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WHAT
TO KNOW
Home
Energy Savings -Tips
Look around your home and check off the practices
below that apply to you. Also listed for some
tips are the possible energy savings for each practice.
Read this list over carefully, share it with your
family and put it up somewhere around the house where
it will remind everyone to practice these money-saving
recommendations.
NOTE: These are typical savings for the typical household.
The savings percentages apply only to the category
of energy use. For example, using fluorescent lamps
saves 30 to 38 percent of your lighting bill, not
your total electric bill. The figures cannot be added
to find your total savings.
Winter
Tips
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In the heating season, set your thermostat at 68
degrees or lower during the day, health permitting.
Keep warm indoors by wearing warm clothing, especially
several light-weight layers. Savings: 5-10 percent
of space heating costs.
-
In the heating season, set your thermostat back
to 55 degrees before you to bed at night or when
you'll be away from home for more than four hours,
health permitting. (Heat pumps should only be set
back five degrees to prevent unneeded use of backup
strip heater.) Savings: 5-20 percent of space heating
costs.
-
Use insulating shutters or drapes and keep them
closed during winter nights and summer days. Savings:
8-15 percent of space heating costs.
-
Plug gaps around pipes, ducts, fans and vents that
go through walls, ceilings and floors from heated
to unheated spaces. Savings: 1-3 percent of space
heating costs.
-
Keep your furnace clean, lubricated and properly
adjusted. And remember to clean or replace the filter
regularly. Savings: Up to 5 percent of space heating
costs.
-
Turn your heater(s) down when you're using your
fireplace. and don't forget to close the damper
when you're not using the fireplace. Savings: 2-8
percent of space heating costs.
-
Close off heating or cooling to rooms and areas
that don't need it, if your home has zoned or individual
room controls. Savings: Up to 10 percent of space
heating costs.
-
For every degree you lower your heat in the 60-degree
to 70-degree range, you'll save up to 5% on heating
costs. PG&E recommends turning your thermostat
down to 68 degrees during the day, 55 degrees or
off at night or when leaving home for an extended
time.
-
Install clock thermostats or set-back thermostats
to automatically change thermostat settings at certain
times of the day. For example, set your clock thermostat
at 55 degrees or off for the night and 68 degrees
for the time right before you awake.
-
Check your furnace periodically. First, turn off
the power source. Then visually inspect the furnace
and vacuum away lint, dirt or other obstructions.
Be sure the filters are cleaned or replaced as necessary.
Dirty filters reduce air flow and make your furnace
work harder.
-
Use passive solar heating on sunny days. Open the
drapes on windows facing south and let the sun shine
in. Then at night, close the drapes to retain indoor
heat. If you have a large expanse of glass that
doesn't receive direct sun, keep the drapes closed.
Up to 16% of your heat can escape through unprotected
windows.
Healthy Home Association -- offers home
builders
the healthy choice.
Summer
Tips
-
In the cooling season, set your thermostat at 78
degrees or higher when you're at home. Savings:
10-20 percent of cooling costs.
-
When you're away from home during the cooling season,
set your air conditioner at 85 degrees. Savings:
5-12 percent of cooling costs.
-
Provide shading for your air conditioning condenser.
Savings: 2-3 percent of cooling costs.
-
Use exterior shading devices or deciduous plants
to shade your home and windows from the sun. Savings:
Up to 8 percent of cooling costs.
-
Turn off your furnace pilot light during the non-heating
season. Savings: 3-9 percent of cooling costs.
-
Close off heating or cooling to rooms and areas
that don't need it, if your home has zoned or individual
room controls. Savings: Up to 10 percent of cooling
costs.
-
Keep pool cleaning and heating equipment clean and
lubricated.
-
Reduce pool water temperature and the number of
months you heat your pool.
-
Switch pool filter and sweeper operations to off-peak
hours,
-
Shorten the operating time for your swimming pool
filter and automatic cleaning sweep (if your pool
has one). For winter, two hours a day of filtering
could cut your filter's energy use by 40% to 50%,
yet keep your pool clean.
-
Pool covers save energy and money. 70% of pool heat
loss is by evaporation.
Anytime
Tips
-
Plug any leaks in your heating or cooling system
ducts. Also fix leaks in water/steam heat pipes.
Savings: 2-3 percent of heating/cooling costs.
-
Insulate attic access and basement trap doors with
R-19 insulation. Savings: 1-3 percent of heating/cooling
costs.
-
Use clear plastic sheets to insulate windows during
the heating season. Savings: 2-7 percent of heating/cooling
costs.
-
Repair any holes in your roof, walls, doors, ceilings,
windows and floors. Savings: Up to 10 percent of
heating/cooling costs.
-
Seal off electric receptacles and switch boxes with
foam gaskets or fiberglass insulation. Savings:
1-3 percent of heating/cooling costs.
-
Set your water heater thermostat to 120 degrees,
or 140 degrees if you have a dishwasher. Savings:
7-11 percent of water heating costs.
-
Install low-flow showerheads and faucets or flow
restrictors. Try to reduce your hot water use in
other ways, too. Savings: 5-10 percent of water
heating costs.
-
Washer: Use cold water when possible. Wash full
loads.
-
Dryer: Line-dry clothes (especially towels) whenever
you can. When you use your dryer, dry full loads.
-
Refrigerator/Freezer: Open doors only when necessary
and keep the coils (on the back or the bottom of
the appliance) clean.
-
Dishwasher: Always wash full loads and air-dry dishes
on the "energy saver" setting.
-
Select the most energy-efficient model when buying
a new appliance. Savings: 5-25 percent of operating
costs.
-
Use dimmer switches or timers on lights. Savings:
7-10 percent of lighting costs.
-
Replace incandescent bulbs with fluorescent lamps.
Savings: 30-38 percent of lighting costs.
-
Turn off lights whenever they're not needed. Savings
depend on your current energy practices.
-
If you install a time clock so your electric water
heater operates only during off-peak hours, you
can save even more. You can cut your heating costs
up to 25% simply by installing proper ceiling insulation
to at least R-19 -R-30 or even R-40 would be great.
Insulate walls, floors and heating ducts, too. This
insulation will not only keep heat from escaping,
but will also make your home more comfortable.
-
By caulking and weather-stripping, you can cut your
heating bills up to 10%. Weather-strip doors and
windows, and caulk air leaks around windows, door
frames, pipes and ducts.
-
Install storm or thermal windows. These tightly
fitting windows give the benefit of double-pane
glass. Air trapped between the two panes acts as
a thermal insulator, keeping your heated air inside
where it belongs.
-
Wrap your water heater with a water heater blanket,
especially if it's in an unheated area of your home.
The blanket could save you up to 10% on water heating
costs.
-
Install energy-saving showerheads in your home.
You'll reduce hot water use and cut water costs
by 10% to 16% without affecting comfort.
-
Turn off lights whenever they are not needed, even
for one second. This applies to fluorescent lighting
also.
-
Convert incandescent bulbs to fluorescent lamps
with screw-in bases. Fluorescent lamps can give
the same amount and quality of light as incandescent
bulbs, yet use one-third the amount of energy and
last ten times longer.
-
Prevent heat loss and reduce your waterbed's electric
use up to 20% by covering it with bedspreads or
quilts as soon as you get up. A layer of cardboard
between the bed and the frame will also insulate
your waterbed against further heat loss.
-
Unplug your extra refrigerator if it's used mainly
for occasional cold drinks or ice cubes. You could
reduce your annual energy bill by as much as $175
by doing so.
-
Don't preheat your oven, and use the smaller of
the two ovens if you have a dual unit. Cook complete
meals of several dishes simultaneously in the oven.
-
Cook on rangetop burners when practical instead
of in the oven.
-
If you have a microwave oven, use it for reheating
and cooking small quantities of food.
-
Operate your dishwasher only with full loads. And
if the manufacturer's instructions permit, open
the door of the dishwasher at the end of the last
rinse cycle, rather than using the drying cycle.
--www.healthyhomeassociation.com
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