subject: Cutting Energy Costs [print this page] Especially nowadays where so many people are out of work and still thousands more are trying to scrimp and save pennies wherever they can, one of the first places that people look is towards their energy bills. Last month alone, the energy bill for the apartment where my boyfriend and I live was the highest I've ever had to pay for an energy bill since living in apartments on my own. However, when we went over to a friend's house for dinner one night recently, they were complaining to us about how high their energy bill was. It turns out that their energy bill was well over $200 from what we were going to have to pay. Similarly, when speaking to my mother in New York, she had informed me that their energy bill was almost $500 that month just for the gas. This didn't even include the electricity!
The more energy we can save, the better off our wallets will be as well as the environment. One thing that I try to always remember when thinking about how to save energy is to shut off lights when I am not using them. There are also eco-friendly light bulbs that you can purchase from any local supermarket or retail store such as Target. Why, when I went out to visit my grandmother who lives a few hours away from me, she sent my boyfriend and I out to purchase some CFLs (compact fluorescent lights) for her apartment. These types of light bulbs were supposed to use less wattage than regular light bulbs and last a lot longer. When we got back and replaced her old light bulbs in the guest bathroom with these newer light bulbs, the difference was immediately apparent. These light bulbs were significantly brighter. While saving energy costs is certainly important, I didn't really care for the CFLs because of how incredibly bright they were.
Other ways to save energy in your home is by using less water. One of the things that I get on my boyfriend about is he has a bad habit of letting the water run. He will use the bathroom and let the water in the sink run for a while until it is hot enough for him to wash his hands. While I can certainly appreciate what it means to have warm water for the purpose of washing my hands, think about how much water is being wasted while you wait for it to warm up! The same goes for showers. Think of how many gallons of water are wasted for each minute that you are in the shower. Obviously, taking a bath would help to conserve water, but if you are not much of a bath person, you could do just as well by taking shorter showers. As my mother and father always stated, In and Out! when referring to taking showers in the morning before school when we were younger.
