High Energy Bills ?? Try out these simple ideas !

The most thorough energy efficiency resource on the Internet is the home page for the U.S. Department of Energy and its affiliated Energy Star program. These pages provide a great deal of general information about minor home improvement projects that can shave off a significant portion of your monthly energy expenditures.

In this post, I'm focussing on saving energy by using our appliances.

Air Conditioning

1. Use fans when possible instead of AC.
   • A few carefully placed fans can create a cross-breeze that will cool down a room quickly.
2. Close your curtains and shades at night; open them during the day.
3. Make sure the "fresh air" vent on the air conditioner is closed so you are not cooling outside air.
4. Clean leaves and debris from the unit and clean the filter often.
5. Read HowStuffWorks' Guide to Maintaining Your Air Conditioner.

Dishwasher

1. Load dishes in their proper locations to ensure maximum cleaning efficiency.
   • Martha Stewart has written a helpful guide to "Dishwasher Strategy."
2. Set to 120 degrees or the "low" setting.
3. Scrape, don't rinse, dishes before loading the dishwasher.
4. Only wash full loads and use the shortest wash cycle.
5. Avoid using the "rinse hold" setting on your dishwasher.
   • This wasteful cycle uses up 3-7 gallons of water.
6. Air dry dishes instead of using your dishwasher's drying cycle.
7. Keep the drain unclogged and clean.

Heating System

1. Try to leave your thermostat as low as possible while keeping comfortable.
   • A sweatshirt or an extra blanket at night can keep you warm for free!
2. Keep your basement, attic and garage doors closed to keep in heat.
3. A ceiling fan kept at low speed will spread heat evenly around the room.
4. Keep furniture away from heat registers and AC ducts.
5. Keep the temperature in the bathrooms cooler than the rest of your house by keeping the doors closed.
   • Use space heaters when taking a shower on cold mornings.
6. A programmable thermostat helps you automatically regulate your energy usage.
   • 68 degrees when you're home.
   • 65 when you're away briefly.
   • 58 when you're gone more than five hours.
7. Insulated drapes or quilted curtains keep more heat inside your home.
8. Close the chimney flue and seal unused fireplaces.
9. Bleed trapped air from hot-water radiators once or twice a season.

Stove and Oven

1. When cooking, keep the lids on pots.
2. Cook with a full oven.
   • Prepare dishes together when possible.
3. Thaw foods before cooking.
4. Keep your stove's reflector pans shiny to maximize efficiency.
   • If the flames on your stovetop are yellow, it needs to be cleaned.
5. Don't open the oven door while cooking; instead, look through the window.
6. Crockpots, toaster ovens, frying pans and pressure cookers all use less energy than an electric stove.
7. Only boil as much water as you're going to need.
8. Using a small pan on a large burner wastes energy.
   • Choose a stove range with multiple burner sizes.

Water Heater

1. Use cold water instead of hot whenever possible.
   • Keep the water off while you shave, brush your teeth, etc.
2. Set the heater's temperature at 120 degrees.
3. Take showers instead of baths.
   • Installing a low-flow shower head will help you use less hot water.
4. Put an insulating blanket around the water heater.
5. Fix dripping faucets quickly.
   • A dripping hot water faucet wastes 212 gallons a month!
   • Take a look at the Department of the Interior's Drip Accumulator to get an idea of how much water you may be wasting.

Related Posts:
* Easy ways to cut your energy bill


Subscribe to my Feed