What are some quirky ways I can save energy?

Question

What are some quirky ways I can save energy?

Answer 1

Someone said to wash dishes by hand instead of using a dishwasher... actually, using the dishwasher saves energy because it uses less hot water than you would use washing by hand.

Answer 2

when u leave a room, turn off the light; use cfls; don't use the a/c too much; if's it bright outside, open the windows; and so much more.....

Answer 3

Oooooh, quirky is my favorite way to do things!

How about plugging your cell phone into your car charger to charge while your driving instead of charging it in your house.  Wash more dishes by hand instead of the dish washer.  Unplug your DVD and VCR systems from the wall when not in use.  Turn down the heat in your house.....use body heat to keep warm instead!

Answer 4

using fluroesent lights , properly insulating your home, using pulbic transport, driving a smaller car, solar hot water, better insulating your hot water system and using lees heating and cooling.

Answer 5

I was about to go into a long answer, but Brian Gorsky did a pretty good job.  Your quirky methods of saving energy are limited only by your imagination, and your wallet.  For example you could combine your geo-thermal heat pump with a hot water pre-heater & a tankless hot-water on demand system to sub-radient flooring.  If you want to get really quirky and have gobs of money, how about putting a micro-hydro generator on a down drain from the gutters of a large roof area.  Just an example of using that imagination, and of how much coffee I've had this morning.

Answer 6

Okay, quirky ways, hmm, well the extreme list I'd like to do (if I had the cash, but it's low with 4 kids, and 1 salary) could probably also be considered quirky.

Past the obvious CFL's, and adjust the thermostat,

We're actually working on getting the thermal positive pressure solar heat (came with house) working again,

But I'd love to replace the A/C with a geo-thermal heat-pump, and move it to the center of the basement of our ranch, rather than one side, so the whole house get's cooled/start of heating evenly.

It would also be nice to use "daylighting" products like solar-tubes, or sun-tubes for upstairs, and they have a parabolic reflector that feeds fibers so you could also daylight up to 60 feet away, so, yep, basement too, unfortunately these are a LOT more expensive than the tubes.

A gray-water system would be awesome, I'd prefer that to feed both my toilets, and my irrigation system for summer time.

Also, now instead of just low-flow toilets, you can get 2 stage flush toilets, one button for 1/2 flush for "liquid waste" and the two button for, well, number two.

Or better yet, how about replacing the traditional toilets with composting toilets.

Setting up a compost bin is another good thing

I'm thinking about getting at least one or two proximity switches for rooms the kids always leave the lights on in.

More attic fans in my case I think are going to help this summer, while my current fan has enough movement, it's on one-side of the house, and I think it's not helping as much as it could because it's dragging the hot-air across the house to the cool side of the attic.

I'd also love to paint the attic with e-barrier paint with reflective chipping, it's suppose to hold more heat in in the winter, and reflect outword heat in the summer.

After all this of course, it would be neat to have a mix of wind/solar power, plus hopefully things like geothermal, etc.

Oh, light bulbs, you could also replace them with LED "bulbs" these are expensive, but while CFL's use roughly 1/4 the energy for the same effective light, LEDs use 1/10th, so for the power of a nightlight, you get roughly a 75 watt equivalent bulb.  They also have LED nightlights.

Also, take your own bags to the grocery store.

Don't Drive above 55MPH, keep your tires inflated, set cruise control on flat stretches, make sure to "coast" to stop lights and from off-ramps.  If going above 40MPH, leave your windows closed, and A/C on in the summer, opening your windows ruins the aerodynamics of the car, do all these, and you'll be shocked at where your mileage will go to, I get 2 MPG higher than what was advertised when I bought my truck over 5 years ago, and it's an american vehicle.

I think that's all I have for now.

Answer 7

Hybrenate six months of the year.

Breath less, hold you breath longer.

Capture your farts for later use.

Answer 8

Sleep all day and night.  You won't be using too much energy unless you snore a lot.

Answer 9

There are a million and one ways to save energy, you just have to read and spend the money to live an energy efficient life.

Simple things like, planning your trips so you move in a efficient route, combining loads of laundry, sorting the loads by fabric type as well as color, turning off appliances when not in use, unplugging appliances when not in use, drying clothes on a clothesline.  Making your own meals and cutting down on your trash output.  

Soooo many things to think about.  I provided a few articles for your reading pleasure.  Quirky ways will take a little time to  figure out so I chose articlles in the alternative department.

Hope this helps!

Answer 10

use energy efficent products including light blubs

turn off lights when you leave the room.

turn off your computer at night.

unplug appliances when not in use. even though they are off, they are still cunducting energy.

conserve water. dont keep it running while you are brushing your teeth.

take quicker showers.

recycle.

dont litter.