Draft snakes were a fixture in Depression-era America--a quick and simple energy-saving tool. Laid across cracks under doors or windows, they prevent cold air and draft from blowing in and warm air from escaping.
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Draft snakes are a quick and simple solution to blocking leaks at the bottom of doors and windows. Draft snakes were a fixture in Depression-era America--a quick and simple energy-saving tool. Laid across cracks under doors or windows, they prevent cold air and draft from blowing in and warm air from escaping. Read more here. Install dimmers on lights to save energy by adjusting the lighting to the level that you need. Installing new lighting? Consider including a dimmer switch in that new installation. According to PECO, you can save up to $25 per year on electricity by using dimmer switches. Instead of the standard light switch which offers just one option for brightness, dimmer switches allow you to use less light, and thus less energy, according to your needs at the moment. Keeping lights on at a lower level also extends the life of your light bulbs. Photo by Susan O'Donnell Keeping your refrigerator temperature no lower 37⁰ F is cold enough for preserving food and saves energy. The Department of Energy recommends maintaining your refrigerator temperature close to 37⁰ F. A temperature of 37⁰ F is cold enough to keep food fresh without freezing. Colder than that is overkill and a waste of energy. Refrigerators can account for as much as 7% of residential energy consumption, so keeping the temperature only as cold as needed helps prevent using more energy than necessary to preserve your food. Get more information from the Department of Energy: https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/refrigerator-freezer-use-and-temperature-tips photo by Susan O'Donnell You don’t have to replace older windows: install window inserts to eliminate winter drafts. It may not make economic sense to replace all your windows (see Phil's tips for reducing heating costs), and you might want to keep the look of traditional windows. It is more cost-effective and better for the environment, in terms of producing less waste, to repair rather than replace older, historic windows. Another option is to have window inserts installed. They are quick and easy to put in place each fall and greatly reduce drafts and heating costs. For more details, see this article: https://www.treehugger.com/save-your-windows-and-your-money-indow-window-inserts-4858724 When working in a limited space, save on electricity by using a lamp or more focused light rather than overhead lighting that lights up the whole room. Overhead lighting often consists of multiple bulbs in order to illuminate an entire room. While making a meal or working at a desk, use the kitchen counter light or a lamp to focus light where you need it and save energy in the process. Another option is to use the dimmer switch to reduce the amount of light to just what is needed. Photo by Susan O'Donnell 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 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 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. 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. 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) |
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