Saving Energy

  
 
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Did you know that the typical U.S. family spends about $1,900 a year on home utility bills? Unfortunately, a large portion of that energy is wasted. And each year, electricity generated by fossil fuels for a single home puts more carbon dioxide into the air than two average cars. Right in your own home, you have the power to reduce energy demand, and when you reduce demand, you cut the amount of resources, like coal and gas, needed to make energy—that means you create less greenhouse gas emissions, which keeps air cleaner for all of us and saves on your utility bills! Plus, reducing energy use increases our energy security.

Shut Down Your Computer-Though there is a small surge in energy when a computer starts up, this small amount of energy is still less than the energy used when a computer is running for long periods of time. For energy savings and convenience, consider turning off
  • the monitor if you aren't going to use your PC for more than 20 minutes
  • both the CPU and monitor if you're not going to use your PC for more than 2 hours.
Many PCs available today come with a power-down or sleep mode feature for the CPU and monitor. ENERGY STAR® computers power down to a sleep mode that consume 15 Watts or less power, which is around 70% less electricity than a computer without power management features. ENERGY STAR monitors have the capability to power down into two successive "sleep" modes. In the first, the monitor energy consumption is less than or equal to 15 Watts, and in the second, power consumption reduces to 8 Watts, which is less than 10% of its operating power consumption.

Seal Air Leaks- Warm air leaking into your home during the summer and out of your home during the winter can waste a lot of your energy dollars. One of the quickest dollar-saving tasks you can do is caulk, seal, and weather strip all seams, cracks, and openings to the outside. You can save on your heating and cooling bill by reducing the air leaks in your home. Test your home for air tightness. On a windy day, carefully hold a lit incense stick or a smoke pen next to your windows, doors, electrical boxes, plumbing fixtures, electrical outlets, ceiling fixtures, attic hatches, and other locations where there is a possible air path to the outside. If the smoke stream travels horizontally, you have located an air leak that may need caulking, sealing, or weatherstripping.

Lighting-  Making improvements to your lighting is one of the fastest ways to cut your energy bills. An average household dedicates 11% of its energy budget to lighting. Using new lighting technologies can reduce lighting energy use in your home by 50% to 75%. Advances in lighting controls offer further energy savings by reducing the amount of time lights are on but not being used. Use linear fluorescent tubes and energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) in fixtures throughout your home to provide high-quality and high-efficiency lighting. Fluorescent lamps are much more efficient than incandescent (standard) bulbs and last about 6 to 12 times longer.

Change your Home Thermostat- Install a programmable thermostat to keep your house comfortably warm in the winter and comfortably cool in the summer. We have our thermostat to run at a higher temperature during the day when when no one is home and then an hour before we arrive home it begins cooling down the house. In the Florida winters we have the heat set to come on shortly before we get up. Our thermostat also has a button that you can push when you are at home, that makes the A/C run more when you are at home and less when you are not there. I had this thermostat installed  in the middle of summer and noticed my electric bill went down over $30 a month. The thermostat costs about $80 so it quickly paid for itself!.

Use Appliances Wisely- Schedule an annual tune-up for your central air conditioner, heat pump, or furnace.  And don't forget to inspect and change you air filters regularly. Install ceiling fans. They’ll cool you off in the summer and promote heating efficiency in the winter.  Don't use a ceiling fan unless you are in the room though. A ceiling fan can make a room feel several degrees cooler, but if no one is there to enjoy it, you are wasting electricity having it on.  Only run your washing machine and dishwasher when they are full and use the shortest cycle possible. Wash clothes using cold water and you can save both energy and money! You’re on a budget and need a new refrigerator. The best buy is the fridge with the lowest price, right? Not necessarily. How much an appliance costs depends on three things: purchase price, repair and maintenance costs, and energy costs. To estimate how much you’ll spend on an appliance over time, you have to consider all these costs.

Electronics Use-Plug home electronics, such as TVs and DVD players, into power strips; turn the power strips off when the equipment is not in use (TVs and DVDs in standby mode still use several watts of power). Keep other small appliances like toaster, coffee makers, chargers, and seldom used items unplugged and you could save over a $100 dollars a year on your electric bill!

 

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