When we talk about reducing energy use around the house, it’s frequently in the context of saving money on monthly utility bills. It makes sense — money plays a role in so many decisions that we make, from where we work to what kind of car we drive to where we go shopping. But it turns out that people are actually more motived to save energy because it’s better for the environment and their health than because of money, according to a recent study by the University of California Los Angeles. The result is contrary to the expectations of even the test participants themselves.

Money vs. Pollution, Health

The study broke up households into two categories — one of which received weekly reminders about how much money they could be saving by cutting back on their energy usage, while the other was told about all the air pollution they were creating, and how it could play a role in children contracting asthma and cancer. The researchers gave both groups analytical tools to track how and when they used the most electricity, as well as comparisons to their neighbors to give them benchmarks to shoot for.

In the end, the group that was nagged about money failed to change their habits to include any efficiency measures. The health and environment group, on the other hand, slashed their energy usage by an average of 8 percent — and families with children cut back by 19 percent.

Won’t Somebody Think of the Children?

Before the study, participants were asked what message they thought would be effective in persuading them to cut back on their electricity usage, and most of them said that money would be the prime motivating factor. The results proved otherwise.

“We’re finding that you have to bundle the public good with the private good,” said Magali Delmas, the study’s principal investigator and an environmental economist at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, said in a press release. “Our message about health and the environment reminds people that environmentalism is also about them and their kids.”

Researchers speculated that the amount of money at stake simply wasn’t high enough to prompt people to act, but when homeowners were motived by a combination of benefiting their own families and being good citizens, they did take action.

“The message reminds you that you’re hurting people and the planet,” one of the study participants reported afterward. “It made me more conscious of the energy I was using.”

Go Beyond the Pocketbook

The study can be a lesson for officials and utility companies who seek to encourage people to cut down on their energy consumption. While everybody likes saving money, sometimes you need to appeal to more than just their pocketbooks to get people to act.

Why not take advantage of all three benefits? By taking simple steps to lower your energy usage, you can cut back on your bills, help the environment and protect public health all at once. If you aren’t sure how to get started, call an expert to give your home an energy audit and put you on the path to a cleaner, healthier and more frugal lifestyle.

A whole-house generator offers you the chance to go about your daily routine in relative normality, even when the power from the electric grid is cut out. Unlike portable generators, into which you must plug chosen appliances directly, a whole-house generator is actually hardwired directly into your home’s electrical system. When the power goes out, you can either start up this generator or, if equipped with an automatic transfer switch, wait for it to start itself up within moments. Once it does, you’ll be able to run your appliances and HVAC systems, as well as your gadgets and electronics, with the same ease and convenience as if the power were on. The capabilities of your whole-house generator, and its capacity to support systems of various electrical needs, will depend upon its size and quality of installation. We’ll make sure that you have what you need to keep your home up and running.

A portable generator may run on gasoline, but this is not the right fuel for a whole-house generator. These larger generators may take diesel fuel or run on propane, both of which will have to be stored on site, or you can opt for a whole-house generator fueled by natural gas, which is piped directly to the system. Contact a member of our staff to discuss your options so that you can choose your generator with well-deserved confidence.

Early Christmas morning in Stamford, Connecticut, the fire department rushed to the aid of Madonna Badger’s family as their home was engulfed in flames. The simple act of discarding ashes from the fireplace turned deadly when those ashes were not fully extinguished, sparking the blaze from outside the home. The heartbreaking news that both of Badger’s parents and her three young daughters perished in the fire turned what would normally be a joyous holiday into a time of mourning for friends, family, and community members in Stamford. Our hope, at ElectricMan Inc. is that this sad story will help drive home the message that smoke detectors are the most important safety feature that you can have in your home.

“Stamford’s team of fire investigators have stated that the now-demolished mansion at 2267 Shippan Ave. did not have an operational smoke detector system, and the second floor of the home was lacking building certificates” – SouthburyPatch.com

Madonna Badger’s older home was being renovated at the time of the fire, with scaffoldings still in place throughout the holiday, and authorities speculate that the main reason the family wasn’t able to escape is because their home was not equipped with an operational smoke detector system. A new smoke detector system was probably in the plans for this home renovation, but the work had not been completed yet, leaving the family who was still occupying the home unprotected. Even if you are in the process of a smoke detector replacement project, it is vitally important to ensure that your family is protected throughout the process if you will be living there during the renovation.

Had the home been equipped with a functioning smoke detector system, the family’s chances for survival would have been greatly increased due to the vital moments that an early warning can provide. However, simply having smoke detectors isn’t enough. Annual battery replacement, testing twice a year, and smoke detector replacement every 5-7 years are essential regiments to ensuring your system is consistently functioning as designed. For more guidelines for smoke detector replacement and maintenance, please read our comprehensive smoke detector replacement and maintenance blog.

No matter how new or old your home is, you can never assume your smoke detector system is working correctly. If you have concerns, or your home hasn’t been updated to a modern, interlinked, whole house smoke detector system, now is the time to take action and ensure your family’s safety. Contact ElectricMan Inc. today, by phone at 972-792-7270, or through our website at www.electricmaninc.com, to discuss your options and receive a free quote to bring your home’s smoke detection system up to date. Nothing helps you sleep soundly at night better than the knowledge that your family is safe, and we would like to help you achieve that today.