A quick and easy way to reduce your electricity bill is to turn off appliances at the powerpoint when you’re not using them. When things like computers and TVs switch into standby mode, they still use electricity, which can really add up over time.
To make your water heater even more efficient, drain the tank and flush out the sediment at the bottom (Photo 2). Otherwise, you could be heating through inches of sediment before heating the water.
If your fridge was made before 2001, it’s using at least 40 percent more electricity than new Energy Star models. If you’re replacing your fridge, buy an Energy Star model and recycle your old one. Don’t hook up the old one in the basement or garage—an inefficient refrigerator costs as much as $280 a year in electricity. Any money you save buying food in bulk and storing it in an inefficient second fridge is lost in electric costs.
A programmable thermostat can save you tons of money over the long run (as in, thousands of dollars). If you don’t have one, consider making the investment. It’s also one of the easiest ways to save electricity because of the whole set it and forget it approach. There are many ways to save on electricity.
Dishwashers may use electricity, but they save more energy, money, water and time than hand washing. According to the California Energy Commission, using an Energy Star-qualified dishwasher instead of hand washing can save you, on average, 5,200 gallons of water and $40 in utility costs each year, not to mention 240 hours of your time.
Insulate your home. Making sure there are good seals on the doors and windows leads to huge savings in energy costs. Insulation keeps your home from leaking cool air-conditioned air during the summer and warm heated air during the winter. Have a contractor inspect your home’s insulation to determine whether it’s efficient enough. Consider the attic, crawlspaces, basement, walls and ceiling. You may want to look into fitting your home with new insulation. Weather-strip your home by using caulk and weather strip in your doorways, windows and around window air conditioners. You can also purchase plastic sheeting to put over the windows during the winter.
If your family members can never seem to be able to turn off a light, then the best solution is motion detectors, such as the GE Indoor 120-degree Motion-sensing Light Control or the Defiant Indoor 360 Degree Motion Sensing Socket. They only turn on when someone’s in the room and then turn themselves off when they don’t detect any movement. You can get these at your local home improvement store and they simply screw into light sockets. Then, you screw the (hopefully energy efficient) light bulb into the motion detector. It’s crazy-easy, and the US Department of Energy says that using sensors like these can cut wasted lighting electricity by 30 percent.
Speaking of summer, if you run an AC, consider planting trees on the south and western sides of your house. The shade will help it stay cooler. Bonus points if they are fruit or nut producing trees too!
Understand that this saving is not restricting your freedom, but this a way to be fair to yourself, the nature and rest of the world. Unplug electric appliances when not in use to save electricity. Try to use the air conditioner less by turning on one at a time to cool the whole house. Instead of using the air conditioner, you can save money by opening windows or using fans, especially ceiling fans, and finally the best way to save money of electricity is to go solar and we can help you with that.
How many solar panels will I need for my home? The number of panels you’ll need for your home will depend on several factors. The easiest thing to do is to look at your electricity bill to get your home’s hourly energy usage, multiply that by the peak sunlight hours for your home (3 to 5 hours on average), and divide by 300, which is an average wattage for solar panels (although they can range from 150 to 370). Hourly energy usage x peak sunlight hours / 300 = number of panels. This typically ranges from 17-42 panels. One simple way of answering “How many solar panels do I need” is to let a local solar installer check out your home and give you a quote for system size (including number and wattage of panels), cost, and estimated annual and lifetime savings. Let our Solar Advisors match you with the perfect installer in your area.. Which is the best type of solar panel? There are several types of solar technology, but almost all home solar panels use crystalline silicon (monocrystalline or polycrystalline). The main difference is the purity of the silicon. Monocrystalline silicon is made from a single-crystal, and polycrystalline silicon is made by melting silicon fragments together. In monocrystalline panels, there are fewer impurities, so the electrons are less likely to get blocked before leaving as electricity, thus these panels are “more efficient” or better at turning sunlight into electricity. German produces the highest efficiency monocrystalline solar panels available. The best Solar Panels have efficiency of up to 22.8 percent, making it the best performing panel on the market today. Polycrystalline panel efficiency typically ranges from 15 to 17 percent. You may ask, Why do high-efficiency solar panels matter? More power in less space. A high efficiency rating ensures your solar system will generate more electricity with fewer panels on your roof. Fewer panels with more power are great for smaller roofs as well as maintaining curb appeal on larger roofs. Plus, with fewer high efficient panels, you’ll have room to expand your solar system if you get an electric vehicle or add on to your home. Right now. Using fewer materials per watt is also great for sustaining our planet. In fact, it’s a double benefit, because less energy is required to construct the system, and more solar energy is generated at a faster rate. Do solar panels wear out over time? In short, yes. Your roof isn’t a very hospitable place, so conventional solar cells lose power over time because of corrosion and breakage. To save cost, these solar panels are commonly built with less durable design and materials.
A home energy audit is often the first step in making your home more efficient. An audit can help you assess how much energy your home uses and evaluate what measures you can take to improve efficiency. But remember, audits alone don’t save energy. You need to implement the recommended improvements. ENERGY STAR provides extensive information about home improvement projects to enhance energy efficiency, lower utility bills, and increase comfort. You can perform a simple energy audit yourself, or have a professional energy auditor perform a more thorough audit. Do-It-Yourself Audits If you have five minutes and your last 12 months of utility bills, use the ENERGY STAR Home Energy Yardstick to compare your home’s energy efficiency to similar homes across the country and get recommendations for energy-saving home improvements from ENERGY STAR. You will also need to enter some basic information about your home (such as zip code, age, square footage, and number of occupants). If you don’t have your bills, contact your utility for a 12-month summary. Hire a Professional Home Energy Auditor such as LA Solar Systems If you are interested in getting specific recommendations for improving the efficiency of your home, consider us. Home Performance with ENERGY STAR can help you cost-effectively improve your home’s energy efficiency. Specially-trained contractors evaluate your home using state-of-the-art equipment, recommend comprehensive improvements that will yield the best results, and help you to get the work done. Find more information on Home Performance with ENERGY STAR in your area.
Most of the energy audit is done on main service panel where we can determine what circuit breaker is being used the most energy and trace it down to equipment that is being used and compare it to factory name plate to see if within specifications, LA Solar always conduct a energy audit for all its clients.
1. Call LA Solar Systems If you have been thinking about going solar,. Our staff will explain the process and all the financing options, and provide you with detailed information about components and how they work. 2. We realize that your time is valuable, so we’ll make sure you have a suitable site for solar before making a visit. During this step, we’ll talk about your energy usage and what you you’re looking for in a new solar pv system. We keep you posted step by step 3. Solar Audit We’ll conduct a free visit to assess your site’s solar potential using the most accurate tools and technology available today. This data will be used to design the perfect system for your home or business.
4. Design and Review Our solar designer will create a customized computer model of your solar array so you can see how it will look on your roof. The model will also generate information about how much solar energy your system will be expected to produce. That electrical generation translates into savings on your energy bill. 5. We’ll take care of all the detailed paperwork and review it with you before you sign. Our installation process is streamlined and stress free and our installation professionals can often install a residential system in about 5 days.
With so many trendy investment opportunities available in today’s day and age, it’s easy to be skeptical of new products that boast promises of “saving you tons of money.” Solar panels are no different – saving money by reducing your electric bill is one of the main appeals and selling points for solar as a product and home upgrade. The simple answer to the question “do you Save money by going solar?” is yes. That being said, how much you’ll save depends on a number of factors. Direct hours of daily sunlight and the size and angle of your roof are both important, but local electricity rates play the biggest role in determining how much solar system can save you.
When you install solar panels on your roof, you are essentially turning your home into its own mini power plant. You generate renewable energy, reducing or eliminating your electricity costs altogether by going solar
Save money by going solar are depends on two simple factors:
The price you currently pay to buy electricity from the grid
The price you’ll pay to generate your own electricity with solar
Generally, the rule of thumb is if your electricity costs are higher than your solar costs, you’re going to see savings by switching to solar.
Regardless of going solar or not, you will continue to make an electricity payment every single month for as long as you require electricity – or until your solar purchased solar system is paid off. In turn, utility companies will continue to raise their rates year after year, and your costs will continue to increase. The grid will continue to fluctuate and electricity costs will peak at unexpected moments over the course of a year.
With solar, you avoid these issues by taking control of your costs. Instead you’ll pay a fixed monthly loan payment with an end date and eliminate your electricity bill completely! Once your loan payment is over, you’ll be generating your own renewable energy for free. Wouldn’t you rather put your money towards paying off an investment that’s adding value to your house at the same time as reducing or eliminatingyour electric bill and netting you savings right away? no brainer, right?
Of course, there are other factors included in the equation of how much you’ll be able to Save money by going solar such as your roof’s sun exposure and structural limitations, how much energy you use, and your zip code.
And the best reason to Save money by going solar is that The homeowners will get 30% tax credit, many of whom still view solar as beyond their financial reach or as a resource still unproven. Costs for home solar systems continue to plummet. Since the solar and wind Investment Tax Credit (ITC) was implemented in 2006, the cost of installing solar has dropped by more than 73 percent, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. And the 30 percent tax credit for solar under the ITC, set to expire at the end of 2015, has been extended by Congress for an additional three years, followed by a two-year ramp-down period.
With so many trendy investment opportunities available in today’s day and age, it’s easy to be skeptical of new products that boast promises of “saving you tons of money.” 
Recent Comments