When it comes to reducing energy consumption, people generally think of turning off lights and electronics when not being used or switching incandescent to CFL or LED light bulbs. Those tips are good and certainly do make a big difference, but they are pretty much common knowledge at this point. There are still numerous other ways to save energy that is often overlooked. These energy leaking areas are subtle, and the solutions don't require much effort and little if any money.

1. Turn off the fan before leaving the room

The difference between a fan and an air conditioner (other than the cost and thermostat) is that air conditioners contain a chemical called Freon, which gives them the ability to cool down the surrounding air. Fans, on the other hand, are designed to only circulate air, which helps people cool down when they are sweating. The air coming out of the fan will make you feel cooler since it is blowing the heat away from your body, but if you leave a fan on in a closed hot room, the temperature of the room will not decrease. So next you turn on a fan on a hot day or after working out, don't forget to turn it off before you leave.

2. Dry clothes using the low heat

Dryers consume far more energy than washers. Since most dryers in college dorms do not allow users to adjust the time, the best way to reduce energy to lower the temperature setting. I tried drying full loads of laundry using the low heat setting for 60 minutes and all the clothes still came out completely dry.

Lowering the heat also extends the lifespan of clothes and other fabrics by retaining their size and shape.

3. Use wall switch decals

When people are in a rush out the door, they can often forget to turn off the light (or light and ceiling fan for college dorms). Leaving lights on for extended periods of time, especially in rooms with multiple lights, will easily consume numerous kilowatts-hours of power and shorten the lifespan of the bulbs. Decals are an effective way to remind individuals to flip the switch before leaving. They are easy to make; all you need to do is cut a hole in a sheet of paper to fit around the switch, write a message saying: Turn off before leaving, save a watt, etc. and then tape it to the border of the wall switch.

4. Unplug the microwave

What is still on after you finishing heating the food? The clock. Fun fact is that over the course of a year, the digital clock on the microwave can end up consuming more energy than what is used to heat the food inside it. Clock generally use about 2 to 4 watts per hour depending on the type of clock; ones that light up will use more energy. While it doesn't seem like that much energy, it can add up to consuming between 17.52 kWh and 35.04 kWh per year. To fix this issue, you can either unplug the microwave after every use or connect it to a power strip and turn off the power strip after every use.