Practical Ways to Conserve Energy

With energy prices across North America escalating, consumers are looking for practical ways to reduce their electrical and natural gas bills. Any household can save up to 50% of their electrical bills by doing just a few simple things.

One way consumers can decrease their household electrical bills is to be made aware of a type of energy consumption referred to as phantom load. Phantom loads are electrical appliances that still use electricity even when they are turned off. Phantom load appliances include anything with a digital clock such as DVD players or VCRs, stereos, and microwaves. Also, computers, printers, monitors, and fax machines all draw on power when plugged in. A simple solution is to use power bars that have on/off switches. Connect stereo systems & entertainment systems to the power bar, and turn the power bar off when not in use. This will not harm your electronics at all. Attach your entire computer system to a power bar or two. If you leave your computer on all the time, at least put the monitor, printer, speakers, scanner, etc, etc on a power bar and turn that off. If you turn your computer off anyway, put it all on a power bar.

Heating is generally one of the largest single consumers of electricity. Another thing to do to reduce your heating bill is to insulate your hot water tank. You can buy insulation kits at any hardware store. Make sure your hot water tank is located somewhere warm. If the tank is outside in an unheated garage, it will lose even more heat.

Use hot water wisely. The first run of hot water that takes a minute to reach the faucet is tremendously wasteful, as this simply heats up the water in the pipes, with only a fraction of that water reaching you.

Turn the thermostat down at night and when you are away from the house during the day. Consider installing a programmable thermostat which will heat the house up before you wake in the morning, turn it down during the day, and then warm it up again before you come home from work. This will let you save on heat, yet not have to come home or wake up to a cold house

Use insulating curtains on windows during the night. Inspect and resolve any drafts that are the result of defective weather stripping around doors and windows. Have your furnace and hot water heaters serviced regularly to ensure they are operating at peak efficiency. Close off rooms that are not in use, and turn off the heat or block the registers.

Consider adding a solar-thermal hot water heating system. Capturing the infrared energy from the sun is a simple, extremely efficient process. A modest-sized solar collector can provide a significant quantity of the domestic hot water used in a home or business.

These are just a few examples of ways you can reduce your energy usage. Although the myriad of methods may seem overwhelming, implementing even just a few can save you thousands in the years to come.


Chris Jent is the chief marketing officer of Triple Diamond Energy Corp. Triple Diamond Energy specializes in acquiring the highest quality prime oil and gas properties. For more information, visit http://www.triplediamondenergycorp.blogspot.com.