There are many ways to reduce electricity consumption throughout the home with minimal added effort. The first and most important thing people can do to reduce electricity use is to turn things off. Don’t leave a room without turning off the lights, and never leave home without turning them off. Try to remind yourself every time – adding a little reminder until you create a new habit can be helpful. They say it takes 66 days to form a new habit. Here at Green Leagues, we use stickers throughout our office to help remind ourselves to turn off the lights. Put these up at home and in your Community League to remind others and reinforce good habits.
It’s not just lights that you should turn off. Electronics such as televisions, stereo equipment, and computer equipment use a constant supply of electricity as well. Always turn off the television when you aren’t watching and use the sleep timer on your remote if you watch television when going to bed. You will sleep better and save electricity. Computer equipment should be turned off or put to sleep when not in use. Consider setting your computer to power saving mode, even when plugged in.
Consider using power bars where you have stereo equipment and computer equipment. Turn off the power bar to cut power to all devices, reducing phantom loads (power drawn from devices when idle). Just be sure to save first if your computer or gaming console is plugged into the power bar.