Being energy conscious in the electronic age

Between heating our homes during winter and keeping all our gadgets powered up, it’s no surprise that Canadian households use a lot of energy. Here are a few suggestions for how you can be more energy conscious at home.

Wasting energy at home is easy to do if you're not careful, but fortunately there are also easy ways to reduce waste. A lot of home energy use goes toward heating during the winter, so once you use energy to bring warmth into your house, it is important to contain it for as long as possible. Letting heat escape unnecessarily is a bit like burning money.

• Using an automated energy consumption service is one option for managing your home climate control and achieving drastic energy savings. These systems help by keeping the house at a comfortable temperature while you're home and by easing back on consumption while you're away.

• A smart thermostat can also help you keep the indoor temperature at an optimal level while saving energy. Smart thermostats track your energy use and learn to create smooth transitions from hot to cold for the most efficient energy use.

• You can help out by following a schedule. Doing laundry and cooking can both create a considerable amount of heat, so scheduling those activities for cooler times of day is an efficient strategy. Containing activities to certain rooms of the house and keeping doors shut also helps keep warmth where you want it.

It is a good idea to become more conscious of your energy consumption even as home automation systems take on more energy management responsibilities. In the future, your entire electrical system may be automated and able to completely shut off anything that is not being used at the moment. For now, you need to be aware of the devices you have that are always drawing energy.

• Computers, video devices, laptop chargers and kitchen appliances slowly raise your utility bill if left on, even when you're not using them. Unplugging these electronics is an effective way to keep costs down. And of course, don't forget to turn out the lights.

We all have a part to play in managing energy consumption in the electronic age and a good way to start is by becoming more energy conscious.