SAVE ENERGY.
SAVE MONEY. SAVE THE PLANET!
Turn it off! When not in use, shut down: computers, lights, appliances, &
anything else that consumes energy! • Turn off kitchen, bath, & other
exhaust fans within 20 minutes after you are done cooking or bathing.
Unplug it! Cellphones, laptop chargers, & battery chargers still consume
energy after they are fully charged & still attached to an outlet! Unplug the
charger once batteries are full & when not in use. • Plug home electronics
(such as TVs & DVD players) into power strips & turn the power strips off
when the equipment is not in use. • In standby mode many electronics still
use several watts of power.
Light bulbs: Compact fluorescent bulbs are 4 times more energy efficient
than incandescent bulbs, provide the same light & last 10 times as long.
This saves glass, metal, & electricity! • If every household in the U.S.
replaced one light bulb with an EnergyStar qualified compact
fluorescent light bulb, it would prevent pollution equal to removing
one million cars from the road. (www.energystar.gov)
• In particular, use compact fluorescent lights in your
torchieres, or buy a torchiere designed for compact fluorescent
bulbs. Halogen torchieres are a fire risk because of the high
temperature of the halogen bulb.
Heating & Air Conditioning
Typically, 45% of your utility bill goes for heating & cooling. Heating
& cooling systems in the U.S. together emit 150 million tons of CO2 each
year, adding to global climate change.
• Set your thermostat comfortably low in the winter & comfortably
high in the summer. • Close windows when using air-conditioning
or heat. • In winter, keep draperies & shades on your south-facing
windows open during the day to let in sunlight & closed at night
to reduce heat loss through the windows. In summer, keep
window coverings closed during day. • Install exterior or interior
storm windows; storm windows can reduce heat loss through
the windows by 25% to 50%. • Clean air registers, baseboard heaters &
radiators; make sure they’re not blocked by furniture, carpeting,
or drapes. • Clean or replace filters on furnaces once a month
or as needed. • Check the insulation levels in your attic, exterior
& basement walls, ceilings, floors & crawl spaces. • Check for
holes or cracks around your walls, ceilings, windows, doors, light &
plumbing fixtures, switches & electrical outlets that can leak air into or out
of your home. • Trees & shrubs planted around your house
can provide shade & act as windbreaks, reducing your
energy bills. Carefully positioned trees can save up to 25%
of the energy a typical household uses for cooling & studies
have found that summer daytime air temperatures are 3° to
6°F cooler in tree-shaded neighborhoods than in treeless
areas.
Laundy & Dishes: • Wash clothes on the cold water cycle. It takes a lot of
energy to heat water. • Lower the thermostat on your water
heater; water heaters sometimes come from the factory with
high temperature settings, but 120°F is high
enough. • Air dry dishes instead of using your
dishwasher’s drying cycle. • Take short showers
instead of baths. • Wash only full loads of dishes & clothes.
• Repair leaky faucets promptly; a leaky faucet wastes gallons of water in a
short period of time.
Appliances: Look for EnergyStar products – approved appliances that use
10-50% less energy & water. The average home spends $1500 on energy
per year. Changing to EnergyStar appliances can save
$80 a year in energy costs, while saving the environment.
If just 10% of homes used EnergyStar qualified
appliances, it would be like planting 1.7 million new acres
of trees. • Regularly defrost manual-defrost refrigerators
& freezers; frost buildup to more than ¼“ decreases their
efficiency. • Make sure your refrigerator door seals are
airtight: close the door over a piece of paper or a dollar
bill. If the paper or bill pulls out easily, the latch may need
adjustment or the seal may need replacing. • Purchase a
phone with a cord rather than a cordless model, which
requires constant energy • Drive sensibly. Aggressive
driving (speeding, rapid acceleration & braking) wastes
gasoline.
• www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/pdfs/energy_savers.pdf
• www.energystar.gov
• www.princeton.edu/~greening/
Computers: Enable the sleep mode on your computer & allow the monitor
to deactivate after ten minutes of non-use. • Despite the name, screen
savers don’t save power! • Turn your computer off over night. • Buy a flatscreen monitor– they use 1/3 less energy than normal monitors.
SAVE ENERGY.
SAVE MONEY. SAVE THE PLANET!
Turn it off! When not in use, shut down: computers, lights, appliances, &
anything else that consumes energy! • Turn off kitchen, bath, & other
exhaust fans within 20 minutes after you are done cooking or bathing.
Unplug it! Cellphones, laptop chargers, & battery chargers still consume
energy after they are fully charged & still attached to an outlet! Unplug the
charger once batteries are full & when not in use. • Plug home electronics
(such as TVs & DVD players) into power strips & turn the power strips off
when the equipment is not in use. • In standby mode many electronics still
use several watts of power.
Light bulbs: Compact fluorescent bulbs are 4 times more energy efficient
than incandescent bulbs, provide the same light & last 10 times as long.
This saves glass, metal, & electricity! • If every household in the U.S.
replaced one light bulb with an EnergyStar qualified compact
fluorescent light bulb, it would prevent pollution equal to removing
one million cars from the road. (www.energystar.gov)
• In particular, use compact fluorescent lights in your
torchieres, or buy a torchiere designed for compact fluorescent
bulbs. Halogen torchieres are a fire risk because of the high
temperature of the halogen bulb.
Heating & Air Conditioning
Typically, 45% of your utility bill goes for heating & cooling. Heating
& cooling systems in the U.S. together emit 150 million tons of CO2 each
year, adding to global climate change.
• Set your thermostat comfortably low in the winter & comfortably
high in the summer. • Close windows when using air-conditioning
or heat. • In winter, keep draperies & shades on your south-facing
windows open during the day to let in sunlight & closed at night
to reduce heat loss through the windows. In summer, keep
window coverings closed during day. • Install exterior or interior
storm windows; storm windows can reduce heat loss through
the windows by 25% to 50%. • Clean air registers, baseboard heaters &
radiators; make sure they’re not blocked by furniture, carpeting,
or drapes. • Clean or replace filters on furnaces once a month
or as needed. • Check the insulation levels in your attic, exterior
& basement walls, ceilings, floors & crawl spaces. • Check for
holes or cracks around your walls, ceilings, windows, doors, light &
plumbing fixtures, switches & electrical outlets that can leak air into or out
of your home. • Trees & shrubs planted around your house
can provide shade & act as windbreaks, reducing your
energy bills. Carefully positioned trees can save up to 25%
of the energy a typical household uses for cooling & studies
have found that summer daytime air temperatures are 3° to
6°F cooler in tree-shaded neighborhoods than in treeless
areas.
Laundy & Dishes: • Wash clothes on the cold water cycle. It takes a lot of
energy to heat water. • Lower the thermostat on your water
heater; water heaters sometimes come from the factory with
high temperature settings, but 120°F is high
enough. • Air dry dishes instead of using your
dishwasher’s drying cycle. • Take short showers
instead of baths. • Wash only full loads of dishes & clothes.
• Repair leaky faucets promptly; a leaky faucet wastes gallons of water in a
short period of time.
Appliances: Look for EnergyStar products – approved appliances that use
10-50% less energy & water. The average home spends $1500 on energy
per year. Changing to EnergyStar appliances can save
$80 a year in energy costs, while saving the environment.
If just 10% of homes used EnergyStar qualified
appliances, it would be like planting 1.7 million new acres
of trees. • Regularly defrost manual-defrost refrigerators
& freezers; frost buildup to more than ¼“ decreases their
efficiency. • Make sure your refrigerator door seals are
airtight: close the door over a piece of paper or a dollar
bill. If the paper or bill pulls out easily, the latch may need
adjustment or the seal may need replacing. • Purchase a
phone with a cord rather than a cordless model, which
requires constant energy • Drive sensibly. Aggressive
driving (speeding, rapid acceleration & braking) wastes
gasoline.
• www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/pdfs/energy_savers.pdf
• www.energystar.gov
• www.princeton.edu/~greening/
Computers: Enable the sleep mode on your computer & allow the monitor
to deactivate after ten minutes of non-use. • Despite the name, screen
savers don’t save power! • Turn your computer off over night. • Buy a flatscreen monitor– they use 1/3 less energy than normal monitors.