Going green – part 7 – conserve energy

Going green and conserving energy is a great deal in our modern world and everyone can benefit from the positive changes you make in your own home. Add to that the impact you will have on our environment, making the world a better place for future generations. For one and perhaps the most obvious attraction to home-owners, is the prospect of saving your hard earned money through energy conservation. There are many, many things you can do - both on a large scale or a small one. We will be taking a look at some ideas to get you started. What You Can Do Right Now The following tips are easy as pie and you can start saving energy today:

• Light bulbs - Save energy immediately by changing your light bulbs to energy efficient ones. You will certainly see a decrease in your next electricity bill. While on the subject of lights, it is also common sense to switch them on when they are not needed - don't be tempted to leave the bathroom light on throughout the night or accidentally leave lights on when you leave the house on a dark and gloomy morning.

• Plugs - Straight to the point now - unplug everything that you are not using frequently. This could be a radio or microwave which despite not being used, will suck up standby power when plugged in.

• Sunshine - Take advantage of our natural resources by bringing warmth into the house on sunny days. Open curtains and blinds so that the sun's rays can filter into your home and then at least close the blinds at night to keep the warmth locked in.

• Another Trick - Around thirty percent of our home's energy is lost through the windows, so black out curtains can assist in reducing the consumption of heating and cooling applications in your home. Not only that, but they have a long life due to the curtain fabrics used.

What You Can Do For The Future: Besides from the easy changes above, there are other techniques to conserving energy in the home. An area of the home that we often forget about, until we need to drag out the old wedding memorabilia, is the attic. Nobody likes to go up there right? The cobwebs, mice and other monsters - but if you want to save energy then at least send someone else up to insulate the space. The reason being because warm air rises, through to the attic and the roof - insulating it will prevent too much unnecessary loss of heat.