Saving energy, both to ease the burden on your wallet and to contribute to conservation efforts, is a hot topic for many homeowners these days. But when you live in the country or on your own homestead, saving energy can be a little more challenging. Raising animals can often require extra energy, and by doing a lot of things yourself rather than buying pre-made versions, you may have to use more energy.
However, by focusing on energy-saving practices, you can still lower your utility bills exponentially, and do your part to help conserve the Earth’s resources and atmosphere. Here are some great ways to save energy on your homestead:
- Tint your windows, or use heavy drapes, to keep your house cooler naturally.
- Plant trees on the side of your home where the sun shines in, to ensure that your future energy use is lower.
- Rely more on ceiling fans or other fans, and less on the AC.
- Don’t leave any floor bare – area rugs help retain heat in the winter.
- Unlike ceiling fans, portable heaters won’t save you any money. Skip them and raise the temperature just a bit instead.
- Install a wood stove to heat your entire home, or to heat your barn or milking stall. Even if you used the wood heat during the day and your heater at night, you’ll save money.
- Changing your light bulbs to more energy efficient CFLs really does make a difference.
- Microwaves use less energy to heat leftovers than your oven.
- Vacuum your refrigerator coils. This one chore can have an immediate effect on the efficiency of your appliance.
- If you can’t line dry your laundry, do several loads all at once. The dryer uses less energy if it doesn’t cool down between loads.
These tips won’t add up to much on their own; but all together, they’ll help you lower your energy costs throughout the year without sacrificing your comfort or the efficiency of your homestead.
If you enjoyed this you might also like:
3 thoughts on “Saving Energy On The Homestead”
CFL’s Are TOXIC!!! Chromalux makes better and more efficient lighting solutions!!!
LED lights are probably a better solution. Thanks for the tip!
LED Christmas lights use only 5 watts per hour per 15 feet of line and can be connected to other lines. I put 3 lines down the middle of the house and have good area lighting in the whole house. Its really good at night when you can turn on the lights and go to the bath room to take a leak or go to the kitchen and get in the fridge for a drink of cold watter. Or go anywhere in the house to get or look at anything you are thinking about, like the thermostat or checking on the door locks or looking out on the porch to check on your dog. In stead of one 15 watt CFL in each room or one 8 watt LED bulb in each room each equaling a 60 watt standard bulb.