Category: Home Energy

Install a programmable thermostat

9/29/2023

Installing a programmable thermostat will help you save energy and money on heating and cooling.

It is a common misconception that you use less energy by keeping your heat at one temperature than by lowering and raising the temperature according to when you are home. The US Department of Energy suggests that “you can save as much as 10% a year on heating and cooling by simply turning your thermostat back 7°-10°F for 8 hours a day from its normal setting.” The practice that saves the most on heating bills is lowering the temperature when you are not home or are asleep. There is a similar misconception about air conditioning; it actually saves more electricity by turning the AC off when you leave home and on again when you return. How can you remember to turn the thermostat up and down several times a day? An easy solution is to install a programmable thermostat. A programmable thermostat allows you to pre-set heating and cooling temperatures according to your schedule. You can also set the heat to turn on an hour before you get up and an hour before you return home and then lower the temperature when you leave for work and are asleep. When you go on vacation, your programmable thermostat can be set to “hold” at one temperature so that you are not unnecessarily warming or cooling the house while you are away.

The US Department of Energy offers this bit of additional advice:

“Avoid setting your thermostat at a colder setting than normal when you turn on your air conditioner. It will not cool your home any faster and could result in excessive cooling and, therefore, unnecessary expense. A common misconception associated with thermostats is that a furnace works harder than normal to warm the space back to a comfortable temperature after the thermostat has been set back, resulting in little or no savings. In fact, as soon as your house drops below its normal temperature, it will lose energy to the surrounding environment more slowly.”*

*https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/programmable-thermostats; Retrieved 9/10/23

Fans use less energy than air conditioners

9/1/2023

Modern fans are more energy efficient than ever and use about 1% of the electricity an air conditioner uses.

Fans use about 1% of the electricity an air conditioner uses and zero planet-heating refrigerants. When it's humid, fans can be especially effective in beating the heat. Here is a list of best window, tower, ceiling, oscillating, bedroom, and budget fans.

Read more in this article.

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Hot weather cooking

7/21/2023

When the weather is hot, cook outdoors or prepare meals that don’t require cooking.

Using the stove and oven adds heat to your house, so when the weather is hot, find ways to avoid using them so that your air conditioner does not have to work overtime, adding to your summer energy use. Plan to eat salads and sandwiches or other dishes that do not require cooking. Do your cooking on the grill so that all of the heat produced is outside of the house. Another option is to use smaller appliances such as the toaster oven, slow-cooker, or microwave, which all produce much less heat and use less energy.

For more details, check out this article in Consumer Reports:
Mary H.J. Farrell, July 9, 2021. Cooking tips for hot weather: How to keep your cool in the kitchen this summer. Consumerreports.org.

Keep a pitcher of water in your refrigerator for better water quality and energy savings

6/16/2023

Keeping a pitcher of tap water in the fridge saves energy on cooling and provides cold drinking water during the summer months.

The refrigerator works more efficiently when it is fuller. Because water holds its temperature well, storing a container of water in the refrigerator helps it regulate its temperature. This also provides you with a regular source of cold, refreshing water throughout the summer, eliminating the need to run water from the tap while waiting for it to run cold. In addition, leaving the water container uncovered in the fridge allows the chlorine to evaporate out and will taste fresher.

See more information at the Department of Energy.

Only run full loads of dishes and clothes

6/2/2023

When using a machine to wash dishes or laundry, wash full loads for maximum energy and water efficiency

Washing machines use a certain amount of energy to run each load. For example, running two loads half full uses more energy than one full load (1). Therefore, running a full load is a more efficient use of the energy needed just for operating the machine (2). According to the U.S. Department of Energy, “a single large load saves you about 25% to 50% of the energy of two small loads.”(1)

To further increase the efficiency of your dish washer, pack the dishes strategically without overfilling (3) to maximize the use of space while ensuring that the water spray reaches each dish (4).

See other energy saving hints for dish and clothes washers:

(1) Trent Hamm, January 25, 2012. “Only run full loads of dishes and clothes,” The Christian Science Monitor (csmonitor.com/Business)

(2) Scott Minos, Feb. 14, 2018, “16 Ways to Save Money in the Laundry Room,” Energy.gov.

(3) Sarah Aguirre, February 8, 2021, “10 Dishwasher mistakes and how to avoid them,” The Spruce (thespruce.com)

(4) Ada Tseng, May 20, 2022, “To pre-reinse or not to pre-rinse? How to use your dishwasher during the drought,” Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)

Unsubscribing from online newletters reduces your carbon footprint

5/19/2023

Even though it’s one of the cleaner marketing channels, email has a carbon footprint, so start unsubscribing from unwanted listservs and unread newsletters.

It is easier to hit delete than it is to unsubscribe from an unwanted listserv or newsletter, but if you can get into the habit of unsubscribing as you go, not only will your inbox be leaner, but so will your carbon footprint. Every newsletter generates around 10 grams of CO2, and only around 10% of newsletters are ever opened.

Read more here:

https://www.mailjet.com/blog/email-best-practices/email-carbon-footprint/

Microwave is more efficient than a gas stovetop for reheating small amounts of food

4/14/2023

Stovetop burners waste a fair amount of energy. Although microwave ovens use a large burst of energy, they are more efficient for heating small amounts of food. An article from Sierraclub.org cites an EPA estimate that “the microwave uses 80 percent less energy when heating up relatively small amounts.”

Other suggestions for energy efficient cooking from the Department of Energy include matching pot size with burner size and using a lid on pots, when recipes allow, to retain more heat. Using an electric kettle is also a more efficient way to boil water.
See also this article in Scientific American.

Finish cooking with the heat off to save energy

2/17/2023

You can reduce your energy use when cooking foods in boiling water. The residual heat will finish cooking your food without additional input of energy. Take advantage of this by turning off the burner or oven several minutes before the end of the cooking time and let it sit with lid on or in the closed oven to finish. This technique works for foods such as pasta, grains, steamed vegetables, and baked casseroles. See this article for more ideas on how to take advantage of residual heat while cooking.

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Draft snakes are a cheap and easy way to reduce drafts from windows and doors and save on your heating bill

2/2/2023

Drafts that enter your house through gaps under doors and windows result in higher energy bills. According to the EPA, “Air leakage accounts for 25 percent to 40 percent of the energy used for heating and cooling and also reduces the effectiveness of other energy-efficiency measures such as increased insulation and high-performance windows.” A quick and easy way to cut down on drafts is to install draft snakes (also called draft dodgers or draft stoppers). There are a variety of types and styles; familyhandyman.com lists a range to choose from. You can also make them yourself out of old clothes, socks, towels, or colorful fabrics and fill them with readily available materials such as rice, dried beans, sand, or wool.

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Some electronics still draw power when off: plug them into power strips to turn them off completely when not in use

12/23/2022

A variety of electronics and small household appliances continue to use electricity even when they are turned off. Collectively, these “energy vampires” add to your electric bill. The Department of Energy suggests that “an appliance constantly taking in 1 watt of electrical current is equivalent to 9kWh per year, adding up to $1 in annual costs (basically $1/watt/annual). Considering how many appliances are used in an average household, costs can quickly add up to $100-200 a year.”*

Unplugging electronics when they are not in use reduces this drain. To make the off-switch more convenient, plug electronics into power strips that are easily turned off as needed. Place a power strip by your entertainment center to plug in TVs, DVD players, and game consoles. In the bathroom, use a power strip for electric razors, curling irons, and hair dryers. The drain from kitchen appliances can be reduced by plugging toasters and toaster ovens, coffee makers and grinders, microwave ovens, and kitchen TVs into a power strip and turning it off when not in use.

*Scott Minos. October 31, 2022. “How to Stop Energy Vampires from Attacking Your Home.” https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/articles/how-stop-energy-vampires-attacking-your-home

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

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