Energy is an intrinsic part of our daily lives, and it has become so common (or even mundane!) to simply make toast or coffee in the morning that we often forget how valuable energy is. The amount of energy we use to maintain our standard of living is easy to take for granted. So, for National Cut your Energy Costs Day, we are sharing seven ways to reduce your energy costs. And to help put it in perspective in this age of bio-monitoring and activity trackers, we’ve equated the energy saved in terms of number of steps*, a unit of measure we can all relate to!
7 Ways to Reduce Your Energy Costs
- Assuming clothes are washed in hot water and rinsed with warm water, a washing machine will consume about 4.5 kWh per load versus using only 0.3 kWh per load when using cold water to both wash and rinse. Assuming one load per day, you could save $230/year, or 28.5M steps (78k steps/day)!
- Make bright light decisions! Trying to use natural lighting when possible, replacing incandescent bulbs with LEDs, and turning off lights when they’re not in use could save $600/year, or 74M steps (204k steps/day).
- Lowering your thermostat by 2°C during the night allows for a better sleep and saves energy to the tune of $230/year or 28M steps (78k steps/day).
- Hang drying your clothes will save about 3 kWh per load. At one load per day, that adds up to about $180/year or 22.3M steps per year (61k steps/day). Need to dry your clothes faster? Throwing a dry towel in a dryer load could save $34/year or almost 4.2M steps per year (12k steps/day).
- Using a block heater timer to warm your car’s engine for 2 hours before driving rather than plugging in through the night could save $90 or 11M steps per year (30k steps/day).
- Rather than using the heated dry setting on the dishwasher, pop open the door after a full load is done to let the steam out and allow the dishes to dry naturally. This could save $37 or 4.6M steps (13k steps/day).
- Sealing up the drafts around windows and doors using plastic, tape, caulking or weather-stripping could save up to 2,000 kWh or 37M steps per year (100k steps/day).
These ideas are just the start! There are opportunities everywhere to reduce our energy consumption – and every bit helps. For over 40 years, our energy efficiency experts at SRC have continually looked for new ways to assist our clients in reducing their environmental footprint and creating positive impacts. Together, we can save money and energy, and teach our future generations about the value of being good stewards of the energy all around us.
* 1 kWh = 18524 steps at 3 km/h
This blog is part of a year-long series that highlights the variety of expertise and resulting impacts SRC has made in its 70-year history.
