Faced with rising energy costs, many families are becoming more energy conscious. Many households want to go green, become more efficient, and use clean energy — but sometimes it’s hard to know where to start. What energy decisions do you have control over? How do you know whether a “green” energy source is actually better for the environment? And, most importantly, what can you afford to change? While it’s not always easy to cut through the noise and make smarter choices, there are some steps you can take to go green at home and make an impact on your personal energy footprint.
The first step toward a greener home is knowing where to go to get started. The following easy steps can make the process a bit easier:
Before you can begin making cleaner, greener energy decisions, it's a good idea to understand your current energy usage. Start your journey to go green at home by gaining a thorough understanding of your energy consumption. Ask yourself some questions:
Grab a copy of your utility bills and take some time to understand each line item. Often, energy companies will also send you customized reports that let you know how your energy usage compares to others. Once you have a better understanding of how your family uses energy, you can begin to make changes.
You can also opt for a professional energy efficiency audit from PosiGen to get a granular view of your energy profile, suggesting the most effective upgrades for savings.
The easiest way to be more green is simply to use less energy. There are some easy ways to do this — such as turning off lights when you leave the room, washing your clothes with cold water, and unplugging appliances when not in use.
Other methods, such as replacing your light bulbs with energy-efficient LED bulbs can save the average household $225 a year. Additional energy-saving devices for the home include:
Some of the most common forms of clean energy include Solar, Wind, and Water. While it may not be feasible to build a wind farm or a hydroelectric dam in your backyard, one energy source is readily available for homeowners - solar.
Go green at home by harnessing the power of the sun. Installing solar panels will allow you to generate your own clean, green energy on your own roof. Solar panels gather clean, renewable energy from the sun that is sent to an inverter that makes the power usable in your home. Solar power reduces your overall demand on the electrical grid and helps the environment — and can reduce your household energy costs.
Think about your energy use. Are there places where you are using gas (even natural gas) that you could switch to electric? Upgrading to electricity can help cut down on your carbon footprint and help you save money in the long run. Some areas to consider making the switch to electric include:
PosiGen is here to help make you go green at home. We work with homeowners to install affordable, efficient solar panels, helping them use clean energy, reduce their impact on the environment, and save money along the way. In addition, our trained energy efficiency technicians will audit your home and may install no-cost energy efficiency upgrades to maximize your energy savings and reduce your carbon footprint.