Overview on Saving Energy

If you are thinking about investing in an alternative energy generation for your home or business, we at Energy Bible highly recommend that you first consider whether you could get even more value out of that same dollar by investing in energy conservation in your home. According to the US Department of Energy, for every dollar you spend on energy conservation you will usually get back more than $5 in savings.  As a general rule investments in energy reduction and energy efficiency have a greater payoff than even the most efficient alternative energy approach whether that be solar energy, wind energy, water energy or bio energy. Therefore we think the best strategy is to combine energy conservation with renewable alternative energy to drive maximum savings. 

Conservation is both a matter of using less and using efficiently.  However if the thing we are using is not also effective, then it simply won't be a viable solution in the long run.  For example, a washing machine that uses less energy is a good thing, but only if in the end it washes clothes as effectively as the less efficient model.   That's why the U.S. Energy Star program which evaluates and certifies energy efficiency in appliances only gives Energy Stars to those appliances that are both efficient and as effective as other appliances on the market.  You can find out more about the Energy Star program in our Energy Star section.

The Web has been the source of many popular home grown movements and one of our favorites has been that which has grown out of the popular column by Marla Cilley (aka The FlyLady) which shows people how they can live more satisfied lives by de-cluttering their environment.  We think the Fly Lady's success reflects a growing movement towards an easier, less consumptive lifestyle.  She has shown that less is more, which is what conservation is all about.  Look also at our special section Living With Less, for more (or is that less) on this topic.

In this section you can find out specific details on ways you can cut your energy costs. If you wish to do an in depth study of this topic we recommend you look at the Resources section where you can find listings of books, magazines and article about reducing your energy footprint.  Also, you might want to consider joining one of the many organizations who support energy conservation.  You can find out about them by looking in our Organizations section.