Low/No Cost Tips
There are many simple, low- or no-cost things you can do around your home that will help to reduce your energy usage and save on your electric bill.
- Unplugging underutilized appliances in your home can lead to big savings in your electricity usage.
- Chargers for phones still use electricity even when the phone is unplugged.
- Your home entertainment electronics pull a great deal of electricity if they remain plugged in. Plug TVs, stereos, and DVD players into a power strip and shut them off using the power strip’s On/Off button.
- Take advantage of your computer’s energy saving features.
- If you have an ENERGY STAR® qualified computer, enable its shut-down features.
- The “sleep” mode reduces electricity usage by up to 70 percent during inactive periods.
- The “hibernate” mode shuts the computer down after a specified time, allowing you to restart using less electricity.
- Shut off the computer if you’re going to be away more than 2 hours.
- Control the temperature.
- In the winter, try setting your thermostat to 68 degrees when you're at home and lowering the temperature at night or when you're away.
- In the summer, set the thermostat to a minimum 78 degrees; circulate cool air using box fans and ceiling fans.
- Open shades in the winter to let sunlight in. Close them in the summer to keep your home cooler.
- Use appliances wisely.
- Set your water heater to 120 degrees.
- Wash full loads of laundry in cold water.
- Clean your dryer’s lint filter after each use.
- When possible, dry clothes on a clothesline outside.
- Wash full loads of dishes in the dishwasher; use shorter wash/rinse cycles; dry with the air dry setting.
- Turn off the lights.
- Turn off the lights when you leave a room at home and in the office.
- Incandescent bulbs are inefficient, so turn them off when you don’t need them. Replace them with CFL or LED bulbs.
- Turn off fluorescent lights if you’re going to be gone 15 minutes or more.
- Weatherize those nasty leaks.
- Caulk, weather-strip, and insulate your windows and doors wherever you find air leaks.
- Install Compact Fluorescent bulbs.
- Swapping five incandescent bulbs with ENERGY STAR® compact fluorescents can save you about $60 a year.
- CFLs cost 3-10 times more than incandescents, but last 6-15 times longer.
- Conserve water heat.
- Wrap your water heater with a water heater blanket.
- Change your heating and cooling filters.
- Replace filters on your air conditioner. Clean filters can lower the air conditioner’s energy consumption 5-15%.
- Replace furnace filters monthly or as needed.
- Install low-flow plumbing fixtures.
- Install energy efficient shower heads; investing $10 on an energy efficient shower head can yield hot water savings of 25-60%.
- Install faucet aerators (the screw-on portion of the faucet) that have a flow rate of no more than 1 gallon per minute.