#Home energy savings.

[diamondcertified]

The Importance of Home Energy Savings and Why It's Best

As the adage goes, "Charity begins at home," and if installing a home energy monitor can contribute to that, it's worth considering. Continue reading to understand the significance of home energy efficiency!

The availability of home energy consumption has revolutionized humanity's course over the past few centuries. Amidst the buzz of renewable energy, home energy storages have emerged as key players, captivating the energy market in a fascinating manner.

With electricity rates escalating nationwide and climate change fueling discussions about consumption, home energy monitors offer the ability to measure the electricity usage in your home. This empowers you to identify opportunities for savings. While society is radically transitioning towards cleaner and more renewable energy sources, there is one crucial component often overlooked in energy technology conversations—energy storage. Without advancements in energy storage, our efforts in the battle against climate change may fall short.

Traditionally, energy consumption is straightforward. Here are a few points highlighting the importance of home energy storage/savings:

Energy storage is crucial for a zero-carbon future and investing in renewable energy storage solutions.

Energy storage solutions bring several benefits, leveraging familiar technologies like batteries.

Energy storage used to come at a significant cost, requiring an abundance of generating plants to meet the demand for electricity every second of the day.

Regardless of your motivations for home energy conservation—whether they are economic, personal, or environmental—the advantages of energy efficiency are unparalleled. Here are the top eight reasons why home energy savings are the best:

Significant reduction in utility bills: By utilizing energy-efficient appliances and making home upgrades, the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that you can save anywhere from five to thirty percent on your energy bill. These appliances consume less energy throughout their service lives without compromising quality, making them an excellent way to save on your home energy consumption.

Increased property value: Did you know that every project enhancing home energy efficiency adds a fraction of its cost to the final selling price? This is great news! In the real estate market, energy-efficient homes sell at higher prices than standard homes with comparable features. With expectations of lower repair costs and reduced utility bills, a home energy monitor becomes an attractive feature in any home.

Enhanced quality of life: Energy efficiency measures result in warmer, drier, and properly ventilated homes, minimizing the risk of mold growth and illness. In fact, the financial benefits of energy-efficient buildings deliver a cost ratio of over 4 to 1, with a significant portion of those benefits attributed to health perks.

Easily minimize costs with energy savings tips: Energy expenses are often considered a burdensome cost of homeownership or running a business, with reductions typically requiring expensive renovations. However, you can easily reduce bills through simple energy-saving behaviors or minimal home energy efficiency purchases, such as advanced power strips and programmable thermostats. These have the potential to decrease utility bills without requiring much effort on your part.

Earn excellent returns on your investment: Home energy efficiency should not be seen as an expense, but rather as an investment that yields utility savings throughout the lifespan of your home appliances. Furthermore, the returns from these savings will only increase over time as energy prices continue to rise in the United States.

Moving forward, let's quickly review some common yet effective tips for home energy saving:

Hang your clothes to dry instead of using a tumble dryer.

Opt for a laptop over a desktop computer.

Always remember to switch off your power strip when not in use.

Charge your phone in Airplane mode to conserve energy.

Eliminate unnecessary data from cloud storage, as data centers consume massive amounts of energy due to their AC mechanisms to avoid overheating.

Let's all contribute to energy conservation.

[sainz100]

focusing ✨

[luck-of-the-drawings]

smth smth about 'the thing that the character did that you thought was rly rly funny in the moment is actually linked to a terrible trauma that lies within said character.' or wahtever.

[tapakah0]

[balkanradfem]

My neighbour came to give me some gift apples for the holidays, and I had to explain to her that my apartment is cold because I turned off the heating in all rooms except the kitchen, to save on energy while my roommates were gone for the holidays. I put my mattress in the kitchen to sleep on the floor under the tree and the radiator.

She then came later to inform me that I should turn the heating back on, because we bills will be just the same, so there's no use saving, they charge us by the square meter. I reassured her that I already knew that, and didn't do it in order to lower my heating bill, but because I believe saving energy in any way is important, and because energy always comes at the cost to the environment, and I care for the environment so much I'm happy to do this even if it's just one drop in the ocean.

She frowned at me and told me I'm not doing anything, displeased with my naive spirit. I, in turn, remained sure that I'm doing the right thing, and my spirits still raised by the idea that I'm not wasting energy.

I actually have more reasons for doing it, and some of them are that I just wanna be used to and comfortable with sustainable living. People heating the entire house when they're not even using 80% of it, is a very recent, and wasteful development. People used to heat only one room in the house, and just sleep in that same room, next to the fireplace, because it made no sense wasting all that wood, fuel and effort, when they could stay warm and cozy right where they are.

Having my entire place heated up would not make me more happy than I am, it would make me forget that any energy is even necessary for heating, if it's spent so dismissively, like it's a normal thing to do. It makes me appreciate the warm kitchen so much, every time I step into my cooled down bedroom and experience how the building would feel without heating. How wonderful it is to have a room that is completely warm, in the times of the cold.

I am aware that if it gets below freezing, I need to turn the heating on just a little tiny bit, in order for the pipes to not have a chance to freeze over and burst, I know it can happen in the times of extreme cold. But it's not even below freezing right now, so I'm perfectly safe in enjoying my little sustainable ways.

I don't think we'll have enough energy to keep big establishments completely heated while empty, if we want to have a future on this planet, so why not go back to being used to limited heating? It's not something that takes away from happiness, even if it's a slightly less convenient way of life. And we're saving energy as we do it, just like we do when we don't leave the lights on, take quick showers, recycle, turn our electronics off. Heating takes burning fuel, and burning fuel emits carbon in the atmosphere, and creates leftover waste. It's a good thing to be aware where the energy is coming from, and to take only as much as we need to be happy and safe.

[kyorru-remade]

i don’t know if moving has made my mental health better or worse

[sharkieboi]

I don’t have like deep thoughts about it yet but thinking about how in Scavenger’s Reign Sam is victimized by almost every hostile creature they come across

[a-story-teller]

I was in a major car accident yesterday (got t-boned) and was very luckily a) alone in the car, as the passenger side got walloped and b) not injured. However I took care of everything and then went home and proceeded to sleep for 19 out of the following 24 hours.

[taryn40k]

Inquisitor March, the man who rooted out the genestealer cult in Taryn's hive city (and pocketed him while he was at it)! :D A very serious, very intense man, who has no energy to waste on bullshit! ...And yes, herding a Catachan fighter is a whole job, but one he is uniquely suited for! :D

[rinofwater]

I just found a clinic nearby that does gender-affirming surgeries so top surgery might actually be a feasible thing for me in the near(ish) future

I found a job that seems to have all the stuff I liked from one of my last jobs without the extra bullshit I didn't (can't apply for it currently but that kind of job exists and that's reassuring)

Things might be starting to look up for me

[lottieurl]

i'm well aware there are single parents out there working full time but i think working full time and living alone with my dog is about to put me in a psychward

[bizlybebo]

POINT. HI COOL MOOT. CONSIDER WITH ME ....... PD CHARACTERS WITH THE FUCKING ANNOYING CHRONIC CONDITIONS. VYNCE + WIWI HAVE DRY EYES (DIFFERENT AIR + DEAD/NON WORKING TEAR MEMBRANE), WIWI GETS CHRONIC MIGRAINE + HE AND KOTA GET SENSORY OVERLOAD FROM THAT + THE AUTISM. WILLIAM'S JOINTS R GOING FASTEER THAN THE REST OF HIM SO . JOINT PAIN. VYNCENT HAS ECZEMA FROM THE DIFFERENT CLIMATE. ASHE IS MY FUCKED UP LITTLE GIRL WITH EVERY DISEASE !!!!!!! I LOVE HER AND THE THINGS I HEADCANON HER WITH CHANGE ALL THE TIME .. MIGRAINES THO FS. ALSO MUSCLE SPASMS + WEAKNESS !!!!!!!!!!!!!! SORRY I'M YELLING I'M EXCITED

OHHH MY GOD YEAAAHHH. RAAGGHHH ABSOLUTELY. this means the world to me as someone who is currently writhing(/hj) in pain from my joints + back </3

[arsene-fixates]

informant wrapping his arms around you hugging you from behind by the way ^_^ feeling at peace doing this and somewhat sleepy if he’s worked for a while but also just cuz he feels suuper comfortable with you

AAHHHHUUHHHHGHHURGHUUEGHEUHAJXICHHJSJHHHRHFHGHJ

WHAT THE HELL WHAAATAATTTTT

AUUHGEHHEGH UUUEEGHBH 💧UAUE💧💧💧💧UUUUUUU💧💧💧 i want to kissy himmmm uuuueeeuuu (BLOWS UP) (BLOWS UP) (BLOWS UP) (BL 💥💥💥💥💥🎆🎆🎆🎇🎇🎇🎆🎆🎆🎆

[the-insanity-of-mojiru]

I'm gonna be complaining about the heat for the rest of the year, save me

[chiistarri]

need 2 isolate myself and unfriend everyone #asap

[rawliverandcigarettes]

One thing that becomes clearer and clearer every time I dare to dip back into The Empire of Preys, is that it's a story for... almost nobody.

(beware: I express a ton of feelings regarding the series under the cut, not all of them positive --and I talk a little bit about my current relationship to the Mass Effect fandom)

Don't get me wrong: I adore it, I am still extremely puzzled at how my brain even began to conceive a story like that, and the first chapter is a complete banger in my honest opinion, and the characters are uncomfortable in a very interesting way, and the worldbuilding is extremely dense with things I hope are meaningful, but.

It's also... pretty hostile to readership? By that I mean: I don't think it can be read passively. A big part of reading TEoP is, first, to understand how systems function normally; and then, understand how these systems interact altogether, how they can be abused, how they are actually abused, and what chain of events these systems will lead to. I am really proud of this interconnectivity --at the same time, it is incredibly dense and demand work. For all the fun and games I can try to inject in there, there are basic principles that can't skip being understood well for the plot to make sense; it's a politically driven story in the dryest possible way --with disaster bisexuals and fashionistas sprinkled on top to lush it up a little, but at heart it is a story about systems interconnecting from the bottom to the top, and it's a tangled mess in there.

So it's... If I'm being honest, and in spite of my genuine love of it, I have to admit it is a little hard to dedicate myself to pushing it further to the degree of polish that it needs. Not to say I won't do it --I will-- but it's impossible not to notice how *barren* the Mass Effect community has gotten in the last couple of years, this year being particularly bad. The readership was barely there anymore when Halfway Home got out, and I'm like... who's even left in there to read 200k worth of words of salarian/turian/asari politics in excruciating detail? Who's even interested in peeling up that toxic system of governance and how soft imperialism manifests in that universe? I still am, because I am invested in that version of Mass Effect and the characters I have put together in that context. But who else?

Of course, there's always this thing of "don't write for an audience, write for yourself", and I'm an absolute follower of that mentality. However.

However.

(oops here comes a condensed version of that Halfway Home post-mortem I promised six months agoooo)

Halfway Home was *hard work*. It's work I decided to go through on my own, and I knew from the start it wouldn't reach that large of an audience --on virtue of being stupid long, about an OC (and a salarian at that, who cares), and having a trigger warning list longer than most people would find reasonable. I am happy that I did the work, and that I chewed the text over until I was absolutely sick of it --but it was basically the best version of what 7 years worth of change and growth and experimentations could get to before absolute burnout. And I am even happy about the readership! I had wonderful comments and I am truly honored that some people invested in that story to the degree they did, and I am fully aware that stories that take much more work get even less attention on the daily. But I would lie to say that I kind of felt... drained, when I saw that I had, indeed, taken too much time to complete it, and the fandom was basically dried up when I finally released it. Watching seven years of my life disappear down the Ao3 drain felt... Well, I won't lie. It felt kind of bad. It felt kind of like grief.

At the end of the day, it is true that nobody ever cares more about your story than yourself --and again, I am neither fishing for attention nor am I really complaining, even. It is a difficult story to sell and to read through, and I always knew the readership would be extraordinarily slim (and it did find it, and I am beyond uwwuuuuwuwu about it, truly ;;). I knew all of that going in. But I also won't lie that fandom timing was... horrendous --and it is even worse today. The fact that I have *barely* seen a hint of speculation on my dash from the latest N7 trailer does kind of say something as well. Sometimes, things come and go. And I suppose that's okay.

But what of The Empire of Preys? What of my deep care for the characters? What of my (I think, understandable) reluctance about jumping in to the next installments, knowing *for sure* that I'll be lucky if I graze 500 hits on Ao3? And that's me being beyond generous, honestly? I wish I didn't care about that, but I guess I do, a little. I also think it's understandable, wanting to work on things and see an impact from whatever you do --even if it comes from love and care. I'm glad I got to do it once, but do I want my literal masterpiece (I know the wording is strong, but I genuinely think TEoP is the best thing I ever did, counting my professional work that will be experienced by a *much* larger audience, and I have zero ideas how I could top it off conceptually given it felt like everything was being served to me in a trance-like state) being sandwiched between futanari porn and a story about a... certain main pairing being plastered absolutely everywhere and tending to suck all the oxygen in the room. No hate to either concept in particular, I actually like the coexistence of everything, it's part of what's cool about fanfiction! But, also. Also.

I suppose it is the curse of having a brain that works best creatively in the context of fandom --and daring to believe in the importance and necessity of creativity for its own sake, without monetary gain. But also, the very human entitlement thing of... not wanting to pour all of its life energy into a black hole.

It's complicated. I do not have a good answer as of now, at least regarding TEoP. I will keep on working passively on it as of now, once in a while, rediscovering it's genuinely really good from time to time and then moving away from it somewhat, until next time. I'm still doing Zelda stuff as of now, which... has been way more rewarding creatively, not gonna lie. It's a fandom full of lifeblood, with ideas bouncing around, people wanting to meet up, boundless creativity. I have written a micro-trilogy this year (it's here if that interests you), and, while in the same ballpark of attention than Halfway Home, it was undeniably more rewarding. I think I also needed to change mediums --I am currently experimenting with animatics, visual storytelling and extremely humble 2D animations, and I'm having a blast.

So... Yeah. I am fairly certain I will complete The Empire of Preys, because I love it deeply and I want to complete it, for its own sake if anything. But in regards to a timeframe... I'm not promising anything. It will happen. Not sure when! I'm following where creativity feels the more urgent at the moment.

But one day, this is a story that will exist, at the very least, and I think I'll love it deeply as well no matter how it's received. But I think I need a little bit of a positive feedback loop right about now, and so to work on projects that like... will be read. Or watched. Or played. Or experienced. And I'm not positive The Empire of Preys will be that for me, at least right now.