In recent years, Maryland has made leaps forward when it comes to renewable energy usage. However, as Maryland Matters explores, the state’s controversial use of waste-to-energy remains a blight on a great record of reducing emissions and improving the cleanliness of the state’s energy regimes.
Conversely, renewable energy, whether commercial or private, helps to boost the economy, health, and the environment’s overall welfare. As homeowners, Maryland citizens can do their own little bit to chip in and make things a little better off.
Minor adjustments
Homeowners can start to make an impact right away by assessing their energy efficiency. There are two main tracts to this – the first is through moving to energy-saving fittings through the home. The energy that goes into heating and lighting the home consumes 42% of your utility bill, and with the simple use of smart planning for your heating, and energy-saving light-bulbs, can be vastly reduced in terms of volume. Secondly, looking at smart meters can help you to save energy. The Department of Energy estimates that the smart control of home utilities could save homeowners a lot of money every year and make a real dent in improving the energy efficiency of the country when taken into account.
Moving on
Homeowners can take another step towards energy efficiency by aiming to use renewable providers. The Maryland Public Service Commission outlines a few key providers within state limits, and a few nearby too, that could be available within coming years. Moving to an entirely renewable source of power is something that can help you to completely extricate yourself from energy inefficiency and processes that are actively harmful to the environment – this includes, in Maryland’s case, the waste-to-energy processes that, while generating non-fossil-fuel power, do contribute to emissions and the denigration of the green areas of the state.
Creating change
Institutions like the MDEHN have been campaigning for energy efficiency for years, consciously pairing the effects of poor environmental indicators with the impact they have on human health. If you feel passionate about energy efficiency, there has seldom been a more impactful time to start getting involved with clean energy advocacy. That can be as simple as running schemes and initiatives to help people upgrade their own levels of efficiency, through campaigning at the state and federal levels. With the national administration looking more positively towards renewable energy and associated initiatives, there’s a good chance campaigner will find a lot of headway in any schemes that they undertake. Advocacy will not fall on deaf ears in the current energy climate and could do well in spreading the good word beyond just what’s going on in your own home.
For Maryland to become energy efficient, its citizens need to get involved. With a wide range of choices across the board to help with energy efficiency at a residential level, there are options to help achieve this. Taking the jump is the first step, and making those minor adjustments to reduce the impact of the home.
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