Five ways to use green technology in your home

(ARA) - "Green" living is no longer a trend; American homeowners' commitment to sustainability is here to stay, from all indications.

From wind-powered chargers to satellite Internet, here are five simple ways you can use technology to make your home greener and your lifestyle more environmentally friendly:

1. Control your climate

Keeping your home at a comfortable temperature comes at a price - to both you and the environment. Before you resign yourself to wearing mittens to bed, consider installing a programmable thermostat in your home. Available at hardware stores, these devices allow you to schedule your heat or air conditioning to adjust depending on the time of day. This means you can maximize your energy without sacrificing on comfort. By simply cutting out the energy lost when you are away or sleeping, a programmable thermostat should pay for itself within a matter of months.

2. Measure your energy

If you really want to know which of your appliances eats the most electricity, try using an energy usage monitor. Monitors can plug directly into your devices and let you know exactly how much energy they are drawing from your outlets. Other models, called energy loggers, plug directly into your outlets to log months of energy data, revealing how much energy is being used and lost from a specific outlet. New wireless versions can even be programmed for several plugs throughout your house. All these devices are valuable tools for implementing conservation and cost-reduction plans in your home.

3. Light the way

Compact fluorescent lights have improved greatly over the past few years. If you haven't tried them, or didn't like them a year ago, give them another chance. These lights last 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs and can make a huge difference in energy consumption. Bulbs are being reshaped and refashioned to fit nearly every socket in and around your home and come in a variety of shades. Use them both outdoors and inside for a green, inexpensive way to light up your life.

4. Recharge

Recharging iPods, cell phones and PDAs every day creates a considerable demand on electricity. Luckily, new technologies, such as longer-lasting batteries, are helping pave the way to a greener mobile community. Even more exciting are the new solar and wind-powered mobile rechargers. Innovative products such as the HYmini can be placed outside or even on your bike to help you power your devices without having to plug in to the grid.

5. Get online

Information is power, and now with smart phones, Wi-Fi and satellite Internet, this information is available to virtually everyone. Hot spots are expanding in urban areas while satellite Internet can now reach some of the most remote and rural places in America. No matter where you are, high speed wireless Internet is likely available to you. Use this valuable tool to go paperless; bring your laptop to the park instead of your notepad and sign up for online billing and record keeping. Above all, get connected, get involved and keep learning about new ways to protect the planet.

Courtesy of ARAcontent