permaculture design

Green energy brings about many great benefits for the household, and it affects the environment positively as well. Changing just a few things in the way your home runs can make it use energy more efficiently and cut your monthly electric bill. Read the tips in this article of permaculture so you can learn how to conserve energy.

If you are repairing or replacing your roof, and you have good sun exposure, look into having photovoltaic (PV) cells integrated into the roofing material. Modern PV cells are much less noticeable than older styles. If you don't use all of the electric generated by your home, some utility companies will even let you feed it back into the system for credit against your bills.

If your exhaust fans are more than five years old, consider replacing them with newer more efficient models. Each year you should examine each exhaust fan in your home for damage and replace the filter. A damaged exhaust fan uses more energy and changing the filter allows the fan to work more efficiently.

Turn off electrical items when you're not using them. For example, if you are not in a certain room, turn off the lights, TV or computer. Put all of your entertainment electronics on a power strip you can turn off, as this will stop appliances from going into a power draining stand-by mode.

Try sealing gaps underneath your doors and windows during the summer and winter. This can prevent the warm or cool air from outside from entering your home, which will help keep your home at a good temperature all year. You could also try putting in rugs to provide more insulation to your floorboards.

Don't throw away that coffee grinds- use them to fertilize your plants. Coffee grinds are rich in nitrogen so these make great, healthy plant food. Using coffee grinds as fertilizer keeps them out of the landfill, makes it unnecessary for you to purchase and use chemical plant food, and make your plants grow nicely, adding oxygen to the atmosphere.

Think about getting a hybrid car. Electric cars have many flaws, including the low number of charging stations. With a hybrid car, you can use either gas or electric power, depending on what is available. Invest in a hybrid vehicle if you live close to a charging station or can get your own.

It takes neither a large time commitment nor a ton of money to green your home. Often, making a few changes to your home can actually save money in electricity costs. Remember this article's tips so you can begin making changes in your own life, and help out the environment in the long term.