8 Simple Ways to Minimize the Usage of Electricity in Your Home

Everyone in Canada would like to reduce their electricity usage; electricity costs keep rising, and it's become a serious cost-of-living issue. Not only that, reducing your home's electricity usage will ease the impact power stations and the grid have on the environment.

Let’s look at eight inexpensive and energy-saving things you can do around your Calgary home.

Turn off the Lights

This is probably the most obvious thing you can do to reduce electric use. However, if you have kids, enforcing this rule may be hard to do. One way to ensure the lights go off when no one is in the room is to install motion-sensing light switches that automatically turn off when someone leaves the room.

Switch to LED Bulbs

LED lighting takes a lot less electricity than either an old fashioned incandescent bulb, or even fluorescent bulbs. In addition, LED lighting is also much less likely to trigger headaches and eye fatigue than fluorescent bulbs. While LED bulbs may be more expensive, they do last a lot longer than other types of light bulbs.

Shut off Your Computer

Surprisingly, a computer can be one of the big energy users in your home. Be sure to turn off your computer and monitor when not in use. Shutting off your computer does not affect its lifespan. Modern computers are designed to be turned on and off for at least 40,000 times; that’s more than 100 years, if you turn your computer on and off once a day.

Unplug Idle Electronics

Likewise, appliances like microwaves, televisions, and printers go on standby power, even when turned off. Chargers, such as for cellphones and laptops, also continue to use small amounts of electricity, if they remain plugged in. Unplug these appliances when not in use, to reduce your home's overall power consumption.

Choose Energy-efficient Appliances

Your kitchen appliances, such as your stove, refrigerator, and hot water heater consume a lot of electricity. This is especially true of the stove and doubly true of your water heater; your water heater is running constantly, and that takes a great deal of electricity. Replacing your stove and hot water heater with natural gas models will save you a significant amount of energy. Likewise, heating your home with natural gas in Calgary, CA is an especially good, energy-saving move.

Install Solar Security Lighting

Lighting up your home’s exterior at night is a good way to secure your property. But, just like any other lighting, security lights can use a lot of electricity. The smart thing to do is to take your security lighting completely off the grid with solar. It will switch off automatically during the day, while the solar cells soak up the sun's energy and store it in the batteries. When the sun goes down, it automatically switches on.

Shade Your Windows

Installing shade screens to the outside of your windows can help reduce your energy costs by reducing heat gain through the glass in the summer. Likewise, insulating curtains or window shades on the inside of the glass will also help to keep your home cool, thus reducing the cost of running your air conditioner in the summer.

Install Ceiling Fans

While a ceiling fan will use electricity, it can also help lighten the load on your air conditioner, thus reducing the entire load. In fact, a ceiling fan, as well as floor and tabletop fans, may make your home comfortable enough to leave the air conditioner off, on all but the hottest days.