Thursday, February 19, 2009

Basic Electricity

Saving Electricity - It'S Shockingly Easy

Author: Dave Tishendorf

Pardon the pun. If your power bill is a drag on the family budget, saving electricity probably is a serious subject for you, and you are in no mood to laugh about it.

If that’s the case, you aren’t alone. As our national economy struggles to regain its footing, thousands of people across the country are having a tough time paying the light bill.

But the truth is, it really is very easy to reduce that bill, maybe get it down to a manageable size.

Here are a few things you can do:

** It seems pretty obvious and maybe even simpleminded, but start off by limiting your use of electricity. I mean, the less you use, the less you have to pay, right? And if you are serious about saving electricity, then take serious action.

That may require a little reprogramming of your habits, but that’s OK. It’s something that can be done if you really want to. If it helps, just think of it as doing yourself and your family a favor.

Take the room you are sitting in right now, for example.

If you were to take a call in another room or join your family at the dining table, would you just step out of your room without giving a thought to the electrical appliances in the room?

If you would, hold it right there and look around. Switch off all the appliances, even if you are going to be back in 5 minutes. Yes, even 5 minutes will help. The longest journey begins with a single step, the rivers that flow into the ocean all begin with a single drop, and all that.

Another thing to take care of here is what you perceive as an electronic appliance. Would you switch off the television set, turn off the fan, but not the light? Yes, you need light, but not if you aren’t in the room.

Make it your new mantra that from now on you will take care of these small things, because it is the small things that add up to that huge electricity bill.

** Make a few smart investments. Replace your incandescent bulbs, for example, with compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. These bulbs are great power savers.

** Get control of your huge power-using home appliances. Here are some suggestions:

** Use the washing machine only when you have a full load of clothes.

** Keep the air-conditioner on low in the summer. Same for the furnace in winter. Wear a sweater in the house if you’re a bit cool; don’t just crank up the heat.

** Learn how to take a “military” shower. Rinse down. Turn the water off. Soap and shampoo. Turn the water back on and rinse off. Water heaters are enormous energy eaters – do whatever you can to get them under control.

** Switch off the computer monitor even when you take a one-minute break. It takes just a second to switch on the monitor again.

Make saving electricity a way of life. You’ll be surprised how quickly you will get used to it. And the reduced electricity bill will be a nice reward for you.

Of course, there is a way you can eliminate your electricity bill entirely. How nice would that be? Check out the link below to get the details.

About the Author:

To learn how to get rid of your light bill forever, go to http://diy--solar-panels.com.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/saving-electricity-its-shockingly-easy-780062.html

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