Go green this St. Patrick’s Day with these energy-efficient upgrades for your home

St. Patrick’s Day is all about green: eating green, drinking green, and wearing green. This St. Paddy’s day, however, let’s make the green theme mean more than just the color – by making these eco-friendly upgrades to your home to reduce energy consumption and save you some green this spring.  

Replace your incandescent light bulbs with energy efficient LED  bulbs

This one’s a no-brainer. Incandescent light bulbs waste a ton of electricity, and it’s hard to justify keeping them when there are so many affordable, high-quality alternatives. Choose from a range of color temperatures, lumens, and price points--you’re sure to find the perfect set of energy efficient light bulbs to fit your needs. Head to LG’s LED Lights page to learn about your (many) options.

Use surge protectors to prevent energy waste from your device chargers

If it’s plugged in, your phone charger still uses electricity--even when it’s not charging your phone. To avoid wasting energy, plug your phone, laptop, and other device chargers into a surge protector that can be switched off when not in use. When you’re not charging anymore, unplug all of them with the flick of a switch. Those energy-sucking appliances are not good for your bank account!

Invest in an outdoor grill

Wouldn’t you rather spend your summer evenings grilling outside instead of sweating over a hot stove anyway? Avoid trapping heat indoors during the summer months by doing your cooking outdoors on the grill instead. You’ll save major bucks on cooling costs and enjoy some fresh air while you’re at it. Make sure to choose a natural gas grill: it’s a cleaner alternative to wood or charcoal.  

Upgrade to a programmable thermostat

Set the temperature a few degrees lower at night and when nobody is home. You can do this without a programmable thermostat, of course, but let’s face it: it’s hard to remember to do it consistently every day. Switch to a set-it-and-forget-it model and save on energy costs effortlessly.

Install a ceiling fan

A ceiling fan can make a room feel several degrees cooler, especially when used in conjunction with your air conditioner. Just remember that ceiling fans cool people, not rooms, and make sure to turn the fans off when the room isn’t occupied.

Go solar

If you haven’t already, go solar with Sunrun to lower your energy bill up to 20%. Not only are you locking in low electricity rates for the next 20 years, you’re also supporting a renewable form of clean energy. And you don’t need a pot of gold to do it--with Sunrun, you can get started with solar for $0 down.

This St. Patrick’s Day, you won’t need the luck o’ the Irish to lower your energy bills if you invest in these energy-efficient home upgrades.

Sources:

http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/151-ways-to-save-energy.php

https://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/09/f18/61628_BK_EERE-EnergySave...