| Energy

With so many ways to conserve energy and fuel, it would be virtually impossible for this second to house it all. Instead, this energy section of my site will list small ways that I have changed things around me to help conserve.

Compact Florescent Lights (CFLs)
One way to conserve energy is to replace all of your old standard incandescent bulbs. CFL bulbs use about 75% less energy than incandescent bulbs. I have replaced every incandescent bulb in my home and office that was possible to replace. Some people think that they can't replace certain bulbs, but take a trip to your local home improvement center and you will see that they manufacture almost every type of bulb possble in a CFL.

Light-Emitting Diodes (LED)
LED lighting can also cut down on energy consumption. LEDs are rated to use 75% less energy than incandescent lights as well as CFLs. I have replaced all night lights in my home that used the old standard 4 watt bulbs with .03 watt LED night lights. These LED night lights, when in the correct housing, can light up a room just as well as a 4 watt night light. In some cases, two LED night lights may be needed, and when combined, still use less enegery than the old standard night lights.

Digital Thermostat
One of my largest energy costs was to run my old furnace and air conditioner. I had an old rotary style thermostat installed on the wall that had a range of +/- 4 degrees. This means that it was +/- 4 degrees from the set temperature. That is an 8 degree varience which causes the furnace and air conditioner to run harder and longer. I replaced the old thermostat with a Honeywell 7-day programmable touchscreen thermostat. This thermostat has a varience of +/- 1 degree from set temperature. It also allows for preprogramming of a daily schedule, since human involvement is usually required to change the temperature before leaving for work or a daily routine. Another thing to keep in mind is to turn up the temperature 1 degree in the summer months, and down 1 degree in the winter months.

Energy Star
When buying a new appliace or electronic device, look for the Energy Star label, or ask you salesman if the product is Energy Star compliant. Energy Star is a program deveolped by two government agencies designed to help save us all energy and money. Since I have started to try to do my part, I have bought mostly Energy Star compliant products. These cost a little bit more, but the extra few dollars is worth it; knowing you've done your part.

A Few Notes
A few other things that I have done to try to be more conservative is turning off a light when leaving a room, even if I know I'm going back in there. While, this may seem very small, it actually does save energy in the long run. I have also began to buy the new Western Digial Raptor Green series hard drives. Again, this is very small as for power consumption, but still helps. I've also set my power settings on my laptops to go into hibernate mode which saves.