How to Make My Bedroom More Energy-Efficient

Rising energy costs, coupled with concern over environmental issues, has led people to become more interested in how they can become more energy-efficient in their daily lives. When trying to make improvements in this area, one thing you can do is to make different areas of your home more energy-efficient. One such area is your bedroom, which you can make more energy-efficient with a few simple steps.

Instructions

- 1
  Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) or light-emitting diodes (LEDs). While more expensive than incandescents, CFL and LED lights use less electricity than incandescents. One major drawback to CFLs, however, is that they contain mercury, so if you break a bulb, you need to take steps such as venting the room and vacuuming the floor. LEDs don't have this problem as it's an electrical circuit which creates the light.
- 2
  Caulk your windows. Air can leak through gaps between your window frame and the windows or exterior wall, driving your heating and cooling costs up. Properly caulking the windows can block the leaks and save energy.
- 3
  Install a ceiling fan. This can help keep you cool in the summer, allowing you to ease off on the air conditioning. The ceiling fan can also help keep you warm in the winter, as it circulates warm air down toward the floor when you reverse the direction.
- 4
  Replace old windows with double-paned or triple-paned windows. These windows have a layer of gas, usually argon, between the panes of glass, which acts as an insulator.
- 5
  Cut your energy consumption. This involves doing things like turning televisions, fans and lights off when you leave a room, setting your computer to hibernate after a certain amount of inactivity and unplugging chargers when they're not in use.
- 6
  Plant a deciduous tree outside your bedroom. While you'll need the tree to grow to achieve energy savings, once the tree matures, it can provide shade in the summertime, helping to keep your bedroom cool. When it sheds its leaves in the fall and winter, more sunlight can hit your room, providing natural heat to warm it up.
- 7
  Keep air vents clear. If they are clogged, it prevents the warm or cool air from reaching your room, requiring you to run your heater or air conditioner for longer periods of time.
- 8
  Close the curtains or blinds on summer days when the sun shines into your room. This can help keep your room cooler.
- 9
  Place a fan in your window on cool summer nights with the air blowing in. This draws cool air into your room, and can keep your room cooler well into the day.

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