Why is it important to save energy?

The fact that there is never enough energy available explains how important it is to save energy. Energy is so much a part of life that we often use it without thinking, especially when it's in the form of electricity. Electricity produced by burning fossil fuels produce carbon dioxide that leads to the risk of global warming known as the greenhouse effect. So saving energy, makes an environmental sense, as the finite, non-renewable natural resources are used efficiently. Energy also costs money, both for the individuals and for the community. If you save energy, that means you are saving on your energy bills and you can put off building new power stations. There are simple things you can do to save energy, it does not require days of planning. Two main ways to save energy are energy conservation and energy efficiency. Many people think these terms mean the same thing, but they are different. It almost always takes less energy to make a product from recycled materials than it does to make it from new materials. Using recycled aluminum scrap to make new aluminum cans, for example, uses 95 percent less energy than making aluminum cans from bauxite ore, the raw material used to make aluminum.

Energy efficiency is the use of technology that requires less energy to perform the same function. A compact fluorescent light bulb, also known as energy saving light bulbs that uses less energy than an incandescent bulb to produce the same amount of light is an example of energy efficiency. The compact fluorescent light bulbs are used worldwide to save energy.

Energy conservation is any behavior that results in the use of less energy. Turning the lights off when you leave the room and recycling aluminum cans are both ways that leads an individual to save energy. Other examples of recycling are items such as newspaper, and plastic bottles that require less energy than producing them from brand new, raw materials.

If every American home for example replaced just one light bulb with energy saving bulbs, they could save energy enough to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars.

One of the best ways to conserve energy is to use it during non-peak hours when the energy demand is lower. By taking measures to save energy not only help cut down energy costs, but will also help keep the environment cleaner overtime. This takes a little time and effort, but well worth it in terms of yearly savings.

Whenever winter approaches, particularly for those living in the colder climates, energy costs increases because of the additional use of heating fuel. During the summer months energy costs can still rise by the additional use of air conditioners. But by taking measures to save energy, the cost can be reduced which will result in energy savings and monetary savings.