Energy Saving Tips for a Smart Home!
Do you work for the electric company?
I can still hear my dad yelling that across the house every time a lamp was left blazing brightly with nobody in the room.
Now I run around behind my girls turning off light switches – what goes around comes around.
But surprise, what hides inside my chandeliers and vintage lamps are energy efficient light bulbs – just one way I’m trying to do more to lower our utility bills while doing good for the planet.
One thing on my wish list that wasn’t on the market when we renovated our house is a smart thermostat and I love the Nest Thermostat from Direct Energy that learns what temps you like then builds a personalized schedule for heating and cooling your house! Plus it can be controlled from your smart phone – how cool is that!
Such a simple way to save energy and money got me thinking of other simple things I (and hopefully my girls and hubby!) can do every day.
No Hassle Energy Saving Tips for a Smart Home
- replace old appliances with efficient Energy Star appliances
- wash & dry several loads at once and your dryer will be nicely heated up for the next loads
- clean the dryer lint filter before each cycle
- wash clothes in cold water (you can save up to 40 cents per load)!
- if using hot water, make sure to wash a full load
- plant trees in prime spots to provide shade and reduce cooling costs in the summer
- don’t peek inside the oven when something is cooking – the temp can drop up to 25 degrees each time
- keep your freezer full (uses much less energy than an empty freezer)
- turn off kitchen and bath fans right away when done
- install low flow faucets and shower heads to save on hot water usage
- take shorter showers (no more singing in the shower)
- use a smart power strip for electronics – it turns everything off when not in use
- install dimmer switches on all of your lights (saves money, lightbulbs last 20 times longer and creates great ambiance!)
- close your fireplace flue when not using
- don’t block air vents with furniture or curtains
- set thermostat between 68-70 degrees or better yet, get a smart Nest thermostat that controls your homes energy based on your habits
- lower thermostat at night (between 65-68 degrees)
- lower thermostat to 60 when going on vacation during cold winter months
Simple things anyone can do without spending a dime. In fact, you’ll save lots of dimes by doing any of them.
I would love to install a smart programmable thermostat and the Nest Learning Thermostat is a space age looking wonder (think the Jetsons meet energy savings) that looks cool while saving you money.
Win a Smart Nest Learning Thermostat
Direct Energy is giving away five Nest Thermostats – just click here (reading this on a mobile device – click here) to fill out an entry form – simple. (entry dates Oct 1 – Oct 22, 2014)
How coincidental is this – I was reading Good Housekeeping mag at the doctor’s office only to find that the Nest got the Good Housekeeping seal of approval.
What are you favorite simple tips to save energy?
Disclosure: Thanks Direct Energy for helping me focus on making my home more energy efficient. I only speak the truth.
Hi Kelly
In Australia (where I live) we hang our wet clothes outside on a clothes line……..to dry naturally in the breeze and hopefully the sunshine.
Otherwise I use a clothes horse inside if the weather is wet.
Of any domestic appliance clothes dryers are way up there with the highest consumption of fuel.
I am really lucky to live in the subtropics so getting clothes dry is not really a big a problem, thankfully!
Cheers
I love the smell of clothes dried in the sun! My girls pile the laundry on me – that’s the life with teens!!
Had to laugh about the “Do you work for the electric company”. My father did . We used to get calls in the middle of the night about outages. They finally had to ban me from answering the phone I would talk in my sleep and I wasn’t any help to those calling, hah.
I entered the contest.
ooh I would dearly love to dry my clothes outside every now and than, I should definitely get a clothesline…I could do it in the summer here in the Pacific NW and maybe that would make me appreciate the sun more than I do 🙂
for us, it’s CFLs all over the house, which I’ll admit are not my favorite. I’m anxious to try the new LEDs that are out now, and you betcha the Nest is on my wish list 🙂
This give-away only seems to be for those living in NY, NJ, PA, IL, OH & D.C. I live in NC.
Those are great tips, but a couple need clarifying. If you are using CFLs, you need to have the ones specifically for dimming. Using regular ones will cause them to burn out, or worse. It is also recommended that a bath fan be left on after showering for a short period of time in humid seasons/conditions to prevent mold & mildew. There is still a lot of heat and moisture present after stepping out of the shower and mold growth is a serious issue.
I follow a lot of these and so happy with our NEST!