9 Energy Resolutions for 2019
Are you one of those people that makes resolutions each year? While some people can fulfill these, others find it much harder to do so. However, there are easy ways to save and feel like you’re making a difference by setting goals. While it’s already mid-January, it’s not too late to start considering ways to save energy.
It’s no secret that our country continues to debate climate change policy and where we’ll go with it in the next year. Much of it centers on how humans balance energy consumption and protecting the environment. Many people are ready and looking for new ways to save and use energy more wisely. Not only does actively working to save energy help the environment, it also helps our wallets. That’s because using energy more efficiently, whether it be to power our homes, offices or vehicles, saves money by being mindful and using less.
You’d be surprised just how much these incremental savings can add up over time by modifying your daily energy use. As we head into 2019, here are a few ways you can conserve both energy and money in a resolution that you can maintain all year long.
1. Turn Off Your Lights and Close Your Vents
When a room is uninhabited or you don’t use it very often or at all, make sure the lights are out, appliances are unplugged and any air vents in the room are closed to save energy. Switching your lights off at night and whenever you leave your house can also save you quite a bit of money on your electric bill.
2. Carpool
Carpooling can save multiple people money while also helping preserve energy and take more cars off the road. While Uber and Lyft technically count as carpooling, you’re still just transferring your energy use from you to the driver. Instead, pick-up friends on the way through the UberPOOL or Lyft Line option. For work you can also invite your coworkers to carpool instead of using their individual cars to get to work every day. If you’re headed somewhere for the weekend, coordinate with your friends so you can all go together.
3. Alternative Transportation
Is carpooling not your thing? You can also save a lot of energy and money by utilizing alternative forms of transportation, instead of your car, how about riding a bike, a scooter, or taking your city’s public transportation, such as buses or trains, to work, school, and extracurricular activities. Some cities even offer scooter and bike-sharing programs, which have already established bike stops all over cities across the United States.
4. Use Your Thermostat
Leaving your home’s temperature on a set level throughout the seasons will increase your electric bills and use a lot of energy. If your house does not need to be heated, switch your thermostat off. If your home does not need to be cooled, turn down the A/C. Try opening curtains in the winter or closing blinds in the summer to keep your home comfortable instead. There is also new technologies like Nest and other local home systems that learn your routines, turning your thermostat down when you leave the house and back on again before you get home. It even adjusts for when you’re sleeping.
5. Energy Efficient Light Bulbs
Have you seen those spiraling lightbulbs at the supermarket? Those are energy efficient light bulbs. Not only do they conserve energy, but they also last longer than conventional bulbs - saving you money and trips to the grocery store.
6. Conserve Water
Always turn your faucet off while brushing your teeth when you’re not using it to rinse. Moreover, try not to run excessive water in your shower or when you’re hand-washing dishes. This will cut down on both the amount of energy your water heater uses as well as the amount of money spent on your water bill.
7. Manage Devices
In order to save electricity and money, you should unplug all electronics that aren’t in use. In America, televisions, DVDs, cable boxes, Wi-Fi and video game consoles in our entertainment centers consumed 7% of the electricity used in this country. Making it a routine to unplug these devices, even your cell phone and laptop chargers that are usually left plugged in, can cut down on your electric bill while saving and using energy more efficiently in your home.
8. Ceiling Fans
While ceiling fans are undeniable life-savers during hot, summer months, you can also run them in the winter by reversing the direction of their blades in order to push warm air from the ceiling to the floor. Not only will your house feel more comfortable using less energy, you will also be spending less per month on electric bills.
9. Seal and Insulate
Depending on the season, whether it is cold or hot outside, you should make sure that your home is properly sealed and insulated to keep either hot or cold air inside. That way, you can use less electric heating or cooling to stay comfortable – making your home more energy efficient.
These are nine easy energy resolutions for 2019. Saving energy and money isn’t difficult if you know where to start. It’s not too late to begin the New Year with a newfound, financial and environmentally friendly efficiency plan!