Tag Archives: Energy Waste

7 Energy Saving Tips for Students

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Being a student is a wonderful experience that comes with a lot of perks, especially if you’re living on campus. This is the time to explore various experiences, gain personal responsibility, and figure out your meaning in the world.

You can have a lot of fun, make a lot of new friends, and enjoy your independence to the maximum. There are no parents to tell you what to do, no bedtime hour, and very few rules to follow.

Nevertheless, the biggest problem comes when you realize that your money reserves are slowly fading away. In fact, money management is one of the biggest problems that students face when parents aren’t really an option.

The most obvious way to get more money is to get a part-time job.  A good way for students to save time for jobs is to use assignment-helping sources. Just search on Google “help me with my paper“. The less obvious way is to become disciplined and reduce your energy bills and expenses. If you haven’t thought about that yet, here are some of the most important benefits of saving energy during college time:

  • You’re significantly reducing your energy bills.
  • You’re improving your self-discipline.
  • You’re understanding how a few simple actions and habits can boost your financial life.
  • You’re protecting the environment
  • You’re gaining health benefits
  • You’re learning to become a responsible person

If you’ve never done it before, there’s no need to worry about it. You can make a decision now and commit to being a part of the energy efficiency movement. College and university life can be so much better with more money in your pockets. We know the financial burden of carrying personal loans and student debt through college, while also knowing that you’re contributing to a higher purpose.

In today’s article, I’m sharing 7 ways to save energy for students who are eager to reduce the costs of their bills and reduce unnecessary waste.

1. Turn Off the Lights

Spend less time with the lights on and you’ll soon notice a significant difference in your energy bills. This is a simple habit that needs to be implemented through lots of practice. To make it easier, place a note near the switch that says “TURN ME OFF” or “green to go”.

2. Unplug Unused Devices

Once I decided to cut down the energy waste, I have realized that my energy bills were huge because I was always forgetting to shut down my computer and online learning devices.

Don’t repeat my mistake. Simply unplug all the unused devices, including the phone and laptop chargers. Even when you’re not charging, the chargers are still wasting energy. Also, if you really want to save energy, reduce the TV time and don’t forget to turn it off before you leave or fall asleep.

3. Dry Your Clothes Naturally

Most students are used to drying their clothes on radiators because it’s fast and convenient. However, besides the fact that they’re wasting energy throughout the process, they’re also putting their health at risk.

Clothes are absorbing heat from the radiator while pouring condensation into the air. This creates damp and mold.

The simplest solution is to dry your clothes naturally on a rack, especially when the sun is out and you don’t need them immediately.

4. Use Dishwashers

There’s a false belief that washing dishes manually consumes less energy than a dishwasher. Well, that’s a myth that needs to be treated like a myth. To be truly energy efficient, make sure you fill your dishwasher entirely before turning it on.

5. Keep the Door Closed

What’s the point of using energy to create heat if you leave the door open? This is common sense advice that should stick with you immediately. Don’t let the heat go out by simply making a habit of keeping the doors closed.

6. Turn Down the Thermostat

Your thermostat is a very tricky device. If you set the temperature high, the thermostat won’t stop heating until it reaches the values that it has been instructed to reach. It is said that turning the thermostat down can reduce your heating bills by up to 10%.

7. Turn Down the Temperature of the Washing Machine

Whenever you wash clothes, you should consider two important aspects: First of all, use your washing machine only when you can fill it up with a lot of clothes. There’s no point in using it twice a week when you can be disciplined and wait until more dirty clothes are gathered up.

Secondly, make sure you turn down the temperature of your washing machine to approximately 30 degrees. Because washing machines leverage the same amount of water to get the job done, the temperature doesn’t need to be high.

Takeaways

Saving energy in college is easier than you may think. Every time you turn off the light and consciously think about the fact that you’re saving energy, you will be laying the foundation of a new habit.

Start developing more and more energy-saving habits and you’ll notice the amazing benefits in a very short time. Besides the fact that you’ll feel good about yourself, your energy bills will put you in less trouble every time they pop. More money for you, more benefits for the planet!

5 Surprising Benefits of Annual Boiler Servicing

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Homeowners are well aware that they should have their boilers serviced on a yearly basis in order to prevent breakdowns and save a ton of money on repairs. However, many are oblivious to the fact that annual boiler service comes with additional benefits worth exploring.

This article is going to cover five of these surprising benefits that will have you shake your head in disbelief, such as improved energy efficiency, lower fuel bills, and longer lifespan. Scroll down to get all the info.

benefits of annual boiler service

Key Takeaways

  • One of the surprising benefits of annual boiler servicing is improved safety
  • A properly maintained unit will generally offer optimal performance and efficiency
  • This will also extend its lifespan
  • At the end of the day, you will have the peace of mind that you will always have hot water and a warm home

Increased Efficiency and Lower Energy Bills

Energy efficiency is one of the biggest benefits of a well-maintained machine. Regular boiler servicing will definitely increase the efficiency of your unit, which will result in a reduction in your energy bills.

The reason is simple. A boiler that works at optimal levels will use less energy to heat your home. The number one cause of a poorly efficient system is everyday wear and tear as well as accumulation of sediment and debris.

When you have your boiler serviced annually, the technician will normally take care of those. They will check different parts of your appliance to make sure it’s in tip-top shape. And if it isn’t, the right steps will be taken to get it fixed.

Improved Safety

Boilers that are not properly maintained can present a health risk. Annual boiler servicing can help identify potential safety hazards like gas leaks or carbon monoxide leaks, ensuring that your unit is functioning as it should.

It is vital to address them before they become more serious problems. Not only will you save money in the long run, but you will have hot water at all times. This means not having to limit your showers.

The bigger the fault you have to deal with, the more time you will spend in a cold house. That’s very inconvenient for a small household, let alone a large family. By having a qualified engineer check your boiler every year, you can also guarantee that the unit is installed correctly and working as intended.

Extended Boiler Lifespan

Regular maintenance can help prolong the lifespan of your boiler by identifying potential problems before they escalate into more serious issues. This can help you avoid costly repairs or replacements in the future.

Regular maintenance can help prolong the lifespan of your boiler. By catching problems early on and addressing them before they become more serious, you can avoid costly repairs or replacements in the future. Additionally, a well-maintained boiler is less likely to suffer from breakdowns, which can also help to extend its lifespan.

Improved Performance

Regular servicing serves to ensure that your unit is operating at optimal performance, reducing the risk of system failures and breakdowns. Thanks to annual maintenance, your boiler will be balanced correctly and the radiators will be bled on an as-needed basis, enabling the system to heat your home much more quickly.

hydrogen-boiler

The team of technicians can also make the necessary adjustments to the settings so that the unit’s performance can meet the hot water needs of your household. Since these needs will change over time, you can rest assured your boiler is set up accordingly.

Peace of Mind

Without a doubt, having your boiler serviced annually can give you peace of mind, knowing that the system is running safely and efficiently. Professional boiler service experts, who are Gas Safe registered, like Gas Boiler & Heating Repair LTD, recommend having your boiler serviced annually to ensure it is running safely and efficiently. This can give you peace of mind, knowing that the system is in good working order and prevent unexpected boiler breakdowns, especially during those cold winter days. With their expertise and quality service, you can trust them to keep your boiler in top condition. Contact Gas Boiler & Heating Repair LTD at 49 Pendragon Rd, Bromley BR1 5JZ, United Kingdom, or call them at +44 7795 034003 to schedule your annual boiler service today.

FAQ

Q: What is annual boiler servicing?

A: This is a routine checkup carried out by a qualified technician known as a heating engineer. The goal is to ensure that your boiler is working at its best without compromising your safety.

Q: How does annual boiler servicing reduce energy bills?

A: It’s simple. A well-maintained boiler will need less energy to heat your home, which will lead to smaller energy bills. In turn, this will reduce your energy waste, which is great for the environment. Great for your wallet, great for nature – it’s a win-win.

Q: How does annual boiler servicing reduce the risk of breakdowns?

A: When a boiler is not serviced right, it’s not uncommon for small issues to turn into major problems. One thing leads to another and soon you have yourself the very first breakdown. To reduce the need for emergency repairs, which are in no way gentle on your wallet, schedule that annual service.

Q: How does annual boiler servicing improve safety?

A: During your regular servicing appointment, the technician will not only clean the unit but also check for faults that could signal harmful chemical leaks. More specifically, they will want to verify that there are no carbon monoxide emissions. Carbon monoxide is an odourless gas, which means you may not know it when there is a leak.

Q: How does annual boiler servicing extend the lifespan of the boiler?

A: It’s simple. When your boiler is regularly cleaned and maintained, this can prevent the accumulation of corrosion and debris. And these do damage the system over time. Therefore, if your unit doesn’t have to deal with the aforementioned offenders, it will have a longer lifespan.

Make It Count: 6 Small Changes You Can Do to Help Fight Global Warming

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Global warming, according to all credible science, is one of the greatest threats to the planet today, and one that is going to get worse before it gets better.  According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN body established to assess the science related to climate change, modern humans have never before experienced the observed changes in our global climate. Furthermore, some of these changes are irreversible over the next hundreds to thousands of years.

The IPCC’s Sixth Assessment report published in 2021 found that human-caused emissions have already warmed the climate by nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit since pre-Industrial times. The global average temperature is expected to rise by 3 degrees F within the next few decades, and will affect all regions of Earth.

small things to help fight climate change

Many of the things we’ve taken for granted are contributing negatively to climate change, and in turn, there are many things that we can do as individuals to help reduce climate change. Below, we will talk about some of the small changes you can make to your behavior to help

1. Use public transportation more often

Granted, this is not something everyone can do, mainly because the US is not known for having quality public transportation in a lot of places. This is particularly true in certain cities like LA, where car culture rules and “carmaggedon” traffic regularly happens. Even the most populated places have problems with public transportation, and if you live in a rural town, you kind of have to own a car for a lot of things. Ultimately, if you can take public transportation instead of driving, or maybe even carpool, that helps make a difference.

Even if you live in a rural area, that doesn’t necessarily require a car to get around. Bikes are a great eco-friendly way to travel at least a short distance.

how students can help the environment

2. Try to use less energy

Every day, we use a ton of energy, and much of that energy is completely wasted. To cut back on your energy waste, make sure that you turn any lights off when you leave the room, and turn off surge protectors to prevent electronics from using power while in standby mode.

Additionally, try to reduce the number of devices connected to Wi-Fi. Especially with devices like the Amazon Echo and Google Home, you may find that you have a device in every room that uses Wi-Fi at all times. Not only does this save electricity, it also saves you money.

If you can bear it, try to use less heat and air conditioning in winter and summer respectively. A great way to reduce your energy needs is to make your home energy efficient. The best way to do this is to get your doors and windows redone, such that they keep the outside weather from getting inside when they’re closed.

3. Eat less meat and dairy

It’s understandable that a lot of people would feel reluctant to cut these out of their diets, even only partially. Cows contribute a ton of methane gas, with 1/3 of all human-caused methane gas coming from beef and dairy cattle. Ideally, if enough people abandoned beef and dairy, the industry would be forced to adjust to something less costly to the environment. There are a lot of types of farms out there, ranging from vegetable farms, to goat farms, to even marijuana farms.

4. Order only what you think you can eat

America is known for having particularly large portions, but despite that, those large portions often get wasted. Be sure to determine what you can handle, and try to avoid ordering more than that. Further, make sure that you buy fewer groceries if you find that you have some food and drinks that are expiring before you can get to them. If you have leftovers, you should also be sure to use alternatives to plastic wrapping and packaging to contain them.

5. Shop locally when possible

Shopping online contributes negatively to climate change, mainly due to the fact that it involves a lot of transportation, whether it be on planes, ships, or trucks. And obviously, these vehicles burn a lot of fossil fuels to get your items to you. Some items cannot be obtained locally, of course, but for those that can, try to get them locally. Additionally, shopping locally helps to better enrich your community.

6. Don’t worry about lawn culture

One of the most pernicious things you can do, honestly, is try to aim for that “perfect lawn.” Simply put, we don’t have water to spare for this, and it’s incredibly wasteful. You’d be shocked by how much water you use in your everyday life. And, to be frank, a perfect lawn is boring. Avoid using pesticides and fertilizers as well, as rainwater may cause these to flow from the sewer into bodies of water. Read this article to know about the effects of climate change on water resources.

Can we solve climate change on our own?

For all we can do to tackle climate change, it begs the question: is it enough? When all is said and done, among the biggest contributors to climate change isn’t individual action, or even collective action, it’s corporations. Sure, corporations cannot have this impact without consumers, but corporations have a ton of influence over what we consume, and how.

ways to use persuasion to bring awareness to the reality of climate change

There are a number of things corporations do to not only affect the climate, but also prevent action from being taken to course correct. One of the earliest examples of this was with ExxonMobil, which, despite conducting a study that found climate change to be a real threat, worked to debunk it publicly. More minor examples, such as Amazon destroying unsold inventory, are also a cause for concern.

Politicians are not much better, and in many ways even worse. For the most part, politicians are, at best, slowing climate change, and at worst, actively contributing to it. Even Democrats have been criticized for their lukewarm response to climate change, with the Green New Deal being unpopular with many more moderate and conservative Democrats.

Now, a lot of people would tell you that the best way to solve this is to vote, but it’s not quite that simple. The most important elections rarely have politicians who have a solid chance at winning who follow the science to its natural conclusion with respect to climate change. Thus, the vote often comes down to which politician you want to let you down.

The best suggestion that could be made is to either try to force politicians’ hand via protesting, or try to affect elections on a local level. This is far more manageable than trying to get your ideal President, and has a much higher level of success.

In the grand scheme of things, if we want to turn things around, we need to do something to force corporations and politicians to do better too. This can be done through boycotts, protests, and political advocacy, among other things, to create pressure to change their ways. So don’t let your potential contributions to climate change make you feel doom and gloom, as individuals can only do so much. Do what you can, and live your life.

Zero Waste Trends in the United States

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Most people don’t see what happens to their trash. They throw it in a black plastic bag, toss the bag into a dumpster and the trash man collects it once a week and makes it disappear. Magic, right?

Wrong.

Most of our trash ends up in a landfill where it is buried and mixed in with decades-worth of junk. Certain items will break down over time while others are essentially just stored there, in a graveyard of forgotten items and a mountain of garbage.

In the year since China banned the import of other countries’ plastic recyclables, the global recycling industry has been in flux, resulting in plastics ending up in landfills, incinerators and littering the environment. This is causing countries and citizens across the globe to reexamine their recycling systems and highlights the need for zero waste practices.

Zero waste is the concept of eliminating the amount of trash thrown away by only purchasing reusable items. That’s a significant shift from the 4.4 pounds of trash that the average American tosses every day. But certain trends are helping make the idea of zero waste a reality in the United States. Let us have a look:

Replace Single-Use Packaging With Reusable Materials

Way too many plastic items that we use every day are meant to be used only once. And the amount of packaging that goes into shipping one box, that will simply get tossed in the garbage after the parcel is unwrapped, is astounding. In fact, 40 percent of plastic produced is packaging, which is thrown away after it arrives at your doorstep.

Plastic bag and straw bans are on the rise across the globe. Consumers are becoming more conscious of how their use of these items contributes to the trash crisis. Recent data shows that customers are more likely to buy products from brands that promote sustainable business practices.

biodegradeable-packaging

Reduce Energy Waste By Choosing Renewable Options

Many industries are opting to reduce energy waste by pursuing renewable energy sources. U.S. manufacturers account for 30 percent of the nation’s energy consumption, which means manufacturers must take the lead in reducing fossil fuel consumption and energy waste.

The U.S. is the leader in energy waste. Americans spend $350 billion on energy costs each year, yet three-quarters of that energy goes to waste. One way to reduce the burden on our power grid — and our wallets — from all that lost energy is by switching to renewable energy sources.

Air compressors are vital to the upkeep of a successful farm, and many producers in the agricultural sector are also reducing waste by switching to high-powered air compressors that, when properly maintained, can reduce energy usage and cut costs.

Eliminate Food Waste

About 94 percent of food waste ends up in landfills, which contribute to methane gas emissions. Reducing food waste not only helps the environment, but it also decreases the amount you have to spend at the grocery store. It also helps to conserve energy, as less power is needed to grow and produce food if less is wasted.

Individual consumers can help eliminate food waste by freezing leftovers to preserve them and composting uneaten food, as opposed to tossing in the trash.

Restaurants can use these tactics and others to cut down on food waste, such as donating leftovers and properly training staff to get on board with waste reduction. They can also hire auditors to help them identify ways to reduce waste and streamline business practices.

Never Too Late to Make a Change

Though the statistics may seem disheartening, the reality is that it’s never too late to make a change in your individual or business habits to help cut down on waste and work toward the goal of accomplishing zero waste. Following these trends and implementing others is just one way to do your part to eliminate waste and protect the environment.