Earth Hour + Some Basic Energy Saving Tips

Million of homes and business worldwide has recently turned off their lights in participation of the annual Earth Hour. According to Earth Hour’s official site, some 611 megawatt-hours of electricity was saved in last year’s event--equivalent to shutting down a dozen coal-fired power plants for an hour. I don’t have the current numbers yet for this year’s event, but I do hope that last year’s global record was surpassed. I appreciate everyone’s efforts during this yearly event as it takes a lot of preparation, convincing even, to have million of individuals participate in this energy-conserving move. But then, who would need an annual event when you (yes you!) could take part in Energy saving everyday?

Here are some things I personally do to reduce our electricity bill:

• Unplug unused home appliances and chargers
• Do not leave the refrigerator door open for a long time
• Turn off lights when not in use. Better yet, use natural light during daytime
• If possible, get energy-conserving home appliances. There are some cool gadgets out there that help you save up power!

I recently stumbled upon a free web service called Hohm that could help individual consumers fully understand home energy use and provide useful tips on how to be more energy-efficient. Practicality-wise, it could even help households save money through personalized tips on reducing energy use. It’s pretty cool, easy to browse through, and sign up is rather quick. Just register with your Windows Live ID and postal code to receive the reports and recommendations. Accuracy and relevance will be based on the information you provide about your home, e.g. number of occupants, types of appliances, sytems used, etc. However, statistics and amounts vary since the site bases its recommendations on local and national averages. Pretty neat, I may say. Cheers to Microsoft Corporation for coming up with this useful online tool.

Wouldn't it be great if everyone will take part in helping out the planet, with or without Earth Hour. So yes, let's do our best to save ourselves and our future! <3