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Most daytime lighting choices are built into good house design: the inherent energy efficiency of using the sun's light (and heat) far outweigh any gains made by using low-cost bulbs or other powered options.
However, humans still need light after the sun has gone down so there are choices to be made for the proper selection and use of lighting fixtures and equipment. Studies show that about 20% of a home's electricity goes into lighting, so the savings should not be underestimated!
Heating Appliances
As a general rule, heating appliances are the most logical when calculating energy use: the more heat, the more energy they burn. This is true for both cooking appliances (cooktops, ovens, ranges) and clothes dryers – the more you use them, the more they cost.
There is, however, one notable exception to this rule in the kitchen: induction cooktops.
It can be difficult to separate a building's inherent energy needs from those of the people living in it. This is especially true once the home is occupied and in many ways is irrelevant since overall energy usage is all that affects the bill.
Calculating Energy Requirements
The first step in planning a PV installation is to determine the exact amount of renewable energy you require. You should start by reviewing your energy use to reduce electricity consumption wherever possible, which in turn decreases your system generation requirements and costs. The general rule to remember is that every dollar invested in energy efficiency will reduce the capital cost of electrical generation by about 3-5 dollars.
When purchasing an inverter, important considerations are the unit's electrical rating and the option of a "sine wave" or "modified square wave" model.
Here's what to check when selecting an inverter:
Output Voltage
Most North American houses are grid-connected to service loads at 120V or 240V. Small electrical appliances using wall plugs are usually at 120V with heavier electrical loads at 240V (electric stoves, clothes dryers, furnaces, central air conditioning and so on).
The concept of “Zero Waste” is becoming increasingly popular nowadays. Australia and New Zealand have entire states and districts that are advocates of the Zero Waste concept. There was declaration of Wales, in the UK, as a zero-waste area.
Always ask if someone else might be willing to take items that you no longer use. Inquire from your local schools, community group, charities, social halls, social services and churches.
- Compost most if not all of the waste from your kitchen and garden – refer to the section on Compost for more information
- Collect and recycle plastic bottles.
Scour your trashcan for all the materials that can be composted or recycled, so that very little goes in the landfills. Do not use plastic boxes as storage for tools, toys and knick-knacks. Send it for recycling instead. Call the local authorities for additional information on the curbside program in your area or you can check the information on the internet.
- Do not use excessive packaging. The products that you buy do not have to be individually- wrapped. It is best if the packaging or the product itself is from recycled material.
- “It is pointless to recycle because they all end up in the garbage dumps anyway.”
This is a very common belief of the public. However, what you fail to realize is that a single chinaware or dish that gets into the recycle bin could cause the entire contents of the bin to become unusable for recycling. A huge portion of the contents of the recycle bins gets to be recycled, but sadly, a few of them end up contaminated because of people who believe in this kind of myth.
There are different types of views when it comes to recycling. Some believe that recycling is an expensive endeavor compared to just using new materials for production. Others also believe that recycling consumes a lot of energy. Both these points of view are merely myths and there is no truth behind them.
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