#energy saving

She then came later to inform me that I should turn the heating back on, because we bills will be just the same, so there's no use saving, they charge us by the square meter. I reassured her that I already knew that, and didn't do it in order to lower my heating bill, but because I believe saving energy in any way is important, and because energy always comes at the cost to the environment, and I care for the environment so much I'm happy to do this even if it's just one drop in the ocean.

She frowned at me and told me I'm not doing anything, displeased with my naive spirit. I, in turn, remained sure that I'm doing the right thing, and my spirits still raised by the idea that I'm not wasting energy.

I actually have more reasons for doing it, and some of them are that I just wanna be used to and comfortable with sustainable living. People heating the entire house when they're not even using 80% of it, is a very recent, and wasteful development. People used to heat only one room in the house, and just sleep in that same room, next to the fireplace, because it made no sense wasting all that wood, fuel and effort, when they could stay warm and cozy right where they are.

Having my entire place heated up would not make me more happy than I am, it would make me forget that any energy is even necessary for heating, if it's spent so dismissively, like it's a normal thing to do. It makes me appreciate the warm kitchen so much, every time I step into my cooled down bedroom and experience how the building would feel without heating. How wonderful it is to have a room that is completely warm, in the times of the cold.

I am aware that if it gets below freezing, I need to turn the heating on just a little tiny bit, in order for the pipes to not have a chance to freeze over and burst, I know it can happen in the times of extreme cold. But it's not even below freezing right now, so I'm perfectly safe in enjoying my little sustainable ways.

☀️Summer Energy Saving Tips☀️

Seeing your electric bill jump or double in the summer while just trying to maintain a livable space is extremely stressful. Having personally lived in the dry California desert, an unconditioned New Jersey apartment, and now the sweltering midwest, I have learned lots of different ways to beat the heat.

To give you the most information, I have also researched tips from energy companies and from eco-friendly sites and bullet point dumped every single one I found that was useful and affordable.

In this post I have compiled them into a list of quickest/easiest, and will have a second post up soon of less instant but still affordable and practical tips (second tier ideas, if you will).

☀️🤘Stay cool, stay safe, solarpunks! Please comment or reblog with any idea or solution that I have not included, and I will try to edit/add it to the list.

🧊Leave all doors to unoccupied/unused rooms closed. If it is unused, it doesn't need to be part of the cool air flow.

🧊Limit oven use, if possible. Cook with stove tops, toaster ovens, or microwaves. Stoves tend to generate a much larger amount of heat that lingers, especially when it is already warm.

🧊If your temperature is controlled by thermostat, keep all electronics and appliances away from it--they generate heat that can prematurely set off your thermastat.

🧊LED bulbs are the best bulb for staying cool because they do not generate heat, like incandescent ones. If you do not have LED bulbs, simply turning off as many lights as you can reduces heat.

🧊If you are going to be gone for 8+ hours, raising your thermostat temperature  {most electric companies say 78-86°, so somewhere in this range will be easiest to return to, depending on how cool you keep your home} until you return will lower your overall energy consumption.

🧊Use hot water as little as possible--cool showers, cool water when washing dishes & clothes--will reduce the heat being generated and then eliminated by temperature control.

🧊Use your big appliances (dish washer, stove, wash machine, dryer) at the coolest part of the day. This may mean getting up early or doing it late at night, whatever is most sustainable for you. What this does is similar to the tip above; reduces heat being generated by your appliances, and makes it easier on your thermostat to control that heat.

🧊Limit light & heat entrance by keeping blinds/curtains closed. DIY energy saving curtains can be made by hanging up a comforter or dark blanket over a curtain rod, or even nailing it directly to the wall. I have hung up rugs inside the window frame, and hung a thick blanket outside the window frame, and this has reduced the heat from entering through the window amazingly. $50 energy saving curtains are not necessary--you probably have everything you need lying around the house. If you have no available blankets, towels, or rugs, hanging up sheets, clothes on hangers, or using tinfoil will help as well. Any insulation will eliminate heat. Two ways to tell if its helping is 1. Is the room darker with the covering? And 2. When you touch the covering, is it less hot than touching the glass behind it?

🧊Heat leakage through door and window cracks don't have to be professionally tackled--my mom would roll up old towels and stuff them tightly into the windowsill. She would also sew a long tube and fill it with beans/rice and would use these on the window sills and at the bottoms of doors. Easy to kick away when you need to open the door, it is still heavy enough to keep air from getting through.

🧊Ceiling fans are your first level of defense, then energy saving fans (if possible), and then box fans. To make a box fan more effective, keep it clean, and with it's back not against a wall. Putting a pan of ice (or even cool water) in front of your box fan can sometimes cool a room down faster, too.

🧊Unplug any appliance not in use! This goes for TVs, computers, microwaves, etc. Leave your fridge plugged in, though, always.

Stay tuned for post 2 and 3! I am also compiling energy saving tips for specifically humid and dry climates, as both are very different; I hope you find them helpful as well.

Cheap Russian gas (2 euros) is gone. By now, we have the liquefied gas sold for 80 euros by the United States and Russia. A historic opportunity for the United States and Russia itself!

"The consumption of gas in Europe is growing annually, which leads to an increase of gas and oil imports."

🟠 Il gas russo a buon mercato (2 euro) è finito. Oramai abbiamo il gas liquefatto che viene venduto a 80 euro dagli Stati Uniti e dalla stessa Russia. Un' opportunità storica per Stati Uniti e Russia!

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