Everyday as we see, there is a greater amount of awareness regarding the ill-effects of un-monitored fuel and power consumption. Even as we speak, people all over the world have started putting a greater pressure on their respective governments to promote greener industries and fuels in order to reverse some of the damage caused to the environment by the incessant burning of fuels, consumption of energy and other such human activities.
However, as far as the environment is concerned, there is one simple fact which we, more often than not, simply overlook. That is, we fail to realize that promoting a greener culture doesn’t start at the country or state or city level. No. It starts with one house. If you want to save the environment, start with your own house. Make sure that your house is one which utilizes all the resources available to it optimally, and wastes as little as possible.
Contrary to how this may sound, it is actually not very difficult to do. There are some very simple things you can do to convert your home to a green home. Let me try and point out some of these things for you.
- Ensure that you clean and lubricate your furnace every three months. Make sure that the air filters are clean and there are no blockages. If you do this, you would need to run your furnace for a shorter period of time to heat up your home.
- Consider buying smart furnaces with variable speed motors to reduce power consumption.
- Turn your thermostat down by 8-10 degrees Fahrenheit when you’re not at home, or when you tuck in at night.
- Choose front loading washing machines, and try to wash your laundry with cold water. Most of the energy consumed by a washing machine gets used up in heating the water.
- On sunny days, open your drapes and let the sunlight heat your houses instead of a thermostat.
So as you can see, saving energy is not really all that difficult when you set your mind to it !