It is so hot where we live that our A/C is running much of the time although I have it set pretty high. Luckily, my husband and I don't mind it being somewhat warm in our house. However, all this heat has made energy consumption sky rocket in our area this past week or so. That set me to thinking about all the ways I might save energy around the house.
*For starters I don't put my hot car in the garage when I come home during the day, but I leave it out on the driveway until it has cooled off in the evening.
*I hang my clothes outside to dry rather than allowing my clothes dryer to put more hot air into our already high temperatures.
*I am hand washing my dishes (like we did in Chaco Canyon--no dishwasher there) and letting them air dry. That way I don't have the dishwasher running for a long period using up water and electricity.
*I shut down my computer at night to save energy.
*I unplug recharge cords for phone and camera the minute I finish recharging those items because I understand that those cords left plugged in still use energy even though they are not connected to anything.
*I unplugged all our electrical appliances, lamps, computers, TVs and clocks while we were gone on our trip, AND I ran our thermostat up several degrees.
*I only run the washing machine when I have a full load of clothes to wash and I use the cold water setting when I wash.
*I keep the shades closed on the sunny side of our house.
I am trying to pay attention to our energy consumption so that I can live more efficiently. If you have any suggestions, please pass them on!
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Not wanting to give up my dishwasher, I did a search and found this:
ReplyDeleteEven the most sparing and careful washers could not beat the modern dishwasher. The study also rated the cleanliness achieved, again in favor of the washing machine (sorry grandma). Source: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/08/dishwasher_vs_h.php.
Phew! My dishwasher is pretty new, and even has a setting for Air Dry.
Oh my! And I was feeling so virtuous too! But I think I will stick with hand washing for a while--at least until I have company. For just the two of us, it makes for a quick cleanup--especially in this hot weather when we are eating less and cooler, too.
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