Electricity seems like an easy concept for most home owners. You pay your monthly bill, the company provides you with energy to heat and light your home and run as many appliances as you see fit. But that energy must come from somewhere, and are running all those appliances costing you more money than they should? To understand how to save yourself money and conserve energy for a better planet, here are 12 home electricity facts you didn’t know that can help you accomplish both.
1. Energy Sources
The three primary energy sources for U.S. consumers are petroleum oil, natural gas, and coal. Alternative power methods such as solar energy, wind power, and nuclear energy are being added at increasing rates, but are still in the minority when it comes to supplying mass populations with power.
2. Programming Can Save
Heating and cooling costs make up a large portion of our electric bill, but you can save on these by taking advantage of programming technology on your thermostat. This allows you to set a specific temperature based on time of day or amount of activity in the household to maximize the natural heat produced by people moving around, and reduce the amount of energy used each day.
3. Timing is Everything
In addition to programming thermostats, there are now devices that can program when certain products run to operate only during low-cost energy times. Items like hot tubs, spas, or exhaust fans can run up bills if ran constantly, but having these on a timer can avoid wasting energy and save you money over time.
4. Lighting the Way
You can now purchase motion sensors for lights in your home that will automatically turn off the lights source when no activity is detected after a certain amount of time. This is a great investment if you are tired of nagging at your family to remember to turn off the lights to save energy.
5. Savings All Around
The government is pushing for more energy efficient appliances, products, and practices. If all goes as planned, by 2030 we could see as much as $327 billion in energy savings in transportation, household, and industry energy costs.
6. Heavy Debt
If we managed to double energy efficiency, the money the country would save could pay of the existing debt for every household in the United States. This would make for a better world both environmentally and economically.
7. Moving Away from Fossil Fuels
In 1973, petroleum oil provided 18 percent of electric energy, but by 2011 this had dropped down to only 1 percent, proving that we are moving away from fossil fuels to more efficient and cleaner energy choices.
8. Coal Hard Facts
Though we are moving away from fossil fuels, we are still using coal for a majority of our energy output. Approximately 900 million tons of coal is used to produce 40 percent of America’s energy source for each year.
9. Environmental Concerns
While it does supply energy, coal is the second highest cause of energy-related carbon emissions. Petroleum is first, but coal releases 34 percent of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions. These emissions are linked to acid rain, smog, global warming and health issues that should concern us all.
10. Efficient Energy for an Efficient World
With these concerns, it should inspire us to work toward more efficient energy consumption and production practices. If America reached its energy efficiency goals, we could reduce the carbon dioxide emissions by 4 billion metric tons – cleaning up the atmosphere and making cleaner air for a future generation.
11. Reducing Usage
Commercial and Residential buildings use a majority of the energy produced in the U.S., with transportation, electric-powered generators, and industry using the remaining. We all need to work together to reduce consumption and improve efficiency across the board.
12. Personal Investments
If you’re looking to personally invest in ways to reduce energy consumption, consider solar panels or other solar energy sources. You can lower costs and consumption by up to 30 percent with the right type of panels.
Scientifically, there are numerous other basic facts about electricity and energy we can discuss, but the facts above have the most impact on our usage as a society, and how we can reduce both costs and consumption across the board for a cleaner, more efficient energy-filled planet.