Energy Saving Tips

With energy costs skyrocketing over the past 10 years, today’s consumer faces a daily challenge to reduce usage and dependency on electricity and fuel consumption. In order to maximize energy savings, we need to identify the appliances, machinery, structures and vehicles with the highest energy usage. Once identified, then we can develop an energy reduction plan that lowers usage, offers better efficiency and is easy to implement in day to day activities. Here is a list of the most common items that impact your highest energy costs: air conditioning, heating, water heaters and plumbing, refrigerators, insulation, windows, paint, roof, lighting, pumps, and vehicles (cars, trucks, etc).

  • Installing a solar hot water system is the single biggest action that you can take around the home to reduce greenhouse gases.
  • A 5 minute shower uses less hot and cold water than having a bath.
  • A leaking hot water tap dripping once a second for a day will waste enough hot water to shower an extra person.
  • Drive sensibly, aggressive driving wastes fuel.
  • Reverse cycle air-conditioning cost about half as much to run than a radiator, fan heater or oil-filled heater.
  • Save on cooling costs in summer by drawing curtains early in the day when a hot day is forecast.
  • Clean clothes dryer filters regularly – It speeds up the drying time as well as being safer.
  • Paint rooms in light colors, as it aids reflection to help boost available light.
  • LED lights are by far more energy efficient then incandescent and halogen light globes and can last up to 30 times longer than normal light bulbs.
  • Your lighting usage accounts for about 10% of your electricity bill, so instead of lighting the whole room up, maybe a lamp will do.
  • Wind driven and solar powered roof ventilators cost nothing to run.
  • Help your air-conditioner run more efficiently, set the thermostat for summer at 77°F and for winter at 65°F.
  • Select the ‘re-circulate’ setting on your air-conditioner, it is more efficient to keep cooling or warming the already conditioned air inside.