21 Ways to Conserve Energy, The Planet, & Your Hard-Earned Dough

Whatever your motivation, saving energy is a big win for the planet. Residential energy use accounts for approximately 20% of total greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. While that’s still a far cry from the 71% of total global emissions produced by just 100 companies, it’s not nothing.

Reducing your energy consumption is one of the best ways to reduce your carbon footprint at home.

And it needn’t cost a fortune in upfront investments, either. We can use less energy by simply changing a few of our daily habits and ticking off some regular maintenance chores or implementing small energy-savers. So power up (or rather power down) your engine and let’s flicker through some energy-saving tips.

Heating costs make up approximately 29% of your utility bill—so one of the best energy conservation practices is to simply turn down your heating thermostat.

Don’t break out the terra cotta pots, candles, and blankets though, as you don’t need to freeze to make a difference here. According to British Gas, by turning your thermostat down just one degree, you could cut your heating costs by around 10% (saving up to £145 per year for an average 3-bedroom house in the UK).

Still on the subject of your heating and cooling system, minimizing or doing away with the use of your air conditioning during the warmer months is another solid way to significantly cut your home energy costs. Air conditioners account for approximately 6% of all electricity generated in the US, so learning how to save money with an AC can make a big difference.

As with heating, installing a programmable thermostat helps to ensure the AC is only running when you need it.

Other ways to reduce air conditioner costs that cost a tiny bit of money include installing thermally insulated shades to blinds on windows (south-facing ones especially) and planting shading trees and shrubs around your home. This can cut costs by up to 25% and is a great way to increase biodiversity.

Speaking of cooling, fridges and freezers are two of the most energy-intensive appliances, accounting for approximately 12% of total energy bills. There are four ways to conserve energy when it comes to fridges and freezers:

• Check what temperature they are set at. The recommended temperature for a refrigerator is 35 to 38 degrees Fahrenheit and freezers should be kept at 0 degrees Fahrenheit.
• To keep them from working any harder than necessary, keep fridges and freezers in a cool place, away from radiators, ovens, direct sunlight, and other heat sources. There should be a gap of a few inches on the sides, back, and top.
• Carry out regular maintenance. Defrost your freezer every 6 months and make sure to keep condenser coils free of dust and debris by cleaning the back of your appliances regularly. You’ll be amazed how quickly dust builds up on these coils. We vacuum ours once a month since they’re front-facing and it’s still nasty!
• Check the door seals are airtight. If the seal isn’t fully working, air can escape and your appliances will need to work harder to keep cool. This means you shouldn’t stand there with the door open staring mindlessly wondering what to boredom eat, either.

This one’s not entirely free, but it is a maintenance task rather than investing in something new. A stitch in time saves nine!

Carrying out regular maintenance checks on your air conditioning and heating equipment and replacing the filter regularly helps ensure that your system is running efficiently. You can reduce the energy consumption of your A/C unit by 5% to 15% simply by keeping the filter clean.

The same goes with furnaces and electric space heaters. If not already equipped with a filter, you can buy some inexpensive carbon filter sheets and create your own pre-filter. Just be sure you’re not actually blocking or hindering the air intake, as this can damage the system, too.

So that you don’t get into hot water with your hot water—at least in terms of energy waste—try the following energy conservation tips:

• Dial down the temperature of your water heater from 140ºF to 120ºF. This can save up to $461 a year.
• Make sure to invest in an energy-efficient water heater when your old one needs replacing.
• In the meantime, use an insulating jacket for your old water heater to help reduce costs. This is especially useful if you’re looking for how to conserve energy during a winter storm, as extra cold ambient temperatures can quickly cool all that water the boiler worked so hard to heat.
• If you have a combi boiler, turning off the preheat setting will save energy (but not water).
• If you’re going out of town for any extended period of time, turn off the water heater so it isn’t needlessly heating water that won’t get used.

And if you’re water heater goes out, consider replacing it with a tankless water heater. These heat water on demand using a heat exchanger unit, instead of keeping a whole tank perpetually hot, so if you use less than 41 gallons of hot water in a day, they’re 24%–34% more energy efficient than conventional storage tank water heaters. If you use more hot water than that daily, they’re 8%–14% more efficient.

The amount of energy used by appliances left on stand-by might give you a bit of fright. Computers, game consoles, TV’s, appliances (such as blenders all use energy when left plugged in) and even eco chargers—to the tune of $200 a year! That means the near effortless act of unplugging something after use is easily one of the best ways to reduce energy consumption.

The use of smart power strips is a handy way to ensure that your tech is only switched on when it needs to be.

Savvy use of insulation can save energy by reducing your heating and cooling costs—thus being one of the best ways to conserve fossil fuels that power our heating sources.

Investing in increased insulation and energy-efficient windows do require an initial outlay, but there are also ways to save energy that needn’t cost you any extra. For instance, closing the curtains when it gets dark results in a 15% reduction in heat loss. In winter, keeping the curtains open on south-facing windows during the day, allows passive solar energy to heat up your home—just make sure to close them again at night.

Do the reverse in summer. Investing in organic curtains for your windows and a non-toxic rug for your floor provides insulation for the areas of the home most prone to gather or lose heat (depending on season).

Managing hot and cold air leaks—i.e. keeping hot air in and cool air out in the winter and vice-versa in the summer—is a key way to conserve electricity at home and cut heating expenses.

Weatherstripping is a low-cost solution for doors and windows. For a completely free, eco-solution, have a go at making your own draft stoppers. If you’ve been wondering what to do with old socks, a homemade draft stopper can help you sustainably repurpose these and tick that energy-saving box at the same time.

“If it’s not dirty, wash at 30”. Lowering the temperature on your eco-friendly washing machine is an easy way to save electricity—and the planet.

According to tests run by Which, changing the temperature from 40°C (104°F) to 30°C (86°F) saved 38% of the energy, and dropping to 20°C (68°F) saved 62%.

Tumble dryers are one of the most expensive appliances to run—not to mention being pretty hard on your clothes. Instead, make use of the sun’s free drying power by hanging out your laundry to dry—or if you haven’t got an outside space, hang them up near an open window or other well-ventilated area (to avoid accumulating moisture indoors).

If you do use a dryer, using natural wool dryer balls creates gaps between the clothes, helping the air to circulate better and absorb extra moisture, reducing drying time by about 30%! Be sure to also clean your lint trap after every load, as too much build-up can make the dryer work harder to vent, consuming more energy.

Due to the power needed to both heat the water and run the appliance itself, wet appliances (dishwashers and washing machines) are responsible for 14% of an average home’s electricity bill, making them the hungriest home appliances. In addition to dialing down the temperature, make sure you’re only turning them on for a full load each time.

If you use reusable diapers, have a read of our how to wash cloth nappies article to find out how to keep soiled diapers fresh while waiting for a full load to build up.

Did you know that electric showers guzzle electricity?

Before you duck behind your eco-friendly shower curtain, set a timer. Keeping yourself to a 4-minute shower could save £95 a year. For the ultimate energy-saving shower, you could go full Wim Hoff and start taking cold showers—though we also understand if this isn’t your ideal solution.

Performing household tasks manually can reduce total energy consumption. Grab a broom and eco-friendly mop for your hard floors instead of reaching for the vacuum cleaner.

Using an old-fashioned dustpan and brush not only saves you energy, but you can add those crumbs and dust bunnies to your compost. You can’t compost the contents of your hoover bag due to synthetic carpet fibers and who knows what else.

As already mentioned, you can hang your laundry out to dry instead of using the dryer, and if you only have a few items of laundry but need them washed ASAP, hand wash them instead of doing a small load.

When it comes to washing your dirty dishes, there’s an exception to the “do chores manually” advice. Compared to handwashing, dishwashers use less energy and much less water, so put those rubber gloves away and let this appliance take care of cleaning your eco-friendly dinnerware.

There are three ways to conserve energy when using a dishwasher.

• Be sure to fill it to capacity before turning it on.
• Use the “eco-setting” if you have one.
• Turn off your dishwasher before the drying cycle, open the door, and let residual heat do the work instead. This can save 15% of dishwasher energy use.

It might sound obvious, but making sure all appliances and electronic equipment are turned off and unplugged before you leave for a trip can cut that phantom load, ensuring that you’re only consuming energy when you need to.

While it can be dangerous to shut off all heat in colder months (you don’t want to risk freezing pipes), a programmable thermostat can make sure the heating and cooling system isn’t using unnecessary electricity.

We spend a lot of time in our ktichens, so it’s no wonder they’re responsible for a decent chunk of our energy consumption, both electricity and gas alike, if your stove and oven are gas powered.

In the spirit of cooking up conservation, here are ten ways to conserve energy in your zero waste kitchen:

• Use the right size stove ring for the size of your pan to prevent heat loss.
• Use stackable steamers.
• Keep lids on pans when cooking. This greatly reduces cook time by keeping the heat inside the pan.
• Use an eco-kettle and only fill it with the amount of water you need.
• Join the Crock Pot cult and batch cook a week’s worth of meals to save on energy.
• Cool food before refrigerating leftovers so you don’t warm your fridge.
• Defrost food in the fridge overnight or in a cool water bath instead of using a microwave. In fact, ditch the microwave, period. Though we’ve been told ad naseum that they’re safe for food, studies have found that microwave heating at a high power level can cause greater acrylamide (a neurotoxic and carcinogenic substance) formation in food than conventional heating methods.
• Don’t leave appliances on standby. While you often can’t unplug things like your microwave, dishwasher, and fridge, your blender, air fryer, and other small, less frequently used appliances don’t need to stay plugged in when not in use.
• Minimize the number of times you open the oven door to check on the food.

In order to really get a handle on your energy usage and understand the hungriest appliances, it’s a good idea to buy an energy monitor if you don’t have one already.

Some types give an “in-use” reading, so you can see exactly how much energy different appliances use. They can also give you a snapshot of how much energy you’ve used over the past week or month, so you can track your habits and improve them.

Combined with sustainable lighting fixtures, energy-efficient light bulbs create a well-lit ambiance that doesn’t compromise the future of our planet.

If you haven’t already, carry out an inventory of your lightbulbs and check that they are all LED. Short for “light emitting diode bulbs”, LEDs consume 75% less electricity and last up to 25% longer than traditional incandescent bulbs. Opt for the lowest wattage possible and buy from reputable brands that make high-quality LED light bulbs that will last.

Don’t forget to maximize natural lighting and switch off lights when you leave the room.

When it’s time to replace your old appliances, look for eco-friendly appliances that are ENERGY STAR EPA-approved.

Thanks to the EnergyGuide label associated with these certifications, you can find out the yearly energy running cost of each appliance, making it easier to find energy-efficient alternatives.

As mentioned above, “phantom load” or “vampire energy” (the amount of energy used by appliances when left on standby) can add a significant amount to your energy bills. Although modern energy-efficient appliances and devices draw less energy in the form of a phantom load, the resulting energy waste still adds up.

Employing the help of a smart power strip is one of the easiest ways of conserving energy at home. Just hit one button and cut the power to multiple devices.

Installing solar panels isn’t a small investment, but if you are in a position to do it, it’s possibly the best solution for energy savings in the long term—especially if there are government incentives like loans or tax breaks where you live.

So they save energy, but are solar panels sustainable? Despite some concerns regarding raw materials, manufacturing practices and recyclability, solar panels are an effective solution to cutting down on GHG emissions—at least if you live somewhere that gets a lot of sun and you can place them somewhere for maximum solar gain.

For a smaller step in the solar direction, have a look at portable solar panels for powering devices on the move.