The More You Save, the More You Save
Energy efficiency – it’s as easy as flipping off the lights when you leave a room or keeping your thermostat at a comfortable rather than cold setting on a hot day. A typical family spends about $2,000 a year on home utility bills. Heating and cooling equipment accounts for half of a home’s energy use, followed by large appliances and electronic devices, water heating equipment and lighting.
Below, we have included a few easy, yet often overlooked, steps you can follow to make the most of your energy use. If you’re committed to saving energy and money, consider going the extra mile with more comprehensive tips we’ve provided for each category to achieve greater efficiency.
Set your thermostat between 78 and 80 degrees during warm months. During colder months, a thermostat setting of between 68 to 70 degrees is recommended.
Use a programmable thermostat to manage your daily heating and cooling needs. Try a free CPS Energy Savers Smart Thermostat.
Try ceiling or portable fans to circulate air and make a room feel cooler.
Turn off the television, fan and lights or lamps when you leave a room.
Buy CFLs or LEDs to replace less-efficient incandescent bulbs.
Purchase energy-efficient appliances and products. Check the Energy Guide label and look for the ENERGY STAR? logo when purchasing these items. Take advantage of our home efficiency rebates!
Turn off or unplug electronic devices, such as computers, power tools, cell phone chargers, digital cameras, and MP3s, when they are not being used.
Reduce your use of hot water – take short showers, use cold water to wash clothes, etc.
Try natural gas instead -- Gas water heaters, dryers, and cooktops are more energy efficient than their electric counterparts. Consider a Natural Gas Rebate
Perform a home energy audit, through CPS Energy Savers, to reduce common inefficiencies.
Unplug plugs that aren't being used. Use fluorescent lights, and shut them off when you leave the room. To cut the grass, use a reel mower. Turn down the water heater and whenever possible, use cold water in the clothes washer. Have a digital clock that uses water as its power source. Install solar panels. Use ceiling fans and sweaters instead of turning the heat or air conditioner up. When it's cold out, after using the oven leave its door open to let heat into the house. Get a hybrid car or a car with low gas mileage. Turn your computer off completely at night.
Using energy efficiently is great for the environment and can also save you money. It is great that you are going to have a greener lifestyle. Thanks! Hope I helped!
Energy loss occurs most in conversion from one form to another. For instance, a fuel is burned to convert a chemical energy into mechanical energy - say burning diesel to turn a turbine. The turbine, mechanical energy is used to convert mechanical energy to electrical energy. The electrical energy is transmitted to homes where it is converted, through say a dryer motor, to mechanical energy to spin the clothes.
Along with these conversions (losses) we also lose the heat energy that is created from burning the diesel and drying the clothes.
To be energy efficient, we need to convert as little as possible, reuse wasted heat by product energy, reduce distances the energy must travel, and eliminate as much resistance - like friction - as possible.
Normal incandescent bulbs use electricity to heat a tungsten filament until it glows white hot, producing a lot of waste heat. Energy-efficient bulbs, also called compact fluorescent lamps or CFLs, work by electrifying a gas to produce ultraviolet radiation, which is then converted into visible light by the bulb's coating (see References 1). According to Energy Star, CFLs use 75 percent less electricity, produce 75 percent less heat, last 10 times as long and can save around $40 in energy costs compared to conventional bulbs over their lifetime (see References 2). Making the switch to CFLs can save you money and reduce your ecological footprint.
Step 1:
Decide how much light you want. General Electric provides a chart comparing the wattages of CFLs and incandescent bulbs of equal brightness. A 15-watt CFL, for example, is as bright as a 60-watt incandescent bulb. You can purchase CFLs to match the brightness of your current bulbs, or you can get something brighter and still save energy.
Step 2:
Replace your old incandescent bulbs immediately to start saving energy now -- don't wait for them to burn out. Switch off the lights and wait for the bulbs to cool down. Unscrew them and replace them with CFLs.
Step 3:
Keep your old incandescent bulbs on ceiling fans and other places that experience a lot of vibration. Excessive vibration can damage the electronics inside a CFL, so they're not recommended for certain conditions. Do not use CFLs outdoors unless the box specifically states that they are rated for outdoor use (see References 1), especially in colder climates. CFLs do not work well at low temperatures.
Step 4:
Keep fluorescent lights on for at least 15 minutes. If you're going to leave the room for less than 15 minutes, don't turn the light off. It takes a few minutes for a CFL to warm up. Turning the light on and off too often reduces efficiency and shortens the lifespan of the bulb. If you leave a room for more than 15 minutes, turn the lights off to save energy.
Step 5:
Continue using incandescent bulbs during the winter if your home's electricity comes from renewable sources and you use natural gas to heat your home. Incandescent bulbs produce a lot of heat and can help heat your home. Switching to fluorescent lighting means more gas or heating oil must be burned to maintain the same temperature. If your electricity is relatively cheap compared to gas or heating oil, CFLs could actually cost you money. According to a study by the Canadian National Research Council, switching to CFLs could potentially increase greenhouse gas emissions rather than reduce them (see References 3). This is only true in cold climates where coal is not the primary fuel for producing electricity.
Mostly by using LED bulbs, programmable thermostats, better insulation, better windows and maybe even installing a solar cell for a few watts.
That's easy, just use less.
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