of the easiest energy-saving tips to implement, you can easily conserve energy by checking all the devices in your home and seeing if they have an energy-saving mode and using it.
Maintain Your HVAC Equipment
Worn and inefficient air conditioning and heating systems are not going to conserve energy for your home – instead, they’re going to burn it faster. Make sure you get routine maintenance on your HVAC systems as recommended by the supplier.
Keep Your Freezer Full
One of the more unusual energy-saving tips, at first glance, but the freezer works hardest to cool down air in the freezer compartment. A full freezer has less air inside and thus, you are conserving energy by keeping it full!
Switch Off The Tumble Dryer
Your clothes dryer costs up to 72 cents an hour to run! Conserve energy and air dry your clothes instead.
Don’t Leave Computers On Standby
Also don’t put them to “sleep” or use any other power-saving mode – switch them off at night, and then unplug them to conserve energy.
Use Gas Rather Than Electricity
Did you know that you pay about four times as much for electricity as you do for gas heating? We’re not sure just how much you conserve energy with gas but we do know you will save money. Gas is more efficient than electricity though.
Vacuum Your Refrigerator Coils
Your farm fresh eggs will last longer if you extend your energy conservation practices to vacuuming the refrigerator coils every now and again, this makes it much more efficient to run.
Keep Lids On Pans
Your food will cook faster and you will save energy if you just keep the lids on your pans as you cook.
Give Your Kids The Gift Of Light On Demand
We stopped our kids from keeping the lights on all the time with an easy trick – we bought them some shakeable flashlights! These give them light on demand and at zero energy cost.
Work From Home
Best energy-saving tip, ever. Eliminate all commuting and all fuel consumption.
Sure, we know that not every job will allow for this, and nor will every boss.
But you could, at least, ask if they’d let you work from home, right?
PRO-TIP: Join a community like Modern Worker and access the support and resources you need for a successful remote working career.
Decorate With Pale Colors
Yes! A sneaky way to save energy at home! Using pale colors allows the light in your home to reflect more easily off the walls, and thus, you can switch to lower wattage bulbs!
Turn Down The Water Heater
If you have a water heater that holds water? Turn the temperature down on that water heater. You don’t need to keep your water heater full of scalding water do you?
Don’t Super Size Appliances
If you live on your own, you will save energy by buying a smaller refrigerator and so on…
Charge Things At Night
Technically, this doesn’t use less energy but it does mean that you save money and use energy at a time when there’s a surplus. Most home energy tariffs have a discount for nighttime use because of this.
Consider Using A Timer For Lights
Light timers are cheap and aid in energy conservation by switching off the lights for you when you’re not around. You can even get posh ones you can program for a week in advance.
Dust Your Light Bulbs
Even energy-saving bulbs become more energy-efficient bulbs when you clean them regularly – a recent report shows a dirty light emits about half the effective light that it could emit!
Empty The Fridge
Well, at least get rid of what you don’t need in there. Even an ENERGY Star fridge will use less power when the air inside circulates more freely because you got rid of the junk.
Consider Motion Controllers
You can use motion sensors for lighting and some appliances to see that they are only on when there’s somebody in the room.
Use The Dishwasher
An ENERGY STAR-compliant dishwasher with an eco-saving mode? That uses way less hot water than you do washing dishes by hand. Be lazy for once and save the planet!
Plant Some Trees
If parts of your house get too much sun? Go and plant some trees which are not just good for shade and energy conservation but will also help to reduce your carbon footprint!
Consider Under-Floor Insulation
This isn’t a cheap job but it can be worth it over time. Under-floor insulation can reduce heating bills by up to 10%!
Fill The Sink Before You Shave
Showering may beat bathing for water efficiency but you’ll use more hot water running the tap while you shave than if you fill the sink with hot water and use that to rinse your blade in.
Open Windows
Before you reach for the air conditioning controls, think about opening a window instead. That’s free and can often cool down the room enough so you don’t need the A/C.
Stop Opening Your Oven Door
Food does not cook faster if you keep opening the door to look at it – in fact, you waste energy every time you do this. If you need to look, get an oven with a glass door.
Don’t Put Food In The Refrigerator When It’s Hot
Energy costs rise when your appliances do more work. Let food cool on the counter before you put it in the refrigerator so that your fridge does less work.
Insulate The Loft Hatch
One of the best ways to save energy at home in your home is to insulate your loft, and loads of people do. Sadly, they then fail to insulate the loft hatch and allow tons of hot air to escape into the loft to heat their insulation instead of their home.
Have An Energy Audit
Cut energy usage by getting your local electricity company to come in and carry out an energy audit on your home. They will give you a bunch of ways to save energy when they’re done.
Keep The Garage Door Closed
The temperature of your home is usually impacted by the temperature of your garage. You can save energy at home by closing the garage door and keeping the heat in and cold out.
Repair Your Household Doors
Cracked or warped doors will allow energy to escape your home. Fix them and they won’t.
Promote Air Flow In Your Home
Your home will feel cooler in summer if air flows easily through it, open doorways and vents and use fans to assist it. This really will prevent energy usage on air conditioning.
Install Outlet Gaskets
These cheap devices stop cold air from entering the room through an outlet.
Use Natural Light
Wherever possible welcome natural light into your home. It stops you using energy on lighting and as it’s warming it can be energy-saving for air conditioning bills too.
Stand To One Side When You Open The Refrigerator
It’s all about air flow but if you stand in front of an open refrigerator it consumes more energy than if you stand to one side!
Raise The Room Temperature Gradually
Instead of cranking the heating right up, switch up the heat gradually – you will often find you get used to a lower temperature and use less energy as a result.
Don’t Boil Water In The Microwave
It has a higher level of energy usage than using an electric kettle. So, use the kettle instead.
Wrap An Old Water Heater
Wrapping an old water heater in an insulating blanket can reduce heat loss by up to 45% and it results in about a 9% energy saving.
Go Play Outside
One of the simplest ways to save energy and the most fun. Take the kids and go outside and have some fun! Play is good for you and it’s energy-saving because you won’t be inside running up your electricity bill.
Microwave Leftovers
Your microwave uses less energy than a standard conventional oven when reheating.
Air Dry Your Dishes
When the dishwasher has finished washing? Switch it off and open the door and let your dishes air dry. This is highly energy saving and it’s free!
Always Remove The Lint
If you must use a dryer for your clothes? Remove any lint from it before you use it – this improves its primary energy consumption rating and is very energy-saving.
Use A Laptop
A laptop is more energy-efficient than a desktop and thus it’s energy-saving to use a laptop (they’re also cheaper than desktops thanks to GPU demand for crypto).
Use Rechargeable Batteries
A less obvious energy-saving tip but it uses much less energy to recharge a battery than to make a new one.
Share Your Home
The more people in a space the more home energy-efficient that it becomes. Two really can live almost as cheaply as one.
Keep Your Oven Clean
A clean oven takes much less time to warm up than a dirty one. Thus cleanliness is energy saving in this respect.
Opt For Sustainable Fashion
Fast fashion uses far more energy than sustainable fashion. You might not save on your electricity bill but it’s the right thing to do.
Switch Off Outside Lights At Night
You can always switch them on again if you need to go outside.
Use Your Fireplace
If you have a fireplace at home, try using it to burn paper waste, etc. before you switch on the heating. This uses less energy.
Get Some Mirrors Up
Mirrors can be used to great effect to reflect light (both natural and artificial) to make a room seem brighter without using extra energy to do so.
Get More Light Switches
The easier it is to control lighting in one part of the room, the easier it is to switch off lights that you don’t need.
Talk To Your Kids
If you educate your children on ways to save energy at home they can help out. They may also find it useful to better understand sustainable language.
Reuse Things
If you can give an old mason jar a new lease of life in your freezer – do so. Reusing something means huge energy saving even when compared to recycling.
Recycle Things
You are always acting in an energy-saving fashion when you send items for recycling rather than disposing of them to be dumped in a landfill.
Consider Candles
Be careful where you put them but you can make some homemade candles with the and use them to cut down on lighting.
Pre-Heat Food
Because it’s cheaper to use a microwave than a conventional oven in energy terms. You should pre-heat frozen food in the microwave and then finish it off in a conventional oven as needed.
Use The Right Size Burner
If possible match the right-sized pan to the right-sized burner on the stove. This uses the right amount of energy to heat the pan and cuts down on waste.
Join A Car Pool
Even if you’ve bought a very affordable electric car, you can reduce energy consumption by sharing it on the way to work.
Leave The Oven Door Open
In Winter, if you’ve cooked your dinner, don’t close the oven door – leave it open and let it radiate heat into the house, saving you on heating bills.