Saving Energy

I read an interesting Letter to the Editor in the September 2007 Successful Farming magazine. It was about saving energy by not preheating an oven too long before the item you want to cook is ready to go in. That little letter, by Rita Kayser seemed to fire my synapses.

There are a lot of little things we could do, farmer and townie alike, to save energy. They don't involve major lifestyle changes, and may only save a little bit of money on your power bill, but will definitely make a difference if more & more people do some of these little things.

• Turn off the lights when not in use. This was drilled into us in grade school. In high school, we were told to just leave them on because florescent bulbs use more energy to turn on, rather than to just leave them on. A recent Myth Buster's episode busted that one. When you aren't using them, turn them off. Period.

• Keep your tires properly inflated. This can be a challenge if you live in the desert or in places where the thermometer dips below 20 degrees F. According to some studies, proper tire inflation can save you hundreds of dollars a year in gas. That equates to what? Five gallons?

• Replace your incandescent light bulbs with Compact Florescent or even LED lights. Yes, they may be more expensive that incandescent, but they typically last longer and use lot less energy.

• Prepare your house for winter. You can do as little as check the doors for air leaks & plug them, or go all out and seal everything with plastic sheets. Whatever you do, every little bit helps. Just don't wrap your entire house in plastic. That can be dangerous.

• Don't let your laptop hibernate; shut it down. I am guilty of this one. Just shutting a laptop's cover does not typically shut it down. It probably goes into something called 'hibernation mode'. It is still using a little electricity. Go ahead, save your work and do a complete shutdown before you close it up. You will be saving energy AND increasing the lifetime of your laptop.

• Unplug those Wall Warts. Yes, those little things that seem to proliferate on the walls of most houses, apartments, garages and even barns. Those little transformers and power supplies that we need to charge our cell phones and operate our computer printers and do other little things, suck up energy when not in use. That is really unnecessary. Just unplug them from the wall when they aren't in use.

• Eat fresh food from your local farmer's market. This one isn't terribly obvious but is important. Not only is eating fresh food from your local market probably more healthy, that food requires a lot less energy to transport and store. It probably won't save you much money, but you may feel better knowing that your salad didn't have to travel 3,000 miles to get to your plate.

These are just a few minor ideas, and I am sure there are a good deal more. Do you have a good energy saving tip? Please leave a comment!