The average American home uses a significant amount of energy. While compared to American industrial, transportation, and commercial energy consumption, residential energy consumption remains minimal, many American families continue to look for ways to reduce their carbon footprint. Since first entering the energy industry in 1995, Stephen Troese Jr. has come across numerous myths regarding energy reduction within the home. Today, Stephen Troese Jr. hopes to set the record straight and help homeowners better understand their energy consumption by debunking some of these myths. Attached

 

Hand Washing Dishes Is More Efficient than a Dishwasher

This is probably the most common myth regarding water consumption. While there are ways to improve water efficiency while hand washing dishes, like only turning on the water to rinse dishes, more often than not a dishwasher will be more efficient than hand washing dishes. According to recent studies, you can use up to 27 gallons of water per load by hand, while an energy star-rated dishwasher uses only 3 gallons. To maximize the efficiency of your dishwasher, simply scrap food off of your plates and silverware before loading.

 

You Can Heat Your Home More Quickly by Setting it to A Higher Degree

Regardless of what temperature you set the thermostat to, your boiler will work equally hard to reach that temperature. However, by setting the temperature to a higher degree, homeowners are only increasing the energy consumption as the boiler will now have to work harder to reach the higher degree. The same is true for air conditioners when individuals set the room temperature to a lower degree than desired. Furthermore, what will often happen is the new room temperature is not the desired temperature, and the homeowner will inevitably have to readjust the temperature back down or up to their actual desired temperature.

 

Using Space Heaters to Heat Rooms is More Efficient than Heating an Entire House

In the colder winter months, it is quite common for individuals to pull out their space heater in order to save money on their next gas bill. However, unless you have an energy-efficient space heater, space heaters will often require more energy than a traditional heating system. Additionally, a space heater’s heat will often be sapped from the other colder rooms of the home, meaning the space heater will have to work extra hard to keep a room at the desired temperature. On average, space heaters use 1500 watts of electricity per hour, while an energy-efficient furnace will use a fraction of the wattage.