Rethink Energy Efficiency

If someone asked you the most effective way to save energy, what would you say?

Chances are, you’d tell them to turn off the lights, drive less and change the thermostat. At least, that’s what most people would say.

An intriguing article was recently published in Scientific American that says this isn’t the case, however. Scientists surveyed over 500 Americans to learn what their preconceptions about energy savings are. And they discovered that most people overstate how much energy they’re saving.

To truly save energy, we have to improve the efficiency of our homes and cars. We need to replace our drafty windows, add insulation to the attic, replace our old appliances, and transition to cars that burn less fuel.

So why do so many of us cite flipping the switch and driving less as the best ways to save energy? The reason is because those actions are easy-we can do them with little or no thought.

High impact changes like adding insulation to our home requires thought and planning. We have to go to the store, figure out what kind of insulation to buy, purchase it, and then come back home to install it. Because this is so much work, many of us negate this huge impact this would have on our energy consumption. Turning off lights is just so much…easier.

What We Can Do

Scientific American lists some really easy, high-impact changes we can make.

For instance, choose aluminum over glass when buying a beverage. Glass requires 1.4 times the amount of energy that aluminum requires.

Also, don’t bother line drying your clothes. Simply switching to cold water and optimizing your loads will save more energy than skipping the dryer.

Another great suggestion? Cool the room, not the entire house. Many people think that room A/C units burn just as much energy and whole-home systems. But this is false; cooling one room will save much more energy than using an entire system.