ENERGY CONSERVATION Although not as sexy as solar, Energy conservation is the place to start for all of your solar electric and solar heating needs. Energy conservation can begin in the first stages of building a home or be incorporated into a pre-existing home or business to make it more energy efficient. With energy conservation you will get the fastest return on your investment dollar. After you have gotten your energy usage as low as possible, you are ready to GO SOLAR. Listed below are a few of the easy first steps to lowering your energy usage and making your home or business less of an energy hog and a smarter, greener, more rewarding building.

Turning things off

As simple as it sounds, one of the easiest ways to conserve energy is to turn things off when they are not in use. If the TV is not being watched, why is it on? If you are not using the computer and won’t be anytime soon, turn it off. If you leave a room and aren’t planning on going back into it immediately, turn off the lights. There are many off the shelf timers, switches and controls available to help you use only the electricity you need to.

Compact flourescent light bulbs

One of the largest and most consistent energy users in homes and businesses is lighting. Most homes have dozens of 60 to 120 watt incandescent light bulbs throughout the home. These bulbs are cheap up front but they use 75% more electricity then their compact flouresent counterparts. Compact fluorescent light bulbs take 10- 25 watts of electricity, but still produce the equivalent amount of light as an incandescent bulb, so you can save energy but still be in the light. Also if you use air conditioning compact fluorescents will save you even more as they put out 75% less heat then regular bulbs. With compact fluorescents bulbs you get one of the fastest returns on your investment of all of your conservation measures. These light bulbs are available almost everywhere in different styles and wattages to accommodate all of your lighting needs, except where you have dimmer switches. Compact fluorescent light bulbs are a smart, easy and inexpensive first energy saving step for any home or business.

Energy efficient appliances

One of the most important components to an energy efficient home or business, whether it is solar powered or utility grid powered, is energy efficient appliances. Your refrigerator, dishwasher, clothes washer, boiler, etc. are the big energy users in most homes. If you are planning on having a home with a solar system, efficient appliances are a must. Additionally buying energy efficient appliances is considerably cheaper (and better for the environment) then buying inefficient appliances and a larger solar system to power them. For example: The price difference between an efficient refrigerator and an inefficient one might be $400 but the solar system price difference to power them might be $1,500. When buying new appliances, choose wisely!