Ways to Make Your Apartment More Efficient

An energy efficient home benefits the environment, as well as your bank account.

Ensuring that your apartment is as efficient as possible helps both the planet and your energy bill. Here are some eco-friendly tips to not just go green, but keep your green!

 

Go Green throughout the Home

Begin with the lighting in your apartment. Make sure you are using as many LED light bulbs as you can. Some local energy companies have programs where they will send you a package of LED light bulbs for free! They last longer and use less energy which will cut down on your electric bill and save you from having to purchase as many bulbs.

Have you felt a draft? Can you see light coming in at the front door? Being sure that your windows and doors are properly sealed not only prevents pests from coming in, it also keeps heat and air conditioning inside your apartment. You can buy strips to go along the seals of your doors and windows at your local home improvement store.

Clean air vents and appliance coils regularly. Dust likes to collect in the air vents and around the refrigerator or dryer coils. This prevents proper air flow which makes the system work harder and use more energy. You can easily clean these areas with your vacuum or a dust cloth.

Set your thermostat and then don’t touch it. For the winter, 68 degrees Fahrenheit is perfect. In the summer months, anything within a couple degrees of 75 is recommended. If you leave your home for a while when it’s hot outside, turn your thermostat up a couple degrees higher and turn it down when you get back.

 

Go Green in Laundry and the Kitchen

Is your refrigerator running? I hope so, it has to right? While there’s not a lot you can do to conserve energy on this front, you can keep your refrigerator between 30-42 degrees Fahrenheit. You just need this to keep things cool, not freeze them!

Are you the type of person who cooks, eats, and then puts everything away? Instead of putting leftover food directly into the fridge, let it set out until it is cooled. When hot food is put in, the space around the food warms up and the refrigerator has to work harder to cool everything back down.

Instead of using water to rinse off your dishes, conserve that extra bit and scrape off as much as you can before washing them by hand. Side note for water usage in general: If you aren’t using it, turn it off!

 

Go Green with Electronics

Think about all of your electronics plugged in: The television, the computer, if you have gaming systems, lamps, phone chargers, and many more! A great way to conserve energy is to plug as many of these items as you can into a power strip. When you leave for the day, press the button on the power cord to turn everything off and save energy.

If you have a desktop computer, or are considering getting one, keep in mind that they use a lot more energy than a laptop or tablet. If you are still on the fence about which one to get, opt for the laptop to save a little money and space.

 

We hope these tips help make your apartment more eco-friendly and money-saving! Share with us your ways to make your apartment more efficient in the comments below.

 

About the author:

Faith Ellis is a Digital Marketing student and owner of Ladies, Lattes, and Lifting. She has a strong passion for writing and fitness and dreams of a career in content writing. Faith lives with her husband and furbaby in North Carolina, and enjoys local food and travel in her free time.