Natural Environment Blog

When you receive your electricity bill, do you often wonder, “Why do I pay so much?” There is no doubt that energy prices will not get any lower. On the contrary, they seem to increase all the time. However, there are things you can do to significantly cut back your energy intake. If you want to save your money to spend it on something more fun than bills, read the tips below.

1. Replace your light bulbs with energy saving ones if you haven’t already. They use up to 80% less energy and last 10 times longer than ordinary bulbs.
2. Always turn off the lights when leaving a room. This tip is commonly known, yet it applies strictly to traditional light bulbs that are not energy efficient. Remember that if you have got energy saving light bulbs, you should turn them off only in the case that you are leaving the room for more than 6 minutes. Constant turning these bulbs on and off will use more energy.
3. While cooking, always put a lid on the pot. This saves up to 15% on energy and your meal will be cooked faster.
4. When buying new appliances, choose Energy Star qualified models. They use 10 to 50% less energy and water than standard appliances.
5. When planning and building your house, make decisions that will make it energy efficient. Proper high quality house insulation and tight windows will ensure minimal energy loss. Installing windows shutters or outdoor roller-blinds will prevent warmth gathered inside the house throughout the day from escaping at night.
6. When ventilating a room, always turn off the heating.
7. Invest in a high-efficiency condensing boiler. This investment will surely pay off. Such a boiler is a real energy and money saver. A condensing boiler captures much more usable heat from its fuel than non-condensing boilers, meaning it does not require as much energy. This kind of boiler is equipped with a set of heating controls that gives you full control over the temperature in your home. You can adjust the temperature whenever you want.
8. Use heating wisely. If you have a programmer or timer combined with a boiler, set it so the boiler is working only when needed. If you spend part of the day out of the house, turn the boiler off. Modern houses warm quickly even if the heating was turned off for a long period of time. Most people do not need the heating on when asleep.
9. Do not leave electronic devices on standby. Maybe it sounds unimportant, but appliances left on standby still use energy. In an average household there are many electronics with standby modes, including TV sets, PCs, radios, and DVD and CD players. Every day, leaving them on sleep mode amounts to additional expenses which can easily be avoided. Each time you turn off an electronic device remember to unplug it as well.
10. Charge your cell phone properly. It is unfortunately a common mistake to leave the battery charger plugged in after the telephone has already charged. The charger left in the socket, even without the device, is still consuming energy. Always remember to unplug the charger.

Obeying these simple rules will help limit both energy usage and expenses. Simultaneously, you will contribute to reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. World leaders are trying to do this on a global scale, but without the help of the citizens, they will never succeed.

Written by PennySaverUSA.com. Visit us online to find eco-friendly appliances for sale.

While Energy efficient light bulbs (also known as a Compact Fluorescent Lamp, or CFL) help address one environmental issue, they cause another. Fortunately, the later can be addressed quite easily - as long as governments make it easy.

The Benefits of CFLs

Energy efficient light bulbs are being encouraged by green groups, electricity providers, and governments around the world, and for good reason. For the same light output, an energy efficient light bulb uses between a fifth and a quarter of the energy that a traditional light bulb (also referred to as, incandescent lamp) uses.

And what’s more, over it’s lifetime, an energy efficient light bulb can save over 2000 times it’s weight in greenhouse gases.

But, like so many environmentally friendly solutions, there is a dark side to energy efficient light bulbs.

The Problem with CFLs

Each energy efficient light bulb contains a small amount of mercury. In fact all fluorescent lamps contain mercury, and energy efficient light bulbs are a form of fluorescent lamp . The amount of mercury is usually quite small - around 5 or 6 grams.

The problem with mercury is that, if it’s not disposed of properly, it will lead to air and/or water pollution. Currently, most CFLs are dumped into landfills or incinerators. This is because people simply through them in the bin when finished with them.

How to Address this Problem?

The simple solution is to recycle your CFLs and other fluorescent lamps.

Under normal circumstances, the mercury in each CFL isn’t an issue. As long as the light bulb is discarded correctly and doesn’t break before it’s discarded, everything will be alright. CFLs should never be thrown out with the normal rubbish. This is because it will end up in landfill. From there it could break and mercury will end up in surrounding waterways. Or it could burn and release mercury into the air.

Energy efficient light bulbs (and any other fluorescent lamp) should always be recycled. This obviously requires you have a recycling station to take it to. Ideally, local governments should provide education and easy access to these recycling stations.

For example, you should be able to simply throw your light bulb into a recycling bin at your home (which is separate from your normal garbage). You could place your recycling out on the street say, once per month (or more frequently). Then, a recycling collection service could pick up your recyclables as they drive past and take them to the recycling station.

Some governments are starting to become aware of this issue, but there’s still a long way to go.