Easy Ways to Save Electricity

Tips for Saving Energy

• Unplug that second refrigerator or freezer and save $252 or 1,800 Kilowatt-hours/ year

• Reduce your need for electric space heaters. Weatherize your house and wear winter clothing. You can save $101 or 620 Kilowatt-hours—Per heater—Per year.

• Switch from Air Conditioning to fans to stay cool. Exhaust hot air when it’s cooler outside.You can save $49 or 350 Kilowatt-Hours—Per Family of 3—Per Year

• Electric usage adds up so turn off unused TVs, lights and appliances. Consumer electronic products are responsible for approximately 15 percent of household electricity use. According to the Consumer Electronics Association, the average American household has three televisions, two DVD players or recorders, at least one digital camera, one desktop computer and two cell phones, among other consumer electronics products-the average American household has 24 consumer electronics products. In the average home, 75% of the electricity used to power home electronics and appliances is consumed while the products are turned off. Coffee makers, breadmakers, DVD players, VCR players, and televisions, most of which are often plugged in 24x7 but are used in intervals. Each of these devices draws around 2 to 10 watts, sometimes more, of continuous power, resulting in 15 watts constantly, or 130 kwh/year. Turning these items off can save you $37 or 267 Kilowatt-Hours—Per Family of 3—Per Year.

• Lighting Challenge: If every American home replaced their 5 most frequently used light fixtures or the bulbs in them with ones that have earned the ENERGY STAR, we would save close to $9 billion each year in energy costs, and together we'd prevent the greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions from nearly 10 million cars. Note: This fact is based on the replacement of 9 bulbs in 5 high-use fixtures.

Other Tips:

• Try and open blinds and curtains to utilize natural light

• Defrost food before you bake or microwave it.  This uses 1/3 less energy than if you baked food that was still frozen

• Turn the thermostat up a few degrees when you have the air conditioning on. You are saving up to 5% on your electric bills for each degree of temperature change. An online calculator for savings on thermostat settings is available here.  

• Wash full loads of clothing instead of smaller ones.  Use the coolest water possible for washing and rinsing the clothes

Purchasing more energy efficient products can also help save energy. For a list of energy saving appliances and household items look for ENERGY STAR rated products. For more information click here.

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