People who care for the environment, often implement energy-saving technologies and reduce their energy bills as well. By increasing energy efficiency, you can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the number of pollutants, as well as witness lower water usage. And from an economic viewpoint, improved energy efficiency can reduce utility bills and balance electricity prices.
Here is a list of energy-saving technologies that can help you lower your impact on the environment and reduce your energy use.
1. Internet-connected Devices
When you connect and operate your appliances through the Internet, you can save money, time, and effort. You can consider smart gadgets that connect to your home automation system to provide comfort and save money. Let’s say you want to drink coffee in the morning before going to work. You can use smart gadgets to command the coffee machine to prepare your coffee before you wake up. Or maybe you want to bake a cake and want to preheat the oven till you mix the ingredients — again smart gadgets come to the rescue. Also, they can help you save electricity by adjusting the temperatures of the freezer and refrigerator.
You can have automated control systems that will be used for lighting, cooling, and heating units to access data, such as humidity, room temperature, light level, etc.
2. Energy-efficient Windows
In summer and winter, the average household uses a lot of energy to heat or cool the home. 25% to 30% of the energy used for heating and cooling homes comes from heat gain and heat loss through windows. So, it’s essential to choose energy-efficient hand dryers, and here are some tips for you:
- Consider an Energy Star label on windows.
- Choose double or triple pane windows as they have multiple layers of glass and reduce the amount of heat loss.
- Choose windows with low e-coatings to save energy.
- Check the rate of a U-factor and choose windows with low solar heat gain coefficient (SHGCs) and U-factors.
3. LED Lighting
Compared to incandescent bulbs, light emitting diode (LED) light bulbs provide better light quality, last longer, and are more energy-efficient. An incandescent bulb uses energy, but only 10% of it is turned to light — the remaining 90% is wasted as heat. LED lights uses electricity more properly and converts around 90% into light, while using less energy and generating little heat. So, producing proper lighting and having a longer lifespan make these products better options as they don’t harm the environment and allow proper savings. Compared to incandescent lighting LED lighting lasts 25 times longer and uses a minimum of 75% less energy.
4. Environmentally-friendly Insulation
Insulation is about covering an area to prevent heat, electricity, or sound from entering or escaping. The purpose of insulation is to keep you at a stable temperature. This will help you save money on heating and cooling your home. When the weather is warm, it prevents heat from entering the house, and when it's cold outside, it maintains the inner warmth. So, you reduce energy bills, by having cooler summers and warmer winters. Different materials of insulations include fiberglass, spray foam, etc.
5. Smart Power Strips and Plugs
When thinking of implementing more energy-efficient technologies at your home, you cannot neglect the importance of low-tech items, such as smart power strips and plugs. With these devices, you can remotely control and activate the household appliances, such as lamps. To stop wasting energy while gadgets are not in use, you can use smart plugs to disconnect them from the power source.
Let’s say your phone has a low battery and you need to charge it at night to have enough battery in the morning before going to work. When your phone is fully charged, it doesn’t turn off automatically which means that you still lose electricity. While, with smart power strips, you save electricity as it cuts off when the devices are fully charged or not in use.
6. Speedy Hand Dryers
The main purpose of high-speed hand dryers is to dry hands efficiently and hygienically. Your washroom is full of germs and bacteria and it’s important to implement an eco-friendly hand dryer that saves electricity and prevents the spread of infections. You can reduce the use of paper towels and save the environment through hand dryers. Also, as speedy hand dryers use less electricity, you lower energy bills and offer greater effectiveness. Moreover, as most hand dryers operate with sensors, you don’t need to click on any buttons as they turn on when you use them.
7. Cooler Roofs
Both the color and material of your roof significantly affect your home's interior temperature. Reflecting or cool roofs reflect the heat as they don’t absorb it thanks to their light-colored material. Depending on where you live, you can choose the materials that best suit your needs. For instance, if your home is in a northern area, then dark roofs won’t be a problem as they keep your home warm in cold seasons by absorbing the heat. But if you live in southern areas, then cool or reflecting roofs will be the best choice as they greatly reduce energy use.
8. Magnetic Refrigerators
The majority of refrigerators use the environmentally harmful coolant-using vapor compression method. While with magnetic refrigerators you will protect the environment by using water-based cooling fluid, reducing carbon pollutants, and lowering utility bills. It has magnets that create cold and the low and high temperatures will be influenced by the magnetic field.
These were some of the energy-saving technologies that you can use for your homes. Double-check them and tick all technologies that apply to your preferences.
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