Save Money by Using Energy Just Where You Need it

One of the key principles for saving money is to focus energy just where you need it. The best way to understand this principle is by looking at some examples.

Put Heat Just Where People Need it

You can save money on your home heating bill by heating just the rooms you use. The reason we heat our homes is to keep people comfortable so putting the heat just where people are will reduce waste.

We don’t heat the garage because people don’t spend much time there. If you are working on your car, it is a good idea to use a portable heater. But, heat it just while you are working there.

Inside the house you can save by keeping the rooms that you use the most warmer and letting the rest cool off. Using a space heater to keep the family room a warm 72 while the rest of the house is at a cool 65 is an example of this. (This will work only if the main thermostat is not in the warm room.)

At night when folks are in the in bed for eight hours or so, you should focus energy just on the bed. Using an electric blanket, electric mattress pad or a warm quilt to keep people warm will let you save money by turning your thermostat way down.

At work, office areas should be heated to the 69 to 73 temperature range, but factory work areas can be cooler. 66 degrees is a comfortable working temperature where there is physical activity. Overnight, unoccupied areas should be allowed to cool off. 

Air Condition people not things

Avoid air conditioning empty rooms to save money. If you have a spare bedroom, don’t cool it.

If no one is home don’t cool an empty house. The same idea works at work. If your office is unoccupied over the weekend don’t waste energy heating or cooling it. Your fax machine doesn’t care about the temperature.

Focus the Light on the Job to be Done

Reading lamps are the classic example of using light just where needed. Task lights allow us to put enough light where it is needed without over lighting the whole room.

Another at home example is in the kitchen. We need plenty of light over the stove and where food is being prepared. We don’t need as much light where the trash can is located.

We want good light in the dining area but less light is needed in hallways. A lamp right next to your favorite chair helps you read the newspaper, but it can be switched off when you watch TV.

At work we need really good light at quality inspection areas. We don’t need that high intensity light in the traffic aisles. Task lighting saves money by tailoring the amount of illumination based on the work to be done in that area.

If you understand and apply the idea of focusing energy just where you need it you can save money of your utility bills.

Click here for a free money saving report written by the Energy Boomer titled HOW SAVE MONEY ON YOUR NEXT HEATING BILL

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