Don’t Get Tricked By These 3 Energy Conservation Misconceptions

Halloween is right around the corner, meaning you’ll soon hear children calling out “trick or treat,” hoping for some candy. While it’s fun to get into the Halloween spirit and play a few tricks of your own, you don’t fall for the trick of these common energy conservation myths. 

What Is Energy Conservation?

When you decide to use less energy or electricity daily, you conserve energy. However, this shouldn’t be confused with energy efficiency. What’s the difference? The former means changing your attitudes and habits to reduce energy usage while the latter involves using new technology to perform the same functions while using less energy. 

While each individual may have their own reason for cutting down energy use or converting to more efficient energy sources, common motivations include: 

• Saving money on electricity bills 

• Doing your part to reduce carbon emissions 

• Helping conserve finite resources 

• Addressing global health concerns related to pollution 

• Reducing personal dependency on fossil fuels 

Many people make small changes to help protect the environment by turning off appliances, lights, and devices when not in use. While these practices may seem insignificant, they can compound and make a significant difference over time. But while you’re doing all you can to save energy, make sure these energy-saving myths don’t fool you: 

Myth 1: You Should Turn Off Your Heating or Cooling Units When You Leave

At the surface, this practice makes logical sense. If a room isn’t in use, you shouldn’t waste energy cooling or heating it, right? 

In reality, this isn’t always the case. If you turn a cooling or heating device off or shut the vents, it creates a temperature imbalance that the system needs to work harder to fix when you turn it on again. Each time you switch off your device when you leave, it uses even more energy to reach the previous working state. 

That being said, you should still turn off cooling or heating systems if you leave a room (or your whole house) for an extended period of time. But if you’re just stepping out to run a few errands, you’re better off leaving the heat or air on.

Myth 2: If an Appliance is Off but Plugged In, It Doesn’t Pull Electricity

Standby power is also known as vampire power, ghost energy, ghost loads, or phantom loads. Many people often switch off appliances or devices without unplugging them and assume that because they’re in standby mode, they aren’t drawing energy. However, many devices pull some amount of power or energy even when turned off.

According to Berkeley Lab, “Almost any product with an external power supply, remote control, continuous display (including an LED), or charges batteries will draw power continuously. Sometimes there is no obvious sign of continuous power consumption and you need a meter to be certain.”

So, if you want to conserve energy, the best practice is to unplug all appliances when not in use. 

Myth 3: Clean Energy Costs More

Many people think that clean electricity is more expensive than traditional powder, but this isn’t always the case. In fact, the International Renewable Energy Agency found that renewable power is now the cheapest way to generate energy. As stated by a 2019 Forbes article, “The report finds that the cost of installation and maintenance of renewables, which was an important stumbling block to mass adoption, continues on a downward trajectory.”  

The rapid decline in costs is making renewables the new cheap source of energy that many consumers were hoping for and are now using. If you’re considering making the change, there are many companies, such as Chariot Energy, that offer clean energy at affordable prices.

Make Changes to Save Energy

The best way to save energy is to incorporate small changes into your everyday routine. You can try turning off unnecessary lights, dry clothes outside instead of using a dryer, consider hand washing utensils, switch to LEDs, and keep appliances clean and unplugged when not in use.

You’re probably looking forward to Halloween this year, make sure that this time, you save on electricity bills and still put on the show that you want to with your house or event on display.