Ways to Conserve Energy & Water

As society becomes increasingly aware of the limited natural resources available to humankind, the idea of conservation has taken on a more prominent role in everyday life. Conserving energy in the home and at work as well as cutting back on water use can make remarkable differences in the state of our planet if enough people learn and practice methods of conservation.

Less Refrigeration

• Although you must keep your refrigerator at a certain temperature to store food safely, turning it down lower than necessary is wasteful. According to conservation website Ecomall.com, refrigerators are estimated to account for 20 percent of total energy use in the home.

  If the refrigerator has an energy saver switch, be sure it is turned on, and adjust the thermostat on the refrigerator to 37 degrees and the freezer to around 3 degrees.

  Gaskets that seal the doors on a refrigerator and freezer can play a significant role in energy conservation as well. If these gaskets are cracked, dried out or dirty, they can let cool air out and cause the compressor to work much harder to maintain the desired temperature. Clean or replace them at once to save energy.

Lower Water Heaters

• Water heaters are often set at 140 degrees, but 120 degrees will work just as well. If every household in America lowered the hot water heater setting by 20 degrees, it would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 45 million tons. This is the approximate amount of CO2 emitted by the entire country of Libya.

Insulation

• Insulating the home or office can result in big savings on utility bills and will conserve a considerable amount of energy. As heat escapes through poor insulation during cold weather, the central unit must work much harder to keep the building warm. The same happens in the summer, when the heat from outside seeps in and nullifies the work the unit is performing to keep the building cool. New insulation installed correctly can reduce these problems.

Low-Flow Shower Heads

• Everyone should try the bucket test in the shower to see if the shower head is spraying out excessive amounts of water. Place an empty one-gallon bucket under the shower and count off 20 seconds. If the bucket begins to overflow before you get to 20 seconds, the shower head needs to go. Replace it with a low-flow shower head.

Full Dishwashers

• There are many ways to conserve water and energy when using a dishwasher. Since dishwashers tend to use the same amount of water each time they run, the best idea is to wait until the machine is completely full before running it. Washing half loads only wastes water.

  Up to 20 percent of the total energy used by a dishwasher can be reduced by turning off the heat option during the drying process. Also, using any available energy-saver settings will help reduce the energy usage and letting dishes air dry by manually skipping the drying cycle is a good idea.

Lawn Watering

• If your lawn requires watering, be sure to only water in the early morning hours prior to sunrise or in the evening after sunset. The absence of direct sunlight will radically lower evaporation, and the amount of water needed to properly hydrate the lawn will be reduced.