Today, January 10th is National Cut Your Energy Costs Day, so I thought it would be appropriate to share 10 easy ways to conserve energy, for both teens and adults who want to save money easily.
Reasons to Conserve Energy:
Save money on utility bills
Protect the environment
When you consume less energy, you reduce the amount of toxic fumes that are released by power plants, factories, and conserve Earth's natural resources from destruction. There's also a set amount of energy in the world, the more you use, the quicker you use it up. Energy will be harder to get, meaning that the price is going to go up. According to The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), given the current trends, energy-related emissions will increase by 70% by 2050. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) says that in 2019, total U.S. electricity generation by the electric power industry produced 1.72 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide. This speeds up the effects of global warming, meaning more extreme weather, the arctic melting, sea levels rising, hotter weather, etc. (None of these are good!)
A clean environment for your kids
Boost human health
How does conserving energy boost health, you might ask? Coal, natural gas, and oil emissions can cause health problems like asthma and lung cancer. Walking or biking instead of driving is exercise, which is great for physical health and mental health.
10 Easy Ways to Conserve Energy:
Shower with a timer.
Teenagers tend to take long showers, sometimes unintentionally. I know that many teens like me zone out in the shower, or perhaps give an hour-long performance. Although they may be fun, these long, hot showers waste a lot of water and gas to heat up the water. Try to set a timer for 10 minutes to reduce water and gas usage.
2. Don’t take baths.
Although baths are calming, it could take up to 25 gallons of hot water to fill up the tub, compared to a quick shower, which could possibly take only 7 gallons. It wastes tons of water and gas to take that bath. (These numbers depend on the size of the tub, and water pressure.)
3. Don’t leave the tap water running.
This one seems pretty simple and is along the lines of the first two, but leaving the tap running wastes a lot of unnecessary water. According to waterwise.org, leaving the tap running wastes over 6 liters of water a minute. If you leave the tap running while brushing your teeth, you are wasting about 24 liters of water a day.
4. Turn off the lights when you leave a room.
This lengthens how long the bulb lasts as well as lowers the utility bill. This is one of the easiest ones to do, seeing as you only have to flip a switch and you’re done. You aren’t even in the room that’s dark.
5. Unplug unused appliances.
The energy costs of plugged-in appliances really stack onto your bill, so unplugging them is the best way to get rid of this additional cost. Unplugging appliances can save you $100-$200 a year. It also protects against power surges.
6. Drop the car (whenever possible)
Help your parents, and/or yourself out by costing them less in gas money. The average cost of gas per year is $3,000. Biking or walking to school, work, or plans can save you more than $1000. The average American person uses around 656 gallons of gas each year. So, maybe get an electric car or bike for your seventeenth? A typical passenger vehicle also happens to produce about 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, which greatly influences global warming. Manufacturing a bike only produces 5 grams of carbon dioxide, and nothing else.
7. Close the refrigerator door!
Every time you open the fridge door, up to one-third of the cold air can escape.
8. Cut down on shopping, or thrift!
Consumer goods like clothes, tablets, shoes, and other items take energy to produce and transport to your local stores or to your house when you order online. Buy less! If you're going to splurge, thrift stores and second-hand stores have some extremely cute and unique things that you surely wouldn’t be able to find anywhere else. Plus, it’s energy-saving!
9. Eat greener.
The food industry is responsible for 26% of greenhouse gas emissions. The more people that go vegan, or eat a more vegan lifestyle, the lower the food industry emissions will hopefully be. I’m not saying to completely uproot your diet, but focus more on what you are putting in your body, and maybe cut out animal products a few times a week.
8. Tell parents to turn down the thermostat!
Americans tend to overheat houses in the winter. The most energy-efficient setting in the cold months is 68°F and 78°F in the summer. If cold, you can always bundle up with an extra sweatshirt, blanket, or fuzzy socks.
Some other ways to conserve energy:
Read instead of watching T.V. on occasion.
Use cold water when doing the laundry.
Keep doors closed in the summer to keep the cool air inside.
Close curtains during hot summer days to keep the house cool.
Replace a burnt-out lightbulb with a compact fluorescent bulb. (Saves energy, lasts longer.)
For hundreds of more ways to save energy: https://www.ovoenergy.com/guides/energy-guides/120-ways-to-save-energy.html
Works Cited
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RinkeshA true environmentalist by heart ❤️. Founded Conserve Energy Future with the sole motto of providing helpful information related to our rapidly depleting environment. Unless you strongly believe in Elon Musk‘s idea of making Mars as another habitable planet . “15 Amazing Reasons Why We Should Conserve Energy.” Conserve Energy Future, 13 May 2017, www.conserve-energy-future.com/whyconserveenergy.php.
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