Daily Home Renovation Tips

Editor’s Note: To view the 500+ different energy and water conservation tips for the home we have collected, simply access our free home Energy Saving and Water Saving Guide, 2nd Edition

Yesterday, we reviewed the many, many suggestions from our Energy Saving Guide on ways you can reduce the consumption of electricity in your home which will cost you just a little to do.

Today, we review the remaining ideas from our list which cost a little but can save you a lot on our electric utility bill through energy conservation measures.

Here we go.

Number 131, Timer on Christmas Lights. Absolutely, especially on the outdoor type which you plug into an electrical outlet. How many times have you seen someones outdoor Christmas lights on in the morning because they did not use a timer to automatically turn them off?

Number 132, CFL Lightbulbs. So much less electricity is consumed by CFL light bulbs and they last so much longer. Absolutely. And the prices of CFL’s are really coming down fast making these the obvious choice for most replacement bulbs. 

Number 133, Nightlights in Halls & Bathroom at Night. Great idea. Night lights use much less electricity than ceiling lights. And, with them on, you likely won’t need to turn on the ceiling lights at night which can wake every one else up. 

Number 134, Less Lights, More Candles. Careful. Interior candles can lead to home fires. This suggestion was submitted by a contestant in one of our past contest. It can work, but is not one of my favorites.

Number 135,  Motion Sensor Interior Light Switches. Are your children forgetting to turn the lights off in their room, no matter how often you gently remind them? If you install motion sensor light switches in their room, they can still turn off the lights when they leave, but if they forget the lights will turn themselves off in a few minutes. What price family harmony?

Number 136, Motion Sensor Exterior Light Switches. We have these for our porch lights so them come on only when someone approaches the front steps so we don’t leave the porch lights on all the time and therefore save electricity.

Number 137, Place Freezers / Refrigerators in Basements. Interesting idea. It is always cooler in the basement. So, if you place these appliances in the basement, the surrounding air will be less likely to cause them to run longer. Interesting idea submitted by one of our past contestants.

Number 138, Bathroom Fan Timers. How often have you left the bathroom, only to discover hours later that the fan was still running? Geeesh. Install a timer so you don’t keep the fan running for ever and waste precious electricity. We use the spring based type so we don’t consume electricity through the timer mechanism itself.

Number 139, Dimmer Light Switches. We use these in our family room, kitchen and bedrooms to allow us to adjust the brightness of the recessed ceiling lights as needed, especially to not keep them on the brightest setting when not needed to reduce their electricity consumption.

Number 140, Replace Worn Seals on Refrigerators. If your refrigerator’s seal is broken or cracked, then all of that cooled air inside the fridge is escaping, causing your refrigerator to work harder and consume more electricity.

Next time, more electricity conservation tips but these cost a little more.

Simply select this link to access the first of two articles reviewing the more costly electricity conservation ideas.