With the price of oil skyrocketing to space many people have turned to solar power and wind power for their electricity needs. The promise of living off the grid and not paying a cent for your electricity seems promising… but might not be the best route to take. My take on reducing your utility bills is through Energy Conservation first, then solar and wind power second.
Energy conservation is simple. It’s simply reducing your current electricity usage as much as possible. It’s simple acts like turning off the lights when leaving a room, turning off the water heater when not in use, turning off your computer when idle and not opening your refrigerator every time you pass by it that can really cut your electricity costs down.
Some more energy conservation tips:
- Get LEDs or CFL’s (Compact Fluorescent Lights). These are energy savers that cost a little more upfront but will save you a lot down the road.
- Get better insulation for your windows, ceilings and walls. Although a little bit on the expensive side, keeping your house better insulated means you control the room temperature better and your AC or heating won’t have to work harder and consume more energy.
- Get better curtains or blinds for your windows and more importantly use them when direct sunlight is shining through so it doesn’t warm up the room.
- When on your next appliance purchase, consider the energy efficiency rating and not just the selling price.
- Avoid using dryers and air dry your laundry instead.
- Unplugging any appliance not in use. It’s not enough anymore to simply turn off most appliances, since a lot of these still consume phantom loads of electricity.
All these small energy conservation changes can have a huge impact on your electricity bills and make whole household power system run more cost effective. In the end, doing these small inexpensive changes to your lifestyle and house might be enough for you to reconsider going solar and wind power.
