Cutting back unnecessary
energy use is an easy way to keep your hard earned money in your pocket. Here
are some suggestions you can do at home, at absolutely no cost to you.
Let the sunshine in.
Open drapes and let the sun heat your home for free (get them closed again at
sundown so they help insulate).
Rearrange your rooms.
Move your furniture around so you are sitting near interior walls - exterior
walls and older windows are likely to be drafty - don't sit in the draft.
Keep it shut.
Traditional fireplaces are an energy loser - it's best not to use them because
they pull heated air out of the house and up the chimney. When not in use, make
absolutely sure the damper is closed. Before closing the damper, make sure that
you don't have any smoldering embers. If you decide not to use a fireplace, then
block off the chimney with a piece of rigid insulation from the hardware store
that fits snugly into the space (dampers don't shut fully without some leaking).
Eliminate wasted energy.
Turn off lights in unoccupied rooms. Unplug that spare refrigerator in the
garage if you don't truly need it - this seemingly convenient way to keep extra
drinks cold adds 10-25 percent to your electric bill. Turn off kitchen and
bath-ventilating fans after they've done their job - these fans can blow out a
house-full of heated air if inadvertently left on. Keep your fireplace damper
closed unless a fire is burning to prevent up to 8 percent of your
furnace-heated air from going up the chimney.
Shorten showers.
Simply reducing that lingering time by a few minutes can save hundreds of
gallons of hot water per month for a family of four. Showers account for 2/3 of
your water heating costs. Cutting your showers in half will reduce your water
heating costs by 33 percent.
Use appliances efficiently.
Do only full loads when using your dishwasher and clothes washer. Use the cold
water setting on your clothes washer when you can. Using cold water reduces your
washer's energy use by 75 percent. Be sure to clean your clothes dryer's lint
trap after each use. Use the moisture-sensing automatic drying setting on your
dryer if you have one.
Put your computer and monitor to
sleep. Most computers come with
the power management features turned off. On computers using Windows, open your
power management software and set it so your computer goes to sleep if you're
away from your machine for 5 to 15 minutes. Those who use Macintosh computers
look for the setting in your Control Panels called "Energy Saver" and
set it accordingly. When you're done using your computer, turn it off (see next
tip). Do not leave it in sleep mode overnight as it is still drawing a small
amount of power.
Plug "leaking energy" in
electronics. Many new TVs, VCRs,
chargers, computer peripherals and other electronics use electricity even when
they are switched "off." Although these "standby losses" are
only a few watts each, they add up to over 50 watts in a typical home that is
consumed all the time. If possible, unplug electronic devices and chargers that
have a block-shaped transformer on the plug when they are not in use. For
computer scanners, printers and other devices that are plugged into a power
strip, simply switch off the power strip after shutting down your computer. The
best way to minimize these losses of electricity is to purchase ENERGY STAR® products.