8 Easy Energy Saving Tips For Your Home

We can often overlook the amount of energy we waste in our always-on, always-connected world of instant power. Here are some tips to reducing your Turks and Caicos home energy bill as well as your carbon footprint.

Unplug appliances when not in use This is one of the simplest, most effectiveways to conserve electricity, but also one of the most difficult habits to develop. Look around your home, at the myriad pinpoint LED lights that adorn your appliances and gadgets around the kitchen, living room, bathroom, and bedroom. If the standby light is on, each of those appliances — from electric toothbrushes to TVs, from the coffee machine to the desktop printer — is drawing power that is wasted. Unplug any appliance that is not in use, save money as well as avoid any potential electrical fires.

Air dry clothes whenever possible The electric clothes dryer in your home is just about the most expensive appliance to run, requiring 5,000 watts or more of electricity when in use. If you have an outside clothesline, or the space and lack of restriction to install one, then use it. Air drying is free, it’s sustainable and green, and makes the weekly wash smell fresher. It might be a bit of a logistical problem during inclement weather, but with a constant breeze and an average of at least six hours a day of tropical sunshine all year round in the Turks and Caicos, there’s really no excuse not to use this simplest of energy-saving tips, right?

Choose a split A/C system When looking at tips for energy conservation in TCI, consider using an energy-efficient split A/C unit to cool specific areas rather than your entire home at once. A 40,000 BTU central air-conditioning system draws around 6,000 watts — that’s six kilowatts per hour and is likely to be the biggest single contributor to your electricity bill. Split A/C systems give the convenience of standalone window-type air-conditioners while also delivering twice the efficiency of a ducted central system or standalone window unit.

Be dishwasher smart Run the dishwasher the efficient way — the energy-saving cycle saves at least 50% energy. It takes longer, but how hard is it to get into the habit of starting the dishwasher cycle before you go to bed, or before you leave the house for work?

Install energy-efficient LED lights For over 100 years the filament bulb reigned supreme. Replacing all the lightbulbs in your home with modern, energy-efficient LEDs can be a big upfront cost, as LEDs cost more than traditional lightbulbs. But LEDs last at least 10 times longer and an 8-watt LED emits the same amount of light as a 60-watt lightbulb — and they don’t generate all that unwanted heat. Supporters of renewable energy in the Caribbean also point out that your entire home’s LED lighting can easily be powered by a few rooftop solar panels, further reducing your utility bill.

Install a smart thermostat the problem with many home thermostats is that the heating/cooling system relies on a single thermostat to set a single temperature throughout the entire home for as long as it’s on. More flexible systems have a separate thermostat for individual zones in the home, allowing more control. But a smart thermostat can do a lot more, incorporating timers, a Wi-Fi connection, and remote smartphone access that can result in savings up to 20% on power consumption. A smart thermostat can also track your energy usage, send you alerts, and knows when the home is occupied or not, adjusting temperatures according to your preselected preferences.

Insulate your home Insulation doesn’t really come to mind in a tropical setting, but it’s as important in a hot climate as it is in a cold one. And the same principles apply — the roof and the windows are the biggest culprits for allowing heat to enter or escape your home. Installing double-glazed windows and roof insulation will result in considerable savings in energy costs as well as boost the comfort level in your home.

Look for the Energy Star label We forget that appliances often last a long time and the technology in our kitchens can be as outdated as that VHS video recorder you sent to landfill when the DVD was introduced (1996, if you’re interested). The refrigerator or washing machine that has served you well for the last 25 years can be replaced with an energy star unit that has one-quarter of the running cost of a 1990s unit. This is the simplest tip of all: when replacing appliances always look for the Energy Star label. You’ll be surprised how much of a saving you can make.

For more energy-saving tips, visit https://www.fortistci.com/energy-conservation