11 Tips to Conserve Energy & Reduce Your Next Utility Bill

Starting from the moment we wake up to when we go to bed, every moment of our life is dominated by the use of energy. We use energy to charge our phones, turn on lights, cook our foods, and even drive our cars 🚗 (honk honk). With this in mind, it’s important to consider adopting practices that help conserve energy.

Bonus: it can seriously cut down on your utility bill! 💰

Double bonus: it takes hardly any effort at all! 🦥

The difference between energy conservation and energy efficiency

Energy conservation and energy efficiency are related, but there are key differences between the two. Energy conservation is using less energy by making changes to our behaviors and habits. While energy efficiency is using technology that requires less energy to perform the same function.

An example of energy efficiency would be replacing your lightbulbs with energy saving LED bulbs. Changing your lightbulbs may cost a little upfront but down the road you’ll eventually be saving money and energy! 💡🤑

With energy conservation you can start making an impact immediately with little to no cost. You could do something as simple as turning the lights off when you leave the room.

So basically, making the conscious decision to use less energy IS energy conservation!

Why does energy conservation matter?

When we use energy we are relying on coal, oil, and gas. Which are all finite and non-renewable resources.

Energy conservation matters for several reasons:

1. Reducing energy consumption helps conserve our natural resources and wildlife for future generations. If we use less energy then that means we don’t need to invade natural areas to build power plants. I don’t know about you, but I sure hope there are still places for me to go hiking in the future.
2. The production and consumption of energy are significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. By reducing our consumption, we can decrease emissions and mitigate the impacts of climate change. All of this can help us prevent air, water, and thermal pollution.
3. If you conserve energy, you save money. If this isn’t enough to convince you, know that you can save money by changing some of your habits. By using less energy you can lower you energy bills, which can help lower living expenses.

By learning to conserve energy, we can conserve natural resources and save a few extra bucks! 🤑

11 easy ways to conserve energy at home

There are SO many ways to conserve energy, most of them are adjusting your habits to use less energy and some are changing the products to ones that are energy efficient…..Here are some ways you can conserve energy at home!

🌡️ Program your thermostat to a lower temperature when you are away from home. During the winter, if you usually have it at 75°F, try lowering it to 70°F. If you have a furry friend at home, 70°F is fine and even 50°F - 60°F is okay…just make sure they have a blanket too!

🌬️ Whenever possible, regulate your home temp by zone. If the previous tip was energy conservation 101, consider this 201. If you’re just chilling in your living room, consider only heating or cooling this room. For example, we use a cute electric fireplace to heat one room nice and toasty while we turn down the whole-house thermostat!

👕 Conserve heat when doing laundry. Try drying one load after another to make the most of the heat from the previous load. If you want to be a true eco warrior you can also air dry, which is going to use no energy at all.

☀️ Make like a plant and soak up the sun. Use natural light as much as possible.

🔌 Unplug your appliances when they are not in use. For instance, I unplug my phone charger every morning.

💡 Only use the lights you need. Your parent/guardian has probably told you this numerous times before, but turn off the lights when you leave a room. I know, I know it’s basic.

♨️ Take a warm shower. I’m not saying take cold showers - that’s a journey you have to embark on yourself - but lowering the temperature can help reduce the energy it takes to heat your water.

🧊 Don’t overfill your refrigerator. You need to leave room in your fridge so the air can effectively flow around to keep things cool plus less food waste! Sounds like a win-win to me.

🍳 Use your kitchen appliances wisely! Do you have a favorite burner on your stove? What if I told you can conserve energy by using the burner that matches your pot size?

🚿 Water conservation is key, too. We are all guilty of this, but take shorter showers!

⬆️ Keep energy-efficient upgrades in mind. This isn’t the easiest tip, but do a little research into energy efficient appliances for when that old fridge inevitably bites the dust. Learning and exploring before a panic buy happens is key!

We know changing your habits can be hard, but hopefully you can incorporate a few of these tips to conserve energy into your daily life!