In order to effectively save energy, it is really important to make small little changes to your lifestyle. Most of these changes are so small that you wont even notice as they are set into your lifestyle, and yet they make a ton of a difference when it comes to conserving energy.
Let me give you an example. By changing something as simple as the way you dress up, you could find yourself saving more energy than you ever imagined. Dress lightly in the summertime to help you save on air conditioning costs, and wear an extra layer or two before you decide to crank up the heat on the thermostat in the winters. By doing just that, you can save up to 20% of f your air conditioning and heating costs. These savings can be further increased by regularly cleaning and lubricating your furnace or a/c to provide for optimal power utilization.
Replace your standard incandescent light bulbs with CFLs, which consume only a fraction of the power consumed by the former. Unplug electronic equipment when not in use, and make it a point to turn off every appliance that you turn on. In doing so, you can reduce your energy costs by a further 15 %.
When you wash your clothes, choose the cold wash option. By choosing the cold wash option, you end up saving about 85% of the power which would have been spent on heating the water for a hot wash.
You can also start using alternate power sources like solar power and wind power to augment the power supply of your home. Most of the people who use a combination of the above two are able to generate enough power to take themselves completely off the power grid.
So you see, conserving energy is not just about making changes to your home’s infrastructure, but a lot of it also depends on how you choose to modify your lifestyle.