Solar / August 1, 2016

Change Your Mindset, Change Your Life

Adopting An Off-The-Grid Mindset When You Have An On-The-Grid Home

From a change of heart to a change in pace, veering away from your comfort zone is a difficult task. This year, however, you made a resolution to spice things up in your life—and in your home. With that being said, the most impactful change that you, as a homeowner, can make is choosing to power your home differently.

From brushing your teeth to cooling your home, the electricity company has supplied your energy needs for as long as you can remember. But now, you’re tired of consistently high electricity bills and you’re looking for a cleaner alternative; but, you’re not ready to completely jump off the edge and into the unknown world of “going green.”

That’s why, at Mauzy Heating, Air & Solar, we offer two solar system options: an off-the-grid solar system that requires you to surrender the entirety of your home’s power source to the sun, and an on-the-grid solar system, which allows you to have both the power solution you’ve always adhered by and the new alternative system that you desire.

To explore the two sources more in depth, refer to our informative blog post.

Go Green in Style

As it’s commonly stated, you can’t have your cake and eat it, too. But, what if you could? Well, with an on-the-grid solar power system, you can. That’s because this system allows you to pull energy from the sun and retain your home’s gridded electricity capability—at the same time. This double reliance is crucial in instances where your need for power surpasses your solar panels’ abilities: bad weather, cloudy days, the visitation of guests and more.

On the other hand, an off-the-grid system relies solely on the sun. That means that you have an allotted amount of electricity that can be used each day. Once that quantity runs out, your electricity needs are put on hold until the sun has a chance to refuel your solar system—whether that’s in a few hours or the next day. With that being said, living off-the-grid teaches homeowners to live an extremely energy efficient lifestyle; so, it’s helpful to learn how you can master the art of managing an on-the-grid home with an off-the-grid mindset. In getting your family into a green routine, you can save energy (and money).

Bring Savings to Light

Gluttony is a major sin in the green community. That’s why homeowners who have adopted a green mindset aim to spread out their energy usage to meet all of their home’s energy needs, rather than just allocating it all to one appliance or demand. Even more, going green is all about balance.

Well, according to EnergyStar™, roughly 30 percent or more of a home’s energy is consumed by lighting; therefore, lamps and light bulbs commit the largest solar sin of all. Homeowners don’t have to sacrifice lighting their home in order to go green, though. In fact, off-the-grid homeowners rarely do; instead, they opt for a more energy-efficient lighting solution, rather than no lighting present at all.

Besides making a conscious effort to turn the lights off when he or she exits a room, green homeowners choose to reduce their lighting’s energy usage by replacing their compact fluorescent light bulbs with energy efficient ones. That’s because these bulbs use about ¼ of the energy of a regular bulb. By making this switch, you can finally have your lighting—and live your green lifestyle, too.

Don’t Let Your Energy-Efficiency Spoil

Have you ever stood in front of your refrigerator with the doors wide open, staring at the less-than-satisfying food selection, and hoping that by some miracle, something better will magically appear? Well, this simple habit is eating away at your solar energy tank’s reserved power—literally. That’s because fridges are designed to operate at and retain a set temperature; so, every time the fridge’s doors open, its temperature drops and it’s forced to consume an increased amount of energy to reestablish that desired temperature.

The green community takes retaining their refrigerator’s cool into their own hands by changing simple habits. First, green homeowners open their fridge’s doors as little as possible and put in a conscientious effort to not hold them open for long when they do. Secondly, they follow one golden rule: the refrigerator must always remain full with food, bottles of water, etc. That’s because the more food and objects that are present, the easier it is for a fridge to maintain its internal temperature—and the less solar energy it requires for the fridge to restore its desired temperature.

On the other hand, there are more permanent options that allow for your solar energy to be consumed by other appliances and activities: replace your larger fridge with one that is smaller, or with one that is more energy-efficient; or, even more, invest in a new type of refrigerator altogether—specifically, a solar fridge. Essentially, a solar fridge uses less energy by keeping the cool air right where it belongs—inside of the fridge. Due to the theory that cool air is heavier than warm air, these fridges are designed with doors that are opened by being pulled upward, rather than sideways. This grants cool air the ability to stay inside of the fridge, allows the fridge to better retain its temperature, and enables you to put your solar energy reserve toward other household activities.

Efficiency Bursting at the Seams

Clothes may portray your personality; however, they are not a part of your body. That means that, from jeans to sweatshirts, not washing every article of clothing that you wear after one use will save your home a tremendous amount of energy—and your wallet a significant amount of cash.

However, if your family needs to wash their clothes more frequently, there’s a way to do so without burning a hole in your pocket (or your budget). Rather than consistently using hot water, use the warm- or cold-water setting in its place. This switch will still clean your clothes, but it will also allow for less energy to be consumed while doing so.

Dishing Out Savings

Whether you view the cup as half full or half empty, eventually, the cup still needs to be washed. Though the ‘green choice’ is to hand wash your dishes as often as possible, there are times where the volume of dishes that needs to be cleaned and your busy life… clash. Luckily, living a green lifestyle doesn’t mean that you can never use your dishwasher; rather, it means that, in order to be more energy conscious when using it, you should completely fill it before it’s run. This will allow for less dishwasher runs, permit you to keep up with your hectic life, and save you a lot of money and energy on the decrease in the dishwasher’s usage.

Contact Mauzy Heating, Air & Solar for Solar Services In San Diego, CA

Energy efficiency is not an act; it is a habit. So, when it comes to lowering your energy bills and reducing your environmental footprint, you can’t choose specific instances where you decide to be energy conscious and expect to see a noticeable difference in your energy usage and your budget’s savings. Instead, you must turn it into a mindset—and make it a lifestyle.

To see how much you can save by going solar, visit us at www.mauzysolar.com, or call 619.448.9545 today!