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Efficiency
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How can I
save money and energy? |
Use these tips to save money. Identify
the largest electricity users in your home. Then, take steps to lower your costs. Start
with the low-cost actions first.
Central
Air Conditioner
- Set the thermostat as high as possible. Most
people prefer a summer indoor temperature
between 76º and 78º F.
- Change or clean the filters monthly during
the cooling season.
- Keep unwanted heat out of the house. Close
doors and windows during the day. Ventilate at
night using the fan setting.
- Reduce the cooling load by delaying
heat-generating activities such as drying
clothes, washing dishes or cooking until later
in the day.
- Seal the air leaks. A crack around the
outside door is like a cracked gasket on a
refrigerator that allows the cooled air to
escape.
- Seal air conditioner ducts with mastic.
Insulate ducts that are in uncooled areas.
- Remove dust and grass clippings from the
outside condenser.
- Keep shades and draperies drawn to block out
the heat from the sun.
- Vent heat to the outside from cooking.
- Vent the attic to allow for free air
movement.
- Check for adequate ceiling insulation. If a
central air conditioner is used, add extra
insulation as cooling is more expensive than
heating.
- Schedule yearly maintenance by a heating
and cooling contractor.
- Buy a central air-conditioning system that
has a high seasonal energy-efficiency ratio
(SEER). To qualify for an ENERGY STAR®
rating, the
SEER must be 14 or higher.
- More information -
request an
Alternative Cooling publication
-
Back to the top
Room
Air Conditioner
- Use the fan setting on the unit as much as
possible.
- Clean or replace the filter once a month
during the cooling season.
- Provide a clear space around the unit on the
inside and outside. Furniture or draperies in
front of a unit decrease energy efficiency.
- Select a room air conditioner with an
energy-efficiency ratio (EER) over 10. Expect
to pay more for a high-efficiency unit in
order to lower operating costs over the
lifetime of the unit.
- Back to the top
Other
Cooling Choices
Clothes
Dryer
- Clean the lint filter before each use. A
filter covered with lint blocks air
circulation.
- Dry only full loads.
- Dry loads one right after another. You will
use less energy because the dryer is already
heated.
- Avoid over-drying clothes. Remove clothes
promptly at the end of the cycle.
- Hang wrinkled clothes in the bathroom when
you shower. Warm, moist air relaxes wrinkles
so that you do not have to iron.
- Partially line-dry bulky and heavy items.
For example, rugs and bedspreads should be
partially line-dried to avoid overworking the
clothes dryer.
- Back to the top
Clothes
Washer
- Wash clothes in cold water to save energy.
If you need a hot wash, use a cold rinse. The
largest expense in washing clothes is heating
the water.
- Select the appropriate water level for the
load being washed. Do not overload the
machine.
- Wash only full loads with the correct amount
of detergent. Oversudsing makes the machine
work harder.
- Set the thermostat on the water heater at
120º F. Usually, water heaters are set at
140º F. Make the temperature change only if
the dishwasher has a booster heater. Without a
booster heater, the dishwasher requires water
at 140º F.
- Use appropriate cycles and spin speeds to
extract water from the clothing. Less water
means less drying time.
- Back to the top
Dishwasher
- Wash only full loads in an automatic
dishwasher. If you wash dishes daily, omit the
pre-rinse cycle. If necessary, quickly rinse
dishes in cold water.
- Keep drains clean in the dishwasher.
- Select a cycle with no final drying time or
air dry dishes.
- Buy a dishwasher with a booster heater. With
a booster heater in the dishwasher, the
temperature setting on the water heater can be
lowered to 120º F from 140º F.
- Buy a dishwasher with an energy saver cycle.
- Install the dishwasher away from the
refrigerator.
- If you wash dishes by hand, fill the sink
basin or dish pan with hot rinse water. Avoid
wasting energy and water by rinsing dishes
under running water.
- Remember, most of the energy used in washing
dishes goes to heat water.
- Back to the top
Freezer
- Maintain a temperature between 0º and 5º
F. A lower temperature only uses more
electricity.
- Keep the frost level below 1/4 inch. A thick
layer of frost increases the electricity used.
- Replace worn or loose gaskets.
- Keep the freezer full. A partially filled
freezer uses more electricity than a full
freezer. If the freezer is empty, unplug it.
Remove the door to prevent accidents.
- Locate the freezer in the basement or other
cool, dry space.
- Open and close the freezer door as few times
as possible.
- Use moisture- and vapor-proof containers or
wraps. Do not freeze food in waxed paper or
regular plastic bags.
- Buy a freezer that has the Energy Star®
label on the door.
- A chest type freezer uses less electricity
than an upright model.
- Back to the top
Lights
- Turn off lights not being used.
- Replace incandescent lights with
compact fluorescent lighting where you can.
-
Avoid over lighting a room. Lower the level
of the general lighting. Then, add lights on
the task to improve the quality of light and
save electricity.
- Keep all lamps and lighting fixtures clean.
- Take advantage of daylight as much as
possible.
- Replace burned-out fluorescent tubes with
energy-efficient fluorescent tubes.
- Consider replacing a light fixture that
burns three 100-watt incandescent lights with
a fixture that uses two 4-foot fluorescent
tubes. The energy-efficient fluorescent system
would use about 75 watts of electricity
compared to 300 watts for the incandescent
fixture.
- Back to the top
Microwave
Oven
- Use a microwave oven to decrease food
cooking time and costs. For example, baking
potatoes for one hour in a conventional oven
costs more than baking potatoes for about 10
minutes in a microwave oven.
- Be sure that cooking time is decreased,
otherwise the savings are lost.
- Keep the microwave oven clean so that waves
concentrate on cooking the food rather than
the spills.
- Back to the top
Electric
Range
- Use small, portable appliances such as an
electric fry pan or a Crock-Pot. Both use less
electricity than large or small range burners.
- Reheat food or beverages in a microwave oven
instead of on a range burner or in a coffee
maker.
- Use pots and pans that match the size of the
burner. For example, use a frying pan with a
nine-inch diameter bottom on an eight-inch
range burner. Replace pots and pans that are
rounded on the bottom. A flat-bottomed pan on
a burner conducts heat efficiently.
- Use lids when cooking to retain heat and
decrease cooking time.
- Turn off electric burners several minutes
before the food is cooked. The heating element
contains enough heat to finish the job.
- Back to the top
Refrigerator
- Keep the condenser coils at the back or
bottom of the refrigerator clean. Remove the
dust every three months. If you have pets,
clean the coils more frequently.
- Keep the gasket around the doors clean and
in good condition. Food on the gasket creates
a place where cooled air can escape. Replace
cracked or worn gaskets.
- Set controls to maintain a temperature
between 35º and 40º F and between 0º and
5º F inside the freezer section. Use a
thermometer to check for the correct
temperatures. A refrigerator that freezes
vegetables or milk needs the temperature
adjusted or the thermostat replaced.
- Open and close the doors as quickly as
possible.
- Keep the refrigerator filled, but not
overfilled. If you do not keep a full
refrigerator, place filled containers of water
on the shelves to retain the cold.
- If you have a second refrigerator that is
empty, turn it off. Use the unit only when
needed.
- Buy a refrigerator with the freezer on the
top. The side-by-side and bottom-mount models
use more electricity.
- Buy a refrigerator that carries the Energy
Star®
label.
- Back to the top
Water Bed
- Cover the water bed with a thick comforter
or several blankets to keep the heat in the
mattress from escaping.
- Place rigid foam insulation between the
mattress and the side of the frame to stop
heat loss from the mattress. Ask your water
bed dealer for instructions about insulating
your water bed.
- Raise the temperature in the room. A water
bed in a cold room heats the room using
expensive electric heat.
- Back to the top
Water
Heater
Tank-less vs.
standard water heaters
Making the choice
"Installing
On-Demand Water Heaters" (pdf)
- Check the temperature of the water in your
water heater. To do this, draw water through
the bottom faucet and measure the temperature
with a cooking thermometer. For most families
a setting of 120º F is adequate. A dishwasher
without a booster heater requires 140º F
water for cleaning dishes. CAUTION: Turn off
the circuit breaker before you adjust the
temperature on an electric water heater.
- Add an insulated "blanket" around
the water heater. A well-insulated water
heater should save between $8 to $20 a year in
energy costs. Savings increase if the water
heater is located in an unheated area.
- Drain a gallon of water every three months
through the faucet at the bottom of the water
heater to remove sediment. Sediment in the
bottom of the tank decreases energy
efficiency.
- Insulate water pipes with pipe insulation if
possible.
- Install low-flow showerheads. A low-flow
shower head reduces water use from 5 gallons a
minute to 1 to 3 gallons a minute. Conserving
hot water cuts down water-heating expenses.
- Repair leaky hot water faucets immediately.
One drip each second equals 200 gallons of
water a month.
- Turn off the water while shaving or brushing
your teeth.
- Use sink stoppers or dishpans to avoid
wasting water when washing dishes.
- Wash clothing in cold water.
- Buy an energy-efficient water heater. If
your water heater is about 10 years old, plan
ahead to find an energy-efficient replacement.
Check the American
Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
web site for a listing of efficient water
heaters.
- Back to the top
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