The coronavirus pandemic has forced us to adapt to new ways of working and schooling. Sure, some energy increases can be expected since you and your family are home a lot more now, but that doesn’t mean you can’t also find savings by making your home more energy efficient. Here are three improvements you can make while working and schooling from home.

1. Let the light shine in. Letting in natural light will reduce your energy use and help save on powering desk and overhead lights. As an added bonus, natural light is also known to improve your mood and boost productivity. You can take it a step further by opening your home’s windows, increasing airflow, and cutting down on your home’s HVAC use.

2. Reduce plug loads from appliances. Household appliances account for a significant amount of your monthly energy use. While upgrading these will have the biggest impact on reducing your power use, there are other options too. Smart power strips work to reduce your energy usage by shutting down electricity to appliances when they go into standby mode. Also: – Unplug all devices when they are not in use. – Update the power management settings on all electronic devices. – Minimize your gadgets: Cut down to only the essential items for your home office. Also:
– Unplug all devices when they are not in use.
– Update the power management settings on all electronic devices.
– Minimize your gadgets: Cut down to only the essential items for your home office.

3. Only operate your dishwasher and wash your laundry when you have a full load. With the school cafeteria moving to your dining room and kitchen there will be more dishes, bowls, pots, pans, and various utensils needing to be cleaned. It’s important that you fill your appliances to maximum capacity to keep the number of loads each week to a minimum. You could also try skipping the drying cycle on your dishwasher. Air drying dishes and clothing can lead to big energy savings. Learn more about easy ways to maximize the efficiency of your home appliances.

Looking for other DIY projects to save even more energy? Check out the complete list on our website. Revisit our related blog post for DIY energy audit tips to help save energy at home.