How to Save Energy During the Winter
It’s wintertime, and that means it’s going to get cold. That also means you are going to use a lot of energy to stay home. Many might be wondering how they can save energy to not only help the environment but also save a few bucks.
In the United States, 50% to 80% of residential fuel consumption occurs during the winter months. This is because most residential housing is older and still relies heavily on burning oil for heat. Most of it occurs in the Northeastern part of the country.
The good news is that there are some simple strategies that you can use to save energy this winter.
1. Cook With Your Oven
You don’t need to be a chef to know that it can get pretty hot in the kitchen. If you cook on a daily basis in your oven, that heat can keep a household warm, especially when it’s smaller. Even warming some water for a cup of tea or hot chocolate can be highly effective.
Granted, it will consume some energy, but it can help avoid running something like a space heater.
2. Dress Appropriately Helps to Save Energy
Many choose to wear thin comfortable clothes during the winter because they can turn on the heat. Well, you also have the option to dress warmly. Wearing long-sleeved pajamas and pants is a really simple way to stay warms and conserve energy.
If it’s not enough, you could wear multiple layers or use extra blankets.
3. Seal Your Windows With Weather Stripping
Windows play a huge role in a residential setting. They account for 30% of heat gains and losses in a household. Ultimately, poorly fit windows will cause you to use a lot of extra energy in the winter to stay warm and in the summer to stay cool.
Thus, it’s actually a great way to just lower your energy footprint by installing weather stripping.
4. Make Sure Your Door Is Properly Sealed
Normally, a door would only result in about a 3% heat loss, which isn’t much. However, many houses may have doors that let a lot more heat escape.
One way to see this is to try and install a heat mapping app on your smartphone.
If it turns out there is a huge temperature difference by the door (assuming it’s been shut for a while), you can save a lot of energy by replacing it or improving the sealing used.
This also works in the summer with air conditioning.
5. Insulate Your Home to Save Energy
Alright, I will admit this is way more complicated than the other entries on this list, but it’s really worth doing. When you consider that 17% of heat escapes through the walls and another 5% will escape through the ceiling, it adds up fast.
This is particularly effective in older homes where insulation may be quite old.
Save Energy & Stay Warm
The main takeaway here is that you can still stay warm but save a lot of energy in the process. I’m sure there are many others like myself that prefer the cold, though.
With that said, it’s important to stay warm. Just go about it in a smart and practical way.
Robert has been following and writing about environmental stories for years at GreenGeeks. He believes that highlighting environmentally friendly practices can help promote change in every household.
