With almost everyone going green these days, being more eco-aware and finding ways to be more energy efficient isn’t the responsibility of big companies alone. All of us have to do our part at home. Not only does energy efficiency help the environment, since electric companies use large amounts of the non-renewable resource oil to generate electricity, but it leads to smaller electric bills and welcome savings. Here are some ideas to reduce electricity consumption in the average household.

Checking breakers and electrical panels for shorts and outdated or exposed wires early and regularly can save you and prevent wasted energy and energy leaks because of fault wiring. Use newer model appliances with energy-saving features to reduce your energy consumption.

Use energy saving bulbs like fluorescents rather than the incandescents. One incandescent bulb uses the energy of three fluorescent ones, virtually tripling the average energy consumption of one household.

Use fans rather than air conditioners to cool smaller rooms to reduce your energy consumption. Newer model air conditioners are more energy efficient but still use a lot of energy especially for small rooms. Decorative ceiling fans add to your interior décor as well as provide ventilation, cutting your electricity bills.

Plugging all the electronics into one surge protector with an on/off switch also helps to cut electricity costs. By turning off the main switch when they aren’t in use, less current goes to the device and prevents the tiny spots of energy that get wasted when the gadgets aren’t in use such as power lights and clocks. Painting the walls of rooms that get a lot of natural light in lighter or pastel shades will reduce the energy consumption because artificial light will not be needed to illuminate the room.

Turn off computers and other electronic devices when not in use. With computers, set the monitors to shut off or switch to standby mode when idle to reduce the energy the device uses and cut your energy bill.

For outdoor lights, use energy-saving models with fluorescent bulbs to reduce cost. Putting outdoor lights on a motion sensor also reduces energy consumption since they are only in use if it is absolutely necessary and are not on for the entire night. Everything a household would need to ensure that their home is as energy efficient as possible is available at the nearest Rapid TrueValue location, with trained experts in the fields ready to give assistance.